knuckleharley

Maybe,if you can stand seeing the car owned by someone else all the time,you can find a younger relative or friend that might want it? That way you might be able to ride in it,or even drive it sometimes?

Ok,that makes sense. Probably the EASIEST solution is to have your steering box rebuilt,or buy a rebuilt one. Then go to a junkyard and pick out a collapasble steering column of your choice,and mate the two.

Am I the only one who doesn't understand this question?

I think it is a major score. Not only does it appear to be complete,but it even looks better than most of the stuff I drag home.

I started using it in the late 60's,at the suggestion of the farmer I was buying a 51 Ford panel truck from. It had been sitting for 10 or 12 years,and was stuck. Filled the rear with cinder blocks for weight,pulled the plugs,filled the cylinders with Marvel Mystery Oil,and pulled it around in one of his fields with his tractor,and the truck trans in 2nd gear with no spark plugs or battery. Got it freed up,put the plugs back in it,and it started right up with the starter and a hose running from a small gas tank to the carb. Shut it off,and when I went to start it again to move it,damned if it wasn't stuck again,so we had to pull it around again to get it running. Drove that truck for 4 or 5 years. Was even forced to live in it parked in the woods a few times. Broke my heart to sell it,but I was moving to Colorado to go to gunsmith school,and I knew if I left it at home my father would sell it to the crusher. He HATED old cars.

GREAT advise! @Rich Hartung BTW,I SUSPECT you meant to type "two PILL reminder containers." NOBODY likes to be reminded of their bills.

DAYUM! Major score! One day,when/if I ever grow up,I'm going to buy cars like that! As for the wheel cylinder,my advise is to remove one from the rear and one from the front,and use the parts numbers on them for a web search. When I went looking for new wheel cylinders (forget finding kits) for my 37 IHC PU,the cheapest I could find them were some NOS wheel cylinders a IHC specialist had in stock,and he wanted $99 each for them! So I copied the parts numbers and did a web search,and discovered that 53 and 54 Corvettes used the same wheel cylinder (a Borg-Warner,IIRC),and they were on sale at a vendor on Amazon for $4.95 each,including shipping. Don't remember where I got the master cylinder from or what it cost,but the price was nothing special either way,so I don't remember. It really pays to look around.

Start looking around and pricing a replacement front bumper,fenders,hood,headlights,and radiator for your car,and I believe you will suddenly have a new appreciation for rebuilding the entire braking system. BTW,it is generally cheaper these days to buy new wheel cylinders than it is to buy the kits. Seriously. As for brake lines,look at the prices for copper/nickel brake lines at Advance Auto and tell me you are still willing to run the old steel lines that rust inside. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web/SearchResults?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&searchTerm=copper nickel brake lines&pageId=partTypeList&actionSrc=Form&campmedium=aaplocator&campsource=jv&campcampaign=locationEntity&campcontent=productsearch

I used to love the HELL out of road trips to places I had never been,and meeting people I had never met. Some of the people I met on some of these road trips remain good friends to this very day. The guy I bought my 39 IHC half-ton pu from maybe 10 years ago send me an email last week telling me he had found a spare hood and some trim pieces for it he had in storage and had forgotten about,and he was going to send them to me. Didn't even ask for shipping costs,but of course I will send him the money.

You gave him this web address and suggested he become a member,right?

Don't get too cocky about the brakes. They ARE going to fail. Maybe tomorrow,maybe next week,or maybe next month,but they ARE going to fail. Rotten rubber,water from condensation in the brake lines,rust in the brake lines,etc,etc,etc. I don't know which it will be,but ONE of them is going to be responsible for you not being able to stop. Don't ask me how I know this. If you end up wrecking your car due to failed brakes,you now have nobody but yourself to blame.

Rust in the old gas tank is a forgone conclusion. I have been through that situation 3 or 4 times now,and it is easier as well as cheaper if you figure your time to be worth minimum wage to just go ahead and buy a new one and be done with it. Do something once and move on to other things. Last time I bought a new one,it was around $230. Which amounts to pocket change these days,never mind labor and towing if you don't replace it. Rich is steering you right on the fuel pump,too. It will probably work for maybe a few days,and then it will flood your oil pan with gas. Replace or rebuild before you even try to start the engine.

I have never heard of this happening before,so it looks like it MIGHT be one of those "good news/bad news" situation. The bad news being the road draft tube is missing,and the "good news" MIGHT be that means the engine was rebuilt and they forgot to put it back on before re-installing it in the car. Yeah,I am an optimist.

I understand you are a new ancient Mopar owner and excited. Trust me,we have ALL "been there". My best advise at this moment is to not panic. Once you get it running,wheather or not the overdrive works will be obvious. If it isn't,ask questions about how to fix it and where to buy the parts,or as an option,where to ship it to have it rebuilt. If it isn't damaged,that will be obvious too,so take a couple of deep breaths and go enjoy a drive in it. If you can get this excited about something like a working/not working overdrive,you just might stroke out if something serious goes wrong. Remember,there is always PLENTY of time to panic if panic becomes necessary. MY opinion is your very first focus should be on replacing all the brake lines with new copper/nickel brake lines,replace all the brake hoses with new ones,and all the wheel cylinders with new ones. Throw in a new or rebuilt master cylinder to "put the icing on that cake". While you are doing this,take a good look at the brake shoes and springs. If any part on any wheel looks bad,replace that part and ALL the related parts. Not to mention make damn sure your emergency brake works. Also,be cautious about driving it any further than the end of your driveway until you replace all 4 tires with new ones.

Yup! Ya just gotta love flatheads !

I would only add two things, 1: Make sure that make sure you buy a new or rebuilt water pump while the radiator is out and it's easy to change. After sitting for so long the water pump shaft will have corrosion,and when you start the car the corrosion will start to wear the bushing,and sooner or later it is going to leak like Niagra Falls,and you are going to have to replace it anyhow,so why not replace it now while you already have the engine torn down? 2: Go ahead and drop the oil pan and thoroughly clean it and the oil pump while it is easier to get to all this. I can guarantee you the base pan is full of sludge after sitting for 50 years,and if you don't do this,your oil pressure is going to drop to zero one day while you are driving around,and if you don't notice the oil pressure guage,you WILL end up buying a new engine. Replace the oil filter and take the oil filter casing off and thoroughly clean it out,too. Not a gentle rinse,but a good scrubbing.. Blow out the oil lines after taking them off,and then put them back on. You will be glad you did all this once you have the car up and driving. Trust me on this one! BTW,PICTURES! WE NEED PICTURES!

Well.dying IS what Champion spark plugs are known for doing best.

I am really loving the dashboard color and the interior. That may be the nicest interior I have seen to date.

The old flat 6's are insanely reliable as long as you don't run them hot or low on oil.

It is a term only applied SPECIFICALLY to Buick V-8 engines built between 1953 and sometime in the mid-60's. They were called "nail heads" because the valves were so tiny in proportion to the bores. Made stupid torque and were as reliable as a rock,though.

Thank you for posting that information. Even if none of us personally need those type of modifications on anything we drive,there is no telling who may have a neighbor,a friend,or a relative that does. That is the sort of thing that can make an incredibly positive change in someone's life.

I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one. When you say "nailhead" in reference to engines,MY mind automatically hears the word "Buick".

Crawl around under the car with the transmission in gear,and start trying to turn the driveshaft each way while listening for a "clunk". Doesn't matter if you start at the front or at the rear,but check both for loose play. Chances are you need a new U-Joint/joints.

I personally think disc brakes on the rear is overkill,especially for a car that is mostly going to be pampered and only driven on nice days,but they sure don't hurt anything other than originality and your bank accout. As for the cost of steel versus copper/nickel brake lines,it has been a LONG time since I priced steel ones,but IIRC,I paid less than 40 bucks for enough copper/steel brake lines to do a whole car. The price may have gone up some since then,but all you have to do is go online to a auto parts retailer near you and ask. This is not high-tech or cutting edge stuff. Pretty much every manufacturer uses it these days.

I would only add that you MUST use copper/nickel tubing. It doesn't rust inside or out,and you can bend it with your hands without kinking it. Unless you have a tubing bender and are a glutton for punishment. If that's the case,by all means use steel lines.