SUPERCHARGED 1953 BUICK CONVERTIBLE RETURN TO RENTON 2008

[Mullay2]

The gentleman who owns this particular car is a close neighbor and friend I have known for many years. The supercharger is period correct aftermarket addition on that car as in stock trim they were normally aspirated. The supercharger is a McCullough which provided superchargers for the '57 Thunderbird which was available as a factory option on those cars. I am not surprised he has perhaps the only supercharged '53 Skylark in existence as he also drives vintage piston powered hydroplanes.

[BobWXXI]

It's a beautiful '53 Buick Skylark, a rare car in its own right even with its normal powertrain (a 322 V8 with Quadrajet 4-barrel carb). Was that supercharger an aftermarket add-on, or was it installed at the factory as an experiment? (There's a history of early '50s Buick concept cars with turbos or superchargers--the 1951 LeSabre show car had one.)

[tripleJ1955]

@BobWXXI The 53 Skylark was inspired by the 1951 XP-300, the XP's supercharged V8 was an alcohol burner and never made it any further than the experimental stage. For a real Supercharged early 50's GM car, check out the 53 Cadillac ElDorado's 331 V8, factory fitted with a Roots supercharger.

Look up "1953 Cadillac Eldorado Supercharged Convertible" on youtube for a video