Rusty_OToole

There is no later engine that will fit the transmission. If you do want to swap out the engine you have to change the engine, transmission, and rear axle. Yes the rear axle because the handbrake is on your transmission, if you do not put in the newer axle you have no handbrake, besides the gear ratio is better. It is easier and cheaper to rebuild the original engine. I know you can buy a junkyard engine for under $1500 but don't forget you still need motor mounts, all new exhaust system, driveshaft, etc etc in addition to engine, trans and rear axle. If that is too much, or not what you want to hear, suggest you stop and rethink the whole deal. It may be better to quit while you are ahead, sell the car right now and buy a better one. A newer car that comes with a V8, automatic, nicer looks, etc.

Have heard of using Carnation milk to plug rad leaks, also oatmeal. Hmm oatmeal, milk, eggs, pepper, pretty soon we can have breakfast.

It looks like the kind that releases when you lift it up. Is there a lever sticking out that you could press to release? The whole trunk area looks very dirty. Try blowing the latch mechanism clean with compressed air before you use the penetrating oil. If you can brush it out so much the better.

I don't know exactly how your trunk prop works and I do not have one in front of me. There were different types in use then. One kind was automatic. Lift it all the way once and it latches open. Lift it again and it releases. Another kind had a sleeve you slide up to lock. Another had a catch you work by hand. If there is no catch, lever or sliding sleeve it is probably automatic. These would stop working if they got rusty, dirty or gummed up with grease. You might need to clean it and use some penetrating oil. They did not require any lubrication in normal use.

1951 was the first year for power steering and Chrysler had it, the only car in the world to have this feature in 1951. No Cadillac, Lincoln, Rolls Royce or Mercedes only Chrysler. Your car could have had it on the usual, optional at extra cost basis. It was a system made by Gemmer. It had a special steering box with valves and hydraulics built in, plus a pump mounted on the back of the generator. I used to have a 52 New Yorker with power steering. If you are thinking about installing power steering don't bother. If your front end is in good shape, and properly aligned you will never miss it.

Fitzjohn probably made more custom body Chevrolets in the thirties and forties than anyone but they did not start until 1934 or 35. Limo Click and scroll down for some pics of Fitzjohn built Chevrolet stretch limousines.

They are beautiful trucks, nothing like them was sold in the US. I hope someone can help you import them to Miami.

It seems the questioner has two 1950 Chevrolet Suburban station wagons with wood bodies. He wishes to import them to the US from Brazil, preferably by way of Miami Florida. Does anyone know how to go about this?

If the car is done and finished, drivable and has good paint, upholstery etc then it has a certain value. If it is a failed project it has practically no value. Such hack jobs are a dime a dozen, literally a dozen nice old cars get hacked up for every one that is properly finished. In that case it is a parts car worth a few hundred $$$ bucks depending on what parts come with it. Buying up the missing parts piece by piece is too much trouble and expense. Better to buy a complete car all in one piece. The exception to the rule would be a rare car like a coupe or convertible, where it is worth while to buy it just for the body. Then, it is usually cheaper and easier to buy a whole parts car than try to piece it together off ebay or craigslist.

I was referring to tigersdad's posts, he says the car has a cracked dash, then again it doesn't, when I tell him how to fix it, so what does it have? Calling the Amazing Kreskin to psychically figure out what the questioner is talking about, it is too much bother for him to tell us or better yet, post a picture.

Hooking up the battery would not blow anything even if you hooked it up backwards. Ply 33 has a point. When trying to track down a short it helps to connect a light or buzzer in series with the battery. Anything to cut the voltage and prevent burning things up. Then go around looking for the short, when you find it the light or buzzer will go out.

Your body will not come near fitting on an S10 frame. The front suspension is too bulky and will stick out past the fenders for a start. Now you know why the last guy sold it cheap. I hope you got it cheap right? If you want a coupe they are rather rare, rarer than a 4 door sedan anyway. If you watch your chances you may be able to find a 4 door 37 Plymouth parts car cheap and have a chassis that will fit like a glove. I know where there are 3 or 4 of them sitting in junk yards around here.

There is nothing wrong with the stock setup if it is working correctly and you know how to use it. A little fiddly to release sometimes but that is all. The problem comes when someone tries to force the lid closed because they do not release the catch. I would keep the stock release and not let anyone close the trunk except me or someone who knows how to do it. If you want to use strut rods keep in mind they put a lot of pressure on the lid at all times, make sure it is strong enough. Also you have to be careful to get the right length and fit the mounts exactly in the right place so the lid will open all the way and close all the way.

I think they sent all the odd ball cars to Australia so they could get out of supplying parts.

Anybody could have done anything. Have heard of custom body Fords and Dodges also Nashes. I do know of some custom bodied Buicks and Cadillacs built in the GM experimental shops for GM executives, big shareholders and favored customers but not Chevrolet. Woody station wagon bodies were farmed out to outside suppliers like Cantrell. Do you have a specific car in mind?

That looks like an early ball type coupler probably from the first trailer boom years, 1934 - 1940. More likely the earlier years. Wonder if it is the same Fulton that made the sun visors.

I think you got your money's worth out of that one.

How about this one, now restored, that has spent its life in Canada, with connection to the Gray Dort car company? Hindley's Garage - Antique Trucks, Cars & Trailer Restoration Originally towed by a 1936 Plymouth, the owner had a custom built tow car constructed on a 1938 International truck chassis. This custom tow car is still with the trailer.

There are other styles, couple of years ago I got one Retro style at Walmart that would look right at home hanging under the dash of your Chrysler. Watch your chances and they will have another one some time.

Talking about the radio question... Here is the kind of radio I was talking about Coby Red CD Boombox - Walmart.com Notice in the specs it says takes 6 C type batteries. 1 1/2 volt batteries X 6= 9 volts BUT it will work fine on 6 volts off your car battery. Now this is not a great look for a 51 Chrysler but they make retro style too.

I wouldn't take off anything till I got it running. The rule is mechanical work first, then body and paint then upholstery, tires last. Try to do one thing at a time and put that thing completely back together before you dive into something else. Go over the car and clean it out, save any funny looking parts they may be part of the car even if the don't look like it, you can throw away the dried up ballpoint pens and McDonalds wrappers lol. Make a list of repairs, start planning your work and getting parts then work on it one stage at a time. The best way to organize things and not over match yourself.

1 yes you should use the generator, you need it to charge the battery. There is a little oil cup with a lid at each end, give the bearings 2 or 3 drops of oil it should be OK if not you can worry about it later when you get it running. Do not put too much oil in, it can gum up the generator. 2 or 3 drops at each oil change is plenty. 2 the front end, you may not need to do anything. Get a grease gun and grease everything. if the fitting won't take grease put on a new fitting parts stores have them for pennies. Later on you can check it over for worn parts. Try to wiggle things around, they should not have any movement to them well maybe just a trace. if they are floppy they are worn out. If it has not been greased in years it may not want to take grease, grease it as good as you can then come back in a few weeks and try again. Sometimes you have to heat the joint to melt the old grease, before it will take grease. Cars in those days did not have very precise steering. Even if the front end is perfect you can expect 4 to 6 inches of play at the steering wheel when stopped. Factory spec on a new car was 4 inches. If it gets to 1/4 turn you can start to worry lol.

How about CLR calcium lime rust remover from the hardware store?

I don't think you have a choice. Laminated is the only kind they sell at auto glass shops. They should install it for you.

Will try to answer some of your questions if I can find them. undercoating leave it alone if it is on good and not rusting underneath. they make special wire with the old fashioned cloth covering but new vinyl covered wire works just as well. 6 volts needs thicker wires than 12 volts especially important on battery cables. told you already you can get out broken plugs by heating red with a torch and use an easy out get the square kind. if the engine turns over there is a good chance you can get it running. lifting off the body is a big job suggest you leave it on the frame. parking brake is on back of transmission completely separate from service brakes. sounds like you need a complete brake job. you can get a small CD player/radio from Walmart for $29.95 and wire it to the 6 volt car system. it is 9 volt but will work fine on 6 volt .you can feed the signal into your tube radio amp stage. yes you can get a rebuilt fuel pump. you may want to remove and save the glass bowl filter when you send it in for rebuilding. the engine is simpler than a Chev V8 and not hard to rebuild. you will find a lot of parts are much better quality than Chev ever dreamed of. grease the front end it should be OK. you can check it out later. good luck are you having fun