Service/Speed shop NE Wisconsin?

Need a little help and advice. I need to bring my 53 Chevy in to get a tune up and the the distributor looked at. It has a 283 V8. I am wondering if anyone knows a good place to bring an old car in the Green Bay/Appleton/De Pere area. Only place I know of is Bay Speed Center in DePere and I dont know if they are any good.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

I'd say bring it to your local mechanic! It's the most common block in the world lol Pics? I live in fdl and bagged my 53 chev 4 door but I stayed with a 235ci from a 57

 

PM krooser as he can probably send you to someone that likes to work on the old stuff.

 

couple pics... it needs a lot of work, but I like it

 

what's the problem?
points or HEI?

 

Hei. Problem is that the timing changes as you drive it. It vibrates and turns. When I bought it there wasn't a distributer clamp or hold down, added that but it still seems loose. Maybe it has the wrong distributer? Besides that the I should have the transmission linkage looked at it never wants to go into reverse. Has a 3 speed tremec (sp)

 

Chevy V8's are the same as far as I know. Draw a line with a sharpie or something from the dist housing to the intake. See if you can wiggle the dist at all. Are you sure its the dist? Try moving the crank pulley back and forth by hand. Its possible you have a stretched timing chain. Also make sure the mechanical and vacuum advance are functioning, and youre getting a full 12 volts to the dist.

 

I've heard mixed reviews about Bay, but have never dealt with them personally. There are 2 other speed shops in Green Bay, both with ch***is dynos. Big3 Performance and Beyond Redline Performance are both decent. Big3 built those Jim Wangers edition GTO Judges, and Beyond Redline does work on a nasty 55 Chevy g***er that was in Hot Rod Magazines Drag Week not long ago.

 

I'm not aware of any dist. that could be installed and run that wasn't meant for it.

By "changes", I ***ume you know for certain that the housing is turning?

As said, mark the housing so you can tell if its moving. Also, mark the balancer to make sure the outer ring isn't slipping on you as well.

As for the shifting, is it column or floor shift?

 

Yes, by changes I mean the housing is turning. It is a floor shift.

thanks for the help guys

 

Did the small distributor gasket get installed at the base of the distributor? And, is the clamp actually clamping (clamp bent, or bolt possibly too long)?

Should be pretty easy to figure out.
Tom

 

it really doesn't take much to hold the dizzy in place. It can be tough to see back there sometimes, but I'd bet the clamp you are using just isn't right for some reason. Can't tell without looking at it....

As for the shifter, if it's just out of adjustment, you may need to get a second person to help. One to do the shifting, the other under the car observing and messing with the linkage to see if it is just out of adjustment. Again, need to be there to tell....

If you were in Madison, I could help....

 

I've had a few motors that had junk in the dist mount bolt hole, which would prevent the bolt from doing its job. Poke around in there with a scribe or something, and then blow it out with compressed air. Wear earplugs, sometimes you get a whistle from that hole that's deafening. And safety gl***es. You could also run to the auto parts store and pick up a Mr. Gasket hold down. They're cheap, chrome, and usually come with a new bolt.

Cool car by the way. Maybe I'll see you at Symco?

 

The plan is to take it to Symco, as long as I can get these few things sorted out.

 

Don't be affraid of Bay speed,they are real good.I have had stuff worked on by them in the past.Mike is a real good guy.

 

good to hear, they are closest to my house. I'll give them a call if I cant figure it out after trying the suggestions posted

 

The bolt that holds the clamp down may be to long, or as stated above garbage in the hole or threads cross threaded,also if you are using an aftermarket cheap clamp they bend easily as you tighten them and can loosen again, as it looks like it's hard to see back there make sure both sides of the clamp are on the distributor.Make sure the gasket is in there but I have seen more than a few that have left the gasket out and the distributor was still tight.

 

my friend has a shop in kenosha wi. lot closer then green bay!

 

The car is in East DePere

 

If you can get it down by me I am sure I can help you out. My shop is in Oshkosh, otherwise Bay speed would be good.

 

Hey Cliffy, I ended up buying a new 4 speed for the 53. Gonna take it to Symco. Do you see any issues with it getting in?