Al B. Bach Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Hello from cold and windy Kansas. My name is Carl and this is my first post. Me and my brother found a 1953 Windsor Deluxe on craigslist a couple weeks ago. We looked at it last weekend and fell in love with it. It is all original with less than 60,000 miles on it and no rust. We have been dealing back and forth with the seller all week. He had it advertised as a driver but it wouldn't shift when we went and looked at it. I had never even heard of Fluid-Drive before and was really concerned about working on it. I have spent nearly every waking hour for the last week researching everything I could about these cars. The info I have found on this site has been invaluable. It is a 265 car with the M6 semi-auto transmission. It runs pretty good. There is a slight miss but I am pretty sure it has bad plug wires. One of the wires is arcing. There is a couple minor oil leaks from him trying to make his own gasket for the oil filter but nothing serious. I will fix them with the proper parts soon. We got the car today and it drives great! It still has a few issues with the transmission. It is hard to find low and reverse and she grinds gears every now and then. Once you find the correct gear it runs out great. We also have to work on the breaks. The previous owner put new breaks on the front but didn't bleed them. Now you have to pump the breaks evey time you stop. Hopefully it just needs bled but we may need a new master cylinder. We love this car and can't wait for car show season to start so we can show her off. What do you guys think? Any suggestions or coments will be welcome. It's kind of hard to see in these pictures but it has some really cool old school style pinstriping. It will almost be a shame to repaint it. Later, Carl Quote
49 Dodge Dude Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Welcome! THAT is one nice looking car! Love the dash and steering wheel too. Classic 50's styling, for sure! Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 looks like you have found a real gem...I like it...these puppies ride nice.. Quote
Young Ed Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Even without pinstripping it'd be a shame to repaint that car. Its great the way it is. Only original once remember. Quote
1950 Special Deluxe Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 That is a great start. Welcome aboard. Quote
greg g Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Go to the Imperial club wesite, in the repair section there are mechanics pamplets on trouble shooting and maintaining the M6 (affectionately known as the Clunk o matic) pretty bullet proof as long as the solenoid and governor are working correctly. Not a speed demon but a very ice cruiser. Very solid Crashler, welcome and have fun. Looks like it still has its bullseye headlamps. Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Welcome. Man, that thing is about as near new as you could find both inside and out. It should be a very enjoyable ride once you get the initial bugs worked out. Quote
Big_John Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Looks kinda familar LOL Here's mine Quote
Al B. Bach Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks guys! I'm really happy with it. The paint is pretty thin in a lot of places. That's the only reason I might repaint it. Otherwise I'd leave it alone because, with the patina and pinstriping, it looks like it rolled right out of the fifties to me. I checked out the Imperial site last week. It was instrumental in helping get the transmission shifting again. Big John, very cool! Looks like my girls sister. I see all the trim on yours looks good to. One item I have a feeling I will be looking for for a long time is a new right front headlight ring. It doesn't show in the photos but mine is cracked and missing a portion just under the headlight. Does anybody know where I can find a vin decoder for this car? Quote
1940plymouth Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Welcome aboard, one great looking Chrylser What part of Kansas? I was stationed in Topeka from 1971-'72 Quote
greg g Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 You should find three numbers on your car. Sandardized Vin numbers were ot introduced till sometime in the 60's. On the fire wall, there will be a tag with the body number. As yours is a mid 50's model it might also have the color and trim info on it. The engine number is stamped on the side of the block just under the head above the gennerator. It should start with an S as in de S oto. On one of the A pillars between the door hinges will be the serial number. You can send the Serial number to Chrysler Historical, at the WPC Museum, and they should be able for a fee or about 50 buck, replecate the build card for your car. This will tell you the where, and when of your car as well as the original dealer it went to. Look at your ownership documents and see what was used as the id for your car, engine number or serial number are the most common. Problem with these cars is that engine swaps were a very common way of keeping them on the road. Most folks thought 60, or 70 K was a lot of miles back then, and with leaded fuel and non detergent oil and coal dust in the air, a lot pretty shot, so a trip to the wrecking yard to pull a lower milage engine out of a car or truck was not uncommon. Folks have also reported industrial engine in their cars. These old flatheads powered a lot of stuff, from welders to airport tugs so there were plentiful and cheap, and easier than rebuilding the one in the car. I guess the point here is if your ownership document show the engine number, and the engine has been changed, it can cause problems for folks. Quote
Big_John Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks guys! I'm really happy with it. The paint is pretty thin in a lot of places. That's the only reason I might repaint it. Otherwise I'd leave it alone because, with the patina and pinstriping, it looks like it rolled right out of the fifties to me.I checked out the Imperial site last week. It was instrumental in helping get the transmission shifting again. Big John, very cool! Looks like my girls sister. I see all the trim on yours looks good to. One item I have a feeling I will be looking for for a long time is a new right front headlight ring. It doesn't show in the photos but mine is cracked and missing a portion just under the headlight. Does anybody know where I can find a vin decoder for this car? The trim on mine is at least all there. I bought a bunch of trim from a parts car off ebay that has some bits and pieces that are better then mine. I have seen some headlight trim on NOS headlight trim on Ebay, but IIRC, you had to open your wallet pretty wide. VIN decoders.... well... if you're used to being able to decode your VIN or fender tag, then you may be a little suprised to hear that there isn't a lot of info like there is for sixties and later Mopars. I guess there's no Galen Govier out there for 50's cars. The good news (there always is good news) is that as Greg said, you can get a lot of info from Chrysler about your particular car. While someone at Chrysler made the decision to throw out the records from the sixties cars, they kept a lot of the earlier stuff. The other good news is no one seems as concerned about date codes and paint stamps. Quote
Al B. Bach Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Posted February 14, 2011 Welcome aboard' date=' one great looking ChrylserWhat part of Kansas? I was stationed in Topeka from 1971-'72[/quote'] I'm from just outside Wichita. I visit the Combat Air Musuem a lot. Forbes Field is one of the neatest bases I have seen. What did you do when you were stationed there? greg g and Big_John Thanks for the info. This is my first 50's car so I had not thought about there not being a standerdized vin code. I might contact Chrysler about getting the build card because it could be a pretty cool item to have. Carl Quote
greg g Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Yep I always wonder about the guys that advertise their 50's and earlier mopars as numbers matching cars, matching what??? like they were some kind of capo chevy or something. Quote
thrashingcows Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Welcome to the board...and what a beauty you got there!! Keep looking on E-bay for the headlight ring. I, and probably most here, scour the listings looking for those pieces we need, or just want for spares. Quote
T120 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Hi Carl,Welcome to the forum.You've found a very nice car.Have fun. Ralph Quote
Dodgeb4ya Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 They show up on ebay as all of these were purchased of of ebay. Watch out though-1951 and 1952 NewYorker headlamp doors look the same as 1953 Windsor and NewYorker HL doors. For your car the original part# is 1383629 for the passenger Right headlamp door,This # is out of the 1953 and prior MoPar parts book. You need to pull yours and check for the part# on the back side of the HL door. I had to buy all of these just to get two good ones that were not slightly damaged crushed in some way that fit the fender and into the moulding perfectly. You can't tell if it will fit properly until you put it on your car! A lot of curves on these HL doors! Bob Quote
Kevinb71 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 Welcome to the forum Carl. That is a very clean and striaght car. Have fun with it! Quote
Al B. Bach Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Posted February 15, 2011 It was a nice overcast day today so I thought I would get a few better photos. I really like the pinstriping. I don't know who Chad is but he does good work! By the way, the motorhome is my house. I live full time in it and spent last winter in Ajo Arizona. I really miss that town and can't wait to go back. We decided to spend this winter here at my parents place. Quote
ptwothree Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 Nice....hope I can get my Ply looking this good someday. And welcome to the forum..enjoy! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.