#6 off the line - 1953 Buick Skylark...

[huffreport]

Hi all,

Here's a rough old bird... It's a 1953 Skylark, with a body tag indicating that it is number 6 off the assembly line. If you look closely at the attachment, I believe the rear fenders have actually been extended on this car. It was customized sometime in the 1950's, and has cut out front fenders, similar to the '54 models. She's a survivor, and apparently is pretty solid. Even the floors are good. (No, she's not for sale!) The reason for my post is that I'm wondering what other Skylarks are out there with a lower production number? Anyone know?

Thanks in advance,

Kevin

[Centurion]

Kevin, owners and enthusiasts of the 1953 and 1954 Skylarks gather annually for a Skylark weekend. Last year, this meet was in Los Angeles, and it is planned for the Seattle area in 2006. I'm not certain where it is planned for 2005, but will watch for the information. You may want to plan to attend one of these gatherings, since you would likely find the individuals who are most knowledgeable about the number and details of the remaining Skylarks. I wonder whether anyone has ever attempted to put together a registry of all the surviving Skylarks. I think that this would be a fascinating project for someone having the time to devote to it.

[JohnD1956]

Wow!, that little lady is going to need some dedication to bring her back. It would be a shame if the rear fenders were extended, but I think you are right that they were modified. With that green dash, and the dark outside I wonder what color the car would have been? Regardless, I think it is a super car and I hope you can find the time and $$ to put her back together.

JD

[huffreport]

Hi Gary,

Here is another view, photographed today... She is very solid. Actually, I kind of like those extended fenders. My father has a 1953 Packard Caribbean, and it has similarly treated fenders, although for Packard that was the way they came. It looks great on his car. As for the Skylark, well, I think they have only been stretched by about 8 inches, at most... It kind of makes me wonder why anyone went to all the effort. Also, they rear fenders have been "leaded in", which is actually a nice touch, as I have a '53 Super with the beading. The beading just sort of disrupts the flow of the fenders, so this is actually something I think could be a good thing. I do admit that I prefer properly restored cars, but what do you do if you find one that was customized some 50 years ago???? I'd love to hear others opinions on this, as I honestly think sometimes it is just more interesting to redo a car to the way it was back then, in the event that someone modified it along the way... It would be very difficult to find the correct original front fenders for this car, THEN, add the correct REAR fenders... Yeah, it could be done, but there are many other properly restored Skylarks out there (hundreds, in fact!), so why not do this one back the way it was in the mid-50's and have a one-of-a-kind Skylark? This car also has Lincoln Continental push botton door handles! All, in all, I think it's pretty cool. The factory color was apparently some shade of burgundy. I have NO IDEA why that dash is green. Perhaps it came out of another car, at a later time... Dunno. I do know that the interior was black and red, when she was a custom. I also noticed traces of top material that show that it had a RED top, while the body was painted black... I think it would look pretty cool done back exactly that way. Anyone have any opinions? Or am I just begging for a whipping??? I know the purists are gagging right about now, and in fact (as stated earlier) I honesltly DO prefer restored cars. It's just that in this particular case, it might be better to go the other route, for the reasons stated above. Let me hear from you!

Thanks,

Kevin