Customs 1956 Chrysler New Yorker Custom That’s Been 30 Years in the Making

I picked up some Kilmat and closed cell foam to roll out on the floor. I plan to change all the fluids this week and then roll this out on the floors after that.

My car time is very limited right now as I'm wrapping up our new house I've spent the past 18 months building. We are moved in so it's small stuff, but time consuming.

 

Bummer Update – Sudden Overheating & Possible Bearing Issue

Was cruising along Hwy 290 the other night when the car started sputtering around 2,800 RPM. I’ve had this happen before with a '62 Chevy truck after getting a bad tank of gas, so I gave it a little more throttle—but still sputtering.

Checked the gauges. Oil pressure looked fine... then I saw the temp: 240°F! I dropped it into neutral, kicked on the electric fan, and coasted off the highway. Within 20 seconds, the temp dropped back down to 180°F. Engine still sounded normal, so I limped it the last two miles home and pulled it into the garage.

Popped the hood—no boiling over. Checked the oil and noticed a slight brown tint with some fine sediment. Nothing burnt-smelling, just off. Next day, I changed the oil and checked the coolant—looked fine, good color and level.

Fired it up and got a brief squeak for a few seconds, then it smoothed out. Let it warm up—ran great. Took it for a test drive, watching the temp gauge like a hawk. Took my eye off it for a couple miles and bam—back up to 240°F in no time. Fan was already on. Pulled over again, temp dropped fast, and drove it back home with no new noises.

Today, I fired it up and the squeak noise was there, shut if off and started calling machine shops.

At this point, I’m yanking the engine and tearing it down to see what’s going on. My gut says main bearing, but we’ll see. Got connected with Billy "Roach" Cockrell. Talked to him for over an hour and feel like I'm in good hands.

Not what I was planning to work on, but that's the way it goes.

 

Your Chrysler is gorgeous! keep at it

 

Simply Sexy I vote YES on taillight treatment .
Lookin' good by me.

 

Thanks!

 

Thanks you!

 

Before I tore the motor down, I believe I would try changing the thermostat. Do you still have good oil pressure? I'd put a known good oil pressure gauge if your not sure about the oil pressure.
Tearing the motor down would be my last resort. Your explanation sounds like a classic example of a sticking thermostat, unless you haven't told us everything, or your looking for an excuse to rebuild the motor.

 

I believe you’re right that the thermostat is the likely cause for the jumping temperature. I think I did damage to the engine from the heat.

how do I load videos on here? I have a video showing the noise it made today. Something in the rotating assembly is making a ton of noise that adjusts up and down with the engine speed. Lots of squeaking/squealing. Oil pressure is at 60 lbs

 

Totally open to trying anything and chasing things down if anyone has ideas or suggestions.


I do want to reduce further damage by running it in this condition. I’m at a loss on other next steps

 

Along with a new t-stat, I'd also try a new water pump. That could also be the source of your over heating...and they tend to make squeaking noises when they are on the way out.

 

got it. Great idea. I will give that a shot first. Thanks! I’ll know quickly if that’s the problem once a new water pump is on.

 

I don't know what motor is in your Chrysler, and late 50s is not in my wheel house, but I raced big block Mopars on a dirt track for a lot of years, I can tell you I've seen them get really hot many times. Getting hot a couple times, for short time frames, when the oil or oil pressure was not effected, did not kill any of my motors.

If the squeak is on start up and goes away shortly after, I believe I would look for a piece of tin or something, that could easily be effected by heat, that may be rubbing against something that moves. Maybe something exhaust related.
The water pump is a great thought as well, if the bearing is going out, the pulleys could be making contact with themselves or something else.

 

it’s a 354 Hemi with about 1,000 miles on a rebuild from 20 years ago. I’m going to swap out the water pump, thermostat and go from there. Great feedback guys.

I bet racing big block Mopars on dirt tracks was a blast.

 

You might remove the valve covers and see if the rocker assemblies are getting oiled properly. It would be another easy look and see. Maybe take a squirt oil can and lube any questionable areas. The only reason I say this is because, I once had an OT 300 six Ford pickup that did not get adequate oil to the rockers. One rocker in particular would squeak every once in a while. I knew this was going to be an ongoing problem, so I took the lazy way out and drilled a 1/4" hole in the valve cover right above the problem rocker. I kept an oil can under the hood and when it would squeek, I gave it a shot of oil! I don't advocate you drill your valve covers, but it reminded me of my past issue with that motor. I did probably drive that truck another 50,000 miles with the problem rocker. 60 Special

 

that’s a great story. Simple solutions are the best

 

Checked the alternator and water pump. They seem to be spinning fine without noise. Still going to pull the thermostat and check that. Also, going to do a compression test later this week and see what that tells me

 

The lines on the Chrysler are outstanding, and this car has all the makings to be an iconic modern custom. Glad you're back on it. And especially glad to hear of your brother's recovery. Lots of people don't come back from that.

 

Thanks Joe! Very kind words and encouraging as well.

 

Glad to get more of the history on the car Matt! I obviously knew some of it and that you had it, but didn’t know the whole story. Praying you can get the engine overheating figured out and didn't hurt the motor. Oh, and if you end up heading to Salina, you know you need to stop by and see me on the way.

 

Be sure to stop at Miss’s Bakery for some donuts if You pull off I 35 to see Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff. Once I get this thing sorted out and ready for long trips, Salina is on the list. It would be great to hang out again

 

Sounds like a plan

 

I agree with Joe, yours is an outstanding custom car. Try sticking thru the bugs. As nice as it looks now, and as massive a job a paint job is, this car is yelling 'paint me!"
My project is 57 miles west of your cool, but it has a (modest) story; https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-to-drive-down-the-same-first-road.1316267/

 

Both those items will spin freely even when worn out. It's the constant pressure on one side of the bearing from belt tension that causes the noise when they are worn out.

 

100% agree! Okie Pete is telling the truth here!

 

I dove into your thread last night. Cool story and cool car. You did a bunch of solid fab work on that. Good call on getting it painted.

For the Chrysler, I 100% plan to paint it once I get all of the bugs worked out. The plan is to pull the chrome off this fall and get it to the chrome shop and dive into the paint. Still up in the air on the direction I am going. Debating between a multi color fade with pearl or a simple 2 tone dark/light blue single stage. I plan to drive the car and like the idea of touching up a single stage paint job vs a wild fade. I do not want to be afraid to take it anywhere.

 

good point. I plan to dive into trouble shooting later this weekend...maybe tonight if time allows.

 

I like these two blues together. Maybe add black in the spear between the chrome on the side. My wife thinks I should paint it black and white.


I also like a fade similar to John and Franks old Oldsmobile

 

The dash was painted with a multi color fade 20 years ago. The original plan was for the car to be pearl white, then fade the space between the side chrome similar to the dash.