RamblinAround is taking us back to the days of proto muscle with this fiery red 1953 Buick Special. Many automotive historians believe the 1964 GTO was the first full blown musclecar, but they believe that muscle cars can trace their roots to the 1949 Olds Rocket 88, a proto musclecar. Several of the performance coupes of the ’50s such as the Chrysler 300, the ’55-’57 Chevy Bel-Air and this Buick Special can be considered proto muscle.

With a cherry red paint job and a body covered in chrome this Special screams classic Americana. Its all American shaping is defined by its signature Buick curves, chrome door trim and “gun sight” style hood ornament. Other vintage Buick trade marks included port holes in the front fenders, mirrors that hang on top of the doors and dual police spot lights by the windows. Vintage interior touches include an oversize steering wheel, retro style gauges, and a center console with heating, lights and radio that almost looks like a jukebox.

The Fireball it was the LS of its day or maybe just the 5.3.

Its motor is a 263.3 cubic Inch straight eight nicknamed Fireball. While it may look simple with a single barrel carb and oil bass style air cleaner this motor was a state of the art engine in its day. It produced 124 horses and was capable of giving the Special a 12 second 0-60 which was quite the achievement in 1953. With this power the Buick Special made a bit of a name for itself on the NASCAR circuit in the early ’50s being the favored car among many local drivers. What would you do to this car: leave it stock or build a custom cruiser out of it?