The 1953 Buick Special marks two lasts in the Buick line; it is the last of over two decades of straight-eight Buicks and the last Buick with a six-volt electrical system, while the rest of the lineup marked the first Buicks with the “Nailhead” V8 and, of course, a twelve-volt electrical system. But that doesn’t make the Special less special, far from it, and I know this from experience: One of my most prized possessions is a ’53 Special Riviera. This convertible, however, is much rarer than my hardtop, with only 4,282 finding buyers. Our prolific Barn Finder T.J. found this one on craigslist in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The seller says that it “needs a little attention,” but it’s rust free, it runs and drives well, and the asking price is $15,000.
You may or may not know that Buick offered a small-series eight and a large-series eight (the big 320 was canceled after 1952); the Special used the smaller of the two. In its final guise, it displaced 263 cubic inches and made 130 horsepower with Dynaflow, 125 horsepower with the three-speed. The difference between the two? It was the head gasket; Dynaflow cars used a thinner steel shim gasket to increase the compression ratio to 7.6:1 (from 7:1). Dynaflow cars also had hydraulic valve lifters in place of the solid lifters for synchromesh cars. This car has the Dynaflow transmission, which does not shift in a traditional sense. If you place the selector in “Drive,” you will never feel a shift; the fairly complex torque converter handles all torque multiplication. There is a low range for emergencies, but it is manually selected; the transmission will never shift on its own, and in most situations, the driver will never use low. Specials came with a Stromberg or a Carter two-barrel carburetor; this one has the Stromberg Aerotype, which is as simple and effective a carburetor as you could ever want.
The interior doesn’t appear to use its original patterns for the upholstery or door panels, but few Specials do at this late date. White and red was an available color combination, so it’s probable that an upholstery shop sewed up an interior at some point in the past 50 years or so. Specials used a different dashboard with a completely different gauge layout from the larger Supers and Roadmasters; as a matter of fact, given how similar all ’53 Buicks look, it takes a side-by-side comparison to really see how different they truly are, inside and out.
As far as I know, the Special shared a body with only one other GM product in 1953, the Oldsmobile 88. None of the Special’s body panels will interchange with a Super or a Roadmaster (they are both about three inches wider than the Special). It’s not often that you see a convertible, and this one looks solid, although the car’s presentation might leave a little something to be desired. It does come with a new convertible top and it has a new battery, and aside from needing some cosmetics and a general cleaning, it appears to be in good shape. If the seller had the top installed and took some beauty shots of a cleaned-up car, I think it’s worth fifteen grand all day long. As it sits? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This car came out of my father’s estate – it was originally a KS car then NH and he acquired it in the 80’s and “restored” it. I just sold it two weeks ago to what I was told was a “collector” – the car will need floor pans and you are spot on with details for the most part. It has sat for a few years due to my fathers health but a solid car.
Oh no, it’s being flipped? That’s got to be frustrating, Brian, but it happens all the time.
Yes – going to be flipped – but hey – we needed to move the vehicles and sell the contents of the house – am keeping the Corvette Convertible though – will not let that get flipped!
Thanks for chiming in, Brian, we hear similar stories like yours all the time. Fact is, I bet 90% of the cars featured share a similar story. Your pa knew what to drive. The Buick straight 8 ( not the very last, Pontiac and Packard milked it another year) was a fantastic motor. Not the fastest, but smooth and a sound all its own. This site has a lot of coverage, and looks to be an easy sell, it’s a wonderful car and automatic seals the deal, you’ll see.
At last, a GOOD description of the Dynaflow transmission!
I used to use the Low range to accelerate, then shift to Drive, when driving my ’52 Super. However, don’t shift above 30-40 MPH or the old Dynaslow will need a rebuild. My dad told me this, as he did it to his ’50 Super, much to his dismay.
Gil, I agree! I had a ’58 special and what impressed me the most about the Dynaflow as the “downshift” when passing – no gear change but when you floored it at 35 or 40, the torque converter fins changed angle (at least that’s what I assumed was happening internally) and allowed the revs to go up as if it had downshifted, when you raised the pedal a bit, the fins changed back and the revs dropped. It was the silkiest smoothest ‘shift’ I ever felt.
I also like the gas pedal starter – I assume this car has the same system.
It should (unless it’s been bypassed); Buick used the gas pedal starting system (which was activated by a microswitch on the carburetor) through 1960.
Our Packard had that and I didn’t like it. When the motor was hot, flooring it automatically flooded the motor and was difficult to start when hot as it was.
A lot of people say that you have to floor the pedal to start a Buick, but that’s not true; the starter is activated with about a quarter travel of the pedal (if that).
With this choke system, you started a cold engine by stepping lightly on the gas pedal, until the starter engaged. The choke was closed.
If the engine was hot, you stepped down on the gas pedal, pushing it to the floor. The choke was open and the engine would start.
Dynaslow? I’d heard of Dynaslush, but Dynaslow is a new one.
MY friends called it a Dynaflush