JP75

Hi im trying to choose a supplier and the correct headliner material for my 1953 deluxe sedan. I have ordered samples(so small) and its hard to get an idea of what the finished product will look like. So I have been trying to look at pictures on-line and shockingly headliners are not highly photographed (especially on cars that are not restored in mass numbers) and when a headliner is shown there are no details about what they used. I know I'm being over cautious but I want to be happy with what I choose and thought maybe there are others out there trying to figure this out. I'm hoping there might be a few folks out there that have finished their headliner installs that may be willing to share some pictures of their finished headliners and what type of material was used and who made it. Thanks for your help I hope this makes since and this does not seem like an odd question.

Hi I am looking for a source for the correct clips or a proven alternative clip to install rear door shark fin belt trim on a 1953 Pontiac 4 door. The ones I have have are long gone or rusted to nothing. Before i start on making something work i thought I would ask if anybody has found a source for the proper clips or has a proven substitution. Thanks in advance for your help.

Im asking to avoid the obvious and hoping for a better answer. Can a rod bearing go bad in the first minute or two of running after a rebuild? It ran about 30 sec or so nice and smooth a little throttle to clear it out then a solid knock knock knock at idle. If it is it sounds like one rod. I didn't let it run long. Has oil pressure but not sure how many pounds didn't run long enough to check. Any other ideas of what it could be? I'm pulling the pan off this weekend to inspect. Oh it's a Pontiac straight 8.

Hi John the top is going to be the 1953 version of Stardust blue and the body will be Cirro gray.

Hi it's been awhile since I last shared but I just crossed a major mile stone. Well a major mile stone for me and thought I'd share. To catch up on the progress i have painted the firewall, put the body back on the frame rebuilt the trunk hinges, aligned all 4 doors repaired the wheel well from the 60s repair (it had bathroom caulk in it) and I just got the rear quarter completely tack welded in place. This has been a huge battle with all the accident damage not repaired properly back in the 60s. Its not perfect but it better than 1" of bondo and rust traps. Just a few more rust repairs to go might get it in primer before winter. Got to have a goal or I'm never going to finish.

Major accomplishment today. The body is back on the frame. Now the fun begins😄

Hi its been awhile since I posted any updates. I have a new focus and drive to work on the car again and I have made some good progress this Spring. This past weekend I got a little ahead of myself and dug out the repair done in the 60's. Lots and lots of Bondo and not a lot of welds. I have a question I would like the advise of the resident experts. I have what I believe to be a factory replacement quarter panel or a good aftermarket one and the question is should I cut it up or try to replace the whole panel? Hopefully the 4 pictures load and you can see the two blue tape out lines. The larger oddly shaped blue tape line is the outline of the actual panel. The smaller straight lines directly around the damage would be the smaller partial panel replacement option. Of course none of this will happen until the body is back on the frame and the rear door hung. Thanks in advance I appreciate any of your suggestions, opinions, tips or advise that can be shared.

Hi my question is about the fan belt install clearance between the harmonic balancer and the top of the front motor mount on a 1953 Pontiac 8. Is the belt supposed to freely slip between the harmonic balancer or is it supposed to be a tight squeeze? I put my old belt back on and i had to force the belt between the two. It was no more then a tough push by hand but seems wrong. If it is supposed to slip freely is there supposed to be flat washer between the harmonic balancer and the front engine mount to gain some more room? There was not washers when I removed the engine and had never taken the belt off before. Thanks for your help.

Hi Again one more helpful hint that will hopefully save you some grief. In addition to the dropping the oil pan flush the cooling system out as best as you can before you run it. These engines have a water distribution tube that runs the length of the block behind the water pump that delivers water for each cylinder. If the holes in this tube get clogged you will be in a constant battle fighting cooling problems. My engine had less then 50000 miles on it and its water passages were almost completely blocked. Good luck and keep the posts coming.

Hi Nice car it is nice to see another 53 Pontiac brought back to life. I am also working on a 53 4 door and I have restoration page on this site if your interested with lots of photos(1953 Pontiac Chieftain 4 door). I agree with Unimogjohn try to get it going and enjoy it. I wish I could have enjoyed mine before I tore into it but,I didn't and it has sat in various states or disassembly for years. The important parts required to make it go are fairly easy to locate there several sites that sell parts for this car. Even though it looks a lot like a 53 Chevy they do not share any mechanical parts and just a few body panels. From the few pics yours looks fairly sold and the paint may even be okay to enjoy and may even hold a shine. You mentioned redoing the chrome yours does not look to bad and may clean up better then you think. There is a lot of it is stainless steel on these cars and will polish up nicely. Can you give us some more details. Is it a straight 8 or 6? Hydra-matic or 3 speed? Oh and more pictures. Good luck and have fun.

More pics of the repair done in the 60s. The replacement panel has several inches of overlap and the stick weld recessed and then brought back level with body filler. The edge of the replacement panel shows in the fender opening.

Hi again not much progress to comment on I finished the starter refresh and installed it on the engine. However I thought I would share my latest find. I shared early in my posts that the car was hit by a Gray Hound bus in the rear left quarter back in the late sixties. It has been a chore figuring out the poor repair work in the rocker and why the door would not line up and the amount of body filler I have pulled out of the door jamb and found in the quarter has troubled me. I have been watching a rear quarter keep coming up on e-bay for a while and after I scrutinized the pictures as much as possible I finally talked my self into buying it. How often does what appears to be a NOS panel for a 1953 Pontiac show up. Well it showed up today and the more I look at it the more I think it is an NOS panel. Fedex only damaged it slightly at the front of the fin you can see the small buckle in the attachment flange. I think I will be able to straighten it. What have I gotten myself into!!

Hi I cannot believe it has been a year since my last post. I am finally back in the mood to share I have not made to much progress on the Pontiac but I have been busy. Last year I really wanted a classic car as daily driver or as close to a daily driver as possible. I finally realized I had the Midget and spent the Winter, Spring and most of the summer getting it back on the road and dependable. I had completed a beginner (no money) frame off restoration in the early 2000's and and spent this year fixing the items I did not have money to fix or did a bad job rebuilding. I went through the engine and gear box again and completed a few other tasks that I had been putting off. That and its first alignment in 10 years got it back on the road for about two weeks. Then one of the rear wire wheel hubs spun. I knew the splines were worn but did not realize how bad. I got lucky it spun and loosened up the nut coming off the interstate. I then took another two months switching it over to steel wheels. I will switch it back to wire knock offs when he budget allows. I am not sure how the pictures will line up but I thought I would share a few pics of the Midget and I thought at least this group would get a good laugh of it sitting next to such a large Nash at its first cruse in. The rest of the pictures are of the small projects I have completed on the Pontiac. Now that the Midget is behaving I have started working on the Pontiac and will hopefully make some good progress in the next few months. Mostly I have been acquiring new grill parts to replace the parts damaged years ago. I still have about 4 pcs to go. So the short update includes installing the the last rear wheel bearing the grease was not dried up like the right side was but it was very thin and starting to leak. The fuel pump was rebuilt and installed, shocks both front and rear, and the exhaust installed. I made a new fuel line out of the correct size tubing I had bought a 3/8 but it just was not right and it bugged me. I have started cleaning up the starter this week. It was full of sand not sure how that happened but I am glad I decided to do this it was working well when I last had it running and could have just been painted and installed. I found the engine green paint on both the ends of the starter and ran out of paint so another can will have to be ordered. I need more for touch ups anyway. Just to be sure does anybody know for sure what the color the body body of the starter should be? I am thinking engine green.

Hi thanks for the replies. I was able to get into the garage atic last night and look at all of my glass. The windshild,all 4 doors and the 4 vent windows have the same markings including the E-Z eye mark. I was not able to locate any markings on the rear window. Is this normal for GM in 53/54? I have decided to look for a tinted rear window to match the rest. If any body has a tinted rear window for a 2 or 4 door sedan Chevy or Pontiac 1953 or 1954 that they will sell in or near North Carolina please let me know.

I have been finding new storage for some of my parts and I realized today my rear window is clear and does not have the E-Z eye tint like the rest. Is this normal? When the buyer selected the tint was it an all or nothen option? To narrow down the time line I am refering to a 1953 Pontiac 4 door sedan. Thanks for your help.