Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[David Conwill]

Back in the day, my father had a 54 Kaiser. It was gutless so he took out the 6 and replaced it with the new Chevy V-8 at the time---265 V8. It still didn't have enough so on went the super charger. It was FAST. It looked like your regular Kaiser until you saw the dual exhaust and actually drove it.

Yowza!

So I know what a Kaiser is.

Or what it should have been!

I wasn't trying to put down the Kaiser. I like every one of the cars on that chart. Those are all my serious candidates.

 

[jamespowers]

Yowza!



Or what it should have been!

I wasn't trying to put down the Kaiser. I like every one of the cars on that chart. Those are all my serious candidates.

Oh, I thought it was a God Awful ugly car but it was fast. No put down seen.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

You're far enough north to get a Canadian Ford

The only Fords available with flathead V8s in ‘54 were the Canadian models; American V8 cars came with the brand-new Y-block.

 

[David Conwill]

You're far enough north to get a Canadian Ford

You'd think, but I've never seeing one! I really like the Meteor Niagara: Kind of a cross between the Ford and Mercury.

 

[jamespowers]

You'd think, but I've never seeing one! I really like the Meteor Niagara: Kind of a cross between the Ford and Mercury.

You might have something there.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I don't see them much here, either. The occasional Mercury pickup's about it.

You'd think, but I've never seeing one! I really like the Meteor Niagara: Kind of a cross between the Ford and Mercury.

 

[David Conwill]

 

[David Conwill]

Interesting tidbit on Kaisers. It’s pretty well known that AMC’s first V8 design (which resulted in the famous 1957 “Rebel” 327) was originally prepared for Kaiser (possibly originating with Graham, pre-WWII) and came along with its designer when Kaiser ceased passenger car production in the United States. It would be a logical swap into a ‘54 Manhattan.

 

[jamespowers]

Interesting tidbit on Kaisers. It’s pretty well known that AMC’s first V8 design (which resulted in the famous 1957 “Rebel” 327) was originally prepared for Kaiser (possibly originating with Graham, pre-WWII) and came along with its designer when Kaiser ceased passenger car production in the United States. It would be a logical swap into a ‘54 Manhattan.

It was indeed. It fit like it belonged there---and it did. That 6 had plenty of room around it.
The only problem my father ran into was forgetting to put in the set downs from 12 volts to six volts for the car accessories. He found out the first time it rained. lol lol

 

[Stanley Doble]

"So how about it, gang: Can anyone guess the make and model of all 21 of these 1954 model year vehicles?"

Buick, Chevrolet 150 , Chevrolet Bel Air, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, Ford, Ford, Hudson, Kaiser, Lincoln sedan, Lincoln Capri, Mercury,Mercury, Nash, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, Packard, Willys, Studebaker.

 

[Stearmen]

Speaking of Canada, how about a Fargo Power Wagon? Or better yet, the DeSoto version? Ironically, both brands are alive and well in Turkey, under the Askam company!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I imagine such trucks were popular up north with how much snow they get!

 

[David Conwill]

Recently I've been dreaming about building a two-wheel-drive Dodge M37 (the military version of the Power Wagon, what I've always called a Dodge "Weapons Carrier") as a kind of 1950s roadster pickup. Nobody's really seen this as a good idea so far, though. I think it would make an awesome shop truck with a Red Ram Hemi and a standard Dodge truck beam axle (dropped) up front.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Brake drum woes on the Plodge -- driving home from work this afternoon and heard a clank from the front end just as I turned into the dooryard. Looked back to see a ten-inch-long chunk of my passenger-front brake drum lying in the driveway. Looking it over it was pretty heavily rusted, but I hadn't realized just how deep the rust went.

I have a couple sources possible to replace both the front drums, just to be safe, but does anybody know right off if these require a puller tool for removal? I know they do on the back, but how about the front?

 

[Stanley Doble]

Fronts do not require a puller. But they are rivetted to the hub. Your mechanic must cut or drill the old rivets and peen new ones in place. Not very difficult but a skill not often called for these days.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Good to know. The ones I'm looking at come with new hubs attached, so I presume it's just a simple on-and-off swap?

 

[Stanley Doble]

Good to know. The ones I'm looking at come with new hubs attached, so I presume it's just a simple on-and-off swap?

Are they new or used? If they come with bearings it is a simple on and off swap, the only slightly tricky bit is adjusting the bearing which takes about 2 minutes. If they don't come with bearings you have to drive the bearing races out of the old hub and install them in the new one which takes 5 minutes. All in all changing the front hub is pretty easy, not much harder than changing a tire.

Newer model Chrysler products use a Unicast brake rotor which is made in one piece with the hub. Replacements come with bearing races installed. If your new hub is like that it is a very simple matter to swap them.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Great, they come with the bearings and seals, so I should be back on the road in a week or so. This is turning into an incremental rebuild, but it was the same way with my bicycle.

Otherwise, I've put a couple of hundred miles on the thing just beating around town, and it's been holding up quite nicely. I'm probably going to put it into hibernation for the winter once we get snow, but till then I'm making the most of it.

 

[David Conwill]

I just saw one of these at an old service-station-turned-repair-shop on the west side of Bay City:

The mechanic had a Mercury S55 convertible on the lift, a vintage pedal car and a set of fresh Small Block Chevy heads in the office.

He said the Dodge is about to go up for sale after the owner decides if she wants to fix the leaky radiator. He said it was solid underneath with no apparent bondo. I’m going to drop off my card next week.

A ‘51 Dodge wasn’t my first choice, but it is hard not to love them when they’re right there in front of you. And it has plenty of room for kids and luggage.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Be sure to check the brakes carefully -- that's been my achilles-heel so far. If they haven't been gone over and rebuilt recently, you'll be getting real familiar with Andy Bernbaum.