allbizz49 Posted March 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 No rebuild tag. I believe the motor was built by Rettig bros out of Modesto. They were a top notch mopar shop. They are west coast mopar racing legends. Closed now, kinda sad. They used to do my machine work when I bracket raced and for my street cars. Engine numbers are P24 star 4I5585 star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 P24 is the right number for 1953. The engine may well be original to the car and was rebuilt. If not, it’s a replacement from the same year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booger Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 5 hours ago, Sniper said: Nice find, but for some reason an Aerosmith song is now playing in my head. I have a 51 Cambridge and in 51 it was the midline series. By 53 I think the Belvedere was top line and pushed the Cranbrook and Cambridge down one level each. I love basic no nonsense cars myself. then Savoy and Plaza, bottom of trim levels 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 2 hours ago, greg g said: I believe sears roebuck rebuilds were red.check on the driver's side of the block for a brass tab or remains of one fastened with a river. Also, what's the number stamped into the block above the generator? Forgot to look while I was out there feeding the shop cats. Chemo brain,AKA "CRS". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 Did they still stamp the engine number on the left rear area of the frame in 1953? On a P15 model (46-48) , it is on the outside of the frame just before the gas filler neck. May require some wire brushing of surface rust and/or dirt to read. About 6 inches before the filler tube. I went over the numbers with a piece of chalk to make them stand out better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyHarold Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 Great car, enjoy it! Interesting to see it was a State of Illinois fleet vehicle. Somebody got a good deal at the surplus auction! It must have been well maintained to have avoided rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allbizz49 Posted March 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) Just getting to the carb. Man, it's not bad at all! I build a lot of vintage bikes and the carbs are always gunked up terrible. That's what I was expecting. Another good surprise. I'm going to rebuild it but it will probably run as is. Edited March 7, 2021 by allbizz49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T120 Posted March 8, 2021 Report Share Posted March 8, 2021 2 hours ago, knuckleharley said: Forgot to look while I was out there feeding the shop cats. Chemo brain,AKA "CRS". It happens,I always blame it on, "AAADD". lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booger Posted March 8, 2021 Report Share Posted March 8, 2021 3 hours ago, knuckleharley said: Forgot to look while I was out there feeding the shop cats. Chemo brain,AKA "CRS". hang in there bro. need you around 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted March 8, 2021 Report Share Posted March 8, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, michaelmarks697@yahoo.com said: hang in there bro. need you around M Got another PET scan on the 18th. Wasn't scheduled,but I had serious night sweats every night for about two weeks so I called my cancer doc,told her about it,and she scheduled me for one in the first opening available. Night sweats are caused by your body heating itself up to fight off an infection or disease,and can be one sympthom that Lymphoa (the type I have) or two other types of cancer are returning. . When I say fever,I am not not talking about a typical fever. I am talking about a fever so high and lasting so long you lose weight and can't remember a damn thing. I would black out with no warning while sitting in a chair watching tv,and wake up 3 hours later soaked in sweat. Change clothes,towel down,and stat watching tv again,and the same thing would happen again. 3 or 4 times a night. Boys and girls,if any of you or anyone you know starts having night sweats more than 1 or 2 nights in a row,get thee or them to a cancer doc right away to be tested. Early treatment is EVERYTHING. One or two nights in a row could be your body fighting something like a flu or something similar. Every night for more than a week means you need to pay attention to it. Might not be cancer,but it doesn't cost that much to find out,and can cost an unbearable amount of grief and money if it is cancer and you ignore early warning signs. I am an Agent Orange vet. Got medi-evaced from VN in early 69 because of it and had no idea what it was. The goobermint obviously knew it was more serious than the Tropical Acne they called it in my records because it got me booted from SF and off jump status because I couldn't wear web gear or a parachute harness. Acne isn't a permanent disability,and if they really thought it was just acne,I would have been put on a temporary physical profile,not a permanent one. Edited March 8, 2021 by knuckleharley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted March 8, 2021 Report Share Posted March 8, 2021 3 hours ago, michaelmarks697@yahoo.com said: hang in there bro. need you around Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allbizz49 Posted March 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 Sorry that you are having to go through that Knuckle. Non hodgkins lymphoma took my dad in 2009. There was no battle, 3 weeks after we found out he was gone. Glad you are here and fighting. Sending good thoughts your way. I wanted to update progress on plain Jane. Water pump is locked up tight, starter is a bit jenky too. No biggie, easy to fix those. My concern was that the motor may be locked up. This car has been sitting a long while. I have been letting the cylinders soak in the secret sauce since I brought her home Saturday. I have been patiently waiting to put a wrench on it. Well, today I did and it's free as a bird. Had no problem wrenching it over. I'm pretty confident once I get the starter sorted she'll fire right up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, allbizz49 said: Sorry that you are having to go through that Knuckle. Non hodgkins lymphoma took my dad in 2009. There was no battle, 3 weeks after we found out he was gone. Glad you are here and fighting. Sending good thoughts your way. I wanted to update progress on plain Jane. Water pump is locked up tight, starter is a bit jenky too. No biggie, easy to fix those. My concern was that the motor may be locked up. This car has been sitting a long while. I have been letting the cylinders soak in the secret sauce since I brought her home Saturday. I have been patiently waiting to put a wrench on it. Well, today I did and it's free as a bird. Had no problem wrenching it over. I'm pretty confident once I get the starter sorted she'll fire right up. Good luck to you! Sometimes it really is that easy. I once bought a 50 Ford panel truck that was so hard stuck we had to fill the back with cinder blocks,and then drag it around with a tractor with the plugs out and the trans in second gear to get it spinning. Put the plugs back in and got it running,and damned if wasn't stuck again the next time I tried to start it. Ended up driving it for about 4 years with no real trouble. Sold it to a guy that said he wanted to restore it when I moved to Colorado and couldn't take it with me,amd damned if he didn't sell it to Dennis Anderson,and it became the 1st "Grave Digger". Didn't last long. He sold the original running gear and engine for scrap after he modified the truck for mud racing. Edited March 9, 2021 by knuckleharley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booger Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 19 hours ago, knuckleharley said: Good luck to you! Sometimes it really is that easy. I once bought a 50 Ford panel truck that was so hard stuck we had to fill the back with cinder blocks,and then drag it around with a tractor with the plugs out and the trans in second gear to get it spinning. Put the plugs back in and got it running,and damned if wasn't stuck again the next time I tried to start it. Ended up driving it for about 4 years with no real trouble. Sold it to a guy that said he wanted to restore it when I moved to Colorado and couldn't take it with me,amd damned if he didn't sell it to Dennis Anderson,and it became the 1st "Grave Digger". Didn't last long. He sold the original running gear and engine for scrap after he modified the truck for mud racing. no way Grave Digger? thats prettu cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allbizz49 Posted March 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) Soooo, a little tinkering, doing the usual cleaning and fiddling and she fired up! I have yet to rebuild the carb and do a tune up but she lit off. Fuel pump is pumping ,put a new metal filter on. Sat there and idled like a champ and has great oil pressure. Gauge reads zero and 80, nothing in between but it was sitting about 3/4 of the way to 80 at idle so 60ish I would say. I have been keeping track of every penny spent just so I will know how much I have into it when I'm done. As of right now I am $2,720.80 in. Now I can start to sort the rest of it out. Tune up, carb rebuild, cooling system, stopping and steering safely and drive her! Edited March 10, 2021 by allbizz49 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ194950 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Time to quit counting.$$ Fix as needed and drive it. Enjoy your work, Enjoy the hobby! ? DJ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allbizz49 Posted March 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Haha, yeah, I always keep a tally on my projects. I like to know what I have into stuff, especially my bikes that I put way too much in. I stopped counting after 6k on my last Ducati build but I wouldn't sell it for double that. I know I will end up with less into this car than I could sell it for but I will never sell it. I'm already too attached and I haven't driven her yet 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 2 hours ago, michaelmarks697@yahoo.com said: no way Grave Digger? thats prettu cool. I thought it sucked. I turned down more money to sell it to the liar that bought it because he told me he wanted to restore it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 2 hours ago, allbizz49 said: Soooo, a little tinkering, doing the usual cleaning and fiddling and she fired up! I have yet to rebuild the carb and do a tune up but she lit off. Fuel pump is pumping ,put a new metal filter on. Sat there and idled like a champ and has great oil pressure. Gauge reads zero and 80, nothing in between but it was sitting about 3/4 of the way to 80 at idle so 60ish I would say. I have been keeping track of every penny spent just so I will know how much I have into it when I'm done. As of right now I am $2,720.80 in. Now I can start to sort the rest of it out. Tune up, carb rebuild, cooling system, stopping and steering safely and drive her! Super happy to hear everything so far is turning out well. I think you picked up a great car a lot of other people passed over because it is a plain Jane without the usual trim. Watch out for the police.........because you stole it! ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booger Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 20 hours ago, knuckleharley said: I thought it sucked. I turned down more money to sell it to the liar that bought it because he told me he wanted to restore it. that does suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allbizz49 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Just wanted to do a quick update. Installed the fuel tank and lines. She got a new water pump also. Molded hoses and fan belt. Waiting on a few odds and ends. Couldn't stand the engine color any longer so I did a quicke prep and paint. VHT cast iron because I had a can on the shelf. Also put some blue lacquered cloth plug wires. Looks much better in my opinion. Doing the brakes next starting tomorrow. Hope to be driving it soon. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Keep the updates coming on this sweet ‘53! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grea235 Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 With the "plain janes", I think you can get away with mods that you wouldn't normally do with a pretty car. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Some of us think the "Plain Janes" ARE the pretty cars. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 I like how you integrated the touchscreen radio. Been thinking along similar lines myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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