WillBilly53

ha-ha! well one day the jets were squirting, then they weren't (Lamar can confirm this). then I made some more adjustments and it was flooding. it apparently needed a real rebuild anyways, so....still learning! as promised here's the video: My 1953 Buick Super First Start (and running)! - YouTube

So the stock trans cooler I have is not up to par. I've been reading about aftermarket transmission coolers and was wondering what tips ya'll might have. I'm not concerned with stock appearance. I've seen some with fan motors and some without. I'd love to just by-pass the stock cooler all together (I've already plugged the lines at the water pump). The installation instructions for the new coolers I've seen show trans fluid lines going into the radiator, which indicates that it's for radiators with built in trans coolers. Whereas on the '53 the radiator only holds coolant and doesn't have a chamber for the transmission fluid. After much reading, I'm planning on mounting an aftermarket in front of the radiator. Do I need to purchase one with a powered fan or can I get one without a fan/motor?

Might be a stupid question, but do I need to bleed the brakes to install the stop light switch?

I'm so excited for this year's meet! Fingers crossed that we'll be driving Naomi up to my hometown area. She won't look like much, but should be rock n' an rolling mechanically. My hometown is Kings Mountain which is about 30 miles west of Charlotte/Concord. It's a great small town with an absolutely beautiful state and national military park. old 74 is a fun drive especially going west towards Asheville. I'm bias of course, having grown up there, but I encourage anybody that is interested to visit some places in the area. There's a historical museum, state and national military park (yep, the Patriots' success at the Battle of Kings Mountain was one of the crucial turning points in the Revolutionary War) and a fantastic restaurant. And just a little west of K.M., there's another town called Shelby that's pretty cool and that's where my parents grew up. The Don Gibson Theater is there and they have some cool shows AND there's one of the last real drive-in theaters called The Sunset. I used to go there all the time when I was younger. It's definitely a must! and last but not least, anybody that has time should really try to make it out to Asheville, like Lamar mentioned. It is very cool drive and that town is awesome. The Biltmore is simply outstanding. here are some links with more info: Kings Mountain Historical Museum Kings Mountain State Park Battleground Steakhouse & Bar Don Gibson Theater The Sunset Drive-In (they're in the off season right now, but should be updating there show schedule in the spring)

Exactly what I was thinking!

Ha! Hopefully soon and hopefully RIDING in the big 'ol beast!

Not all Lamar, after all 'twas you that helped me with throttle linkage, fuel pump, timing and ultimately getting her started! But hey, there's nothing at all wrong with girls and Buicks!

lol, yikes! yep, the stick is bone dry. The guy that did mine has a shop in Spartanburg, SC and his name is Lance Smith. I can't remember how I got his name, but I know it was on good recommendation. Apparently he was the only guy in my area that had even heard of Dynaflow. I had it done in 2003. Sad, I know. Anyways, I remember him also telling me to bring the car back to him for adjustments, once I got her drivable.

Well crap, after all my cautiousness, I knew I'd do something wrong. Hopefully I haven't done any damage. Thanks for the info, Willie. I'll get out there today and get her filled up!

Okay, so now that I've got the rebuilt engine purring and broken in I want to prep the transmission. I had rebuilt years ago so it should be ready to go, right? But I'm nervous of putting it in gear and something going wrong and ending up a bunch beautiful dynaflow parts on the garage floor. I got the Dextron III waiting to be poured. Any advice or tips before I throw her in gear?

Hey Rick, I've got an extra left and right hinge on my '53 Super parts car in NC. I should be going back up there within the next month to pull some more parts off it and can certainly grab it for you. However, I'll need the springs off them for my main car here. I'll give it to you for free, if you can tell me how to remove the springs and install them onto my hinges on the main car!

Naomi is ALIVE! After determining the carb wasn't spitting fuel, I did some adjustments and then she started flooding the engine and the plugs were wet. I decided to do a re-rebuild of the carb. Pulled the plugs so they could dry out and finished the carb rebuild yesterday. The carb was the first thing I rebuilt when I got her 10 years ago and my skills are definitely in question. I used the carb off the parts car for reference along with the manual. There was a missing valve check ball, messed up screen and missing spring on the pump rod. It's amazing she even got as far as she did before. Anyways, put the carb on last night and just tried her. It took just a sec for the fuel to get back in the carb, but man she fired and kept going. Beautiful to my ears. Just purring along! I'm guessing I need to do an official break in? I'm gonna do some reading, but any tips or other help with this next stage would be greatly appreciated. I am a happy camper and I'm marking this day!!! I'll post a link to new footage soon. Rock n Roll!

I've tracked my problem down to the carburetor. I've decided to rebuild it. So my question is, is there a source or cross reference for the specialized tools in the manuals. Specifically I'm looking for the Piston Setting Gauge T-25046 for a Stromberg Aerotype 2 Barrel Carburetor. It's from my 53 Super.

okay, so I've got both in parts and figured out how to reset the odometer. I bought some odometer decals a while back and finally put them on tonight too which is nice. I've managed to put the working parts from both speedometers together to make one nice unit. I'm about to reassemble and my only question now is what kind of grease should I use for the gears inside the housing. and also should I take them out and clean them first with PB blaster or just re-grease?

The plastic needle off one and I was trying to test the other with a hand drill as I've seen suggested and it doesn't seem to register at all. Is there a better bench test? Also want to reset the odometer to 0 since the engine has been rebuilt.

Has anyone attempted this or does everybody just take their's to a shop or buy a working one off ebay? I've got two in parts right now. I got a quote from autoinstruments.com for $225. I'd love to attempt this myself, but have no idea where to start. Is there a service manual out there somewhere, or I am opening up a big can of headache?

I really do relish these sweet little victories. going on 10 years now I've been working on her off and on. We've lived in 4 different towns all over the southeast so it's amazing that I've kept up with her all this time. Looking forward to actually driving her for the first time!

One of us that's into Buicks might know, but you might want to check on the Chrysler forums since Desoto was a division of Chrysler (and not GM)

awesome! now we are in business. Thanks for your help John. I got the lights working. now i'm gonna take apart one of the switches as you suggested, because i want mine bright as well. sweet victory!

I purchased a complete wiring harness for my '53 from Y n Z's and can't stress enough Bob's suggestion of removing the front seat. I did the same as others have mentioned also in reference to removing the dash and instruments for restoration prior to installing the wiring harness. Pretty happy overall with Y n Z's quality and fit.

The only conversion was putting in a solid state vibrator, but that I was only because I couldn't find an after market real one. Other than that it's all original tube AM. However I did construct a nice oak stained wood housing for my new cd player/mp3 player fm radio and bolted it underneath the dash where the tissue dispenser would go. It's got aux for an ipod. I've got sub in the trunk, amps under the rear seat and speakers in the door I'm obviously not going for originality, but I haven't done anything that's irreversible. Mickey Baker never sounded so good!

hmmmm... still nothing. however, i did manage to get the hi-beam indicator and turn signal indicators inside to work! i've got the wiring diagram from the original manual and the ynz's wiring harness instructions/diagram and have everything correct that I can see. truly baffled. guess i'll keep going through it.

Turn signals on the outside work! Put in a new flasher in the fuse panel and voila. However the indicator lights inside still don't. The instrument lights still aren't working either. Back to the garage...

Thanks John. Some are dangling and some are installed. I did try what you suggested and still nothing. Was wondering, the light switch is dangling too and thought maybe that it needs to be grounded as well?

So while I'm awaiting the starter to be fixed at the shop and learning about carburetors, I'm focusing on the electrical. I got the original am sonomatic radio installed and working. I don't have instrument lights, map lights nor turn signals (on the outside nor the indicators in the speedometer housing.) I've got headlights with the beam selector switch working correctly and taillights work as well. I can't test the brake lights just yet, as the new brake system is dry. Was wondering if someone has a run down of some troubleshooting for this. I figured I'd first start with the dash lights. I've got all brand new bulbs and new wiring harness. I've got 2 original light switches, same results with either one. I'm guessing the rheostat must be toasted, but is there a way to by-pass that to see if the wiring and bulbs are working and that the switch itself may be the culprit? I've tested the voltage with a multimeter at the 3 terminals at the back of the light switch and I get a 12 volt reading, but at the dash light and map light terminals on the switch, I get a .01 reading which I assume is the problem. I've tried bending the lead from the rheostat to the middle terminal (taillights and license plate light) as to not make the connection, but that doesn't work either. As for the turn signal, I'm going to try a new flasher unit for the fuse panel tomorrow. Does anyone have any tips or thoughts as far as the instrument lights are concerned? I'm really hoping to drive Naomi up to the BCAs near my hometown in Concord/Charlotte this year. edit: the turn signal indicators are in the amperage/oil temp gauge (left) and the gas/oil level gauge (right) not the speedometer as I stated.