Rick Stoehr's 1953 Buick Special – Special Angel

Special Angel is a full custom 1953 Buick Special built by Rick Stoehr of Tower, Minnesota. Created on Minnesota’s Iron Range beginning in 1988, the car was Rick’s homegrown dream project, crafted for cruising at the annual Back to the 50's car show in the Twin Cities. Photo courtesy of Rick Stoehr.

Special Angel was completed for the late 1980s cruising scene and stayed with Rick Stoehr until around 2012–2013, when it was sold to a new owner in Texas. Photo courtesy of Rick Stoehr.

After being sold to Texas, Special Angel reappeared for sale on Craigslist out of New Orleans around 2015–2016. In this photo, it is posed with a B-25 bomber, the very type of aircraft that Rick Stoehr’s mother had worked on as a “Rosie the Riveter” during World War II at Holman Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota, making the image especially significant to him. Photo courtesy of Rick Stoehr.

Special Angel is a full custom 1953 Buick Special built by Rick Stoehr of Tower, Minnesota. Created on Minnesota’s Iron Range beginning in 1988, the car was Rick’s homegrown dream project, crafted for cruising at the annual Back to the 50's car show in the Twin Cities.

The Buick began life as a typical rust-ridden Minnesota car, a 1953 Buick Special two-door sedan. Stoehr channeled the body over a 1974 Chevrolet Impala chassis and then “scalped” it, reshaping nearly every panel in the process. The car was powered by a 1969 Buick Wildcat 430 V8 engine, donated by fellow Minnesota custom enthusiast Jan Purkat, who also supplied parts for the Impala chassis and other key components.

One of the car’s defining features was its removable fiberglass Carson-style top, hand-built and upholstered by Stoehr himself. With the exception of the upholstery on the four bucket seats and the pinstriping, all bodywork, paint, and fabrication was completed by Rick with the help of friends. According to him, the only unmodified panel on the car was the glovebox door.

In August of 2025, Stoehr credited the generosity of Bernie Baker of Roosevelt, Minnesota, for donating the 1953 Buick body that became the foundation for Special Angel.

Special Angel was completed for the late 1980s cruising scene and remained with Stoehr until around 2012–2013, when it was sold to a new owner in Texas. The car later reappeared for sale on Craigslist out of New Orleans, Louisiana, around 2015–2016.

In August of 2025, its current whereabouts were unknown, and Rick reached out to Kustomrama to see if the car was still around, hoping that it had survived the series of devastating hurricanes that swept through Texas and the Gulf states after its sale. If you know where the car is today, or what happened to it, please reach out to Kustomrama at mail@kustomrama.com.