I found out a few interesting facts about the car this weekend. This is a Model 76R – 2 Door Hardtop Coupe that seats 6 people.
322 cid V8 Nailhead
1953 was the first year Buick introduced the V8 engine, a 322 cid V8, also known as a Nailhead. Total production for this model was 22,927 and this Roadmaster is number 1,170, built in Atlanta. Factory price was $3,358 and the vehicle shipping weight was 4,125 lbs. Color is two-tone, majestic white top and matador red body. Interior is black/red, cloth/vinyl. The car comes with power windows, which I find amazing for this time period. The model also had an available option for air conditioning although this one did not come with it.
Also of note is the fact that Howard Hughes drove a similar vehicle, a 1953 Buick Roadmaster (4 door) that was sold at auction on April 2, 2005 for $1.62 Million. Here’s to hoping that I can do some title research and find out that someone famous owned my car. I’m hoping for John Wayne!
'53 Buick Roadmaster 
I did some research for you. Your car — #1170 — did not belong to John Wayne but was initially purchased, ironically, by Jimmy Stewart during the making of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, was subsequently “stolen” by John Wayne due to an on-set conflict with Stewart, was later returned to him with a pack of Marlboros and a picture of the Plymouth Rock pilgrims, and was kept by Stewart until 1957 when he sold it to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin who needed transportation from their air base in California to their new assignment at NASA in Houston. History leaves us no trail of its whereabouts until it arrived in your dad’s possession, though there are some unconfirmed reports by the Texas Bureau of Investigation that it was used by bank robbers in north Texas before ditching it near Lake Texoma.