My first project. Picked it up yesterday.

Hey y'all, I just wanted to share with you my 53 Belair 4 door I just picked up yesterday. I have been looking online for one for a little while and found this one about half hour from my house. The guy I bought it from said it ran awesome about a year ago but there is a block in the radiator somewhere so don't drive it longer than 45 min or it'll overheat. He gave me a radiator from a 54 I have to have pressure tested. I put in a new 6v battery and it only turned over a couple times reeeaalllly slow then stopped. I took out the starter today and will have it checked tomorrow to make sure it's operating properly.

 

maybe you should have looked a little further away, considering the time it is going to take to repair the body rot-how was the seller so sure that the radiator is blocked?
not wanting to start maybe sign that engine was run over the 45 minutes maximum before overheating-have fun

 

With that much sheet metal work to be repaired would it be feasible to swap it to a two door? I'd give it a thought.....

 

that aint nothing... Welcome to east coast hot rodding

 

Maybe this is a good "learner" project, refine the sheet metal repair process and make it a two door down the road. Looks like it will be a cool project though. Good luck and do a build thread so we can see the repairs' progress. Eli

 

I thought about making it a two door but that's a bit too much of an undertaking for me at this point. I have a couple really good mechanic friends and a couple very impressive welders helping me with this project. But this is going to be a learning experience to say the least. The reason I picked this car is because it was in-state. Buying a car from outside M*** can lead to a nightmare when it comes to registration. I'm excited. I'll keep y'all posted.

 

Be sure to sign up over at www.chevytalk.org. Lots of good info there. Here's a link to their 49-54 forum
http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showforum.php?fid/30/keyword/1949-1954_Chevys/

 

Oh, to hell with the RUST. You can do it! Look up my post "The Rust Ranch". If I can do it, anyone can. Good on you for keeping this *****en 53 on the road. Most of the 53's I see have bad trunks anyway.

I'm from the NW, but did visit RI and MA a few years back. I saw a station wagon (late 70's era) p*** us on the highway. His bumper was held together w/ bumper stickers. The chrome was flappin in the wind like an old torn pirate sail. The salt is a real brute. But what are you to do. Move to the SW....Na.

 

Good stuff

 

its a typical m***achusetts find lol , solid for this area , good luck with your build ,

 

Hell.......new cars look like that on "the cape"

 

Nice start....Leave it a four door, fix the rust the best you can, and ENJOY it !!
Good for you,
Cheers.....

 

Nice score!
My first car was worse! I used chicken wire, tar paper and tar (asphalt) to repair the non-existent floors and trunk and get her on the road. A layer of tar paper, hot asphalt, more tar paper, more asphalt.... That was the quietest car I ever drove.

 

Ha, make that welcome to upper-midwest hotrodding. Looks like a typical Wisconsin car. Those folks out on the coast and the desert have no idea how bad the average old car is rusted out. It looks like a good start. I have a soft spot for 53-54 Chevies. Have fun and good luck

 

Cool car, and I'm certain you will enjoy it!

I sure love mine!!!

 

Welcome to the HAMB, you sound level headed, and patient, your off to a great start. Keep it going!!

 

Are you confident the block isn't cracked? Because these engines are known for cracking at the water jacket, which would explain the overheating issues. Hope it turns out OK, best of luck to you.

 

I talked to the prev owner about it. I guess it was a barn find and they flushed the radiator but a laser thermometer showed one side of it cooler than the other. I had the starter checked and that's fine, cleaned all connections and tried again but now the starter gear isn't meshing with the ring gear. I'm going to see if there is some room to move it even a little since it's only off by a hair.

 

Is the motor frozen? Can you turn it by hand?

 

Very cool for a first project. I like 4 doors personally, so i would keep it. Id say you have your sheet metal work cut out for you, but it could be a lot worse.

 

Rust?!? What rust - that east coast air conditioning!

I have a 53 moredoor myself - and I like it that way! If you want to two door, sell it and get one, they're out there.

Don't go crazy with that starter, 6v turn reeeeaaaal slowwww. Make sure the batt is fully charged before chasing that gremlin.

Good luck with it, they're pretty cool rides. ..and x2 for chevytalk.org

Carl

 

Yeah it did turn over but really really slow with the plugs in and turned faster without them so I thought it might have been the starter.

 

x2. Enjoy it, don't sweat it!

 

So I tried to start it with a temp but good pos cable and nothing. Jumped the two studs on the solenoid and nothing but sparks. If anything happens at all you can hear the starter gear kicking out and hitting the flywheel. The motor will turn over by hand so I know it's not frozen. I'm getting really discouraged that this car won't even start. Not a good intro to hotrodding

 

i've seen this car around so it was running not that long ago.

 

dont give up its not stuck thats a good sign , sounds like a dead or dying starter ,

 

Here's an update. Finally had one of my friends come take a look at why this damn thing wouldn't turn over. After he talked to his dad we looked around and didn't find one ground. Only the battery to the block. So after adding some good ground cables, one from the motor to the frame and one from the body to the frame, she turned over quite fast. A little gas directly in the carb and she fired up. She ran for about 10 seconds and that was it. Sounded awesome! We removed the fuel pump to find it clogged with **** and my friend is rebuilding the carb for me. He's getting the rebuild kit tuesday and hopefully it'll be running wednesday.

 

Now I bet that was encouraging to hear the engine run. Sounds like it'll be fun.

 

Hey Boomer76!
That's a good project. Good luck getting it on the road!

 

Damn right it was encouraging. Soon as I saw it online I started thinking about different things I want to do to it. I looked at it and the guy said "All it needs is a battery and it'll run great". I didn't think there wouldn't be proper ground cables, it definately took all the wind out of my sails thinking it was something else. Now to just enjoy it and take my time making some of my plans a reality. New interior, air bags, shave door handles, maybe suicide the back doors, ofcourse all after fixing the rot. I'm undecided whether to chop 3 inches out of the roof or leave it and just put on a sunvisor.