Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: 1953: General Motors Halcyon Days... Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Pretty cool Jive-Bomber. I have a buddy who just finished a complete frame off restore of his 53 Eldorado convertible. It's 1 of the 532 and worth some serious coin!
I thought I had one in my cell phone but I don't so I texted him to send one to me. I'll post it up as soon as I get it.
I've always loved the '53 Skylarks, one of the most beautiful American built cars ever. On the flip side I've never understood how the same team came up with the '54 Skylarks, they look like an afterthought trying to cash in on the name.
A mint Skylark for me, please! A long, long time favorite American car! edit: the above comment notwithstanding, I really like the '50 thru '53 Cadillac Coupes and Convertibles. If one of them came my way, and I was willing to part with the sheckles required, I could be happy with that too. And, I agree with 41woodie above. The ‘54, based on the new shell, falls far short of the mark set by the ‘53 model. Ray
The GM Big cars were completely modernized in 54, so the body that the sylists had to work with was completely different. The 54 starts to look ok when you lower the whole car about 5 inches.
I have a 53 Eldo on my desk, because it's the only one I can afford. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The Buick hands down! Now I know why my Grandfather was a Buick man! He got to see that baby hit the showroom floor in 53! Fell in love! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
More years ago than I would like to admit I work for a gentleman that after a long search for the elusive Skylark "settled" for the Eldorado. I didn't work for him long enough to see the restoration finished. For me though the Cadillac without a doubt!
Just found this '50 Coupe barn find.. Sold in one day. Stored 50+ years. 100% untouched and as solid as can be.
If it has to be 53 I'll take the Eldorado. Make mine Ivory White with a green and white interior. If I can move a year I'll take a 54 Skylark, and yes lowered just enough to cover 1/2 the black on the tires. Flavor mine with a Peppermint Green and off white leather and top. The "tusk" decklid and swoopy fender openings took big balls from the styling queens. Always loved how the tusks blended into the bumper.
I think an Olds and Cad sold as a pair at Barret-Jackson a few years ago, both white and red. The Olds moved around at the next 3-4 auctions never going for much as they tried to press it up to.
Here you go guys, my buddies 53 Caddy. Which he took an AACA first place trophy with at Hershey by the way!
Best of the Best... Hello, In our small car world, GM was the tops, too. I was 9 in 1953 and my brother was 11. We were by then socked into the car models, Hot Rod Magazines and then later, Rod & Custom, etc. So, we had knowledge of cars. We knew our dad loved Buicks, but we always tried to influence him in the buying choices. He had just traded in his huge 49 Buick 4 door Roadmaster for a 1952 4 door Buick Roadmaster. We knew we were stuck with that car for at least 4 years. My dad actually took the whole family to the downtown Long Beach Buick dealer to see this new, 1953 Skylark convertible. My mom saw it and immediately wanted it. My dad was still in the “two boys in the back with 4 doors” mode. He said the back seat in the convertible was not big enough for two growing boys. So, he nixed that idea. But, he did like flashy wire rims and whitewalls look. Within the next 4 years, we still asked my dad to get a Skylark convertible as we thought of my mom in the car. But, she did not drive at the time. So, my dad would have driven it as his daily driver from Long Beach to Los Angeles and back. He told us he was leery of the convertible top in the rain and windstorms on his daily commute. We gave up that angle of purchases for a while. Jnaki When my dad bought his 1957 Buick Roadmaster, two door coupe, we were 13 and 15 with more car knowledge. My mom learned to drive this big, blue 57 Buick and was happy. We still had the 53 Skylark in our memories and wanted my dad to put on some wire rims on his blue Buick, since he had always like those rims. It never happened. The “look” could have happened…but, it did not. My brother got his 51 Olds sedan and I was a tag along until age 16. (my dad allowed me to drive his 57 Buick to the store to get his newspaper and magazines, as it was three blocks away) That was 60-64 years ago… Maybe that was a good sign…in early 1964, I purchased 5 pristine, Buick Skylark wire rims for a measley $125. (no, they were not “hot.”) I had the brake drums, lugs and axles re-drilled at Henry’s Machine Works for a Buick bolt pattern. I bought 15 inch blackwall tires and had them all mounted and balanced. My black 58 Impala was a big hit… Thanks, Moose... But, they were so popular that within a few months, I had the Impala stolen and the Skylark Rims disappeared. The car did not have a scratch, other than a missing screw for the dash, instrument panel mounted, custom black tachometer. We found the Impala on milk crate boxes, in a dark parking lot near a “Traffic Circle” neighborhood park. So, my dad was not pleased…
Jive-Bomber says.....The list price was over $5000, which was 50 percent more than the well-equipped $3200 Roadmaster convertible it was based on! Maybe that’s why they sold half as many Skylarks (1690 vs. 3318)..... That statement is a prime example of plagiarism and B.S. at its finest. Care to mention were you got your information from? First off, the base price of a 1953 Skylark 76X was $5000, f.o.b. Flint without taxes; the Roadmaster 76C base price was $3505, f.o.b. Flint without taxes. The 76C base price did not include the "well-equipped" items that were standard on the $5000 Skylark 76X, like: (1) heater and defroster, (2) Selectronic radio, (3) E-Z-Eye glass, (4) whitewall tires, (5) power steering, (6) power brakes, and (7) the five Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels. The K-H wire wheels were not offered on any other 1953 Buick Models. They were offered on some 1954 Buick Models for an extra $317. Find an accessory price list, put a set of new batteries in your calculator, see what you come up with, and correct your article accordingly. In addition, the reason why they sold fewer Skylark 76Xs than the Roadmaster 76Cs was due to the fact that it was intended to be a limited production car before the start of the production run.....just like the Olds Fiesta and the Cadillac Eldorado. Al
I need to take a pic of a local 53 eldorado convertible that's doomed. It's sat outside, no top, exposed to Mother Nature in a local collector's back yard going on 50 years. He told me in late 1970s , a GM exec offered him his choice of new Caddys in exchange for it I believe to being one of the low serial number units, alas he turned them down. This fall, I'll try n snap a pic of it for the sitting & rotting thread. It'll make many sick. There's no denying what it is ..... sad sight to behold as a car guy. Flux
Flux capacitor. That blue caddy above was 1 of 3 that were stored at my buddys place. He got that 1 plus a parts car off the estate of the Dr. who originally owned them. He then did a complete frame off rebuild of the car. I'd love to see a pic of the 1 your talking about as my buddy seems to know where most of the ones that still exist are.
I'm an Eldorado guy and own a '53 Eldo project, but the Buick is amazing. That low Buick windshield looks like a million bucks. The Caddy fins with the body dip win out, but the Buick is a close second.
It's been 2 months since I replied & I finally drove by the resting place of the eldo conv & was shocked to see it gone ! The residence looked like a it had had been stripped of all caddys & brush hogged. I was telling a a coworker about it & sadly the aging owners failing health & medical woes have reached a point that he has given many items away. Another local retired car & motorcycle friend was told of receiving the owners 1920s Indian m cycle as a gift & I plan on asking him where it went. The bike & eldo conv were prized items to him so I'm sure he sent it to another car enthusiast friend ....... I guess it's moving to the next phase of its life hopefully making its way into a collector that'll use it for some purpose besides rotting out in the open outdoors. I'll report back & if any local person got it willed to them I'll take pics to document one of the sparse few left. Car archeology indeed. Flux
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