Welcome to my new obsession.

[Burtbaccarat]

Hello folks! New to the forum and have been using the search function quite a bit to answer some of my questions. Now I get to finally start my own thread! Just brought home a '53 Cambridge business sedan. All original (save for the rehopolstered interior) and still 6v, which is awesome.

Step 1. Get it running. Turns but won't start, not getting spark....not really worried about getting it running....it can only be so many things...lol..

Step. 2 get it stopping. Again...not real concerned it's just brake lines and parts IF it doesn't stop already. 

Step 3. Make it even cooler than it already is. I mean...this thing is rad...

I'll attach of bunch of pics of her for her 2 hour voyage home....when we got her to the garage, the skies opened up on us, so I didn't get any pics of her in her new digs....

 

Planning on doing a build/adventures/mis adventures thread here...

Thanks for looking and feed me any tips, or knowledge you've got! All is appreciated!

[Sniper]

Love the cop car rims and hubcaps on the trailer.  Nice start to your obsession.

[Purple Moo Cow]

That thing is sweet man, welcome!

[greg g]

Welcome.  1st item.  Headlights are known as bullseye.  These days they are scarce and expensive so protect them.  2nd, your car has hydrive which was a 1953,54 thing and it's a bit weird.  Uses shared engine oil as lubricant and for hydraulic functions within the trans.  Go to allpar.com and do a search regarding its care and feeding.  3rd. The car does not have park, and no compression braking with engine off, so make sure the park brake works or the tires are chocked.  4th is still stock the cars electrical system is 6 volt positive ground.  Now that you have found this site, read all the stuff in the pull downtown menus for lots of good info.

[Burtbaccarat]

1 minute ago, greg g said:

Welcome.  1st item.  Headlights are known as bullseye.  These days they are scarce and expensive so protect them.  2nd, your car has hydrive which was a 1953,54 thing and it's a bit weird.  Uses shared engine oil as lubricant and for hydraulic functions within the trans.  Go to allpar.com and do a search regarding its care and feeding.  3rd. The car does not have park, and no compression braking with engine off, so make sure the park brake works or the tires are chocked.  4th is still stock the cars electrical system is 6 volt positive ground.  Now that you have found this site, read all the stuff in the pull downtown menus for lots of good info.

No doubt...the PO had the cables swapped when I went to look at it...I kept quiet about it because if he swapped and got it running, he'd prob want more...lol...and didn't want to get it running in his driveway and drive it onto the trailer....I did that once with a VW and the guy got kinda bent about it...lol

But yes, i did a bunch of reading on the goofiness and awesomeness of the hydrive, and 6v w +ground....just gotta figure out what's doing under the hood....PO monkeyed around under there with the wiring...added a batt cutoff and what seems to be a bump button to turn over....maybe to try to time it? Who knows....either way, I'll probably wind up replacing all the wiring that's ignition related and start from there.

[Burtbaccarat]

15 minutes ago, Sniper said:

Love the cop car rims and hubcaps on the trailer.  Nice start to your obsession.

Good eye....a buddy yells at me for those because apparently they go for a pretty penny on ebay..lol

[dwest999]

Great find and welcome.  As for your list, make sure you take some time with the brakes.  Making it cool is a good thing, but making the car safe is most important.  I look forward to following you as you take this journey.

[Bryan G]

A car like this offers a tremendous amount of smiles for its price; you're gonna have a lot of fun getting it going! 6v+ can be a very reliable system...I've never had an issue with starting, for instance. To me, the idea of driving down the highway with a six volt positive ground, flathead six powered, goofy-obsolete technology transmission, alongside folks driving a late model Prius or a Hemi Charger or a Tesla, I don't know...just something special about that to me. Folks who go swapping in modern powertrains miss out on that novelty.

[allbizz49]

Cool car, congrats. You'll be driving it in no time. 

[Burtbaccarat]

30 minutes ago, Bryan G said:

A car like this offers a tremendous amount of smiles for its price; you're gonna have a lot of fun getting it going! 6v+ can be a very reliable system...I've never had an issue with starting, for instance. To me, the idea of driving down the highway with a six volt positive ground, flathead six powered, goofy-obsolete technology transmission, alongside folks driving a late model Prius or a Hemi Charger or a Tesla, I don't know...just something special about that to me. Folks who go swapping in modern powertrains miss out on that novelty.

See...you get me.....lol

[Doug&Deb]

Awesome car! Take your time with it and use this forum. Lots of knowledge here. You have the right idea of fixing one problem at a time. First thing I recommend is getting a service manual. Reproductions are readily available and inexpensive. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[MackTheFinger]

Love the car!! Get 'er running and enjoy it as is!!

[Art Bailey]

Love it! The designers got their roof line game together in '53.

 

Ditto on the service manual, and I find having the parts manual indispensable. It's great not only for knowing the part numbers, the exact name for every little bit in the car, but also for having incredibly detailed drawings of almost every system in the car, great for knuckleheads like me who think, "yeah, I'll totally remember how that goes back together 3 months from now." 

 

Good advice I got here was to just buy a new gas tank and be done with it. Keep us updated!

Edited July 15, 2021 by ratbailey

[Burtbaccarat]

Charged the battery on 3A overnight and got it to 6.2. Put the cables on the CORRECT posts and started turning stuff on.. Lights worked, and so did the wipers (I thought they were going to be vac powered?).

Just to make sure the PO wasn't bs'ing me I hit the trigger for a second and it turned. So im happy enough with that for the time being. 

Refilled the batt, as now it was about half empty, and put her back on trickle.  

Took more pics under hood, interior,  and on the ground now that she's sat where she will stay for thr time being. 

 

Take a look at one of the pics which I believe to be the voltage regulator.  I only see 3 terminals...I thought there was a couple more from the research I've done....am I missing it?

[RobertKB]

I believe that is a club coupe as it has a back seat and rear quarter windows. Business coupe has neither. Cool car whatever it is. I’m partial to 53’s as I own one. 

[Burtbaccarat]

3 minutes ago, RobertKB said:

I believe that is a club coupe as it has a back seat and rear quarter windows. Business coupe has neither. Cool car whatever it is. I’m partial to 53’s as I own one. 

Oh no kidding? I knew the biz didn't come with a back seat but read somewhere it could be added for like a buck or something silly....didnt know about the quarter windows, though. Thanks for the info! Niw I get to type something different into Google every 5 minutes to look for goodies to buy! Lol

[Plymouthy Adams]

53/54 if the rear glass has a division post....it screams sedan...............

[RobertKB]

45 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

53/54 if the rear glass has a division post....it screams sedan...............

Could be a two door sedan as PA mentions and not a club coupe. There was a discussion on ‘53 Plymouth two doors and their differences a little while ago. I tried search but couldn’t find it. 

[Young Ed]

Yes that's your voltage regulator with 3 connections. Plymouth went elec wipers in 51

[allbizz49]

My 53 is a business coupe. It was my thread that the different coupes and sedans were discussed. It has no divider bar in the quarter windows. Also, no back seat or window cranks. Quarter glass is fixed. yours is a club sedan. They also made a club coupe without the glass divider bar with a back seat. 

[Burtbaccarat]

So went back over to get spark today, but I think the batt is just too weak. Pulled the plugs, dumped some lube in each cylinder and put back together. Cleaned points and unplugged the wire from the coil to get it close to the block....was going to try to turn motor and hold open points to see if there was spark, but the motor turns so sluggish, and after 2 pulls of the trigger was down to 80% ish.....so I figured a new batt was prob the right move. 

Bought an 8v batt (a buddy's dad said they used to use them for more cranking power in their old plymouths) and will try again tomorrow. Allegedly I can turn adjust the regulator to increase the charging slightly, since the batt will require a hair more juice from the genny?

I'll try to see if I get spark,  and if not I'll change points and condenser.....if still no spark, I'll change the coil....those are the only parts I bought out of the gate....so I'd assume the regulator would be the next part, should the spark be elusive.

[Dartgame]

As you said look at the points and more importantly the condensor, next would be the coil... A regulator - will not stop it from having spark, I dont think anyway (could be wrong). 

 

Your starter may be tired and in need of an inspection & cleaning - lube on bearings, if the engine still turns over slow.

[Burtbaccarat]

19 hours ago, Dartgame said:

As you said look at the points and more importantly the condensor, next would be the coil... A regulator - will not stop it from having spark, I dont think anyway (could be wrong). 

 

Your starter may be tired and in need of an inspection & cleaning - lube on bearings, if the engine still turns over slow.

Ok..so put the new batt in, tested for power up to coil, and up to distributor...so I started to pull the condensor and points....firstly...what damn size is the head on this screw?! I'm laying across the fender trying to reach down in there and can't find anything small enough to work...well, 1/4" too big and 6mm (which obviously isn't right because it's metric) came close. Also, 

I lost the stupid screw that holds the condensor down, again, because I'm laying across the fender to reach..lol...so before I stabbed my screwdriver through the windshield,  I packed up shop and quit for the day. Where can I order that screw, or even another condensor that comes with one....the one I ordered obviously didnt.

[Sniper]

I'd just go down to Ace hardware and match it up, probably an 8-32 if I was to guess.  Dunno the size of the head off had, I do have a set of ignition wrenches and the Model A I just did the points on used a 5/16th, but that's bigger than 1/4. 7/32 is a hair smaller than 6mm. 3/16 is even smaller.

 

I believe I am still running the points my 51 came with when I bought it so I haven't fooled with it.  Long ago, when working on a slant 6, it was just easier to pull the distributor and fix it on the bench.

[keithb7]

Keep your eyes peeled for spare old crusty distributors and carbs.  All the little screws, nuts, washers, ground isolating parts and more can be salvaged and reused. I have 4 or so distributors and carbs that are discarded by most folks. They’ve been great for spare parts. 
 

Yep on the micro wrenches. Good to have. Another tip is pull the distributor and repair it on the bench. Much easier when you are trying to deal with micro fasteners. 

Edited July 17, 2021 by keithb7