This is a car I would really like to own. Early fifties cars of all makes really appeal to me, and this Buick Super presses all my buttons. According to the ad here on craigslist, this car, located in Warrensburg, New York (near Albany), has been off the road and in storage since 1967. It is showing just under 64,000 miles on the odometer, and appears to have its original paint intact. It would be great to see this car back on the road. The price is firm at $5,500.

Admittedly, there is rust in the rockers and particularly in the floor and trunk, but the owner offers a large number of very clear photos that really document what you need to know about this car. He’s owned it for 12 years and is ready to pass it on to a new owner, along with a cache of original and NOS parts he has been collecting in preparation for a restoration that has never materialized.

The Super’s owner states that the engine turns over, the car has no brakes, the interior is intact (though based on the pictures, it will need the interior completely redone), doors close properly, and the car is basically “straight.” He knows the history of the car since the 1960’s (you have to wonder….)

It’s easy to see that this Buick will need a complete restoration, but with only 6,701 Super convertibles manufactured, this car is well worth the effort and cost to save and redo. Some might want to resto-mod or even do this car as a full on custom, but I think this year Buick is absolutely stunning in stock form and really deserves to be restored.

I wish there was a way to save the look of that original paint, and maybe that could actually be done. The bumpers, chrome trim and dashboard all look very good.

There is plenty of work here to get this car back on the road in any form, doubtless hidden rust, rebuilding the engine, and a complete new interior, but when complete, however it is done, you will have a rare and beautiful example of early fifties General Motors handiwork.

The Super was Buick’s midline model, introduced originally in 1940 as the 50 series, sharing the larger body of the Roadmaster with the smaller engine of the Century series. Over the years, the Series 50 maintained its position in the Buick hierarchy; in 1953 the Super shared the Roadmaster’s new “Nailhead” V8 and, for this year the three Buick lines shared the same wheelbase.

The Super featured a horizontal trim bar on its rear fenders that differentiated it from the Series 70 Roadmasters and in addition the Super had only three VentiPorts on each front fender. Full wheel-covers were standard and the “V” in the bomb-sight hood ornament showed off what was under the hood.

Interiors were nylon and broadcloth. Interestingly, the convertible now featured power windows, seat and top and the Dynaflow transmission all as standard equipment, with the rarely ordered air conditioning an option.

Overall, the Super was a popular model for Buick, accounting for more than 190,000 units sold out of the total for 1953 of 488,805 units sold.

Buick kept the Super designation through 1958, after which Buick revamped its model designations completely.

I have a feeling that at $5,500, complete, and with extra parts thrown in, unless there is extensive rust in the frame, this desirable beauty will be brought back to life in the near future under new ownership.