A solid piece of evidence that Buick was having a banner year in 1953 is this: with 90,685 sold, this Super Model 52 Sedan was only the third-best-selling model in the lineup, eclipsed by the Special Sedan and the Super Riviera Hardtop. Yes, it was a big year: It was Buick’s 50th anniversary and it brought the introduction of Buick’s new 322-cubic-inch V8, which is under the domed hood of this Super, which Barn Finder extraordinaire T.J. found on craigslist in Saint Onge in western South Dakota. The seller claims that the Super was “tucked away in a barn” and has 62,000 miles, which is certainly possible given the apparent lack of rust, but it also has a severe transmission leak that will have to be remedied before the new owner can cruise the Black Hills. The price for this solid project? $6500.
The new 322-cubic-inch “vertical valve” V8 was standard in the Super and the Roadmaster for 1953; the main difference was in carburetion. The Super had a 170-horsepower two-barrel version of the 322, shown here with a Carter two barrel on top. If the engine looks a little fresher than you’d imagine, it’s because the cylinder heads were sent out for a new set of valves and pushrods. It doesn’t take Smokey Yunick to guess why: Buick “Nailheads” have a propensity (like most engines) to stick valves when the engine has been sitting around, and this can lead to broken rocker arms, bent pushrods, and bent valves. Someone almost certainly tried to get the Super started and it fired back with expensive noises; such are the dangers of reviving long-dormant machinery.
Unfortunately, the next problem has reared its ugly head: the transmission is pouring fluid from the bellhousing. On a Twin-Turbine Dynaflow, this means that one of two seals are bad, the front lip seal behind the torque converter or the converter cover O-ring. It’s possible that the cover could be tightened up through the inspection plate, but it’s unlikely to completely solve the problem, and Buicks have a torque tube, which exacerbates transmission removal. Fortunately, if the Super actually has 62,000 miles on it, a new set of seals is most likely all the transmission needs.
The seller says that “the interior is very nice,” including the headliner (although there is some staining), and “the doors shut better than your new car.” The upholstery pattern doesn’t match the originals, but it is in good shape, and it’s unlikely that you’ll run into a ’53 Buick stickler at local car shows. (And who cares if you do.) The steering wheel points out another nice feature of this Super; it has power steering, a boon for parking your 4,000-pound Buick.
With a nice two-tone combination of Terrace Green over Ridge Green, this is a handsome Super that needs new tires and some transmission work. The $6,500 price tag is not too bad, but those issues are certainly bargaining chips for some negotiation if you’re so inclined. If so, with a little clean up and tinkering, you’ll have a lovely cruiser for the backroads and byways of the beautiful Black Hills.
Aaron, I was hoping you might feature this. The seller calls this a “Riviera Super 8”, but it seems to me that a Riviera would have a chrome strip along the rocker panels – am I on the right track here? In any case, this looks like a nice project, the fact that the car has 4 doors doesn’t bother me in the least.
The Riviera term is an interesting one. In the brochure, Buick called all Model 52 Super Sedans “Rivieras.” But for 1953, there was no “regular” Super Sedan on a 121.5″ wheelbase; they all had the longer 125.5″ wheelbase.
So, the seller is technically correct, as confusing as it is. Buick muddied the naming waters by using the name on its sedans, because most people rightly equate “Riviera” with the two-door hardtop models in all three lines: Special, Super, and Roadmaster.
Rocker moldings have nothing to do with the Riviera nomenclature. As Aaron mentioned, Buick’s usage of that word changed, sometimes from one year to the next. It was an advertising gimmick anyway, but people pay too much attention to it nowadays, and since it was changeable, not many people have a good handle on what constituted a “Riviera” in Buick’s eyes and pronouncements from year to year.
C’mon, you must be trying to get folks to visit Mt. Rushmore :) Saint Onge is north of the Black Hills, almost to Bella Fourche.
No matter how appealing this might appear, it’s a non-running project that at a minimum needs transmission work, some engine or electrical attention and has rust which is said to be minor. Unfortunately interest in owning cars like this is waning fast. You can find turn key 4 doors from this era through the 1980’s featured on this site on a regular basis in the same or better condition for significantly less money. Unless someone has an overwhelming desire to own this particular car or one just like it, it it’s hard to see the value in this particular car at $6,500 versus the cars it’s competing against in the market.
Steve R
If this guy really wants to sell the car, he’ll come up against the realities of the marketplace and have to lower his price – sometimes a person can get a good deal from a motivated seller. I once had a guy give me a 1949 Oldsmobile 76 Series sedan (decades ago!) because nobody wanted to buy it and he didn’t want to pay for insurance on it anymore. I drove it home (without plates) and it ran like a top!
Take my wife. Please.
Ha!
Dad had ’53 and ’55 Roadmasters, both pretty stodgy. Fixed that with a ’57 Olds hard top ’98. Good cruisers for long trips.
I love the 3 piece backlites that they used in 57. Looked fast sitting still.
I’m pretty sure a photo of this car appears in the dictionary under the definition of “massive”. That styling makes it look like it weighs about 9 tons.
I like the color combo. But this car does nothing for me. Looks heavy and stodgy to me.
I don’t mind “stodgy”, and I prefer four doors in many cases. But the ’53 Buick was a rather clumsy effort at updating a body they had used since 1950, and it didn’t quite work. The new body in 1954 really made Buick shine! But 1953 Buicks out-lasted almost everything else on the road! In Tenafly, New Jersey, there was a fleet of grey 1953 Buick four door sedans being used as Tenafly’s taxicabs well into the 1960s. This example would make a nice practical daily driver — but not located more than 1,000 miles from me — and not at this price whilst still needing serious mechanical work. Why did not the owner fix the transmission, after all of that work on the pistons and rods — could it be that he “knows” something which we will sadly discover if we buy this car? As generally unappealing as early 1950s sedans have become, it would be far better if this were a fully running and road-driving “turnkey” proposition.
The best-looking part on this ugly Buick is that gorgeous steering wheel.
The steering wheel IS pretty. But this car isn’t as ugly as, say, a 1961 DeSoto. I could live with it. But it needs too much work at this price, in my view.
Loved Bub’s reply!
This brings back such fond memories from my childhood. The folks who lived directly across the street from us had this same car in a different color combo. As a child car nut, I studied the back end of that car a million times. At the time, we had a ’54 New Yorker Deluxe, which I knew inside and out, of course. I was that weird kid. Thanks for the memories.