JEThomas60 Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 We got this car in southwestern Missouri. It used to sit in a field and then was towed to a barn stall. Of course it had been visited by mice which attracted the attention of a few snakes as evidenced by several snake skin sheds we found in the car. Still in remarkable condition for being 63 years old. Now the fun begins... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Cool car! Have lots of fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursst Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Great find! Don't see many of these around nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarredKnightfan Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Cool find ... congrats! Enjoy & welcome! Cort, www.oldcarsstronghearts.com pig&cowValves.paceMaker * 1979 CC to 2003 MGM + 81mc "It's snowing in the pines" | Alabama | 'Christmas In Dixie' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 seeing this car...I was finally able to identify a local "black sedan" car, sitting sideways very far away, in a persons back yard. I never could see enough to tell what it was, but tried to find the same side stainless trim layout on the web, with no luck. Went by again today, and it is the same car as yours, or at least the same exact trim. (I was told by a local guy, that the car is not for sale, and they don't want to talk about it either) On 12/18/2016 at 7:21 PM, hursst said: Don't see many of these around nowadays. I agree, not many around. That is why I could not ID the one here. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 If you can, dial back a few shows and see what "kindig" in SLC, UT, did with a similar car, though it may have been a convertible. HPOF is a great class, and you can have fun with a driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEThomas60 Posted December 25, 2016 Author Share Posted December 25, 2016 Thanks for the comments. I am now looking for some place to have all the chrome (and there is a bunch of it) reconditioned and plated. Very soon the body will come off the car and I will have the frame media blasted. Then I can start from the bottom and work my way up with new brakes, brake and fuel lines etc... This is my first time actually restoring a vehicle so I may have my work cut out for me. I have been doing a boat load of research so far. Any suggestions from experienced restorers will be very much appreciated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 (edited) Whoa now. You are trying to eat the elephant in one bite. I guarantee you that you will quickly become overwhelmed and that will leave the car in pieces never to be whole again. This happens about 98% of the time. You will not be the first nor the last. This is what I would do and have done. Clean the car thoroughly to assess what you have and get familiar with the car and its systems. Change out all the fluids in the transmission and rear axle. Grease all the fitting. Clean the underside of the car. See if you can turn the engine by hand after taking out the plugs and putting in some lube/oil If the engine turns, drop the engine pan and clean out the gunk in the pan and reinstall and put in fresh oil Put in new plugs, adjust the points, put in a new battery and attempt to start with remote gas tank. If it starts, then I would drop the fuel tank and have it cleaned. Then you can go onto the brakes, suspension and actually seeing if the car will drive and stop under its own power. All of this will take you a few weeks, and will give you many successes in small steps. You will not get discouraged and quit. And shiney new chrome and new paint does nothing if the car is not running and driving. These are the last things you need to do. And you must make a budget. You can easily spent over $20K just getting a driver quality car, expect to spend double that and more to get an "as new" car and that is with you doing most of the work. Edited December 25, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 (edited) unimogjohn (as usual) is spot on. To be honest, if I had your car I would ignore John's advice and tear it apart. Something would come up and it would get cast aside in the shop somewhere with my other projects. Don't be me. You can do what John has suggested, get the car running and have a TON of fun with the car, and still do a full restoration later. You might find that after you get it cleaned up and running nicely that you'll want to keep it just like it is... maybe show it in the HPOF class. Edited December 26, 2016 by Luv2Wrench (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP75 Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Hi Nice car it is nice to see another 53 Pontiac brought back to life. I am also working on a 53 4 door and I have restoration page on this site if your interested with lots of photos(1953 Pontiac Chieftain 4 door). I agree with Unimogjohn try to get it going and enjoy it. I wish I could have enjoyed mine before I tore into it but,I didn't and it has sat in various states or disassembly for years. The important parts required to make it go are fairly easy to locate there several sites that sell parts for this car. Even though it looks a lot like a 53 Chevy they do not share any mechanical parts and just a few body panels. From the few pics yours looks fairly sold and the paint may even be okay to enjoy and may even hold a shine. You mentioned redoing the chrome yours does not look to bad and may clean up better then you think. There is a lot of it is stainless steel on these cars and will polish up nicely. Can you give us some more details. Is it a straight 8 or 6? Hydra-matic or 3 speed? Oh and more pictures. Good luck and have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowriv Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Unimogjohn is spot on, his is wise council. The only thing I would add, also from bitter experience, is drop the sump and clean out the sludge BEFORE you start it. Also check the oil pump for wear while you're there. Enjoy! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rb1949 Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Nice as is. Enough work to make it a driver. Cleanup can come later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEThomas60 Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 Thanks guys, I appreciate all the comments and advice. I was probably getting a little excited and overly ambitious with this project. JP75, I did check out your 53. Looks like you got sidelined by an MG. It appears you were well on your way with the 53 though. I would love to see the finished product. Unimogjohn, thank you for your advice and for sharing your experience. This particular car has a straight 8 with a 3 speed transmission. While I was digging around under the hood I bumped one of the heater lines with my elbow. The small piece of heater hose under the car snapped in half and it lost all the antifreeze in the shop. This made me realize just how brittle everything might be on this car. I will drop the pan first and clean out any sludge. The motor does turn by hand so that's a start. I have a battery ordered for it. But I will take your advice after getting it to run and stop safely I will drive it around a while then probably do a few things when the weather gets warmer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 JEThopmas60, Sure looks solid enough a car to start with and glad you recognise starting slow will be your friend in the long run (ask me how I know). I bought my '58 Roadmaster a looong time ago and believing I could do the restoration myself in a year well..... With the front sheet metal off, likely the motor is stuck now (it was at least running before tearing into it), here she sits.... (life will get in the way sometimes) Cut out the headliner (saving a piece for a pattern), trim the loose hairs off the windlace, find an inexpensive set of seat covers or even just put throw blankets over them, get her running dependably and see where you want to go after that. A moving drivable car will inspire you and keep that excitement going! Oh, and lot's of dryer sheets will help some with that 'old car smell' in the mean time. Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP75 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Hi Again one more helpful hint that will hopefully save you some grief. In addition to the dropping the oil pan flush the cooling system out as best as you can before you run it. These engines have a water distribution tube that runs the length of the block behind the water pump that delivers water for each cylinder. If the holes in this tube get clogged you will be in a constant battle fighting cooling problems. My engine had less then 50000 miles on it and its water passages were almost completely blocked. Good luck and keep the posts coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I concur with the previous speakers. It is not trivial to disassemble a car and rebuild it. It quickly becomes overwhelming, esp. for a first timer. I prefer the "mobile restoration". Get it going and stopping with functioning lights etc., then take off one piece, restore it and put it back. Then another. If you get stuck, maybe one more piece, but not more! You will find yourself just looking at it and not knowing what to do next - well, I do anyway. I find it very tempting to get so far on a piece, then take off another, get so far on that, then take off something else. Before you know it, it is not mobile any more and you find other things to do that are easier and the car languishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PONTIAC1953 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 hi, nice to see another 1953 pontiac chieftain deluxe four door sedan barn find, i bought mine in the summer of 2015, it sat since 1965 in a farmer's barn in northern oklahoma, i live in southwest missouri, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PONTIAC1953 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PONTIAC1953 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PONTIAC1953 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 i hope your engine isn't buried like this one was, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PONTIAC1953 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PONTIAC1953 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 i have decided to try to find the barn find another home, i need to spend time trying to finish my 1953 custom catalina hardtop, the one in the garage, it's been mine since the summer of 1973, i was 17 and i bought it from the original owners in santa monica, ca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) JETThomas, the above advice is great advice on the best path to work on your car and many of us have decades doing this stuff. Especially from John Feser/ unimogjohn. IMO, the first thing to fix to perfection are the brakes. There is nothing more important than brakes on a car. If you can not get the car started and moving you can not get into trouble, but if you can not stop it you are in trouble!! The basic rule for old cars is your drive them, they break, and you fix them. Then you drive them, they break, and you fix them. The cycle just repeats it's self. When I bought my first old truck it took me a couple of years plugging away to get it running before I took it on the road. It was not running at the time I purchased it and had lots of issues. Someone prior to me had started working on it and there were a lot of pieces that were missing, installed wrong, and the list went on. When I bought the truck, I was working full time, had a busy family with a house full of active youngsters and had limited time to work on it. As noted above, "life gets in the way" of working on your vehicle. I DID NOT take it all apart. Just started fixing the obvious to get it road worthy and the basics noted by previous posters of fluid changes, wiring inspection/repair, engine inspection lower end, cooling system, etc. If you rush it, you have a high probably of damaging something that could be very costly to fix. Just IMO. Edited December 31, 2016 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cxgvd Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 When I as in public school my family drove a car like yours. Two tone blue and it was a good car, meaning sound engineering and reliable. Hope you find it was parked by the last owner because it was old and not due to some major repair needed. Best of luck. gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEThomas60 Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Pontiac1953, That's a huge mess under the hood. All I found under the hood that wasn't supposed to be there were several mud dauber nests. If you look at the trunk picture on my 53 you will notice a long snake skin stretched across the trunk and down into the spare tire well. Fortunately I've not found the owner of the skin. There were several more pieces of snake skin found in the car. The motor turns freely but I don't think the brakes work. I will find out this week. The pedal was like stepping on a rock and then a friend pushed hard on the pedal and it went to the floor and stayed there. Might need a master cylinder now. No brake fluid came out anywhere. I'll just keep plugging along on it. Just having a good time working on it. Larry Schramm, That's good advice on the brakes. I will get the brakes working before I try to move the car. Your right that its probably to most important system on the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 '54 Jaguar XK 120 SE, found in an industrial shed in Chester, Pa. in 2013. The doors were later located in Virginia. Seats, radiator, windshield frames, bumpers, miscellaneous smalls, and spare wheel were never found, but fortunately spares were on hand for most. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bredlo Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Wanted to chime in and say hello. Picked up this '53 Chieftain this past autumn. It was hot-rodded in the early 1980s with a '69 Chevelle drivetrain (350, 3-speed auto) and he'd added front disk brakes and rear coil over suspension. I'm currently adding an aftermarket fuel injection kit (which meant new tank, in-tank pump, elec. ignition, etc.). We've also refreshed the brakes and upgraded the rear suspension to handle towing our 1957 Airstream camper. No other updates planned at this time. Hope to use this as a cross-country road trip tow vehicle for the foreseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEThomas60 Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hey guys, Update: I pulled the oil pan on the 53. I found about a 1/2" of sludge in the bottom of the pan. Also the screen on the oil pickup tube was about 90% plugged. All is cleaned now and back together. I will try to start it soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEThomas60 Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Bredlo, thats a really slick looking ride. I hope to soon have my Chieftain looking as nice as yours. Have fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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