Buick Skylark, 1953

Location: Auburn, Indiana

$125,000 - $150,000 USD | Not Sold

Addendum

Please note title in transit.

Originally an Arizona car, the restoration of this beautiful Skylark was completed in 2008 by Len Woodward of Ontario, Canada. Since then, it has traveled less than 50 miles. The exterior is painted a striking deep black that contrasts beautifully with the burgundy leather interior and carpets and burgundy Haartz top and wheel wells. The owner notes that the convertible top has been equipped with a spring wire mechanism to keep the top from lifting and flapping while driving the car at speed. The entire restoration has been photo documented and is available upon request for inspection prior to purchase.

Additional custom features included a curved windshield four inches lower in height, front parking and turn signal lamps within a single chrome surround, a beltline cut down accentuated with sweeping stainless body side trim and notches at the rear fender line and rounded rear wheel cutouts raised to match the front ones. Forty-spoke Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels, windshield washer, dual mirrors, Selectronic AM radio, heater with defroster, power steering, brakes, windows, four-way seat, antenna and convertible top were included in the nearly $5,000 price tag, which helped to keep sales at just 1,690 units.

With advertisement and promotion that urged buyers to “Take Buick’s Skylark for scintillating life on wheels” and “Like the World of Flight . . . On Wheels!” the car debuted the division’s first modern OHV V-8 engine of 322-cid producing 188-hp (nicknamed the “nailhead”), and utilized the Twin-Turbo Dynaflow Drive transmission.

Introduced at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City in January at the GM Motorama as one of the company’s stars of 1953 (along with the Cadillac Eldorado, the Oldsmobile Fiesta and the Chevrolet Corvette), the Skylark was Buick’s 50th anniversary model and was reputedly named after a song by Hoagie Carmichael. Promoted as “an American-built ultra-modern sports car” the Skylark was essentially a factory-customized version of the standard convertible, this limited-production car built on the Roadmaster chassis was based on sketches by Ned Nickles, Buick design chief, and featured styling touches by the famous designer Harley Earl that included elimination of the Buick’s trademark “portholes.”

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