Rare Car Archive

Makes › Buick United States › Y-Job · Prototype · 1938 One-off

Buick
Y-Job

Harley Earl's running concept car, regarded as the world's first concept car; Earl's daily driver

Still being researched: identification guide. Everything shown is checked against the cited sources. Know more? Send us a source.

Buick Y-Job (Wikimedia Commons: Buick Y-Job)
Buick Y-Job (Wikimedia Commons: Buick Y-Job)
Photo: Späth Chr. · Public domain
1BuiltIndependently researched
0Chassis documentedin this archive
1SurvivingIndependently researched
Contents
  1. 01Overview
  2. 02Production & history
  3. 03Specifications
  4. 04Colours & options
  5. 05Individual cars
  6. 06Reference

01Overview

At a glance

Built
1 Built
Years
1938
Engine
Inline 8-cylinder · 5,240 cc / 5.2 LFactory: 320 cu in · converted
Power
105 kW / 143 PSFactory: 141 hp · converted
Top speed
Not yet verified
Body
Not yet verified
Designer
Harley J. Earl (lines drawn by George Snyder)
In this archive
Not yet verified
Surviving
1 (independently researched)

Sources and any conflicting figures are in the sections below.

Why it matters

The Y-Job is widely regarded as the first concept car, built to test styling and technical ideas rather than for sale. Harley Earl used it as a rolling design study and as his own transport. Features it previewed, including hidden headlamps, flush door handles, power windows and a concealed power top, later reached GM production cars.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Model rarityOne-off 1 · Built1
Specification rarityNot yet assessed
Colour rarityNot yet assessed
Individual rarityNot yet assessed
Historical rarityNot yet assessed
Survival rarityNot yet assessed 1 · Surviving2

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Photos

Exterior, interior and detail photos with their licences.

02Production & history

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

What is countedFigureBasisStatus
Total model productionThe single Y-Job, held by GM at its Design Center in Warren, Michigan, per the source 12 Surviving examples Independently researched
Total model productionsingle concept car (identity confirmed; lent by GM Heritage Center) 11 Factory production Independently researched

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

The Y-Job was built in 1938 under Harley Earl, GM's first design chief. George Snyder put the lines on paper and Buick chief engineer Charlie Chayne supervised the modifications to a production Buick chassis. The letter Y followed the aircraft practice of marking experimental types and went a step beyond the usual X for experimental.

Earl drove it on Detroit streets for years; in 1948 a wire-service photographer mistook it for a new 1949 Buick. It later went to the Sloan Museum in Flint, then the Henry Ford Museum, and in 1993 returned to the GM Design Center in Warren, Michigan, where it is part of GM's heritage collection.

Variants

How each version differs from the standard Y-Job.

No variants documented yet. Have a source? Contribute it.

03Specifications

Technical specifications

Engine

Engine familyNot yet verified
Engine codeNot yet verified
LayoutInline 8-cylinder3 Independently researched
Cylinders84 Independently researched
Displacement 5,240 cc / 5.2 LFactory: 320 cu in · converted3,5 Independently researchedconceptcarz also contains a separate passage naming a 248 cu in Series 50 engine and a two-speed torque converter; it conflicts with the museum and GM text and is not used.
BoreNot yet verified
StrokeNot yet verified
Compression ratio6.35:16 Independently researchedStock 1938 Buick engine in the concept car, per Edmunds.
Fuel systemNot yet verified
Power 105 kW / 143 PSFactory: 141 hp · converted3 Independently researched
Power at 3,600 rpm3 Independently researched
TorqueNot yet verified

Transmission & drivetrain

GearboxManual4 Independently researched
Gears34 Independently researched
Driven wheelsNot yet verified

Chassis, body & dimensions

ChassisModified production Buick Century chassis5 Independently researchedAudrain says 1937 Buick chassis.
Front suspensionNot yet verified
Rear suspensionNot yet verified
BrakesNot yet verified
SteeringBendix power steering unit3 Independently researched
Body constructionNot yet verified
Wheelbase 3,200 mmFactory: 126 in · converted5 Independently researched
Length 5,280 mmFactory: 208 in · converted3 Independently researched
Width 1,880 mmFactory: 74 in · converted3 Independently researched
Height 1,470 mmFactory: 58 in · converted3 Independently researched
Front trackNot yet verified
Rear trackNot yet verified
Kerb weightNot yet verified
Dry weightNot yet verified

Performance

Maximum speedNot yet verified
0–100 km/hNot yet verified
Fuel tankNot yet verified

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

04Colours & options

Factory colours & interiors

Original paint and trim, with the number of cars in each where a source gives it.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

Factory options & codes

Codes are shown exactly as written by the manufacturer.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

05Individual cars

Chassis register

Every documented car, with its colours, history and where it is now. Open a row for the full record. Known chassis are not automatically authenticated originals.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

Competition history

Every race result of the individual cars, in date order. Click a chassis number to open its full record in the register.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

Auction & sale history

Documented public sales of the individual cars. Click a chassis number to open its full record in the register.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

See one in person

Museums where an example of this car can be seen.

No example is documented on public display yet. Have a source? Contribute it.

06Reference

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

  1. 1
    Audrain Auto Museum – 1938 Buick Y-Job Concept Level B
    • 1 single concept car (identity confirmed; lent by GM Heritage Center)
    Accessed 2026-11-11
  2. 2
    1938 Buick Y-Job Concept Level C Supercars.net
    • In 1993, the Y-Job came home to the GM Design Center in Warren
    Accessed 2026-11-13
  3. 3
    1938 Buick Y-Job Concept Level B Audrain Auto Museum · 2026-01-01
    • Engine: Inline 8-cylinder, 320 cu in.
    • Inline 8-cylinder, 320 cu in.
    • Horsepower: 141 @ 3600 rpm
    • 141 @ 3600 rpm
    • Steering: Bendix power steering unit
    • measured 208 in long
    • 74 in wide
    • low roofline at only 58in
    Accessed 2026-11-12
  4. 4
    1938 Buick Y-Job Level C Audrain Automobile Museum
    • 320 c.i. Inline Eight
    • Transmission: 3 speed manual
    Accessed 2026-11-13
  5. 5
    1938 Buick Y-Job Concept Level B conceptcarz.com (text credited to GM) · 2026-01-01
    • 320-cubic-inch/141-horsepower inline eight-cylinder
    • modifications to the production Buick Century chassis
    • 126-inch wheelbase
    Accessed 2026-11-12
  6. 6
    The World's First Concept Car: 1938 Buick Y-Job Level C Edmunds Inside Line · 2006-07-20
    • only 6.35:1
    Accessed 2026-11-13

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