53 Chrysler More Door

[Kevinb71]

I have purchased another Chrysler 6! I ran across a collector who is beginning to downsize. He had this 53 Windsor for sale. It runs and drives, but needs brakes. Pump twice and they are there.  It has and base coat/ clear coat paint job that the clear is peeling badly! I will see if there is any hope of sanding just the clear coat remaining off without removing the base. From what i have read not too much hope of that happening. Anyone have any great tricks to try? Probably not much to lose.

On the good side it has a nice running 265!! Original thought was that i was going to pull the 265 and put in a 251 that i have, but not so sure now!  Interior is not great, but i think some new seat covers will make it a driver. I can pick it up in a couple weeks and maybe have some time to see if it was a good deal. By the way the pictures are flattering to the paint at this point.

Give me your thoughts!

[knuckleharley]

My thoughts are it looks like a solid driver,but you very first concern needs to be the brakes,tires,and suspension.

 

Your second thought needs  to be focused on the gas supply and delivery system,starting at the tank and working your way all the way up to the carb. It is best to just replace the whole damn gas line system from the tank to the fuel pump,and from the fuel pump to the carb.  Use modern ethanol resistant rubber and gas filters,and use copper/nickel gas lines so you never have to worry about rust.

 

Drain ALL the gas out of the tank and look for rust flakes in it. If it is still the original tank,chances are gas has "washed" off all the coating on the inside,and the new ethanol gas has deposited a thick coat of rust on the inside. If in doubt,drop the tank,remove the sending unit,and use one of those little battery-powered devices with a flexible end that shows video on a screen and take a careful look at the top of the tank on the inside. If it's rusty,just buy a new gas tank and be done with it. Steel if you are going for the restored look,and plastic if you never want to buy another one. First place to check is Tanks,Inc. They make good tanks,and they are less expensive than the others. No,I don't work there and the only connection I have to them is I have bought 3 gas tanks from them over the years.

 

 

Make sure you ask the previous owner how long it has been since it was driven and how often it was driven.  If it were me,I would just go ahead and rebuild/replace the fuel pump and rebuild the carb while at it. Cheaper than a rollback ride home,and a HELL of a lot cheaper than standing along side the road watching your car burn down to the ground or have your bearings spin because the fuel pump was dumping gas into the crankcase.  Not to mention the attention-getting sound of a base explosion. Never heard of one happening,but it's possible.

 

Next would be to get a professional to reverse flush the cooling system and to replace the hoses and thermostat. Take a look at the fan belt while you are at it.

 

Go ahead and budget a water pump while you are at it. Probably best to just go ahead and buy a rebuilt from a quality rebuilder,and just keep it in the trunk until needed. Lots of times these old cars may have been stored with no anti-freeze or no water in them at one time or another,and the result was rust inside and on the waterpump impeller shaft that throws it out of balance and causes the bushing to fail.

 

Then it's just the standard oil change and tune up stuff if the engine is good. I'm a little anal (big surprise,huh?) and would go ahead and flush and replace the trans and rear end lubes while I was at it,and check the shocks and all the rubber suspension bushings.

 

All this sounds like,and is,a pain in the butt,but if you go ahead and do it when you first get the car,most of the pain is out of the way and you can enjoy driving it.

Edited May 21, 2018 by knuckleharley

[insaneradio]

Great advice knuckleharley!

[rhelm1953]

To answer your question on sanding the clearcoat.  The car looks like it is metallic blue and silver, with the metallic paints there is no way to sand the clearcoat and save the base, as soon as you touch the base with sandpaper you will change the reflective properties and the color will be blotchy once you clear it.  This is probably in truth a plus, I believe the car will be worth more with a repaint is a stock color, no hot rodder wants 4-door Chrysler and no collector wants a bad flame job.  It looks like a solid car and if you have to sand it all for the peeling clearcoat then a fresh basecoat in a proper color is a minor part of the total cost and will increase the value of the car.

[casper50]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fix+peeling+clear+coat

 

[Kevinb71]

Thanks for the replies! Knuckle all those things are on the list when I get it home. The paint will probably come off as it is fading through as well. I hadn't noticed that earlier. I just had eyes for the 265?

[knuckleharley]

2 hours ago, Kevinb71 said:

Thanks for the replies! Knuckle all those things are on the list when I get it home. The paint will probably come off as it is fading through as well. I hadn't noticed that earlier. I just had eyes for the 265?

Every time I bring a new project home I am absolutely astounded by all the things it needs that I was completely blind to when I went to buy it.

Blinded by the " I WANT ITS!"

[knuckleharley]

Just now, knuckleharley said:

Every time I bring a new project home I am absolutely astounded by all the things it needs that I was completely blind to when I went to look it over and MAYBE (yeah,right)  buy it.

Blinded by the " I WANT ITS!"

 

[Kevinb71]

21 hours ago, knuckleharley said:

 

I think that's very true in this case. I knew the paint (clear) was peeling bad. Just dismissed with " i'll just sand the clear off and shoot more over it" without really investigating how well it would work. But all that being said i did get a running C53 265 and the car isn't a total rust bucket. It should be ok.

Right now i'm thinking that disc brakes will be the first addition. I know that the drum can be rebuilt right, but i have just always had trouble with no brakes after sitting on the late 40-50 Mopars that have been in my possesion.

Edited May 23, 2018 by Kevinb71

[pflaming]

Some times a disc brake kit is less expensive than a drum brake restore. 

[keithb7]

I laughed at Knuckleharley's comment. I too have been gob-smacked later at home by all the things I over looked with the "I want this!" problem!

[knuckleharley]

2 hours ago, pflaming said:

Some times a disc brake kit is less expensive than a drum brake restore. 

I think that is true now in almost all situations where you need new drums,shoes,springs,wheel cylinders,and master cylinder. Even if it's not true,the disc brake swap is so close to the drum brake rebuild costs that you might as well do it and get better brakes you can get parts for anywhere. As a safety bonus,you are also upgrading to a dual-outlet master cylinder at the same time. Which is money you SHOULD spend anyhow even if you keep the drum brakes up front.

 

I would only add that we should all keep the drums and other parts we take off for the next owner in case he wants to restore it. Can't sell that crap for enough money to be worth your time anyhow,and having it might even help your sale.

[pflaming]

17 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

anyhow

 

 To keep those parts makes a lot of sense. Mine will go with the car. 

 

"I would only add that we should all keep the drums and other parts we take off for the next owner in case he wants to restore it. Can't sell that crap for enough money to be worth your time anyhow,and having it might even help your sale."