{"id":72,"date":"2020-05-19T20:22:26","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T20:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/?page_id=72"},"modified":"2020-05-20T01:14:16","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T01:14:16","slug":"53-vs-54-which-skylark-is-better","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/?page_id=72","title":{"rendered":"\u201953 vs \u201954 \u2013 Which Skylark Is Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\u2019<strong>53 vs \u201954 \u2013 Which Skylark Is Better?<\/strong><br><strong>By Gary DiLillo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When there\u2019s a benefit car show close by, I like to take both my \u201953 Skylark and my \u201954 Skylark to the event.&nbsp; First, it gives my wife Connie a chance to drive one of the cars.&nbsp; Secondly, few people in my area have seen a \u201953 Skylark let alone a \u201954 Skylark, and not side by side.&nbsp; Inevitably, people will cruise by, surveying the cars, and start a light hearted discussion about which one is best, each pointing out their preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, I have gone to a lot of Annual Skylark Club Meets, and for the last 10 years the number of \u201853 Skylarks in attendance has outnumbered \u201954 Skylarks by about 6 to 1.&nbsp; I attribute this to the facts; there were over twice as many \u201c53 Skylarks produced, our Club membership is comprised of many more \u201953 Skylark owners, and until Ken Mitson started manufacturing some of the rarest parts for the \u201954 Skylark &#8211; there have been fewer \u201954 Skylarks restored.&nbsp; Let\u2019s face it, if you don\u2019t have the side \u201cbirds\u201d or the rear taillight fins you really can\u2019t restore a \u201954 Skylark.&nbsp; Thanks to Ken\u2019s efforts we are seeing more \u201954 Skylarks being restored, and we hope to see more at the annual SkylarkClub meets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I haven\u2019t gotten into a spirited argument with other Club members about which automobile is better.&nbsp; However, I\u2019ve been told that early in the Club\u2019s history, when there was a more even representation of Skylarks, a number of \u201chard headed\u201d Club members living in the eastern United States would routinely argue about which Skylark was the better automobile.&nbsp; The fact that many of these individuals were of Italian descent had nothing to do with the actual merits of either car, but did contribute to the voracity of the arguments.&nbsp; In an effort to both enlighten (see specifications on page 5) and renew talking points, this article compares both cars in five main categories: <strong>Serviceability, Driving &amp; Handling, Interior, Performance, and Body Styling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Serviceability<\/strong>:&nbsp; Both cars have a lot in common when it comes to mechanical parts.&nbsp; The engines and transmissions are almost identical.&nbsp; The \u201953 Skylark with low slung front fenders make it easier if you work on either side of the engine.&nbsp; The high fenders on the \u201c54 Skylark require vertically challenged men (like me), to use a small stepstool and balance on the fender as you reach down to change plugs, etc.&nbsp; Conversely, if you work on the front of the engine, the higher profile radiator of the \u201953 Skylark makes it difficult to change anything in the front of the engine, i.e. water pump or belts.&nbsp; The battery box setup of the \u201953 Skylark is \u201cinconvenient\u201d when charging the battery compared to the battery hold-down on the \u201954 Skylark.&nbsp; The \u201calligator\u201d hood of the \u201953 is larger, tends to twist easier, and is more prone to chipping paint unless closed carefully.&nbsp; Ground clearance is slightly higher on the \u201953, but neither car can be worked on from underneath without the aid of a jack.&nbsp; However, the \u201953 Skylark wins this category by a slight margin for two reasons.&nbsp; First the \u201953 Skylark has a hood release.&nbsp; Not only is this a good idea from an anti-theft perspective, but if you possess short fat fingers, it can be difficult to \u201cfind\u201d and pull the hood release between the grill teeth on the \u201954.&nbsp; More importantly, in 1954 Buick moved the hydraulic pump that powers the windows, front seat, and convertible top to the inside of the driver\u2019s front fender, (\u201853\u2019s is on the passenger side).&nbsp; This small area already houses the vertically mounted electric antenna motor, and by elongated the wheel wells on the \u201954 Skylark Buick made it impossible to check or fill the hydraulic pump reservoir without either removing the inner fender skirt or putting the car on a lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Verdict \u201953 Skylark +.25 point. &nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Driving &amp; Handling:&nbsp; <\/strong>This isn\u2019t close.&nbsp; In 1954 Buick increased the horsepower, stiffened the frame cross members, and added tubular front shocks to the \u201954 Skylark.&nbsp; Additionally, they increased the wheelbase, made the tracking of the front and rear wheels identical, and cut the curb weight by some 70 lbs.&nbsp; These changes meant the \u201954 Skylark was more responsive, tracked nicely thru corners, and had a tighter, smoother ride.&nbsp; Because the rear wheels of the \u201953 Skylark track 2\u201d wider than the front wheels the car has more of a tendency to \u201croll\u201d or \u201cyaw\u201d when taking corners.&nbsp; With the \u201953 Skylark fenders being lower than the hood and truck lid the driver cannot see the front or rear tips on the passenger side.&nbsp; With the \u201954 the driver can see all four corners of the car, and in 1954 Buick added the \u201cpanoramic\u201d wrap around windshield giving the driver a larger viewing area.&nbsp; The flat \u201953 Skylark windshield was \u201cchopped\u201d almost three inches, and although this contributed greatly to the styling of the car, it is difficult to see out the windshield. &nbsp;To prevent passengers from hitting their heads Buick lowered both seats on the \u201953 Skylark, and changed the angle of the steering wheel.&nbsp; With the aid of one hydraulic piston the front seat on the \u201953 moves forward and back.&nbsp; However, for a large man with a robust belly, there simply isn\u2019t enough room to fit comfortably behind the steering wheel.&nbsp; In 1954 Buick added a second hydraulic piston, with ajoystick control switch, so the front seat moves up and down as well as forward and back to provide more room for the driver. &nbsp;The \u201953 does have a trip odometer, a nice feature that was eliminated in \u201954.&nbsp; And a small concern on the \u201954 Skylark is the passenger side mirror.&nbsp; With the mirrors mounted at the front of the doors, and with the panoramic windshield, it is difficult to fully utilize the passenger side mirror.&nbsp; <strong>Verdict \u201954 Skylark + 1.00 point<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Interior:&nbsp; <\/strong>The interior of the cars are as different as the outside bodies.&nbsp; Both cars provide; clove box with light, cigarette lighter, clock, Delco Selectronic AM radios with \u201cseek\u201d bar and button on the floor, the same gauges (speedometer, odometer, engine oil, temperature, fuel, amps), similar wiper and power antenna controls, leather interior, power front seat, window switches, dual ashtrays and armrests front &amp; back.&nbsp; The differences are in the presentation of the instruments and the dashboard layout, although both models are similar to other models built the same year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201954 dashboard has three sections with a rounded bottom, and is two-toned.&nbsp; There were four color combinations, green\/green, blue\/blue, yellow\/black, and red\/black with the lighter color occupying the middle section of the dashboard.&nbsp; Dashboard colors were usually dependant on the color combination of the two toned seats (not all seats were two tone), with the darker seat panel determining the darker mid dashboard color.&nbsp; This provided an owner with multiple dashboard\/seat color combinations.&nbsp; The\u201953 dashboard is a flatter design and was painted one of four colors: mandarin red, black, dark blue, or dark green depending on the seat panel color.&nbsp; The secondary seat color was always white.&nbsp; The ascent on all \u201953 Skylarks dashboards was the \u201cDynoc\u201d transfer decal on the lower portion which distinguished it from all other \u201953 models.&nbsp; The dashboard color and the Dynoc decal were carried into the side door panels.&nbsp; The \u201954 Skylark uses a three lever control cluster just right of the steering column to control the floor vents, both heaters, and defrost\/floor direction with smaller knobs above to control the fan speeds.&nbsp; The \u201953 uses six large knobs, clearly marked, in the center of the dash on the radio grill, which are pulled to open the vents &amp; defrost, and twisted to control the heaters &amp; lights.&nbsp; There is a separate slide control underneath the dash that controls the heater fan speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both cars where sold as six passenger automobiles, but neither is that comfortable with three adults in either front or rear seats.&nbsp; The \u201953 Skylark interior provides more leg, hip, and shoulder room in both seating areas.&nbsp; However, the\u201953\u2019s lowered rear seat requires more effort to \u201cget up\u201d and out of the car.&nbsp; On the \u201954 Skylark the seats are higher and deeper, with the top of the front seat above the doors.&nbsp; The result is that you are riding \u201chigher\u201d in the \u201954 Skylark and can see out more clearly.&nbsp; The width of the door opening is four inches wider on the \u201954 Skylark providing easier entry.&nbsp; The passenger rear window switch on the \u201953 is mounted vertically on the front of the top surround, making it awkward to operate with your outside hand.&nbsp; Both automobiles have courtesy lights in the rear controlled by door switches and a secondary switch in the rear.&nbsp; The \u201953 has a single light mounted on the last top bow providing downward light to the rear seat area-<em>when the top is up<\/em>.&nbsp; The \u201954 has two small lights mounted low on either side that provide light for your feet.&nbsp; The \u201954 Skylark has a map light above the radio controlled by the light switch, a feature not found on the \u201853.&nbsp; Both steering wheels are 18 inches in diameter.&nbsp; The \u201954 steering wheel has a black and gold Buick \u201cCoat of Arms\u201d as the center emblem.&nbsp; The \u201953 Skylark is a \u2018banjo\u201d steering wheel and has a gold center emblem with three sections in a \u201cY\u201d formation.&nbsp; The dates 1903-1953 and the likeness of a 1903 Buick occupy the top section.&nbsp; In the bottom two sections of the emblem the words \u201c<em>Custom Made for<\/em> &#8211; with the owners name\u201d could be engraved once the automobile was ordered at the dealership.&nbsp; The \u201954 Skylark has a wide chrome trim at the top of the doors which runs the full length of the interior, stainless trim bar on top and down the sides of the front seat, stainless \u201ccheckered\u201d panels at the bottom of the doors and rear seat surrounds, and \u201ctiger eye\u201d emblems on the outside of the front seats surrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One\u2019s preference for the interior depends on your preference for stitched vertical pleats or stamped squares.&nbsp; Both style elements were repeated on the door panels and rear top surrounds, with the \u201954 squares even used on the back of the front seats.&nbsp; For years nobody had the one inch stamping pattern for the \u201954 Skylark which added to the difficulty of the restoration.&nbsp; The \u201953 Skylark wins this category by a slight margin for three reasons; the greater hip, shoulder, and leg room, the large control knobs work smoother than the \u201954\u2019s levers for the heating and cooling, and the center emblem with the owners name engraved made the car special.&nbsp; <strong>Verdict \u201953 Skylark + .30 point<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Performance:&nbsp; <\/strong>By redesigning the \u201cdomed\u201d piston heads of the \u201953 engine, Buick was able to gain 12 HP in the \u201954 Skylark.&nbsp; With the additional horsepower and lighter curb weight the \u201954 Skylark outperforms the \u201c53 Skylark.&nbsp; Many \u201953 owners install a continental wheel kit, adding close to 90 lbs to the car, and change the running angle by raising the front end.&nbsp; Besides making the car perform better, the improvements to the \u201954 Skylark increased fuel economy.&nbsp; <strong>Verdict \u201954 Skylark + .25 point<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Body Styling:&nbsp; <\/strong>Rumor has it that Buick wanted a \u201cflagship\u201d automobile in 1953 and Buick\u2019s General Manager, Ivan Wiles, liked a customizing job chief stylist Ned Nickles had done to his 1951 roadster convertible.&nbsp; So after building a prototype for the show circuit in 1952, the 1953 Skylark went from a 3\/8 scale model to blueprints and then directly into production.&nbsp; Buick took a 1953 Roadmaster, cut the windshield almost three inches, opened the wheel wells to expose newly designed Italian wire wheels, lowered &amp; dipped the beltline and the corresponding fender lines.&nbsp; They also removed the \u201cventiports\u201d and flattened the profile of the sweepspears which now came up and over the back wheels.&nbsp; Although these changes could be called minor, they required a fair amount of hand bodywork, especially to the convertible tub and doors.&nbsp; The result of these styling changes was to give the \u201953 Skylark a great blend of the 40\u2019s with a \u201ccustomized\u201d look of the 50\u2019s.&nbsp; It\u2019s unfortunate that Buick didn\u2019t think enough to put the Skylark name more prominently on the car, with only small round emblems behind the doors, while leaving Roadmaster in the front bumper and trunk emblem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1954 all Buicks body styles had the new panoramic windshields, high fenders and flat sides giving the cars a sleeker profile which resulted in record sales, and moving Buick into third place behind Ford &amp; Chevy.&nbsp; The beltline was humped behind the doors but not as much as the dip on the \u201953 Skylark.&nbsp; Buick added an indented \u201cswoosh\u201d behind the doors at the beltline for ascent.&nbsp; This same \u201cswoosh\u201d would later be flipped and mimicked by an Oregon sports manufacture to become the most recognizable logo in American history.&nbsp; The changes to the Skylark in \u201954 were many; elongated wheel cutouts, a different hood \u201cgunsite\u201d, wire wheels, no ventiports, and a dramatic trunk with fins.&nbsp; The rear of the \u201954 Skylark is a styling masterpiece.&nbsp; The trunk has a semi-barrel shape with two humps that carry down into rear bumper appointments.&nbsp; Large rounded chrome fins on top of the rear fenders have a base that carry down matching the curvature of the trunk lid.&nbsp; It is said that Harley Earl personally liked these fins and wanted them on the \u201954 Skylark. &nbsp;The fins contained the parking, turn, and stop light lenses.&nbsp; At night with the \u201cfingers\u201d lit across the top of the chrome fins, the rear of the \u201954 Skylark is truly unique.&nbsp; Buick added special side emblem \u201cbirds\u201d with Skylark in script, an embossed \u201cSkylark\u201d on the dash plate, and \u201cSkylark\u201d in block letters on the trunk lid for easy identification.&nbsp; The design department and Buick management thought enough of the \u201954 Skylark that they were prepared to make it a model series.&nbsp; Unfortunately, the design was too \u2018Avant Garde\u201d for it\u2019s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.&nbsp; However, the long hood, custom chopped window &amp; top, and flowing beltline &amp; fender line work so well together on the \u201953 Skylark that of the two automobiles the \u201953 is most often referred to as a \u201cClassic\u201d automobile.&nbsp; <strong>Verdict \u201953 Skylark + .70 point.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And the Winner Is!!!\u00a0 <\/strong>You guessed it, a tie.\u00a0 Did you expect anything else from a guy who owns and loves both Skylarks?\u00a0 If you don\u2019t agree, have something to add, or simply want to put in your \u201ctwo cents\u201d, please email me at <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"27\" class=\"wp-image-233\" style=\"width: 150px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/gary_sign.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/gary_sign.jpg 158w, https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/gary_sign-150x28.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>.\u00a0 Your comments will appear in the next newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201953 vs \u201954 \u2013 Which Skylark Is Better?By Gary DiLillo When there\u2019s a benefit car show close by, I like to take both my \u201953 Skylark and my \u201954 Skylark<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/?page_id=72\" class=\"readmore\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\u201953 vs \u201954 \u2013 Which Skylark Is Better?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-72","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/72","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/72\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/72\/revisions\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkclub.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}