My names Joe, I just purchased a 1953 Chevy with the hopes of making a mild traditional custom. Drop the suspension as much as I can, some pin striping and a hopped up 6 under the hood
Little bit of rot in the floor pans but not into the rockers or anything so should be an easy fix. Big dent in the left rear quarter that's going to need pounding out.
I have all the trim around the windows and the fender to quarter trim and stone guards, gas door guard...if you need it. Great shape.
Looks solid....the stock front suspension is fine..fatman fabrications makes dropped spindles and disc brake kits
So I went over to see if I could get the car running. Got it turning over with the 12v battery but would quite rum. Turns out fuel pump isn't pumping any fuel up to the carb. So that's something to look into. I'm not sure of the engine, whether it's a 216 or 235. It's a canadian built car and all the information I can find is for US engine numbers. If anyone's got any info that would be great View attachment 3255917
Cool 53, I have a ´53 210 2dr sedan as a future G***er project myself. Before you try to start the stovebolt I ´d suggest to drain the old oil from the pan and oil filter canister, flush the engine with 1 or two gallons of gas to get rid of all the gunk in the pan. Put in a new filter and fresh oil, maybe give the cylinders a quick shot of WD40 through the plug holes, and then crank it over with the coil diconnected until it has good oil pressure.Maybe you did this anyway, I thought I´d just give you a heads up...
Another idea came to my mind, it wouldn´t harm to lube the distributor and generator either, they have little oil ( gen) or grease (dist) caps on them.
All 216 motors have a tall side cover that extends all the way up to the valve cover. You have a short side cover (235).
That's nice, if you try to start a barn-find Straight six I would pull the rocker cover, pull the rocker ***embly, and make sure it moves, tap all the valves (gently with a hammer), and check push rods first! Then do as described above, except pouring Diesel in the bores first, before cranking over, that helps loosen rings and give a better seal. Or mystery oil, or penetration oil or ATF/Acetone-mix. You can use Diesel to clean the pan too, and it lubes better then gas going around the engine. Small covers mean 235, I got a thread going on here about Six shooters, all stovebolt, big and small. Go take a look. The engine being a 235, means it could be a dipper (non-pressurized oiling), 1954 ('54 only powerglide)and forward is pressurized oiling, but a lot has happened since 1953 and engine can be changed. Keep at it, lad! [emoji5]
Be sure to drain the gas tank and make sure it's clean, fresh gas ,and a fuel filter between the line and pump, would not hurt to blow out the fuel line. Nice find and good luck. Frank
Don't listen to Baumi! Don't put anything in your crankcase but oil. Check the dipstick if it is full of oil go ahead and start it up. Later you can change the oil. Check your gas tank DO NOT use old stinky gas. It can ruin your engine. If the gas is bad, or the tank is bad, disconnect the fuel line at the fuel pump and attach a motorboat gas tank or gas can. If the pump is bad you can connect right to the carb and use gravity feed. If you do this be sure to disconnect the pump or plug the line so it cannot spray gas around. Not a bad idea to check the valves are working but not totally necessary. If you want to check them take off the valve cover and tap the valve end of the rocker arm lightly with a hammer. If it bounces the valve is working, if it goes thud the valve is stuck. Try oiling and prying the valve up, it should snap up thanks to the spring. If several valves are stuck and won't come free the head may have to come off. I have revived dozens of old motors and my policy is not to change or replace anything until I test it. If you go tearing things apart you will not know what is working and what isn't until you go right back to first principles. First see that the plugs are firing. If not you may have to clean the points. In any case, diagnose the fault and get the sparks going. Now see that it is getting gas (see above re gas tank). You can pour a little gas down the carb and it should fire. Try to get the engine running at a fast idle long enough to warm up. About 10 -15 minutes. It should smooth out and settle down to a normal idle once it gets going. There are other things that could come into it. I hope your car was running recently and does not need too much fixing, but if it won't go tell us and we will see what we can come up with.
The use of Diesel in the engine will only help you if you have and engine without a filter, because they ac***ulate a lot of crud, but if the oil seems clean and free of gas, and you already have turned it over. Go past the step, it will do no difference now, and of its a dipper engine, I don't do much good now. But gas tank disconnected is a good advice too. Old gas is not good for your engine and two in line filters, one pre pump and one after even when you drained it.
Joe, A visual inspection will tell if your motor is Pressure-oiled or not. Non-pressure ("spray-oiled") motors have a small, three bolt plate on the driver side of the engine block. This is the "oil-circulator" cover plate. Pressurized motors do not have this plate. volvobrynk, Can you provide a link to your thread? Thanks.
Yes I can http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...big-bolt-as-well-as-small-calling-all.986307/ Good info about the plate, would you post that on "my" thread?
Thanks for all the information guys. Will check for that plate later. I was trying to run it from a can with a fuel line right to the pump rather than the tank. I'm going to get the tank out and get it flushed and cleaned. The guy I bought it off told me he bought it last year and the guy fired it up to move it out of his garage so it's not been sitting too long without running. The oil looked good in it. I don't want to run it too long anyway without doing some work to it, just run it long enough I can back it isn't the garage when I get it towed home. Thanks again for the info guys. I'll keep putting up pics as the build progresses.
Rusty, this may have worked for you, but I beg to disagree. The old non-detergent oils tend to build up gunk at the bottom of the pan, also the water from air moisture trapped inside the engine is usually heavier than oil and ac***ulates at the bottom over the years of sitting , right where the oil pickup sits. I would not want to pump water or gunk through a "dried out " engine that has been sitting for so long and ruin the (maybe still good) bearings that way .I think the best way to do it would be to pull the pan, clean out the debris, or at least flush the pan with gas ( not running the engine with gas in the pan!) and let it evaporate before filling in the fresh oil . After the first startup and warming up another oil change wouldn´t harm, I guess. Maybe I´m over cautious, but that´s what I have done on my and on my friends long sitting engines and what has always worked perfectly for me. As for the oil being clean, I recently got a 64 Buick parts car / 401 nailhead, that had been sitting since 1979. The oil was bright yellow on the dipstic. The engine turned over with a pry bar. Draining the pan the first 1 1/2 quarts were clean water, some brown black poo-like gunk after that, and at last the "clean" oil. There was about 3/4" of dirt on the bottom of the pan, just sinks down over the years. Clean looking oil is not necessarily an indication for no gunk in the pan...
I know that. If you want to change the oil or even remove and clean the oil pan go ahead. It will do good. What I object to is dumping gasoline into the crankcase to flush the engine. I never do it myself unless there is some sign that something is wrong. If the oil is between the full and add mark and looks and feels like oil, I will start the engine then drain the crankcase after running the engine.
Got a new fuel pump, new coil and new plugs and got the engine running today. Ran pretty good but I couldn't run it for very long as it's missing some hoses so no water in the engine. Going to get some hose tomorrow so I can put coolant in it and run it for a while longer but least now I know I can get it into the garage once I get it towed home.
Joe, I ran a SBC once with no water, and just a short while. Lost the seal on the water pump. Just a caution, to watch for that when you put some coolant in.
Yeah only ran it for a few seconds. Got some hose today so I could byp*** the heater, filled it up with water and gave it a good running. Ran pretty good. Even took it for a small drive with no brakes, windshield all busted, rotted floor pans and a flat tire, only to make sure the clutch was working and it would move under its own power
So picked up the power plant im going to use in the 53 chevy today. Got a 1951 303cid Olds Rocket V8. It's going to be quite a bit of work to get it where I want but I think it will be worth it. Anybody know where to source a good workshop/factory engine manual for these engines
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