I enjoy the looks of the early 50's style Buick's. So I have been keeping my eye out if one should pop up. Well today I was at the grandparents house (grandpa just finished restoring a 39 chev) re-roofing the shop. The neighbor stops by in his mid 20's Chrysler. I jokingly ask if he wants to trade for a mini van. He laughed and asked me why. I told him the plan is to get rid of the mini van for a more cl***ic ride. Something cool. Something with style. Something with cl*** like an older Buick. I start describing what style of Buick I like. The big front bumper, the chrome trim, the three circular style holes on the fenders and so fourth. He smiled at me and told me to get in. So I get to ride in his 20 something Chrysler to his shop. Sure enough, next to the shop behind a Hudson Hornet is a 1952 Buick 4 door super. All original. There is a nailhead sitting between the frame rails. I was expecting a straight 8. He confirmed that 1953 was the official first year for the nailhead, but that this car was and still is a factory nailhead. The car is straight as can be, not 1 dent. Did not find any rust on the outside of the car. However it does at least need a drivers side floor pan. All the chrome is in fairly good shape. All four original hub caps are still on the car. It has 1956 plates on it. Interior needs some love. He wants to keep the nailhead and ******. So my question is this, what is the dollar value of car like this?
The car is worth what ever you wanna pay for it. I am not into 4 door cars but if that is yer thing I do have a early nailhead and trans of that vintage.
Truth is to him,( the dude who owns the buick) its a parts car and him sellin the body is a plus. Don't get too excited he will let it go cheap . Play it cool my man it will work out fine.
ill chime in, i think hes actually found a savior in you. hes counting on you to take away his eye sore so he should let it go cheap. hes a car guy, he showed you his generosity by bringing you over there and showing it off. not only that, he knows your rocking a mini van and want that car. hes gonna go real low for you
Sure it's not a '53? My recollection was that '53 was the first year for V8 (replacing the 320), and in '54 the 263 was dropped. So, I went to a 1961 Glenn's manual which verified this. Not trying to be a ****, but just wanted to point this out because there may be a discrepancy on the car's paperwork. And value on a '52 (ish) Super 4d parts car... not so much. Really only value is as a nice-condition driver, or a parts car for a convert or 2d. But I wouldn't pay a lot for a 4d roller that will need all the typical old car **** (wiring, tires, brakes, exhaust, shocks, possibly steering, maybe a fuel tank) to put into truly serviceable condition after you install an engine (and hoses, fluids, tune up parts, filters... etc.). Hard to wire a car like that for much under $200... unless you're scavenging old wire. That's if I don't have to buy a fuse box (that's why God gave us junkyards!) Tires are gonna' run you anywhere from $50 to infinity. I'd expect with mount, balance, etc. to drop at least $400 on a new set, less for good used. I don't know about GM; my old MoPars seem to need about $400 for brakes, if I don't need hard parts; my '53 Ford only took about $100-125. Exhaust will cost a bit if you need it; haven't paid for it in 20+ years, but would expect at least $200, maybe a bunch more. I just spent $350 on a fuel tank for my Ford (ouch). So, you can do some math and see where you can drop a grand in hardware and parts to make one of these old cars serviceable without fear of being labeled a 'gold chainer'. And that doesn't include anything like buying a replacement for the missing engine and trans. Now, think about what you'd expect to see a running, driving, actually useable Buick go for. Try to get the rose-colored gl***es off; we're talking about an old car with okay (not great) trim, and tacky interior. And rust on one side of the floor. What's that worth? $2-3000? I'm just guessing here. But, I don't think that it'd bring big money. Now, what's that same car worth, needing all the 'putting it back on the street since it hasn't been driven for ** years' deferred maintenance, plus an engine and transmission? $500? $1500? I'd guess somewhere in there. I'm the first to admit, I don't know what the market bears on these, but my gut feeling is that it's not a very valuable car (hope I'm not inserting foot in mouth here!), so you shouldn't spend big on it. I'm not trying to dissuade you from taking this on; I think it's really cool when someone takes an old car that's been out of circulation and puts it back on the road. I've done it with a '49 Plymouth, a '54 Dodge truck, and am now doing it with a '53 Customline 2d that's been parked about 30 years. FWIW, my Customline has REALLY solid floors, but I think mice got in the rockers, because they, and the bottoms of the fenders are cancerous. But, it has a 35K mile crate engine (215 six) in an 85K car; cloth on seats is really fragile, but all trim inside is nice. Car is pretty damn straight. Drove it home for $1500; am doing all the aforementioned stuff to her. Expect to have $3000 involved in the mechanical stuff (front end parts aren't cheap on this one) before I think about paint or upholstery. Hope this helps you figure it all out. -Bill
Without pics it's pretty useless to even try and value it. Though it being a 4 door makes it worth less we know that.
Sorry no pics as of yet. I did not have a camera with me at the time. Carfarmer, I thank you for your thoughts and agree. Dude, thank you for letting me know that you have a nailhead. I'm not wearing rose colored gl***es (so to speak). I was thinking this was a $500 rig. The two main reasons is that its a 4 door (which I am looking for, I have 3 kids) and he is keeping the engine and ******. As for putting a drive train back into it. I have access to a complete Lincoln MK VII with a fuel injected 302 and AOD. The purists can shoot me now. But I want a cool, carefree daily driver.
Also here is a shot of my bro-in-laws cool '50 Buick Sedanett and a friends '52 Buick both KUSTOMS! And Sam Barris's '50 Sedanett.
I just bought a '40 Buick for $350. Complete and rusty! I'd say go for it if the price is right! Get another one on the road!
You're gonna need a rear end and a rear suspension as well. They were torque tubes. Just add that into the equation...
My Dad paid $650 for his '52 Super 4 door parts car, because it had all the side trim including the hard to find rocker trim, a good windshield, sill plates, and an unbroken moustache bar. A nice, clean hood ornament or a moustache bar that isn't super pitted is a good score and has some value. If the bumper guards are nice, those are also pretty valuable, especially the rear. If you get this car and decide to shave a nice rear bumper guard ***embly, I'd like to buy it for my dad's car. The nailhead thing is ********, either the car is a '53 or it originally came with a straight 8. If you got the car for $500, you'll do fine. If you decide not to build it, you'll be able to part it out for a nice profit, ***uming the trim is all there. Rockers are the first thing to rot off of these, so check there for rust.
I was wrong. The Buick is in front of the Hudson as you will see in the pics. Thought's and comments? Enjoy the pics P.S. I also took pics of the Hudson and the Chrysler I got to ride in.
As you can see by my avatar I'm a buick fan. Mine is a 56 Special. The one in the picture above is a Special (note the three portholes; a Super has four). This is the method I use when thinking about a new purchase. I determine how much I'm willing to spend for a completed project. Mayber for this car it's $5k. Then I list everything it'll need to get it to where I want it (driver vs. show vs. rat). I get prices for each item and start subtracting them from the completed amount... Engine and Trans -$****, Floor pans -$****, Brakes -$**x, Susension -$**x and so on until I've accounted for everything. What ever is left is what I'd be willing to offer. This is where it gets hard, because you have to be willing to walk away if the deal isn't right. If you let yourself get caught up in the emotion of a new project and overspend you'll regret it later.
That is EASILY worth 5 or 6 hundred bucks. Shame the guy is going to swipe the motor and trans out though. It's a ***** to put anything else in there, since you have to totally swap out the whole rear suspension and rear axle/driveshaft due to it being an enclosed driveshaft with a wishbone. If you really don't like it as a 4 door, you could use doors and quarters from a rough 2 door post Special to convert it over, would be worth the effort as this car looks really solid and has nice trim.
NO more than a 1,000 if its truly solid and you really want it bad. I would offer 500$ and be prepared to go up to whatever your max budget will allow. Rmemeber you can still find 4 dr cars fairly cheap. As for him wanting the motor that pretty much ruins it for me unless its CHEAP!
It's a 1953 Super - Special does not have the chrome bar on the quarter. Both have only three portholes. If you don't believe me, argue with John Gunnell, Krause Publications, and the photos in their Standard Catalog Of Buick. I'd offer more to get it with the motor or at least the trans - you can't even roll it without the trans in, my '53 Skylark the rearend slid back and the wheels wouldn't turn, with the motor long gone when I got it. And a '53 nailhead isn't exactly exciting, rare or highly desirable. The side trim's worth decent money alone, I'd jump on it at $500 no questions asked.
I want to leave it a four door. I'm ok with it being a 53 as well. I do have a question, what's the deal with the headlight trim. It looks like an up side down tear drop. Are they part of a package deal? I see some with them and some with out. I'll keep everyone posted on what kind of deal (if any) is struck. Thanks everyone for the info. It's very helpful
aside from the motor and trans not going with the car its really beautiful. you cant ask for much better shape for a car with that kinda age. the chrome and stainless look to be really nice!!
Concerning the headlight bezels...the teardrops were only on the '53 and '54. The ones on the '53s were stamped stainless, the ones on the '54 were cast. No other Buicks of the era had teardrop-shaped bezels. You're probably mixing up the '51/'52 (round bezels) with the '53/'54. (teardrop) Both styles look similar, especially because they both use the toothy "waterfall" grille, but there are some major differences. Aside from the headlight bezels, the most noticeable difference is probably the front bumper...the '51/'52's front bumper was shaped in such a way, that the middle section was lower than the outer sections. The bumper such as on the one you're looking at is basically straight all the way across. Also, even though the shape of the bodies of both styles look very similar, they are in-fact different. I'm not sure that the '51/'52 shared any panels with the '53/'54. The earlier body had quarters which swept down toward the rear a little more for sure. There are many other differences in actual shape of the body-panels...subtle to be sure, but different none-the-less. Also the '53/'54 had two separate tail-lights per side...stacked as you see on the car you're considering. The '51/'52 tail-lights were a little different...a single lens, but with two small "cones" incorporated into it. Also, someone mentioned that the Super had four portholes, or what the factory called "ventiports"...this is not correct. The Roadmaster was the only model of Buick to include four portholes. All others...Super, Special, even Century, which was the only other model to share the big 320 engine with Roadmaster...had three.
P.S. - "Riviera" was the designation for the new-at-the-time hardtop. (No "B" pillar.) Good luck to you.
it IS a 53! But it is NOT a special! I just sold my 53 special (very reluctantly) and that is not a special. Specials don't have as exagerated of a dip below the windows. It is a Super and it would have had the nailhead factory. Only Specials in 53 had straight 8's
It's a 53 Super. Has the Super/Roadmaster type dash. The 51-53 Specials had a much plainer dashboard.
quick side note. The red white and blue logo on the horn ****on, (and on the front bumper) mark Buicks 50'th anniversary. 1903-1953. Thus, a dead giveaway that it is a 53
Woops...forgot to address that. jandersonheads is correct, ottoparts...as is jr9162. It's a Super. That "dip" is referred to as the "sweetheart" dip.
The Jalopy Journal
