keithb7

You guys were right. So quiet now and no fumes! I got the tail pipe bling addressed too at the exhaust shop. I think My car drives as good or better than it ever has tonite. Quiet. Soft ride like a caddy. Good smooth power. Great Brakes. Radials. Full tune up. Valve grind and set. Idles like warm butter. It really feels like a new car. Very, very happy over here.

Took "The '53" all the way down the big hill today. To the valley bottom. Put on my new seat belt and put the tranny in low range. I went 15-20 Mph to the bottom. Low range holds 4,000 lbs back pretty good! Not unlike a master cylinder, I need to pump up my confidence in my recent brake overhaul job. Time for a visit to the exhaust Doctor. Tail pipe is rusted through in the low spots where water sits I guess. Tail pipe broke off at muffler too. All rusted up. Its all going. New exhaust pipe and muffler from header back. The mechanic is in his 50’s I estimate. I offered to show him how to do the Fluid Torque Drive boogie. He had never seen a F.T.D. Before. He was intrigued. Asked how long it was around for. I could not rightly answer. How long was it around? The ‘53 will spend the night the shop. I’ll pick it up tomorrow evening. One last fearful look as I walk away. Nobody else has turned a wrench on my car since I took possession.

Whats the scoop on your brakes Worden? Poor performance? Leaks? Thinking about a front disc conversion?

What about installing new proper sized tubes in your new radial tires, mounted on vintage rims? For peace of mind at hi-way speeds. A valve stem sealing problem could lead to a bigger issue when travelling at 60+ Mph. Will new tubes inside radial tires cause any other issues?

Welcome to the forum. The car looks pretty good from what we can tell in the photos. If it were me? I’d weld in new floor and trunk pans as needed. Fully rebuild the brakes. New Shocks. Change all oils. Full engine tune up. Install seat belts. New tires. Check/grease wheel bearings and front end. New battery. Test generator output. Then tinker away while you enjoy driving it! Good find. Enjoy the time with your son.

Thanks guys.... pho·to·gen·ic ˌfōdəˈjenik/ adjective 1. (especially of a person or car) looking attractive in photographs or on film. "a photogenic car"

The sun was out all day today. I took the opportunity to pull the car out of the garage into the light. First wash of the year. I also installed new seat belts today. 2 point lap belts. Nice dark green colour to match too. I am quite happy with the product from seatbeltsplus.com Of course we had to cruise my neighbourhood to test the seat belts. All my new neighbours seemed quite happy to see my old car out. Lots of melting today. The car sits about 2" lower overall now with the proper stock sized tires installed. I think I want to try and lower the rear end a little to have it either sit flat or a little lower than the front. Mine is about 1.5" taller at the rear compared to the front. I am thinking I will order a 2" block kit. In all the original '53 ads I have seen, the rear ends appear a little lower than the front.

Great news. Car is functioning and drive-able. What a great find.

Many names for this transmission. Chrysler Fluid Torque drive. Plymouth Hy-Drive. Desoto Tip-Toe. Dodge Simplimatic. All the same I believe. Sturdy rugged simple tranny.

It would seem that Mother Nature read my post here and decided to remind me...”In like a Lion.” I woke up to about an 1” of fresh snow this morning. It did warm up enough to melt again later in the day. I tinkered some more on the ‘53 after work then took it out for another evening test drive. Actually there’s nothing left to test. It just sounds like a good excuse to put on another a mile or so. My older son, (he’ll be 21 soon) dropped by for visit today. Funny enough, just before dinner. So he ate with us and he followed me out to the garage. When I fired up the ‘53 he grabbed his coat and was hanging around the car with a big grin. Up to this point he’s kept his distance from the ‘53. It intimidates him I think. Can’t say I blame him. My younger son and I spent a big part of last summer uncovering all hidden the problems in the car. The gas station breakdowns. The, barely made-it-home stories. The noises. The little tricks we used to keep it out cruising. We worked through them all while son #1 likely shook his head at us. He’d never asked to drive it and turned down my offers to let him. Leading #2 son to then shake his head. Lol. It seems #1 is building confidence. He’s seen the hours I’ve put into repairing the car. The incidents and stories dwindled out by late last summer. Tonight he took up my offer to drive. His first time behind the wheel. He grinned at the big steering wheel. He asked me twice about what to do with the clutch. Park brake? Where? Lol. Loved the huge turning radius. It was fun. More great memories. Big grins all around. Back in the garage. Clocks change on Sat nite. It’s comming.

I can't be sure, but for the price? Likely. Consider a few new seals and a quick hone. Cheap and easy to do at home if you have a few tools and a drill.

Canadian built, shipped over to France? Is that where you are? Cool car. Nice find. Does it run? What are your plans with it?

Inspired by @Worden18 and his Meadowbrook thread , I decided that I will host a thread of my 1953 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe this season. I was thinking about why I wanted to do this. Why share my year of travels and interactions in my old Mopar on the internet? I think there are several good reasons. None really more important than any other. Arguably it could summed up as just plain cool. It feels good to know that here at P15-D24, there are many others who share my passion for the old Mopars. We have a lot in common. We have lots to share. The good folks here care about keeping these old cars running and out on the roads. And if like me, enjoy reading other's adventures. Seeing the sites in another part of the world is fun. Every photo tells a thousand words. I hope there will be lots to show and tell this coming season. I also want to give back a little to this forum. The help I found here is much appreciated. Maybe I can repay you folks a little by giving you a little entertainment. Here we go.... My car season is anxiously beginning as temps are forecasted to hit 17C (62F) over the next few days. That'll kick start the big snow melt. My Chrysler is ready to cruise now after a busy winter. We sold our home and moved in the middle of my planned winter car repair schedule. Then we went on a 10 day trip to a much warmer climate. Since I got back home and settled, I've been busting my knuckles getting everything I wanted done to the car before the April 1 deadline. That's when Vintage Car Club Parade is. I'm not sure who's more excited. My 19 yr old son or I, for the cruising season. He's almost found daily out in the garage, sitting in the car making vroom- vroom noises. "Feeling the new brakes and clutch pedal adjustments", he says. Tonight my car is jockey'd up in the garage ready to get out. Hopefully the snow on the sides of the roads get knocked back enough this weekend to keep water off the pavement. Then it's go time. Cruising 2018 is but just around the bend here.

Welcome to the club Grizzly. I'm 45 mins away in Kamloops. If you need help posting any pics we can help get you set up. This one I know of in Victoria. Very nice cars.

Got home from work this evening and hit the school of hard-knocks once again. Sucked master dry with 2 large syringes and disassembled it again. For the first time, it's together properly. Well, since a long time anyway. The previous owner had it wrong. So did I. The job gets really quick after you've dis-assembled and re-assembled it 3-4 times in as many days. Brakes feel great tonight after another test drive. Brakes are not sticking on. I can lock the wheels up on dry pavement without delay. Not bad for a 4,000 lb car. Feels great! Thanks folks. Now I need to have a look for these so called Motors manuals? Hmm..

Finally I found something that lays out what you said @Dodgeb4ya. I looked at several OEM service manuals. I looked at many MC kits on line for sale. I could not see any instructions with the flat rubber washer, in place as you described. Finally I found something. (not that I doubted you) Here it is below, exactly as the man said. He knows his stuff. The rubber washer at the end, sealing the valve. Thank you very much for the tips.

@Don Coatney, I played with pedal height adjustment screws. No improvement. I think Dodgeb4ya is on to it. It seems the previous repair on the MC was incorrect too. I was copying it on reassembly. Still wanting a little more clarity here are a few pics and Q's" Here is the spring and valve I have: Dodgeb4ya, you are saying to put the ribber washer on the end, like this? And slide is all in. I am not sure what you mean here. I have both cups. One, the primary cup, is on the end of the spring inside the MC, unseen in any pics I posted recently. The other is on the piston. I believe they call that the secondary cup. Thanks.

Well, the brakes are sticking on again today. I have done some research again. I reviewed what I have done, and I am thinking about what I should do next. Besides throwing everything out and upgrading to a disc kit. LOL. I made a couple of trips around the block today. Worked the brakes good and hard. I backed into the garage and shut the car down. 30 seconds later the brakes lights come on by themselves. Grrr.. To re-cap: All new flex lines installed. (3) Master Cylinder rebuilt. All front wheel cylinders rebuilt. (4) Both rear wheel cylinders replaced with new. Brake lines from master cylinder to junction block, and from junction block all the way back to both rear wheel cylinders all replaced. When the brake lights came on, I jacked up one side of the car immediately to test for wheel spin. Both front and rear were locked up. Checked pedal free play. Yes I have some. I left the car in the garage for about an hour and a half. Came back to find brake lights still on and wheels still locked up. Brakes still stuck on. I then cracked the brake line at the master cylinder to relieve pressure. Brake lights immediately went out and both wheels spun freely again. My thoughts are its not the brake light switch. Nor a siezed wheel cylinder or bad hose. Gotta be the master cylinder not returning far enough back to relieve oil pressure on the piston. Double checked my pedal free-play. All good there, within spec. I then removed the MC filler cover and watched for brake fluid coming up the port hole, while I pumped the pedal by hand. It does not. According to my manual, it should push oil up the relief until the primary piston cup passes the port and closes it off. Now I am thinking, what is causing the piston not to return as far back as it should? I am starting to think I am the suspect of a master cylinder rebuild kit part problem. Here's how it is assembled and showing these above symptoms. I just took the piston end apart again. A few things that have me scratching my head are: The steel odd-shaped washer (left arrow) was not used in the MC when I took the original one apart that was in my car. The rubber washer (upper arrow) is on the the piston push rod. That part was used on my old MC, and a new one also came in the MC kit that I recently bought. Which one of these parts serves as the piston stop? I am wondering if the rubber washer is in the way and causing the piston the not seat where it should? The steel washer serves as a stop? Any thoughts on that folks? Maybe my new MC kit can be used on a couple different cars and has parts for both? Thinking about pulling the rubber washer and reassembling and testing. Your comments are appreciated for this Rookie. Thanks.

http://forums.aaca.org/topic/289095-ammco-brake-gauge-1750/

Success...Well some anyway. Baby steps on the journey to making my Chrysler dependable, just as Walter P would have wanted. My limited road test went very well. Brakes seem to be working quite good. I can't be sure they are set up as best as they could be without the $500 special brake tool. They feel quite good. I need to get the car out on the open road and see if there is any pulling to left or right. No pulling detected so far while test driving around the neighbourhood. Alignment is next. I am sure the toe in needs a reset with new radials, as well as after removing those spacer washers. Doing my first vintage Chrysler brake job was a rewarding experience. More work than I originally thought, but not too bad. Originally, thinking about pulling the master cylinder was a little intimidating I must admit. I learned that it is not really a difficult job. It can come out pretty quick too. If you are thinking about rebuilding your MC, give it a shot. It's not hard. I think the hardest part is getting the floor pan back in. That's not difficult either really. You can see I live up in the hills. Everywhere I go, I go down to that valley bottom you see in the distance. Very good brakes are quite important. No more brakes sticking on! Last season, that was annoying. This snow has 27 days to melt before the Vintage Car Club Easter Parade on April 1. Thanks to those who offer tips and help along the way. - Great forum here.

Here is a pic of one of my steering knuckle arms. I could not locate a torque spec. Is there a recommended value that I should torque to? Being as nuts are secured with a cotter pin, just crank 'em to about 50 ft lbs and insert cotter pin? After some time stymied and learning how to tighten the one that also adjusts the brake cam, I think I finally got it figured out. You can see here in the pic, the spacer washers I mentioned earlier in this thread. At full steering crank, the tie rod ends were contacting the tires, which were 1 size up from stock. Previous owner put the washers in there to prevent contact. No room left for a cotter pin. No loctite. Now I get a chill thinking about what if... I pulled and removed all spacers now that I have installed proper sized tires. Getting close to wrapping up the brake work. 1 rear wheel left to bleed tomorrow then road test soon after. If the roads are clean.

I will chip in and say what I think the answer is. The letters and numbers on Mopar products are the model numbers assigned to each model of car. For example a model name may have spanned several years. The P15 is the Plymouth from 1946-1949. The next series of that Playmouth car may have been a P-17 if I recall. Dodges were D-xx, Chrysler were C-xx, Desoto were S-xx. Some more examples: In 1953 the Chrsyler line up was, C-60 Windsor, C-56 New Yorker, C-58 Imperial, C-59 Crown Imperial.

That's a 1972 Ampeg V-4B for my Fender bass of course.

Great tips @Dodgeb4ya. Thank you. Very timely. I will be applying this technique.