Can't believe what I found - '53 Skylark worth saving?

[Pontiac59]

The yard we've been plucking cars out of, there was one upside down 53-4 Buick I hadn't paid much attention to until today. A friend left his demo saw along the path and I was looking for a safe place to set it aside and happened to notice a "Skylark" badge on the fender of the car. No way, I said, out loud... so I get looking and it is a Skylark, I can see the top bows if I look down the doorjams.

The car took a hard hit on the passenger side early in life, maybe against a telephone pole, enough to bend the outer frame rail. Then the yard guy flipped it on it's top and cut the front frame right off of it. But, it didn't rot too badly, the floors are just about all there as are the rockers and lower quarters. I plucked some stainless off it and I'm going to have them flop it over for me and see how rotted it is. The front clip is sitting behind it, too, although I'm not sure how good it is (fenders are unique to these?). The hood is just plain junk. I can see it has top bows mashed down into the dirt, ground up here is pretty soft (an upside down '40 Chev convert revealed an unbent factory spinner wheel) so who knows what shape they'll be in. How much of the bows on these are cast as opposed to steel?

I think it will stay in one piece to come out, hopefully it has tags on it - where is the body tag on these cars?

And of course, anyone think it's worth saving? I am sure there are some good parts left on it, the bit of top I can see I can still see paint on. Given that these cars sell for like $70,000 or more it might be worth a guy's time to spend $40,000 and fabricate some of the panels for it from scratch. Or finding another basket case rotted from the bottom up and using the two to make one car.

[Guest BJM]

No way, not worth it. It may give up some good parts but that's it. Too much structural damage. Because these cars were unique, there are still several around in various conditions.

[Guest ewing]

Based on your description I'd say not worth it, but it sounds like there is some unique to Skylark trim worth saving.

It will be way more than 40,000 to bring it back to life, but I'm guessing the 53 skylark club would be interested in the vin as a matter of documentation on where another of the 53's out there ended up.

[Guest my3buicks]

I would be surprised if there isn't someone out there that wouldn't want it, rather than it being lost completely

[Aaron65]

There was a VERY rough '53 on ebay last year that went for 15,000!!! It was complete though. I'd imagine somebody would want it, even for parts!

[Guest BJM]

It is a tough call. When you start with something that rough and unique, it's very hard to see the end of the tunnel. Try to picture the process you would have to go through to resurrect it. You would probably need a frame from another 53/54 Buick and I'm no expert on these but I thought the frame was unique to the 53 Skylark?

There were 1690 made in 53 if my memory serves me right and 800 or so of the 54's. The 54 was based off the Century chassis. But with unique fenders, rear trim, windshield and interior, especially the 53 Skylark becomes basically a scratch built restoration - like you were building a unique hot rod or something because you can't just rob parts from another 53 Roadmaster.

So if you are willing to pray at the alter of a 53 Skylark for umpteen years, then OK but to me, it would be better to get the car, salvage what you can - sell on ebay or to BCA members what is OK. I've seen very rough 53 and 54 Skylarks garner bids on ebay but whether those new owners are rolling up their sleeves and digging in or not is another story.

Correctness is so important on these restorations so you would need club support and lnown good patterns for the upholstery and dash. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

I think Keith is right, we're talking a true classic here. Given the intrinsic value of a 53 Skylark and from your description of what is left of the car and it's condition I would think that it is a candidate for saving and restoring. If the rear fenders and belt line are rotted away from sitting upside down on the ground this long it'll be a little more difficult to do and to justify. Not that you or whoever restores it is going to make a cent off of it but one would not loose as much as if they were to expend the same energy and dollars on a plain 53 Roadmaster convertible in similar condition. I know of a low mileage, rolled, 53 Roadmaster frame and complete running gear that is available cheap if someone needs it to put with this and spend the rest of their life and 401K doing it. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

[BUICK RACER]

It may be worth something, to get missing parts for another car, the Sloan Museum/Buick Gallery and Research Center has a '53 Skylark on deck next to be restored, it was the classic basket case, and so I don't see where this car is, but I would venture to guess that no matter where it is the crew in Flint may be very interested in parts,contact jtaylor@flintcultural.org and let Jeff know this car's whereabouts! Thanks

[Guest ewing]

How about buying the remains, and get a picture of you standing beside it, and you can show pictures as you lament the loss of your prized 53 Skylark.

Or, just buy it and stash it away, and you can legitimately add it to the list of cars you own. How impressed, and envious, would the other guys be...

I don't disagree with the urge to save it, but they can't all be saved, and there are sure to be 53 Skylark specimens out there that need a donor car's parts, the ones that this one might offer up. And you can be a hero, with some extra cash in your jeans by supplying parts.

There is/ was a 53 Skylark in the mud a few miles from home here and it was so badly ravaged by parts pickers and mother time, it is just a statistic now. Very sad , but that's life.

But I can say , as a Buick guy, I know that incredible feeling of excitement when you 'stumble' across an old 53 Buick, that as you get a closer look, its a big car, then its a convertible, then it turns out to be a 53, then the sheer thrill of seeing that skylark sweepspear of a 53! There's else nothing like it, nothing comes close.

[Pontiac59]

Well, by saving it I only meant keeping it from getting crushed, and I did that today. We flopped it over and the keys were still in it. But I think it was wrecked real hard back in the day, the air cleaner (I think that goes to it) was in it and mangled, and it shows other signs of possibly having ended up on it's side or top before it went into the yard (biggest one, the left window was broken and tied to the steering wheel to keep the door closed, even though it was hit on the other side). I didn't get the fenders yet and I haven't discovered the serial tag (where is it supposed to be on these?) but the cowl tag is there and the whole top and interior, most of the trim, power windows, etc. is all there. The rockers are fair, the lower fenders fair, the frame bent but solid, the left door is rough but savable - but you guys are right, you need one that rotted from the bottom up and probably a Roadmaster donor car for some more sheetmetal, to build this - or else you're looking at something that's more scratchbuilding project than restoration.

But there are a lot of good parts here. It appears to have been totally complete before the motor was cut out, except for the wire wheels. But there it even has chrome lug nuts holding the steel wheels on it. The steering wheel is pretty nice, slightly bent from the wreck but no cracks and you could straighten it. The center with the original owner's name is nice, and it has a dealer sticker on the trunk - the history of this one should be easy to track down, might even be able to find out just what happened to it to put it in the junkyard. The ignition switch even turned nice, although the top of the dash is rotted right out. The top bows are not rotted, but at least 4 cast joint pieces are rough - two are broken and two are crumbling apart from being in the dirt. Plus they're all bent, but that can be fixed. The top boot was even in it - the stitching is rotted, but the leather in the interior is for the most part bright and clean and probably could be re-used. But the upper quarters, the trunk lid, and parts of the cowl are rotted pretty badly.

All you need is a bare shell, I guess, or that one sitting in Manitoba to go with it.

[Guest my3buicks]

53 Super Coupes are known good donor cars for such a project - WE JUST GOTTA SEE PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest ewing]

that is a great find indeed.

And , yes, pictures please!

[Pontiac59]

Here's a few shots. Like I said, they don't get much rougher than this - and I don't have the fenders yet; the left is fairly straight but the right looked like it too was mangled.

[Guest ewing]

Wow, that is just excellent.

If I dragged that home I would have to be prepared for a lot of heat. But hey, you own a 53 76X now!

Looks like you will have some fun digging into this to see what is salvageable.

The best part of the story may be the key still in the ignition.

[Pontiac59]

Heck, some of the interior is still useable, if you had it re-stitched - the thread is rotted, but the leather is still pretty good. The top boot and seat inserts anyhow.

It could be worse, I dragged home a '40 Chevy convertible and it took two trips to get all of it, out of the same place. But it had been upside down since something like 1950, 1955 or so - so it kind of fell apart pulling it back over. The frame is in three pieces, the body worse. But it had been complete and most of the top folded down when it went over, so...

[59 98]

Though the car may not be saveable, it is still unbelieveably cool to be walking in a salvage yard and stumble on an upside-down 53 Skylark. How cool.

Matt

[Pontiac59]

Best part is had I not taken it home, it would have gone in a dumpster off to a scrap yard to be crushed. Some nice stuff has already gone, it hurts to watch, but this literally would have been next to go, the two "parallel parked" behind it went the day before I got it.

Anyone have a photo to show the exact location of the serial tag? I think it's missing, I didn't see one on the door post, if it was spotwelded on then it's rusted enough you can't tell where it was. In which case I will dig for it if necessary when I go to get the fenders.

[59 98]

Bill, on my 53 Roadie wagon, the serial number tag is on the inside of the left windshield pillar, in the door jamb, about half way up. I am not sure where they are on the Skylarks, but you might try opening the left door and looking on the insde of the pillar. Being upside down for years, it may have dropped off a long time ago.

Good luck,

Matt

[Guest kevinshea]

Think car is beyond hope.. Items that look salvageable: Tag and Vin#, all convertible top parts (the front rail looks mostly intact), seats with hydraulics, window switches and other window mechanisms, rear windows and mechanisms, the so called "octopus" valve under the rear seat, steering wheel? looks like the hydraulic pump is gone tho, visor hardware. All in all, just these parts alone are worth removing.

I salvaged a 53 special that was on its top and was able to get a few items from it.

[Pontiac59]

All the windows are broken and the upper rear frames are missing, the serial number tag is missing, the right vent post is missing and the left is broken. I'm betting anything inside the right door is not going to be useable either. I do plan to poke around where this was laying when I go get the front fenders for it and see if any other pieces turn up. The hood was there, too, but it has huge rot holes in it, looks like it sat on the ground under something for a while.

PS pump had fluid in it yet and left a puddle on the trailer deck.

The entire lower quarters, left door and rocker are all salavagable, outer floors on the left side including all the body mounts, too. Because it sat upside down, things like the trans tunnel have rust, but it's all rotted backwards of the way most cars rot - usually all you have is a trans tunnel and no floorboards, this one has holes in the trans tunnel. Even the bottoms of the doors are pretty solid - the wrecked door may be junk but I bet you could cut the bottom off it and hammer it back out.

This car has one kind of goofy thing on it - I looked in my Collectible Automobile magazine article on these and none of the 2 or 3 they showed, had the chrome guard around the gas door this one has. I'll have to go back where I stashed this and look it over again, but if I remember right it's made to go on and either covers the side trim, or there is an extra gap in the trim piece for it. This piece doesn't show that well in the left side photo -

[Guest Andynator]

Use the VIN and the engraved horn button to track down the original owner. Sell the rest until you've earned enough to buy a plane ticket. Fly to the guy's house and ring the doorbell.

When the door opens, crack him in the head. Done.

Andy

[Reatta Man]

If you bring this one back to life, you need to document everything for the Guiness Book of World Records under the heading of "Most Deteriorated Car Brought Back to Life."

Of course, in order to bring it back to life it would sort of be like the guy who said he still had his great grandfather's hatchet...but he had replaced the handle twice and the head once. You would have so many new parts it would almost not be a '53 Skylark. It would be a 2006-53 Skylark.

Sure would have liked to have the chance to salvage that car 30 days after the accident. Most of the BCA members could have brought that car back to life in their own garage before the rust and salvaging took place.

Any idea what happened to the motor?

Joe

[Pontiac59]

It's possible it's laying up there somewhere under a hood, but it's also possible they sold it. The man who ran the place was your typical kind of eccentric junkyard guy, his prices were always pretty high on stuff, and there was surprisingly still a lot of cars that hadn't been touched since they were parked - not just radiators, some even have batteries in them yet. Others have no motor or trans in them, and you might find a motor here, or there, under a hood or a trunk lid on the ground and taken apart. There was no rhyme or reason to some of the things, either, you might find a truck with the cab here, the hood there, the nose down over here.. or a set of hubcaps from a car that is nowhere to be found, and one is in a barrel by the garage, one in a barrel 3 rows over, and the others in a car trunk at the other end of the row.

This car only ended up about 25 miles from the dealer that sold it; relatives no doubt with the same name as on the steering wheel, still live in the area. Too bad the serial tag fell off it.

I already had a guy basically offer me whatever I want for it and he'd come with cash. Not bad considering I paid scrap value for it.

[Guest imported_Thriller]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There is/ was a 53 Skylark in the mud a few miles from home here and it was so badly ravaged by parts pickers and mother time, it is just a statistic now. Very sad , but that's life.

</div></div>

You've been holding out on me John...that's evil. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I don't recall you ever mentioning this one to me before.

Interesting find. At minimum, you should be able to make someone happy with parts.

[Guest ewing]

Oh, must have slipped my mind!!

Actually you know the guy who's land its on, and you also know the guy who has ownership to the car( what's left of it). When I tell you all the gory details you'll know why the car has gone to sh*t.

I actually tried to get the car, ( that goes back a 'few' years') and thought I could snatch it up, but no such luck.

I will fill you in next time we meet ( may be a good reason to get together at tim hortons to shoot the breeze on the weekend.) Maybe do a garage inspection at your place...