Noclueshoe Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 I picked up this 52 Windsor deluxe about 8 months ago. cars mostly complete but unfortunately was blinded by the pure awesomeness of the car that I overlooked some glaring issues Car smokes terrible to the point its embarrassing, transmission doesn't want to shift after being driven for more then 10 minutes. pervious owner had stated the brake lights stopped working when he added brake fluid turns out it was because the brake light bulbs were missing. I've done little work to the car just replaced the shocks and added headlight and brake light bulbs and bought a carpet kit and cowl vent seal. enough ranting onto the questions. I was quoted about 4.5k to rebuild the motor(265) complete top to bottom not sure if that's reasonable I cant seem to find rebuild kits to get a idea. the car has a lot of body roll when corning not sure if that's normal for a car of this era. was looking for a replacement gas tank as someone had previously "restored" the gas tank then drilled a whole in the top to run fuel line, seen several options but wasn't sure what one was a direct swap. I was spit balling the idea if the rebuild costs to much that i would just buy a donor mustang gt and take its guts and turn the Windsor into a cruiser. If anyone's done anything like that I would appreciate a reply.(any reply is appreciated)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 I'd get it up on a lift and look underneath to see how much rust there is and the condition of the frame and pan. On my 58 Dodge pans are about $100 a piece and I had to buy about 8 including rockers & trunk. That's the parts only. If the body is okay then maybe start on other stuff. Depends how much you want to pay. If you aren't mechanically inclined and don't have shop tools then pay the $4.5K for the complete overhaul (if you want it perfect). That's driving it in the mechanics shop, them pulling the motor, them getting the parts, overhauling it, putting it back in. Complete means new everything in the motor, turning the crank, milling the heads, etc.. If it's not knocking maybe you could get by with new rings and valve guides. Don't use detergent oil in it if you don't know what was used before. Stirs up all the crud. Gas tanks run about $450-500 now. Used to be cheaper. Shop around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loren Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 Well I don't say this very often, but you should do your Mustang swap.....and sell the 265 engine to me! I'd happily pay to get rebuilt. A Windsor was a pretty nice car for a small Chrysler. Looks like you have a pretty nice example and I am envious! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 (edited) $4500 seems a little cheap to me for a thorough rebuild. When you add up all the parts and the labor. Not sure how a shop can do it for $4500 and make a profit. Yet there are many levels to rebuilding an engine. People don't do it all the same. Some replace many parts with new. Others choose to re-use more parts. I am not aware of a complete engine rebuild kit available. Parts usually end up coming from various manufacturers. Retailers will source them and sell them to you. Andy Bernbaum and Vintage Power Wagons offer all the various parts, but no rebuild kit that I am aware of. The 265 is a coveted engine by many here. It's a good one to drop in a smaller lighter car for an instant performance boost. Edited May 4, 2022 by keithb7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noclueshoe Posted May 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 On 5/4/2022 at 2:01 AM, Bryan said: I'd get it up on a lift and look underneath to see how much rust there is and the condition of the frame and pan. On my 58 Dodge pans are about $100 a piece and I had to buy about 8 including rockers & trunk. That's the parts only. If the body is okay then maybe start on other stuff. Depends how much you want to pay. If you aren't mechanically inclined and don't have shop tools then pay the $4.5K for the complete overhaul (if you want it perfect). That's driving it in the mechanics shop, them pulling the motor, them getting the parts, overhauling it, putting it back in. Complete means new everything in the motor, turning the crank, milling the heads, etc.. If it's not knocking maybe you could get by with new rings and valve guides. Don't use detergent oil in it if you don't know what was used before. Stirs up all the crud. Gas tanks run about $450-500 now. Used to be cheaper. Shop around. When I changed the the shocks I got a good look underneath. luckily the car is really good shape must have been garaged for most of its life, has some small rust on the roof but nothing major. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted May 6, 2022 Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 The smoking might be nothing more than stuck rings. Which isn't uncommon is an engine that sits for a long time. Maybe do a compression check to see if it is rings then change the oil add Marvel Mystery Oil and run it. I don't know how much run time you have on the engine, but it is also possible that someone oiled down the cylinders in the past to keep them from rusting up. That could take some time to burn off. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug&Deb Posted May 6, 2022 Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 What exactly is the trans doing that it won’t shift? I’m guessing you have the M6 semi auto trans. The Imperial club website has a troubleshooting manual available for download. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noclueshoe Posted May 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 On 5/6/2022 at 4:13 AM, Sniper said: The smoking might be nothing more than stuck rings. Which isn't uncommon is an engine that sits for a long time. Maybe do a compression check to see if it is rings then change the oil add Marvel Mystery Oil and run it. I don't know how much run time you have on the engine, but it is also possible that someone oiled down the cylinders in the past to keep them from rusting up. That could take some time to burn off. I probably have 4 hours of total run time on the motor since I bought it. I will try checking compression and change the oil next week and see if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noclueshoe Posted May 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 22 hours ago, Doug&Deb said: What exactly is the trans doing that it won’t shift? I’m guessing you have the M6 semi auto trans. The Imperial club website has a troubleshooting manual available for download. Seems to only happen in town after about 10 mins of start and stop traffic. Coming from a stop it doesn't want to up shift have to let it coast almost to a stop to have it shift. Then once and awhile come to a stop and won't downshift. Transmission clunks when shifting not sure if that's normal or not for these cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted May 7, 2022 Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) As the car slows down, engine at idle spec, the rotary switch closes based on driveshaft speed. I talk about this switch in the video here. The silver switch contacts need to be clean. Do not attempt to clean them with any abrasives. The proper amount of oil pressure is also required to overcome the shift fork spring. The oil pump is driven off ground speed as well. Would be worth your while to check both. Also all wiring connections. Clean, grease & oil free. Tight. Edited May 7, 2022 by keithb7 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted May 7, 2022 Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 5 hours ago, Noclueshoe said: I probably have 4 hours of total run time on the motor since I bought it. I will try checking compression and change the oil next week and see if that helps. As I was saying, don't go out and put 10-30w detergent oil if you don't know what the previous person was using. If you want to use normal oil I'd recommend taking the oil pan off, cleaning it out, cleaning the screen on the sump, and behind the valve cover areas. I started mine to knocking in the early 90s by flushing with kerosene and changing the oil twice at my brother's suggestion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug&Deb Posted May 7, 2022 Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 First thing to check for shifting problems is the idle speed. Between 450-475 . Any higher and it won’t up shift. The clunk is normal. For most driving high range is all that’s needed, where 3rd would be on a stick. Downshift usually occurs below 10mph . I highly recommend the Imperial website for the troubleshooting manual. It walks you through the process. Start with the idle speed then check all wire connections. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noclueshoe Posted May 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2022 On 5/7/2022 at 1:31 PM, Bryan said: As I was saying, don't go out and put 10-30w detergent oil if you don't know what the previous person was using. If you want to use normal oil I'd recommend taking the oil pan off, cleaning it out, cleaning the screen on the sump, and behind the valve cover areas. I started mine to knocking in the early 90s by flushing with kerosene and changing the oil twice at my brother's suggestion. Pervious owner said he ran non detergent 30w. I just changed the oil and filter.seems to be burning quite a bit of oil maybe 1.5 quarts of oil in the pan plus what was in the oil canister. While changing the oil I did discover I have a leaf on drivers side that's corroded and broke,and had a clogged fuel filter Unfortunately think it's going to need pulled in order to fix the smoking problem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcDeSoto Posted May 9, 2022 Report Share Posted May 9, 2022 Always change the oil before you start a newly acquired car that's been sitting for hears. Did you check the oil level in the transmission? It uses 10w nd oil in the trans. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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