The 55er

I've used material from Joann, SoFro and other local fabric stores with very satisfactory results. I've never checked Hobby Lobby but I will next time. I realize that the exact 60-year old automotive material won't be found there but I visit a lot of stores to get the closest match I can find. My upholsterer has no problem with it but he does tell me to keep it out of the sun as much as I can as fading can be a problem with some of the fabrics. Also the selection of green colors is somewhat limited. Worked well for me on quite a few cars. My daily driver has 6-year old Joann fabric on the front seat and shows no wear at all.

418587 and 418586 fit 1946 and 1947 Oldsmobile series 76 and 78 according to my Oldsmobile parts book.

Could the part number possibly be 418918? If so that would fit 1946 and 1947 Oldsmobile 66 and 68 series. A picture of the front edge of the guard might help. Is it straight down or scalloped at the bottom?

Like KURTRUK said you need to find one for 1953-1954. Chevrolet visors are the same. An original visor may be difficult to find and I think they're ALL gonna be pretty pricey. I have owned several old cars with outside visors and I prefer a car without one especially when driving on an interstate and being passed by a tractor trailer doing 80 mph. If you find an original make sure you get all the mounting hardware with it. To each his own. If you want one go for it.

pm sent.

1954 Mercury dashboard ornament, mounts on top of the dash on the passenger side near the front windshield pillar. The external fender ornaments on mid-50s Mercs are larger than 1 1/2" in diameter.

The hubcaps that are currently on your car are 1953 Buick wire wheelcovers.

Back-up lamp switch for 1967 Buick Special with synchro trans, floor shift Gran Sport (1st production).

1951-1952 Plymouth left side front bottom grille bar, mounts above bumper and under parking lamp, P/N 1346707.

The light blue book with no dust jacket is titled Buick The Postwar Years by Jan P. Norbye and Jim Dunne.

A good radiator shop should be able to repair or re-core it.

I am selling 16 miscellaneous vintage Buick books, manuals and magazine articles from a friend's estate. Everything is in good used condition, please refer to pictures. The price is $100 for everything and that includes Media Mail shipping to the lower 48. I do not do any international shipping. Location: Elizabethtown. PA (Hershey area). Please PM if interested.

Some years ago I bought a non-running 1954 Oldsmobile as a fix-up project. A friend and I got it running out in the driveway with the radiator cap off and I was adding water a little bit at a time. For some reason I had my head under the hood looking down at the side of the engine when a soaking-wet mouse stuck its head right out of the top of the radiator! My buddy yelled "Hey look at that!" Scared the S*** out of me! It shook itself off like a dog would do, I reached for a screwdriver or something to hit it with but it fell off the radiator and got away. Darndest thing I ever saw. I set a few mousetraps outside the house and got the mouse in a day or two. I fixed the car up, had it licensed and started driving it. It would run cool at idle but when I drove it at speed it would overheat. After I removed the radiator cap there were lots of pieces of mouse nest floating around inside the radiator and it took a good cleaning from a radiator shop to solve the problem. I don't know how it ever got in there but the car had been sitting for quite a while.

The cabs on a 4-door Chieftain and a 4-door Star Chief are the same size and the Chieftain carpet should fit. I hate buying carpet, none of the replacements ever seem to fit like the originals. Maybe you can get some advice on this Forum who makes the best replacement carpet, that's what I would do if I were in the market for some. If there's an old car upholstery shop in your area you might ask them what brand they like to use. Opinions?

You just add a little bit at a time until it's up to the full mark.

Here's a vote that you install a nice glass Mason jar under the hood and run the dummy lines. Those early washer systems are much more trouble than they're worth. Love your car by the way!

Personally, I have owned 4 older floor-fill Hydramatic cars and serviced another one for a friend. I check the fluid after driving a reasonable distance on a flat surface with everything at operating temperature and the transmission in neutral. I keep it at the full level on the dipstick and that's about all you can do. I don't remember any splattering and never had a problem with any of those 5 Hydramatics.

Are you sure the transmission is supposed to be in the Drive position and not in Neutral? I have included a section of the GM Hydra-matic Transmission Service Manual from 1946-1955 that explains the proper procedure for checking the fluid level. See step 2.

Over in the real world where I live, those are fairly common hubcaps. I've sold lots of hubcaps over the years at Carlisle & Hershey, I throw all the 60's Chevy SS caps I get in with all the hundreds of other $5 hubcaps I sell and sometimes they sell and sometimes they don't. $5 apiece was all I could ever Git for mine but your set looks pretty nice and I'd price them a little higher than that. My problem though is when I drag stuff out to a swap meet I want as much of it gone as possible so I don't have to haul it back home and store it for another year.......I wish you all the best with your sale, I hope you find the right buyer and do well with them.

They're 1961. Look at the lettering at the center, should say Guide B1-61 or maybe R1-61. The 61 designates the year. 1958 Chevrolet lenses are a similar shape but are all one color. The 1958 taillight lens is all red and the backup lens is all clear. I don't think 58 and 61 lenses interchange.

That looks like an early 1950's ribbed GM trim ring. Check the dimensions of the wheel. If it has a 5 1/2 " width where the tire mounts (6 1/2" overall) and an overall outer diameter of 16 1/2" it could be for a 1940-1956 Oldsmobile or a 1940-1955 Pontiac. Those will have a 5" bolt circle and a center hole with a 3 1/16" diameter. The trim rings might fit 1949-1953 Olds or Pontiac, maybe other years as well.

First one is for 1946-1948 Dodge cars, mounts on the front of the hood in a die-cast trim piece underneath the hood ornament.

The bumper could be 1949 Plymouth.

The 21098 muffler fits various Studebakers from 1956-1966. Also some 1957-1958 Packards. Kaiser mufflers have different numbers.

1955 or 1956 Dodge car.