MercMontMars

The seller was able to come up with the taillight lenses for the car, so glad he found them. He even had the housing so I can get these working eventually. I love how artfully done everything is on this car, everything oozes elegance.

Prepping for operation…

Turns out the motor is free! Spins nicely with a brand new tight belt. Looking good. Next up is changing my battery wires so I can try and spin the starter. Everything has been a pleasant surprise so far with this car.

@DFeeney Already tried, they seem to be only good for a flat clean shop floor.

@The 55er Understandable, I haven’t really tried much with the motor yet. I hooked up a 6v battery to the car and didn’t get anything so I have some new cables, going to fit those when I have time. Clean all my connections. Oiled the cylinders, the belt was fried and I don’t have access to the crank pulley to try it with a wrench yet. Motor still has oil in it, so I’m optimistic that it isn’t seized. I don’t have a title just yet no, I just bought it and have a bill of sale and the seller is a close mechanic buddy of mine and he’s currently looking for the title. He says it might be in his dad’s safe, which he currently cannot open.. I trust him though, he’s not gonna pull one on me. He was able to find the taillights for the car. Overall I’m just remaining optimistic about this car, having fun with it and I’m not concerned about the mechanical status, as I am capable of overhauling it but I can tell it’ll be a runner with a little love, hood was on it and the filter housing was still on the carb. I have the car in a place it can sit as long as it needs, I’m in no rush to get it going anywhere. Any goals and repairs I mention is just me thinking out loud really. Not sure how many miles on the car, I can try reading the odometer but from what I saw I think it was in 4 digits.. Also worth noting, the car was last road- registered in New Hamshire in 1986 apparently, so she had to be a moving car then. After that who knows.. the minimal undercarriage rust screams southern car, so she was either brought back and forth or was a garage queen only brought out for summer. Who knows.. all I know is I’m not gonna be spooked or discouraged, I have no deadline or storage concerns for this car and I’m doing a little bit at a time.

@Marty Roth Not yet, I saw a big hole in the sidewall and assumed their fate was sealed. But before I go to buy tubes I’ll at least try them, worst that can happen is they just don’t do anything.

@BlueDevil Oh boy.. not looking forward to that. Hopefully it won’t be too difficult. It’s not looking great though, as these tires appear to be from the late 60s and sat just about as long flat.. only one way to find out.

Would something like this work? I’ve got a tractor supply store nearby so I might grab these and try them. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rubbermaster-plus-g-k16-tr13-bias-passenger-tube-50135-1570144?cid=Shopping-Google-Product-1570144&gbraid=0AAAAAD3fmFP6aMP-5NU7xE6I2hVFGKTzA&gclid=CjwKCAjwgZCoBhBnEiwAz35Rwt1T8BNoaW46gbvL8u5LCLYG2opRqDuGuY5IBMs5HlOjNX11D6Y2axoCXQcQAvD_BwE

@Marty Roth No, haha. Far from that stage. Both my cars I’ve bought so far had decent rollers on them, this is the first time I’ve dealt with 4 flats. Im just picturing myself putting tubes into it and the tire just crumbling, leaving me with an exposed tube. I’ll have a closer look and see if I can just do that, would make the process easier.

@wmtunate I could, but would that work since they’re dry rotted and cracked/split all around? I feel like they’d just fall apart.

@Robert G. Smits I’m located in Florida.

@joe_padavano Huh, that’s something I’ve never thought of before. Pretty creative, if I can’t find anything I might just try that.

Hi everyone, I’m trying to find some cheap roller tires for my recent 39’ Chrysler project. All 4 tires are flat and won’t at least hold air to roll. I’ve called about every place in town, and ended my search with Coker tire but they told me that they’d be about $300 a piece.. I’m not looking to invest that much in tires until I’m actually driving the car. I tried using roller dollies but the asphalt the car is on at the moment is too rough to roll with those. Where should I look? I’m gonna figure out my bolt pattern and maybe pick some donut spares from my local junkyard, but they’ve recently gone out of their mind on prices. The tires on the car now say they’re a size 6.00-16. I believe the car needs 16x6.25. If anyone has had luck finding tires or might have some around, let me know. Thanks for any help!

Very nice, a car that would easily be looked over and lost to time until there’s none left. One car I wouldn’t mind having someday is a 1996 Buick Roadmaster fully optioned sedan or wagon. Great looking cars that still cling to that classic plush comfort and appearance. True sense of luxury.. I’ll take plush velvet over pleather any day!

Life’s a beach!

30 years later.. Mint condition, little to no rust, car has sat for a while.. unsure of the overall condition..

@keiser31 Thanks! Guess I can officially join that club now.

Hi there everyone, I’ve posted my car on the General Discussion forum but wanted to start a new topic here mainly for showing progress and asking questions. Just in 2 days this car has come around very nicely, I cleaned the inside the best I could and tore out all the rat nesting and critter remains.. nasty! But now the inside is clean and workable. Treated all the rust I could find with Fluid Film to stop it until I can properly repair it. For anyone who might know, I have rust in some really tough spots such as through the roof on the passenger side. How might I go about repairing this when I get to it? It’s a curved area and seems really tricky.. but I know a good welder and even he was stumped. I will get pictures of the area soon. I also need advice on how to approach the drip rail rust, looks very tricky to repair but there’s still enough structure to hopefully repair it. Other than that, this car has pleasantly surprised me in all aspects. It is very complete, I’ve had a blast working on it and got a lot done in just two days, and I’m looking forward to trying the motor soon. Price: $1,000 Budget: $3,000 (as of now) Plans: As original as possible, eventual full restoration

Thank you for all the great advice everyone, I will be rolling the car into my garage today or tomorrow to get some work done and try everything that has been mentioned. Wish me luck!

@marcapra Hmm, really gets me wondering what I’ve got now. All signs point to this paint being original lead paint and I see no signs of it being repainted, could definitely be very sun bleached Dove Gray. Will have to see if I can get an answer from the data plate. I’m betting this paint is what really saved this car, did a great job protecting it over the decades.

@marcapra Wow, that car is absolutely gorgeous. I’m surprised it’s not getting more attention, still has the headlamp lenses and was wonderfully restored. You could swim in that deep blue paint they gave it. I’ve got a long time before I even consider painting my project and such, but picking a colour isn’t going to be easy. Will probably keep it original and go with a factory correct white.

@Xander Wildeisen That looks like it’s in much better shape than mine and would match my car! Will message you shortly.

Cylinders are holding oil up.. pretty good sign to me. Took more of the inside apart, revealed more good floor pans and minimal rust. Getting new cables and cleaning all my electric points tomorrow to see if I can get her to turn. Put a 6v battery and didn’t get anything, but my cables look roached and any electric points are begging for a cleaning. Making huge progress in just 2 days.

Took off the hood to get a better look at everything. Looks to be all there, nothing is getting power at the moment, I just did a basic check with a 6v battery to see if I was getting lights or maybe the horn. Gonna get new battery cables and clean my contact points. Got a good buddy working on the inside, he loves gutting and cleaning old cars, he’s great to have around.

@Rusty_OToole Ok, I’ll start off simple. I haven’t done much yet, right now I am checking out the carb and cleaning the engine bay, looking for anything out of place as I go. Going to be putting my new plugs in. Next will be fluids, points and so on.. then I’ll give her a go.