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Me and My '53 Super 56R


SJF1948

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Thanks for accepting my application into the World of Buick. I  have recently acquired a '53 Super 2 dr hardtop (56R). I searched for this car for about a year or so, looking for a unique car that I wouldn't see a thousand like it at the shows. Too many Camaros, Tri Fives, Malibus, Mustangs, etc. As a bonus, I got a car with classic lines and style. 

I've been reading these Forums and it would seem there aren't many Supers out there. Mine is about as stock as it gets, original, unmolested, paint, interior, numbers matching! No Power Steering, no Power Brakes, no A/C. She came with all of her original trim, bumpers, chrome, stainless, however there will be some assembly required. The body is solid, some surface rust (Patina), the only serious rust I've found is the front floor pans (footwells).

My intention is to keep the Patina for now, concentrate on making her reliable, safe, and comfortable to take on the road, to be enjoyed. I am debating on upgrading the brakes to discs, or keeping the stock drums. Power steering would be nice, but I can live with manual steering for now. Living in the South, and a lot of my cruising will begin along the Coast, A/C will be high on the list of upgrades. I'm basically old school and grew up with points and condensers, timing and carb adjustments, so this original stuff doesn't concern me...... yet!!!!

I'd like to hear some of the group's experiences and recommendations concerning their '53 Supers, especially DynaFlows, Knee Action Shocks, A/C installations, Steering, and Brakes. 

Thanks to the group, and more 20171001_162753.thumb.jpg.eb3615f6f985b09fdb347241648188ae.jpgphotos will follow!

 

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Welcome aboard. You have what appears to be too nice of a car to start tearing it apart. My vote would be to keep it running too and fix the shortfalls while you enjoy putting miles on it. The more original looking, the better. Parts are plentiful due to the fact that most 1953 Roadmaster (4-holer 70 Series) parts are interchangeable with your Super (a 3-holer 50-Series Model).

 

FWIW:

♦  Rusted-out foot wells (aka lowest point of the floor pan that accumulates water) from carpeted floors were common, especially on the 1953 models with the sponge-back Roxpoint carpet. Do you have any original carpet that you could post a picture of, topside and backside? I would be interested in seeing it. Thanks. Good repro pans are available. 

♦  A local member here has the same year and model as yours.....no power steering or power brakes. He doesn't enjoy driving it. Rather than using the 1953 Buick power brake system that was an option on Roadmasters only, I would strongly suggest narrowing your decision between an updated repro power brake cylinder that is frame-mounted under the driver's seat (just like the original setup) and a disc brake setup. The disc brake kit might be the better of the two for ease of installation. I wouldn't be too concerned about de-valuing your Buick because of originality issues should you decide to sell it later on.

♦  Power steering was an option on both the 1953 Special (40-Series) and the Super (50-Series) model. It's a tight and tough swap with the front left inner/outer fender assembly on the car. Parts availability shouldn't be a problem.   

♦  An aftermarket air conditioner is the only way to go. 1953 was Buick's first year for A.C. and the bulky evaporator was installed in the trunk compartment. Original operational A.C. parts might be difficult to find and maintain. Buick recalled the compressor clutch solenoid on A.C. units built before late-May 1954.

♦  I would retain/rebuild the original shocks.

♦  I wouldn't think about swapping out your Dynaflow for a later transmission.....too many variables, dimensions, and parts that will not work.

♦  How fast do you want to go? The standard two-barrel 1953 Super engine was rated 170 horsepower. A 1953 four-barrel intake manifold/Carter-carburetor swap would give you only 18 more horses, per Buick specs. 1953-1956 Buick V8 engines are interchangeable. The latest and greatest 1956 engine with all its improvements was rated @ 255 horsepower. I would retain the original points rather than going electronic.

♦  A set of wide whitewall tires with the 1953 Kelsey-Hayes 6.5"-wide wire wheels would give your ride some sparkle and added style points. Those wheels were only available on 1953 Skylarks but who cares?

♦  Purchase both 1952 and 1953 Buick Shop Manuals if you don't have them already. 1952s covered most everything except the new-for-1953 Buick V8 engine. A 1953 Manual is considered a supplement to the 1952. 

 

Good luck on your project.

 

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

 

Edited by 1953mack (see edit history)
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Thanks for the reply Al, and thanks for the words of advice/encouragement. There are no plans to modify my car with the exception of safety and reliability items. That would include keeping the stock engine, upgrade plugs, plug wires, and the usual tune up, seat belts. I was able to dig through my old stuff and found my old dwell/tach meter, vacuum gauge and induction timing light, (it pays to never throw anything away).

Included with the car and in the trunk is a new fuel tank, rebuilt fuel pump, and four new wheel cylinders and rear brake shoes. The previous owner was in the process of restoring the car and was unable to complete the project. The only pieces not included are the two outside rearview mirrors.

As for the brakes, a friend of mine just acquired a '55 Special and he converted his brakes to power, front discs, dual master cylinder with remote fill. Looks to be a shoe in fit. I plan on driving to shows and events, keeping to the back roads (Scenic route) as much as possible, but some Interstate driving will be necessary at times. It's been a while but I do remember standing on the pedal trying to stop a 4,000 lb. car in a hurry when some fool pulls out in front of you.

Power steering....who needs it, that's what that big impressive banjo steering wheel is for. Maybe down the road. Maybe a suicide knob!!!! Yeah I know, they're illegal.

Gotta have A/C, only decision is which one, Vintage Air, Old Air, in dash, under dash. Personally, I like the under dash with heat and air. I plan on keeping the radio intact, even the speaker. I'll put the required stereo in the glove box.

I see no viable alternative to the knee shocks, so I'll rebuild as necessary and enjoy the ride.

The first thing I bought after the initial purchase of the car was a cover as it may be spending some time on the driveway. The next thing purchased was the '53 Manuals with the '54 Supplement, books and CD.

The next major purchase will be a set of tires, TBD, I haven't inspected the wheels yet, but for now it'll be stock with restored wheel covers.

And... all of the above mentioned items/needed parts/accessories have been distributed to my family in the form of My Christmas Wish List!!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone

I would like to hear from some of y'all who have experience with P/B swaps, and A/C choices and installations.

As soon as the rain stops here I'll get some photos of the carpet and floor damage.

 

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Welcome, SJF.  

   Good start.  I will add a couple points to Al';s. Disagreeing with a couple.:D .  

 

   I would not spend the money for the wide whites. Too pricey by far.  A set of modern radials will do nicely if it is to be a driver.  And the wire wheels? Nah! keep the '53 only wheel covers you have.  Much more rarely seen.

 

  Agree on the shocks. In fact, you might be surprised if you just fill them with fluid. Hydraulic jack fluid works if they don't leak to badly. Something heavier if they do. Oil is cheap and WAY easier than removing and replacing. Give it a try.

 

  A/C!  Yea, man. And Al is correct on after market. I went with a new old stock Mark IV under dash unit that came up in my '50. Much easier and cheaper than the in the dash units. And it cools my four door black car in the 100 + temps of No Texas. Can't run it full blast. 

 

   Sound of the original radio is overrated. Our old ears [ mine at least ] can't appreciate the difference in the sound . If one wants FM, have it converted.

 

  My car is a standard transmission. If it had Dynaflow, I would keep it. They are a marvelous transmission. For the time being, if it leaks a little, live with it. Nothing smoother. You do know it does not shift, right?  If you DO want quicker acceleration off the line, start in L, manually shifting into D at no faster than 50 or so.    A word of warning. DO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP BEFORE SHIFTING INTO REVERSE OR PARK.

 

  You might be surprised how much of the rust will vanish with a little elbow grease applied to some 600 or finer wet sanding. 

 

  Don't be a stranger.

 

  Ben

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Hi Ben, Good points for sure. By keeping the radio intact, what I meant was for appearance only. No way am I going to mess with all of that chrome on the dash! I do remember seeing an episode of Jay Leno's Garage where he featured a '51-'53 (I think). This car looked stock on the outside, even the interior looked stock, however underneath it was 21st century.  The thing I was most impressed was the way they had modified the speaker grill. It was hinged on the bottom and when dropped down there was a DVD receiver/monitor where the speaker would have been. I found a grill on EBay to experiment with, I'll let you know how that turns out. I have pretty much decided on the under dash Mk IV, maybe not what you may have seen in '53, but definitely in a mid to late '50's upgrade.Here are some photos of the car when I found it and after we washed it with detergent and water using a Scotch-Brite pad.

 

Before: Photos 1-5,  After a soap and water wash Photos 6-9..... Nice patina!!!!

20170814_123028.thumb.jpg.ad559dc48c71aa88ec2a527a4b28a139.jpg20170810_142137.thumb.jpg.832cc8d7b8edf76e9b251cb06391bd30.jpg20170810_142248.thumb.jpg.b0ff85352d3d1b0d5e29bee8d982e728.jpg20170810_142300.thumb.jpg.c83b58be22f38324fcc529b297b51e3d.jpg20170810_142306.thumb.jpg.e7624b38f9a3dadcf728261c50bba05f.jpg20171001_162753.thumb.jpg.286e1b5b41c4d4090290695676c4311b.jpg5a33e8ca4055e_20171001_162804(002).thumb.jpg.dc58ae7f57a04632b3dc96965e329605.jpg5a33e8d143d04_20171015_171409(002).thumb.jpg.f0b5059a55bf2e1da761730279cef4c0.jpg5a33e8dec5fde_20171023_135133(002).thumb.jpg.3f4ee47817daf3bb2948e2b0b842faf4.jpg

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9 hours ago, Beemon said:

Getting the original AM radio working is pretty easy. Converting to FM is even easier. Looks original with no mods, all you need is a soldering wand and access to a place that sells modern capacitors and solid core wire. 

 

 Easy for you to say, you young whippersnapper! :P

 

  Ben

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Also I put a vintage air mini space saver heat/air/def in my 40 sedan but while I had it out of the box I trial fitted  the condenser box up under in the center of the dash on my 53. It all cleared nicely but the original radio which is gone would have to go on yours.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Now that I have my A/C questions answered, I'm now concentrating on getting the electrical system ready to go. I discovered another component "missing" from my box of parts. I do have a 3ET Battery that I was able to recondition and be able to use. What I'm missing is the battery hold down strap/bracket and the louver cover. I have seen several different straps listed on the usual sites, with several different designs, materials, series designations, etc. Is there a difference between an inline 8 battery and a V-8 battery, illustrations for both look the same to me..... I have the shop manual but it's not much help there. Anyone have any photos and/or part numbers for the correct setup. I'm more interested in securing the battery in the stock location, stock appearance would be nice. I do know that the 3ET battery is used in a lot of JD tractors, and I suspect some of these straps are for tractors.

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The hardware that you are looking for is a one-year only 1953 unit that was OE for a 3EE 12-volt 1953 Super and Roadmaster battery.  You need four items:  the COVER, the COVER PLATE, and the two different front and rear TIE STRAPS. Similar repop cover plates are available but they are useless without the hard-to-find cover. Expect to pay around $200-$250 for the four pieces if they are in good shape. Anything less, I would consider to be a bargain.

 

The 6-volt Group 2E 1953 Buick Special battery was slightly narrower and the hardware consisted of what Buick Parts Books call a BATTERY CLAMP OR HOLD-DOWN STRAP that was a one piece deal. BUYER BEWARE: There is also a 2-piece cover/cover plate for the Group 2E batteries that are similar to what you are looking for and were OE for what I believe were early 1950s Pontiacs and Packards. They will not work on the wider 3EE battery. I have one of those covers.....no cover plate.....in my warehouse if you know of anyone who is looking for one.

 

1-IMG_3081-001.thumb.JPG.470bc53fa219a5c9d3d5f781aacf05a4.JPG

                                                                                                                                     Original 1953 parts.

 

5a5fffce58c59_1-1953Buickbatterycover.jpg.d63d4a7f257ae34ffd04bdd36f2754ac.jpg

          'Borrowed', without my notes, off the internet. Looks like a repop cover plate

                                         since the six louvers look different.

 

 

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

 

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Thanks for the reply Al, especially thanks for the photos. I have seen the battery cover plate listed in my shop manual, but not the cover! I wondered how the plate mounted, a picture IS worth a thousand words..... The battery that came with my Super is a 3ET, slightly taller than a 3EE, more CA and CCA. I do have both hold down bolts and both front and rear tie straps, so the cover may be lying in a box in the shop where I bought the car.... One can only hope!!!!

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  • 2 months later...
On 16/12/2017 at 2:34 AM, Beemon said:

Getting the original AM radio working is pretty easy. Converting to FM is even easier. Looks original with no mods, all you need is a soldering wand and access to a place that sells modern capacitors and solid core wire. 

Hi Beemon , would love some heads up on converting Am to Fm , my radio makes noise , supposedly works , but no Am stations in Cyprus , plenty of Fm.

cheers

pilgrim

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  • 4 months later...
On 12/19/2017 at 3:39 PM, RiKi5156B said:

Also I put a vintage air mini space saver heat/air/def in my 40 sedan but while I had it out of the box I trial fitted  the condenser box up under in the center of the dash on my 53. It all cleared nicely but the original radio which is gone would have to go on yours.

RiKi5156B,

To repair a  broken wiper cable, I removed the radio and glove box.  There is more room under the dash than I thought would be. Not quite enough room for a Vintage Air Gen ll, but the Mini may be an option. If you don't mind, I have a couple of questions.

Does the Mini cool your 40 Sedan? Vintage Air says it's good for smaller coupes and trucks, etc.

When you did the trial fit in your 53, did the evaporator go all the way up into the dash and clear the wiper pulleys and cable routing, or would it have to hang a little below the dash?

I also removed the defroster core  just to see how much room I would have, it would appear that I am going to have to cut the top of the dash to install aftermarket defroster ducts? Either that or see if I can adapt the factory dash duct to the new A/C defrost outlet.

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  • 4 years later...

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