"Elvira" I've been working hard on this car for a year most every night and weekend. Finally got it on the road after many trials and tribulations. 1954 Pontiac Chieftain hearse made by Superior. #206 of 207 pro cars made on a Pontiac chassis in `54 by Superior.
Man, your car looks great! I know the feeling of working for a LONG time on a car and then going down the road for the first time. What drivetrain you got? Congratulations Al
Thanks....Got the original flatty straight 8 in it with the three on the tree tranny. 71,000 original miles on it. The motor is weak..as in theres a few cyls that have between 40 and 80 psi. Yet it doesn't blow a lot of blue. I'm wondering if it needs valves. Is it common to wipe out a cam in these engines?
Probably not many of those 207 '54 Pontiac hearses left--most hearses back then were built on either a Cadillac or Packard chassis. At only 71,000 miles, I'm thinking it's most likely valves causing the low compression. It probably hasn't been run hard and mostly short distances at low speeds. While many hearses did double duty as ambulances and most small town funeral homes ran ambulance service back then, it would probably have more miles than that if it had been used in ambulance service. But, if I tore it down enough to do a valve job, I'd go ahead and do rings as well. A long stroke engine requires faster piston speeds than a short stroke engine, so it tends to wear out piston rings faster. No point having to tear it down twice.
Great to see you got it on the road man! Congrats! So happy to see the emblem in use as well! Looks much better on your car than it did my '53!
my 15yr old daughter gave it 2 thumbs up!{ she wants a hearse}me i like it 'cause it's different & an it's old Pontiac!
Nice car, congrats on getting it on the road. I would try a valve job too, but don't see any relation to pulling it apart to put rings in it? That would require alot more work. I did my 239 valve job in my 41 Pontiac with the engine in the car. I had a valve stuck in the block. I also took the intake/exhaust assembly off for easier access. Borrowed a seat cutter for the block and machined and lapped the valves. Kinda hard to do it in the car, almost need to be upside down to get the keepers on and off, make sure to cover up the oil return holes around the lifters or your keepers will fall down in the oil pan. Don't ask me how I know. California Pontiac Restoration has all the flathead parts you'll need.
Not gonna chop it....but I will lower it about 4 inches on each end. I dunno much about the history of the car. There WAS a lot of dirt and some grass stuck into the frame. I was kinda leaning towards it may have been bashed around a farmers field without an exhaust on it as there was only a couple of feet of pipe off the manifold. That may have burnt a few valves. One thing for sure..I'll be looking for a new ring and pinion of a much lower ratio....4:1 to 1 doesn't give me much milage. Either a replacement ring and pinion or a whole axle with something like a 3:08 or a 2:73 in it. The interior was gutted. Everything is there, just laying on the floor is all. I'll keep it to use as templates for the new interior when I can reload the money-gun. Passenger floor done...doing drivers side. Back emptied... When I bought it....
Try to find an American 55 Pontiac centersection with an automatic, should be a 3:08 and will drop right in. Up to a 56 will work but the 56 has the newer style 1310 yolk instead of the "mechanics joint" flange. That 4:10 would be usefull to someone. Thats if you want to keep the original rear anyway.
Thanks for the tip 55. Any idea what the "code" would be stamped on it? My '54 decodes as a #3 for a '54 synchromesh 8 cyl.
Wow, what a great ride! Congrats on getting to this point,the hard work shows.Since your dealing with an inline flathead I'm going to share some recent experiences with the flat 6 Hornet motor in my 49 Hudson.I've driven mine for 6 years all over including a 2800 mile jaunt and never had a problem with the motor. This spring while throwing a fresh tune and rebuilt carbs on it. Now it always had a couple cylinders weaker than the rest but now I could see a fast fluctuation on the vacuum gauge. A compression test showed (1-6) 160,160,165,160,120 145(psi). A leakdown test gave me(1-6) 62/80, 64/80, 63/80, 46/80, 16/80, 32/80. #'s 4,5,6 all showed leaks on the intake valves,#5 was leaking on the exhaust too. All were blowing some air up out of the oil fill tube also. Now the compression #'s probably seem high but it has a Clifford head on it. Pulled the head,intake and exhaust and the valves out of #'s 4,5,and 6. All showed pitting on the valve faces and seats. I don't know if it was just rust damage from sitting or what,but after grinding the valves and seats(still in the car) and putting it back together it ran PERFECT. At least till the next day at about 250 miles into a run to Tennessee. It was smoking badly out the road draft tube and puffing out the oil fill tube when I pulled the breather off. I started pulling plug wires off while it was running and #5 cleared it right up... I had hurt it. Got it trailered back home and pulled the engine. Teardown revealed both compression rings in #5 broken. Now before I pulled it out I ran another compression check and found (1-6) 165,165,160,160,40,162 (psi). Now the goofy part is ALL the top compression rings were broken except one. Yet they all showed good compression till the second ring broke. I WISH I would have reringed it while I was in it before... Rear gearwise mine has a 4.56 but the OD makes it bearable. I can still run down the road at 70-80 mph. With the fresh rebuild though I'd really like to swap out to a 3.73-4.11 just to bring the revs down. Welcome to the Hamb and I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress.
Wow, thanks for the tech tip Ramblur... My ratios are (from 1 - 8) 84, 112, 110, 45, 107, 85, 85, 40. Stock head and I'm positive the motor has never been touched. I was thinking of pulling the side valve covers to watch the valves to see if they all move. Mybe I should pull thehead too. How hard is it to re-ring an engine still in the car? I know pulling the oil pan front bolts might be a chore.
I don't have any of the codes to tell what is what. According to the Master Parts catalog starting in 52' and up to 56 hydromatic equipped cars had either a 3:08, 3:23 or 3:42. They all had 10 spline axles. The 55-56 ring gear is a little larger and may require notching the housing a little bit for the ring gear.
Very nice and unique car, what are your plans for it? you can do so much with a car that big. Good job saving it. MrC.
I vote for NO chop. You've got some rooom in that baby! Use it like a van man! Enjoy.. very cool... kind of a "super long-back".. Surfs up~!
"Reload the money gun", God, I know THAT'S right! I love this hearse. I've seen vintage hearses here with license plates like, "ILLGETU" and "RM41MR" LOL No don't chop it, but definitely lower it, yes. I like imagining how many people were carted off for the last time, for example, in this one that were born in the 1800s, and saw the rise of the automobile. Coolsville!
Awesome car! It would be make a hell of a statement with obnoxiously loud exhaust and lowered. Creepy in the best possible way!
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