Well, here’s something you don’t see every day. For one, it’s a very rare 1953 Skylark, a limited production (1,690) top-of-the-line Buick that had more of a GM Motorama custom show car look to it than your standard Buick of the day. And, two, it’s a restomod, with a 572-cubic-inch big-block Chevy V8 under that long red hood. The seller says he’s just got too many projects, so it’s time for Big Red to find a new home. The photos seem to back that up as I’m spotting a Corvette, an El Camino, what appears to be a customized early 50’s Mercury, and other project cars tucked away. He also says that over $75,000 was invested in the Skylark’s restoration, everything is new, and that he’s asking $70,000, but would consider trades of other classic cars of the same value.
Buick gave its Skylark a somewhat “sporty” treatment with its lowered windshield, sculpted swoopy body panels, and special 40-spoke Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels made exclusively for this “production show car.” Based on the photos, the Skylark has been sitting long enough to gather a some dust, but the bright red paint looks presentable and shiny. To give it more of a minor custom look, the hood is smoother looking up front thanks to removing the hood ornament and the Buick crest that was housed in a large oval above the grill. The Skylark’s rear deck has been given the same treatment with the removal of the propellor-shaped chrome trunk lid emblem. For those thinking Buick’s iconic front fender portholes have also been removed and smoothed over, Skylark’s didn’t come with what the Buick marketing team called “Cruiser-Line Ventiports.” The parchment colored convertible top looks good and it’s sporting wide whitewalls and chrome wheels, but not the Skylark’s original dazzling Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels.
The Skylark’s parchment-tone custom leather interior is impressive looking and compliments the red exterior, dash, and door sills nicely. It’s sporting buckets seats, a front console with a cool handle automatic transmission shifter, a new tilt steering wheel, airbags, A/C, power disc brakes, power steering, power windows, power convertible top, and more.
This big Buick has had a power plant upgrade and now has a 572-cubic-inch big-block Chevy engine under its red hood. It’s a bit different from the Skylark’s original 322-cubic-inch Fireball V8 that generated 188 horsepower. This unique Buick convertible is located in Manassas, Virginia and is listed for sale here on craigslist. A big thanks to Bob Caudle for spotting this rare bird and sending it our way. The Skylark was a pet project of GM’s legendary styling guru, Harley Earl, and designed to commemorate Buick’s 50th Anniversary. I wonder what he’d think of this restomod? Sure, some are going to say it should’ve been restored to stock, and Harley may not approve of removing some of his beloved chrome trim, but I think Mr. Earl would be okay with this iteration. After all, this was a man who drove a 1951 Le Sabre concept car around Detroit. Not a bad looking puddle-jumper.
Nice car, but you’d think for 70K they would at least roll it outside and get decent pictures.
The pictures of the Dusty vehicle in a garage would of course lead one To question: Does this car even move under its own power(?) Unfinished project with how much left to go)?)
How much for the camino in front of it?p
Selling because he has too many projects but he will take trades Yeah makes sense to me
Too many projects? Maybe he just doesn’t like washing cars.
Not sure where the 75K went, original restored version of this car go for big $ at auction. Often six figures.
Beautiful car with muscle but BOBHESS is spot on. My wife loves convertibles maybe she would get rid of her Audi s10 Cameo and go for real class.
Audi S10 Cameo, eh?
Falling under…Just my opinion, so as not to trigger anyone.
When someone with an old car like a 57 Chevy or a 65 Mustang or 70 Beetle decides he knows better than Virgil Exner, Gordon Buehrig or Raymond Loewy and goes and “Resto-Mods” them, no real harm since they made hundreds of thousands of them and there will be plenty of nicely preserved or restored examples around. BUT, when someone takes a beautiful rare car like this 53 Skylark and thinks he or she knows better than Harley Earl…..I don’t think so.
Couldn’t agree more with you, Steve, for what it’s worth.
Falling under…Just my opinion, so as not to trigger anyone.
When someone with an old car like a 57 Chevy or a 65 Mustang or 70 Beetle decides he knows better than Virgil Exner, Gordon Buehrig or Raymond Loewy and goes and “Resto-Mods” them, no real harm since they made hundreds of thousands of them and there will be plenty of nicely preserved or restored examples around. BUT, when someone takes a beautiful rare car like this 53 Skylark and thinks he or she knows better than Harley Earl…..I don’t think so.
I love hot rods, modified cars, antiques; both original and restored. In short I love and appreciate all of them. I have to say, however, there are some cars, such as the rare Buick Skylark, that should never be modified, especially to this degree.
That being said, I am biased in that I don’t care for all of the above equally. I have to admit that I really don’t get restomods, especially when everything except for the body has been changed erasing all of the idiosyncrasies and charm that owning an old vehicle comes with. Why not just buy a new car?
Of course, that is just my opinion and I still respect what others may do, even if I don’t understand it.
Lastly, one would never drop a BBC in a Duesenberg, at least I hope so. Comparing this car to that may be extreme, but I’m not so sure.
Yes, it’s extremely extreme.
Yeah, your right. I should have left that part out.
This a nice car, but it started out nicer when it was new, IMO. Noseing and decking (removing the hood and trunk emblems for those who weren’t fortunate enough to have been around in the fifties) was cool back then, but it doesn’t compliment this car at all to me. Also, I would want to replace the beautiful wire wheels that came on Skylarks of this era. Not knocking the car and the mods as they might have been done at a low point in the cars age, value, and condition, and they were the owner’s idea of improvements. It could all be swapped back to original so good luck to buyer and seller.
“It could all be swapped back to original [ . . .].”
It could indeed, and that’s exactly what I’d do if I were young enough and ambitious enough to take on a project.
Roger Steve!
GUYS , this wagon is a nice way to have one cake and… I am no lnger able to build cars as I did for 80 or so years, SO being a wagon with a big block, YOU BETCHA its just what if possible will me for me. CRUISIN and GRINNIN
All of us are lovers of cars etc., we all also have an opinion. which I enjoy. Perhaps at my age and having has 30 hot rods i see se things a bit differently. This wagon is for me is just what many of us would love to have had back in the day , BIG BLOCK and needs and all. THIS is why i an doing m best to acquire it fellas.
To each their own I guess. But a stock ’53 Skylark is a work of art. Buick lost money on each sale. They were halo-cars, each was virtually hand-built with astonishing attention to detail (and a lot of lead). The ’53 was the cleanest looking of the design’s model run (built from 53 to 55), avoiding the wheel-well cut-outs added in ’54.
Here is an example of what restored ’54 looks like:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1953-buick-skylark-11/
All else being equal, it is not difficult to see which is better. I’ll leave you to decide what that means.