Picked up a 1952 Cadillac yesterday!

Made the 17-hour round trip to pick up a 1952 Cadillac series 62 sedan for my lady. She is very excited, as I am as well. Im hoping that getting it running will go smoothly.

It came off of an indian reservation about four years ago, and at that point no one could remember the last time that it ran. I'm going to try to get it running and moving under its own power before I attempt anything major. I know that a few of you have quite a bit of experience with 331's. Also, this Caddy is fitted with the hydramatic transmission, but manual windows. It also has power steering and is amazingly complete!

The engine turns over strongly with the key and the coil fires. That is as far as I have gotten at this point.

I am open to any and all recommendations as to where to start in order to to try and get it running without ruining stuff. What should I do first?

Thanks guys!

 

No Caddy expert here but this thing has potential! Good score. I remember little old "blue hair" ladies driving these tanks around town when I was a kid. Keep us posted on this great car!!

 

Change the fluids, maybe some Mavel Mystery Oil down the plug holes, turn the motor by hand for a few days to lube everything up........Fresh gas, battery and see if it will fire.

 

That's really a nice score.

 

Awesome!

Do I run the risk of damaging the transmission by running the motor? Do I just make sure the trans has fluid and I should be good, or do I need to drain it before firing?

Thanks guys!

I'll definitely be reporting back on progress!

 

Man thats a cool score and rating WAAAY high on the potentiometer!
In the tech area one of the guys did an thread about waking up a sleeping engine. Thats not the title of the thread bit its very comprehensive about what youre going to do next.

 

I saw it on craigslist, was thinking about it myself. good score.

 

Cool car dude. I like it.

 

Cool. If it spins over good with the starter and has spark you are half the way there. If it has compression and fuel you should be in business. Pour a bit of gas down the bowl vent tubes on the carb and see if she rocks and rolls.

Personally I' change the oil and filter and drain the trans and put in fresh fluid to keep from stirring up anything that may have settled in the pan but there is the chance that the trans is the reason that it got parked in the first place if the engine seems like it is free.

 

That is definitely a concern...thanks for the heads-up.

It was quite the hairy trip out and back, never seem to find the good ones when it's 70 degrees and dry out!

Have you heard from Duke lately? I was supposed to get some spindles from him, but haven't heard back.

Jason and czuch, thanks for the compliments, I cant wait to see where this one goes!

 

Wow,looks really solid.Good luck,and keep us posted!!

 

John

 

my 53 was siezed when i got it i made shure it had oil dumped som brake fluid down the plug holes and a whole bunch of lucus oil. next day i got home i had it runnin but i never serviced the trans before i started it( it was full) probly why it whent out 50 miles later!

 

i would run the oil pump before starting it man.

 

man thats a coool old ride , old caddys are one of my favorite rides besides old trucks

 

Might be a good idea to drop the gas tank and give it a good cleaning (and blow out the fuel line and change the filter). Whatever is in there won't do the engine any good if it's even possible to pump it out of the tank.

 

For sure on getting rid of the old gas. There is enough varnish crap in the old stuff to freeze intake valves in the guides and bend solid pushrods. Been there and done that.

 

nice score!

 

That is for sure a good score. As was mentioned before, clean the fuel tank, clean the carb, and check for spark. You could even run the car from a jerry can just to get it running. Or better yet sell it to me

 

Did that come with a title?? Just a little concerned about that ignition switch dangling there like maybe it was boosted at one time.

Great looking vehicle & I wish it was mine.

 

Hey man my buddy was getting this from the guy. (He's in Prineville right?) He had it all setup, we were gonna make the trip and pick it up and then the day we were planning on heading down he said he had it sold. My buddy was very pissed... looks like a good car. Something else will come along for him. Keep us updated on your car. Looks alot like my 1950 Buick. (a lot of the parts are interchangeable)

 

The first thing we did was pull the fuel tank and drain it. No chunks, no flakes or rust. The fuel was old enough that it was red. There are still tags on the underside of the car and absolutely no sludge under the valve covers. Im starting to the think that the 19,000 miles on the odometer are correct!

We ended up using marvel mystery oil in the cylinders. When we took the valve covers off and rotated the motor for the first time, there was one stuck valve. A couple of taps with a hammer and a dowel, and we were in business.

I pulled the oilpan and cleaned all of the fudge out of it! Then we drained and refilled the transmmission. Put it back together and took the starter apart to clean it up and make sure the bendix would disengage.

Once we got some fresh oil into it we started the LONG process of priming the oil. I took about 10-15 minutes to get oil coming up through the pushrods!

We set up an I.V. for the fuel into the carburetor. Then we took a 12 volt battery and tried to fire it up. It took a little bit of messing with the timing and such, but we got it running pretty decent. It seemed to take a while for the lifters to pump up.

Now the car seems to have developed a leak from the front of the trans...I'm guessing it will be the seal to the torque converter. Im not sure if I should try some of the stuff that will swell the seals?? I'm not sure how it works, or what it could do to a transmission.

Now that it runs, our next stage is brakes. The car has none!!!

I got a title that matches the vin and everything, I'm not sure if he had to unscrew the key cylinder to check the wiring or what. The dash piece is there and so is the trim ring and nut.

Your Buick is beautiful! I hope I didn't step on anyone picking up the car. You are right, it was the one in Prineville.

 

Try the sealer on the trans. It might be that the front pump seal is just hard from sitting. Should soften it up. Change the oil in the engine after a couple hundred miles to get any loose crud out of it. The same for the trans if it seals up again. Also, that torque converter should have drain plus in it also.
Butch

 

Thanks, Butch! I was not aware of a way to drain the coverter. Now I get to play with brakes. Too bad i'm working until friday...no shop time until then.

Does anyone have a recommendation as to which seal conditioner to use???

 

Sweet ride!!

I have seen alot of these 50's Cads with the ignition switch pulled out, I think they had some issues with the switch overheating.

Bill

 

i would just buy all new brake componets! they are not so expenisve and will give you peice of mind( and a warranty) brakes may be mostt important< cheap pays twice

 

nice score man were is the fire up video?

 

The video of the first fire-up is on my buddy's cell-phone!

He has to find the cord for it so we can upload it, but it is definitely on the list!!!

 

Just a couple of tablespoons of braake fluid will cause the trans seals to swell and may stop the leak. The trans sealer stuff is just colored brake fluid.

 

She's a beauty! Good luck and have fun.