MercMontMars

@Steve9 Definitely! I will message you about those, I will be needing some good seat covers eventually.

@Walt G Not quite on the interior portion, but it all looks very simple. Part of the reason I bought this car is to get more experienced with things like that, taking my shot at fabricating parts and general restoration. I’m fairly confident that I can make the carpeting and maybe upholster the seats, oddly enough my seats had about 3 layers of fabric on them.. top layer was a rattan wicker type material, the second a plastic/vinyl blue material, and finally a nice blue velvet. All of it is dry rotted and not savable sadly. The headliner I may have to buy or have made professionally, but that won’t be any time soon. I still have the beams that hold it up and they’re solid so I’m glad about that.

@marcapra I noticed a very odd market for these cars while researching before my purchase, definitely not the most valuable car. I think the highest sale I’ve found was $16,000 in perfect fully running condition. I don’t see myself putting more than $3,000 into this project so I’m not too worried about it, this is fully for fun and to test my abilities. It’ll be crazy comparing her prior condition to fully restored someday. I sure do hope you get your 48’ Desoto going, very nice looking cars, I love old Mopars. I’d love to get some pictures of your project.

@28 Chrysler Wow I didn’t know that, I wouldn’t have even noticed the headlights weren’t factory. For what I paid for the car I don’t mind, maybe one day I’ll find a pair and return it to its original look. I’m still thinking about how I’m gonna tackle that, the drip rail does not seem very easy to weld and it has plenty of holes in it.

Recent progress, just gutting all the rotted out interior parts and getting the inside clean. The floors look great and from what I’ve seen so far the frame is mint, seemingly still retaining some black paint.

@Rusty_OToole I fully agree, I don’t plan on taking this motor apart at all unless I have a genuine reason to at some point. Gonna start basic like you said, I’ve already bought new plugs and will oil the cylinders. Only “big” things I’m really worried about starting out is the carburetor needing a rebuild and maybe pulling the head just to clean it a bit and check for any stuck valves. I’ve found a chart that shows the bolt pattern so I can properly remove and replace that if I do. The motor still has oil in it so I’m glad to see that, I know it will pleasantly surprise me when I get to trying it.

@wayne sheldon Thanks for the reply Wayne, you pretty much summed up my plan! I’m gonna cut out the rotted headliner and give the inside a good dusting out. See what my floors look like, clean all the glass and make her shine again for the first time in many years. After getting the interior the best I can get it, I’ll start tackling the mechanicals. I have a good feeling it’ll surprise me, it’s a little in-line 6 and probably has sat longer than it actually drove, weird to think many cars of this time are usually less than 80,000 miles.

@Dandy Dave No luck there, but the guy selling it says he might have them in his shop somewhere. Might get lucky, really hope I do because I have no clue where I’d ever find another set..

@George Smolinski She’s a Buick Invictia, not positive on the year but 59 sounds about right. I can post some more photos here when I get ‘em. My buddy is thinking about buying the car to restore, car has rust just about everywhere but the seller has new panels and such and she’s such a beautiful car, very worth saving.

Hi there, I’m posting about a car I’m about to buy and restore. I’d love to learn all there is to know about this car, it is a 1939 Chrysler Windsor 4-door w/ suicide doors. Beautiful car, I love the fastback look and they seem to be fairly uncommon, at least in ok shape. It has a Chrysler inline 6 with what I assume to be a 3-speed manual trans, I’m not too sure on the drivetrain yet but it’s all there. Overall a very complete car in need of some rust repair here and there and maybe if I’m lucky that little inline 6 will come to life. Couldn’t pass it up for $1000, it’s gonna need a lot of work but I’m planning on doing it all myself and I finally found myself a vintage Mopar. Anyone out there who knows a thing or two about classic Chrysler/Mopar cars let me know! ! (EDIT) I noticed some people in the comments are interested in the cars around the yard, they’re located in Florida and the seller is moving shops so he’s trying to get rid of them. If you’re interested in anything you see let me know and I can get you a number. $

Beautiful, that colour is gorgeous on that car. Is that original paint?

@Mark Shaw Tried that already, no luck unfortunately.

@61polara I’ll have to check, wire is brand new but there could be some kind of connection issue. Yes, coil gets warm when ignition is on.

Some things worth noting: Rebuilt Carburetor Rebuilt Distributor Rebuilt Fuel Pump What ignition rotor do you guys use? I don’t believe that is the problem, but when I first rebuilt the distributor I had to try about 2 or 3 rotors I had lying around my garage before one made proper contact.

Hi there, I’m posting about my 52 Pontiac again. I’ve had to step away from it for a little while as this motor has been very frustrating to work on, I thought these old 8s were simple but it has given me a run for my money. Right now where I’m at is spark issues again, I had the motor ‘turn key’ then took it for a short test drive and halfway through I lost all spark and had to call a tow home. I’ve tried a new coil, condenser, none of it has helped. The coil gets hot when I turn ignition on but the plugs aren’t getting anything. I was running a 12v battery on the test drive, so I’m wondering if I blew something in the ignition system somewhere? Something had to have gave way, but I’m not sure what and I don’t want to tear everything apart for something that could be simple. I also believe my starter is on its last legs, because the last time I cranked the motor it was very weak and I saw a small amount of smoke from the starter. Does anyone have a good starter core or some advice to fix mine? I’m also still looking for a good generator unit, as mine has a bent shaft. I plan on doing a full overhaul on this motor eventually as it will need it, but I want it to show some life before I do all that. I will probably overhaul it while the car is out for rust repair and repainting. Thank you for any help! Sorry for the large post.

Hi there, I'm posting to just get some miscellaneous information on my Pontiac Straight-8 such as things to look for and things I can do to make it run just a little bit better. I've heard about rusted coolant passages and distribution tubes. I just want to know where to look and what to look for before I go pulling anything apart. I've had the motor going a good few times now, recently got to drive it a little but on the last cruise I fully lost spark and had to get towed home. I noticed my carburetor was searing hot when I opened my hood. While I'm waiting on a distributor part courtesy of @The 55er (Thank you again!) I figured I'd start looking everything over for anything that I might've missed or needs attention. One thing I really want to do is tune this motor the best I can, does anyone have any good tune-up tips? It runs well, but I have to run it a little higher than it should be otherwise she'll die if I go into gear. Can tell it wants to run good, just needs a little help in the right direction. Thanks! Merc PS Some fun pictures of my car getting towed. Towtruck driver had a blast, he said it was the oldest thing he's ever towed!

@mtl92 I've had quite the time with my old Carter fuel pump. It came off of my 1952 Pontiac Chieftain straight-8, when I first bought the car there was a significant hole in the diaphragm yet it still somehow ran even though it couldn't have been making vacuum and was filled with oil.. You may have to take it apart a few times, did you install your oil seals correctly? There should be two thicker round O-shaped seals with a bit of a lip in them, they need to go a specific way and then they are hammered in with a steel ring. If they aren't set properly it's very possible these are leaking. Send me some pictures of what you have so I can see where it's leaking and what pump you have. Is the pump at least pulling & feeding as it should? If so, you've done a good job so far. These things are very tedious! Merc

@davidyavidy Hi David, what seems to be wrong with your distributor? Depending on what’s wrong, it might just need a new cap and a couple parts. They’re very simple, but very picky. Not much more to them than ignition points, a condenser and wiring. Let me know. Thanks!

Hi there, I’ve had my 1968 Mercury Montego MX sitting in my garage for a while and it’s about time I get around to finishing it. I’ve gotten the hard part of pulling the motor and trans done, but it’s just sitting on a stand now. Motor had relatively minor issues such as a clicking rocker arm/push rod etc but it ran very well and I got plenty out of it before removing it. I plan on having the block machined which isn’t cheap but it’ll be worth it. My question is, should I rebuild it myself or leave it to the shop? I’ve already spent about $2,500 on performance Edelbrock parts and I’m in the last stretch but don’t want to put much more $ into it than I already have. Seems like a goofy question the more I write it out, but I’m just seeking some advice from others who have worked with these motors. I want the most reliability and performance this little 302 has to offer. Thanks for any help!

@Old buicks 2 Thank you for looking, unfortunately I can’t say for sure if that’ll fit mine. Mine is only 2 pieces, that one appears to be three. It’d probably work, but the 55’er came up with an exact fit. Thanks again!

Hi there, does anyone happen to have an old Pontiac fuse block cover sitting around? Thanks!

@Gary_Ash That’s pretty nifty! I gotta ask, what is your distributor out of? I don’t often see dual ignition points.

@Old buicks 2 I’ve removed the distributor and the number on it reads “1110831 - 1L9”. It is a Delco Remy unit. Hope this helps track it down, let me know. Thanks!

Hi there, I can't be much help other than suggesting California Pontiac Restoration if you haven't tried them already. I've had them help me out several times with parts that I couldn't find on their catalog. Good luck!

@PhilAndrews Hi there, sorry I kind of let this topic get buried over time. Since posting this I've done a ton to the car and have driven it several times, each time I get a new problem to fix but it's getting better and better. No more fuel problems, the last cruise left me stranded though and I suspect I blew my condenser somehow. Tested everything but that so it must be the culprit. Thanks!