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The 1953 Buick Skylark is one of the most stunning Harley Earl design exercises of all time and one of the most legendary GM cars ever built.
Created to mark Buick's 50th anniversary, the Roadmaster Skylark was offered as a limited-production run of 1,690 specialty convertibles. The 1953 list price of slightly in excess of $5,000 was almost 50% more than the well-equipped Roadmaster convertible it was based on.
The new Skylark featured Buick's new 322 cubic-inch (5.3 Liter) Nailhead V-8 engine in place of the automaker's longstanding straight 8. It debuted with full cutout wheel openings, a styling cue accenting its lowered 'Sweepspear,' notched beltline running almost the entire length of the vehicle, a styling cue that was to appear in various forms on many Buick models over the years.
All Skylark bodies were hand-finished with various amounts of lead filler. The inner doors were made by cutting the 2-door Roadmaster's door in two, then welding the pieces back together at an angle to produce the rakish door dip. A more streamlined look was reinforced by lowering the windshield height by almost 3 inches and lowering the side windows and convertible top frame proportionately. Seat frames and the steering column where then dropped to provide the proper amount of headroom and driving position. The wire wheels were produced by Kelsey-Hayes, dripping in chrome except for the plated and painted 'Skylark' center emblem.
Created to mark Buick's 50th anniversary, the Roadmaster Skylark was offered as a limited-production run of 1,690 specialty convertibles. The 1953 list price of slightly in excess of $5,000 was almost 50% more than the well-equipped Roadmaster convertible it was based on.
The new Skylark featured Buick's new 322 cubic-inch (5.3 Liter) Nailhead V-8 engine in place of the automaker's longstanding straight 8. It debuted with full cutout wheel openings, a styling cue accenting its lowered 'Sweepspear,' notched beltline running almost the entire length of the vehicle, a styling cue that was to appear in various forms on many Buick models over the years.
All Skylark bodies were hand-finished with various amounts of lead filler. The inner doors were made by cutting the 2-door Roadmaster's door in two, then welding the pieces back together at an angle to produce the rakish door dip. A more streamlined look was reinforced by lowering the windshield height by almost 3 inches and lowering the side windows and convertible top frame proportionately. Seat frames and the steering column where then dropped to provide the proper amount of headroom and driving position. The wire wheels were produced by Kelsey-Hayes, dripping in chrome except for the plated and painted 'Skylark' center emblem.
No auction information available for this vehicle at this time.
1953 Buick Series 70 Roadmaster Auction Sales
Recent Sales of the Buick Series 70 Roadmaster
(Data based on Model Year 1953 sales)
1953 Buick Roadmaster Chassis#: 26999894 Sold for USD$5,500 2024 Mecum : Houston | |
1953 Buick Skylark Chassis#: 16760829 Sold for USD$89,600 2024 Broad Arrow Auctions : Amelia | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Sold for USD$84,000 2024 Bonhams : Amelia Island Auction | |
1953 BUICK SKYLARK CONVERTIBLE Chassis#: 47095558 Sold for USD$154,000 2024 Barrett-Jackson : Scottsdale AZ | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Chassis#: 16760379 Sold for USD$39,600 2024 Mecum : Kissimmee | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Chassis#: 16922840 Sold for USD$55,000 2024 Mecum : Kissimmee | |
1953 BUICK SKYLARK CONVERTIBLE Chassis#: 16991019 Sold for USD$95,700 2023 Barrett-Jackson : Las Vegas | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Chassis#: 17043790 Sold for USD$77,000 2023 Mecum : Houston | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Sold for USD$80,300 2023 Mecum : Glendale | |
1953 Buick Roadmaster break 'woody' Chassis#: 16985362 Sold for USD$46,472 2023 Artcurial : Retromobile | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Chassis#: 16986767 Sold for USD$140,000 2023 Bonhams : Scottsdale Auction | |
1953 BUICK SKYLARK CONVERTIBLE Chassis#: 16840186 Sold for USD$165,000 2023 Barrett-Jackson : Scottsdale, Az. | |
1953 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Sold for USD$92,400 2022 Mecum : Chicago | |
1953 BUICK SKYLARK CONVERTIBLE Chassis#: 17074428 Sold for USD$73,700 2022 Barrett-Jackson : Las Vegas | |
1953 BUICK SKYLARK CONVERTIBLE Chassis#: 16828663 Sold for USD$137,500 2022 Barrett-Jackson : Palm Beach | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Sold for USD$95,700 2022 RM Sothebys : Fort Lauderdale | |
1953 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon Chassis#: 16917318 Sold for USD$48,400 2021 RM Sothebys : Hershey | |
1953 Buick Roadmaster Sedan Chassis#: 26765173 Sold for USD$13,750 2021 RM Auctions : Auburn Fall | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Chassis#: V3527575 Sold for USD$73,700 2021 Mecum : Monterey | |
1953 Buick Skylark Sold for USD$70,000 2021 GAA : July 2021 |
Buick Series 70 Roadmasters That Failed To Sell At Auction
1953 Buick Series 70 Roadmaster's that have appeared at auction but did not sell.
Vehicle | Chassis | Event | High Bid | Est. Low | Est. High |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 16747910 | 2023 Mecum : Indy | $65,000 | ||
1953 Buick Skylark Anniversary Convertible | 2022 RM Sothebys : Sand Lots | $100,000 | $125,000 | ||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2021 Mecum : Houston 2021 | $85,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2020 Mecum : Indy | $85,000 | $110,000 | $120,000 | |
1953 Buick Skylark | 16922840 | 2020 RM Sothebys : Palm Beach Online | $100,000 | $150,000 | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2020 Mecum : Glendale | $110,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2020 Mecum Auctions : Kissimmee | $55,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2020 Mecum Auctions : Kissimmee | $190,000 | $200,000 | $250,000 | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 17142626 | 2019 RM Sothebys : Hershey | $110,000 | $130,000 | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2019 Mecum : Las Vegas | $75,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark | 2019 Fall Carlisle Auction | ||||
1953 Buick Skylark | 2019 RM Auctions : Auburn Fall | ||||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible Coupe | 2019 Mecum : Indianpolis | $80,000 | $120,000 | $150,000 | |
1953 Buick Skylark | 16839595 | 2019 RM Sothebys : Scottsdale Arizona | $100,000 | $125,000 | |
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2018 Mecum : Las Vegas | $70,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2018 Mecum : 2018 Chicago | $60,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2018 Mecum : 2018 Chicago | $97,500 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 16842896 | 2018 Mecum : Monterey | $130,000 | $125,000 | $150,000 |
1953 Buick Estate Wagon | V1818145 | 2018 RM Sothebys : Auburn Spring | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2018 Mecum : Kissimmee | ||||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2017 Mecum : Chicago | $125,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark | 16756391 | 2017 Carlisle Auctions : Fall Carlisle | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2017 Auctions America : Auburn Fall | $125,000 | $150,000 | ||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2017 Auctions America : Fort Lauderdale | $120,000 | $140,000 | ||
1953 Buick Roadmaster Convertible | 17140815 | 2016 Dragone : The Boston Cup Auction | $75,000 | $85,000 | |
1953 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon | 2016 Mecum Indianapolis | $80,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark Convertible | 2016 Auctions America : Fort Lauderdale | $85,000 | |||
1953 Buick Skylark | 16747910 | 2016 Motostalgia : Amelia Island Auction | $140,000 | $165,000 | |
1953 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon | 2016 Mecum : Kansas City | $85,000 | |||
1953 BUICK WOODY WAGON | 2016 McCormick's Auction # 60 | $41,000 |
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1953 Buick Series 70 Roadmaster
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