61polara

It's great that you are trying to help your friend's grandson. The heater system on these cars is all cable linkage with no vacuum. The only vacuum line I can think of that goes into the dash could be the connection for the washer system. Do him a great favor and buy him a factory service manual if he doesn't have one and spend the time to make a trip over to show him how to use it. This will endear you to him more than you can imagine. Introduce him to AACA and encourage him to join and show him the Forum and well as the Facebook page. Give him the tools to grow in the hobby.

Very few components on a '54 Lincoln are vacuum operated. The wiper and washer system is the major one. Try looking at the wiper section of your shop manual. The other vacuum operated item is the vacuum advance on the distributor. I don't think you will find a master vacuum diagram, only diagrams for these components.

My grandfather standing on the railing with three of his seven children and his 1919 Maxwell.

It's hard to tell from your description if you have a problem or not. Your car has an amp meter not a voltage meter. An amp meter shows the direction and the amount of current flowing through the system not system voltage. As you crank your car the gauge should swing to discharge and come back to the center or a slight discharge when it starts. A generator puts out little amperage at idle, but when you accelerate the motor, the gauge should swing to a strong charge. As you drive the car, the gauge will slowly come back to the center, as the battery has fully recharged. During this time the gauge will come back to center every time the motor comes back to idle. The gauge is suppose to swing a lot. Your issue may only be an undercharged battery.

I would not have the painter reduce the gloss of the single stage urethane paint. That works if you are trying to match old paint on a partial repaint, but on a new paint job, it will age itself through several washes.

Using a single stage urethane enamel will give you the look you want and will be long lasting as well. This has a hardener in it like is used in the clear coat to give great durability. It would be very difficult to tell this from lacquer other than the lack of cracking after several years that you will have with lacquer.

Great photos David. The first series of photos are from the Friday Night Cruise-in in downtown Auburn that was open to all. The parking lot photos following are of the AACA National on Saturday. The Crossroads Region AACA did a great job hosting this event. Also enjoyed meeting you there. I sat beside you at the awards dinner.

AACA was the first national car club to recognize the value of preserving unrestored cars in 1988 when it created the Historical Preservation of Original Features (HPOF) Class at our Nationals. AACA has a well defined process for evaluating these cars and awarding HPOF badges and a higher level HPOF Original badge. Deductions are taken for each major panel that is repainted and the same for interior seats and door panels. Maintenance items can be replaced with original style parts. The AACA HPOF evaluation team is available at all AACA Nationals for all cars registered in the HPOF class. Having an AACA HPOF badge on your car will go much further in stating that your car is original than a board displayed with your car because it has been evaluated by an experienced team. I see you are near Charleston, SC. You should consider registering your car for the AACA Nationals in Charlotte next April and have it evaluated by our team.

If you are dealing with a true custom mix color, it may have been custom mixed by an ICI local dealer who then submitted the formula to ICI for a number to be assigned. I assume these numbers were assigned numerically in order with no reference to the color or formula. The M073-TD may reference the local ICI dealer who formulated the mix. This is all just a guess, though dealing with automotive paint, I have never seen a coloration between the color formula and the actual color.

If you are in the Low range, does it downshift the same way with light acceleration? I believe you have a wiring problem in the carburetor switch wiring. Downshifting occurs by flooring the accelerator pedal, activating the carburetor switch and grounding out the ignition momentarily, allowing the transmission to downshift. There was an aftermarket switch, when pressed would downshift the transmission at any speed. I think your wiring is shorting out somewhere and forcing a downshift.

East Tennessee Chrome Plating in Elizabethton. I believe this used to be R&D

Most states made these illegal. Wearing a long sleeve shirt, you can catch the knob in the shirt sleave and the result is major problems.

I've sucessfully used the Carter 6 volt fuel pump on a '54 DeSoto. It has a maximum output of 6 psi. Carter P4259: Electric Fuel Pump 6-volt Pump 72pgh - JEGS

Post this in the Chrysler buy/sell and Chrysler Forum below as well.

If anyone needs the early 1937 lens, I have the mold to cast them in plastic. DandDautomobilia.com

Leaving it in the hot sun with the windows down will help greatly. You may need to do this several days.

The speedometer only shows to 120 mph. Is this an export car?

Review this post. It will explain most of what you are asking. Power is supplied by the ignition switch and is taken off the terminal on the coil from the switch. The wiring to the other terminal of the coil is to ground out the coil to permit the transmission to downshift. Converting these systems to 12v is not a good idea as stated in this post as well. The electrical components were never made in 12v as Chrysler discontinued this transmission before they converted to 12v. Hopefully, whoever did the conversion to 12v installed voltage reducers at all the power source points to the system and did not fry some of the next to impossible to find electrical components.

From the 1953 Chrysler New Yorker sales brochure. 1953 Chrysler New Yorker Brochure (oldcarbrochures.com)

The 1953 Chrysler brochure appears to show it as an option. This may be pre-production art work and not actually offered.

Buick's first ball joint suspension in 1957 was a one year design. This design was not preloaded and if you test the ball joints in the conventional way you think they are worn out and need replacement. Many good '57 ball joints were replaced with out need and quickly used the limited aftermarket supply of them. Check the 1957 shop manual for the specific method to evaluate the condition of these ball joints.

Doing some very quick research, the Highlander interiors started in 1941 and were available through 1953. They were available in the red and green combinations you posted. They were available only on Chrysler models. Chrysler brands offered various plaid interior patterns after 1953 but I'm not certain if they were ever call Highlander other than what is noted above in 1961-2.

It really doesn't matter what you tackle first, but pick a point and start. Break it down into mini projects and complete each one before you tackle the next one. You will get rewards for your accomplishments at the end of each step rather than a pile of parts and overwhelmed at moving forward on the project. This way, you can mostly keep it on the road during your restoration. I like to tackle the mechanical and electrical systems first and then the body work and paint.

Dodge and Plymouth offered a three speed with overdrive transmission in 1951.

Here are the basics of the system which first came into use around 1940. There is a firewall mounted pump motor with a reservoir located on the bottom of the pump motor. These systems used brake fluid for the hydraulic fluid and the factory service was to flush the system and change the fluid every six months as brake fluid absorbs moisture. Each door and the front seat has a single hydraulic cylinder to operate the window or seat. When the up switch is pushed, the pump motor runs and pressurizes the entire system. The switch opens a valve at the bottom of the individual window cylinder and the hydraulic pressure raises the window. To lower the window, the switch is pushed to the down position which opens the valve on that window cylinder. A strong spring forces the fluid out of the cylinder and back into the reservoir. The pump does not run for this operation. The only electrical operation at the individual window is the solenoid opening the valve. Olds, Cadillac and Buick switched to 12 volts in 1953. The solenoid in the cylinder is voltage specific. 12 volt cylinders are stamped 12v on the base and are rare because they were only in use in 1953 and 1954. The fluid should be changed to ATF which will require replacement of the rubber lines with compatible rubber because brake fluid is one of the best paint removers you can buy. Don't convert to DOT 5 brake fluid because it doesn't have the lubricating properties needed. The cylinders usually fail because of corrosion and burrs forming on the chrome plated rod coming out of the cylinder, which is exposed when the window is up. When the window is lowered, this will wear and or cut the top seal of the cylinder and it will begin to leak at the seal. When the car is parked for an extended time, the windows will slowly start coming down. For extended storage, you can wedge the window up using a wooden dowel. Hydro-E-Lectric used to rebuild these units.