I never really believed that "barn finds" happened as frequently as they seem to...

[RagtopBuick66]

Thanks for all the support guys! Picking through 26 years (or more) of neglect is never easy, but it always helps to have some good support to let you know you're not just spinning your wheels. This has been the most frustrating de-fucked-ification I've done, and it hasn't helped that it is the oldest (by 13 years) and 6V, which I know nothing about.

I wish I had more interesting posts, such as chopping the top, frenching the headlights, changing the tails, floor pan replacement, and the likes, but at the moment I'm not really thinking about any kind of customization. (Though I HAVE already picked up a spare front and rear glass set for the possibility of future top-choppage...) I don't want to spend the time and money on customization if the car doesn't run, stop, and steer correctly on its own, and can't get down the road safely and in the manner in which it was intended. Customization, paint, interior, lowering, and everything else I'd eventually LIKE to do to the car is all coming down the road a bit, but for right now I'm just trying to keep the horse where it belongs... in front of the cart.

I appreciate all the kind words of encouragement!

[RagtopBuick66]

New day, new problems...
So I took it out for a little "joyride" yesterday since I had to run some errands anyway, and since I wasn't going to be far from home I figured it would be a nice little ride to detect any more "bugs" before I ventured any further from the comfort of my tool box.

Ran great, started right up, and made it TO where I was going just fine. Then, on the way home, it started acting up. It all began when a dump truck pulled out in front of me and I had to brake pretty suddenly to avoid denting his truck (lol) with my 60 year old steel.

As soon as I hit the brake the car stuttered a few times then shut down. OK, I stalled it. No big deal. Started it up again after a few slow cranks and got back on my way. About a quarter mile later there was a stop light. As I slowed toward the intersection, stalled again. This time a little harder to start, but it did, and leftward down Graham I went.

Next light was green, so I knew I had a good three quarters of a mile or so to put the pedal down and get the juices flowing again before the next light, maybe clearing out something stuck in the carb or what-have-you. Got to the light at the intersection, stalled again. This time, real slow to start. Cranked slowly but finally came to life after a complete cycle of the traffic light. People behind me hitting their horns as though I had just CHOSEN to sit there when the light turned green, right? Assholes.

So I get across the intersection and goose it again. My house is on the left and I'm in the right lane, so I start to slow down to avoid being T-boned as I pull into my driveway. Stalled AGAIN. Pushed it half in and half out of my driveway, let it sit a minute, started it up again and finished the 25 foot drive. Frustrated as hell I let it sit without tinkering with it and came inside and started searching the HAMB for answers in old threads.

There was a guy who was having identical problems about a year ago I guess, and his Dad ended up finding a loose distributor. Problem solved. So I checked MY distributor this morning. Not loose. So now I'm perplexed. When I get perplexed, I drive the shit out of something 'til it breaks good. Makes it easy to identify the problem then.

Drove to the Post Office, no problem. Went across the street to the tire shop where I picked it up in the first place, just to say hi and show Jimmy what I had done with the car. (He was extremely happy to see it and loved how much progress it has made. Made me feel good.) I popped the hood while the engine was running and what do I hear? A hollow "rattling" coming from, if I'm not mistaken, the carburetor. I don't know for sure, but it sounds exactly like one of those hollow brass floats sounds when you drop it on the table during a rebuild. I don't believe my bowl is filling...

Sure enough, the whole way home it kept cutting off on me. If it isn't the carb it's something to do with the charging system. I can't tell whether it is a lack of fuel stall or a lack of spark stall, but I can tell you it gets harder to start after each stall. It seems to be ok at idle, though it eventually stalls even at idle.

Anyone wanna venture a guess here? Beano? Where are ya buddy?

[RagtopBuick66]

My fifty-three Chevy just would not stay lit,
I tried all I knew and was frustrated as shit.

I tried and I tinkered, I tuned and I tweaked,
But nothing was working, and my anger had peaked...

At first I decided "My genny is shot,"
"The VR must be toast, the starter is hot!"

"It can't be low gas, I just filled the cell,"
"replaced the damn filter, and fuel pump as well!"

A PM was sent to the 'ol Porknbeaner,
(Who claimed on his Birthday to have a tuna can weiner)...

With Yoda-like wisdom and pitbull-like tact,
I read what the "Beaner" had just written back...

NOT "Go check the carb, the float sounds like it's stuck,"
Or "Perhaps your fuel filter is clogged up with muck..."

The knowledge and wisdom which instead he did send,
Basically said, "It's out of gas, my stupid young friend."

"A car with a tank that's been topped off with fuel"
"May as well still be empty. Now go get your tools."

The carb was dismantled and built again new,
but the car wouldn't idle, and my frustrations grew.

I adjusted idle, the linkage was lubed,
I paused and observed my new filter tube.

"It's made of glass, I can SEE the damn fuel!"
"What on Earth could he mean, that crazy old fool?!?"

Smacked it hard a few times, and what did I see?
Some rust scale and shit had just broken free.

A clear glass enclosure which keeps it all sealed,
Yet an internal view it just did not yield.

"AHA!" said I, "Of COURSE that's what he means!"
"Damn that 'ol genius, that 'ol Porknbeans!"

A tank full of gas is worth a fish hook with no barb,
If it stops halfway there and never gets to the carb...

Thanks for making me think it out, Benno! You're like the H.A.M.B. Yoda, only more "traditional". Running great now, amigo. Damn I feel stupid for overlooking the simple shit... LOL

[RagtopBuick66]

Dearly Beloved,
We are gathered here today in celebration of 59 years of life lived by this passenger side spindle. It gave a good fight, but in the end, the bearings were shot and there wasn't much else it could do to keep the mustard on the hotdog. As per its final wishes, its shavings will be poured into the gas tank of a tuner in hopes that it may serve the purpose of removing just one more of those dreadful pieces of shit from the streets of America. Amen.

RIP ~ Front Passenger Spindle
1953-2012

Front passenger side spindle needed...

[shifflett]

I feel your pain brother when i got the car it went all down hill just think it will be like brand new at this rate im hopefully on my last step (motor rebuild) to driving it more than 30 miles at a time

[RagtopBuick66]

No rush, right? Its been around 20 years longer than I have, so I figure if it was going somewhere it would have gone by now. One piece at a time...

[hippy killer]

Originally Posted by iwanaflattie

poor chevy gona be turned into a crap rod...are you thinking gasser/fenderless 4x4 dually??

Love it great idea

[porknbeaner]

OK send me a pic of th spindle. I may have a few good miles left or would that be right. I always get confused on that aspect.

But yes the old bits and pieces of bearing etc are a good fuel additive for a late model gasser uh tunner. That plus a good blast of Nitrous Oxide will make any honda happy. The Nitrous is for the driver not the engine.

And by the way the missus calls me hub cap, not very long but is got girth.

[RagtopBuick66]

Originally Posted by porknbeaner

OK send me a pic of th spindle. I may have a few good miles left or would that be right. I always get confused on that aspect.

But yes the old bits and pieces of bearing etc are a good fuel additive for a late model gasser uh tunner. That plus a good blast of Nitrous Oxide will make any honda happy. The Nitrous is for the driver not the engine.

And by the way the missus calls me hub cap, not very long but is got girth.

I can get a pic of it once I can get it back to the shop and get it up off the ground. Still has the wheel/hub attached (sorta), and based on the metal shavings I'm ASSUMING the spindle is toast.

I've Googled front end rebuild kits for the car and I'm coming up a little confused...

Some parts are listed as ball joints, and some are listed as kingpin repair kits. I was under the impression that the '53 210 had upper and lower ball joints? (It's so caked with 60 years worth of crud I can't really tell...) Then on the other hand I seem to remember reading that ball joints weren't used in GMs until '55. Any help out there?

[porknbeaner]

Originally Posted by RagtopBuick66

I can get a pic of it once I can get it back to the shop and get it up off the ground. Still has the wheel/hub attached (sorta), and based on the metal shavings I'm ASSUMING the spindle is toast.

I've Googled front end rebuild kits for the car and I'm coming up a little confused...

Some parts are listed as ball joints, and some are listed as kingpin repair kits. I was under the impression that the '53 210 had upper and lower ball joints? (It's so caked with 60 years worth of crud I can't really tell...) Then on the other hand I seem to remember reading that ball joints weren't used in GMs until '55. Any help out there?

Probably no help from me but I believe that it is a king pin suspension same as the '54-'62 Corvette.

I have had spindles really galled from bad bearings and was able to clean them up and run them. I actually had a girl friend that was using a car that I owned to get to and from. She called me from a friends house and said that she and the car were there and that the wheels stopped turning. The hubs could not be saved as they had welded themselves to the spindle but I was able to save both spindles.

She said it had been making a noise for about a weeek, too bad she didn't tell me when it was home and it was still a simple repair. Guess you just can't fix stupid, she must have been having a brunette moment.

By the way your "spindles" may be called uprights in some circles. It could help you in your search if you need to replace them.

[RagtopBuick66]

Thanks PNB! I probably won't get to check it out until Wednesday or Thursday, since that'll be the next opportunity I'll get to put work off for a minute. Even then it'll only be for a couple hours. I'll update the thread when I figure it out.

[RagtopBuick66]

Wheel bearing fixed. Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, though it was still bad. Apparently the outer bearing went in sorta half-cocked when I put it back on after the brake job, and it didn't take driving it but 100 feet to cause it to erupt past the outer race. The hub has a backing ledge inside, which is notched so you can knock the outer race out for replacement. The bearings started wearing through the four sections between the notches, and I think if I hadn't caught it when I did the damage would have been much worse in a short time. I couldn't believe what a new bearing costs... $54.99 for an outer and $98.99 for an inner! Holy shit, in '53 that was a sizable down-payment on the car NEW!

I finished removing all the interior trim, window frames, door panels, and seat side-panels while I waited for the new bearing to arrive at NAPA from their warehouse (once again, NAPA comes through for me!) and I spent a minute actually LOOKING at the car. And again, my plans for the paint job have changed.

Now I'm actually thinking pearl white as the base (primary) color. I'm not going to go into the rest, but I have a few more ideas to be laid on top of the pearl white. I'm really starting to dig the lines of the car, and I think with the WWWs the white would just look awesome. I've never been a fan of white cars, but I think in this case I might make an exception.

2:30 AM, I'm hitting the sack. Long day tomorrow, starting on the dash and door panels (Dark Toreador Red and black) and might try to fix the few little holes in my floor pans since my carpet is here. Oh yeah, dunno if I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but on top of my $20 Arthur Fulmer seat covers won on eBay, I also won a NOS Arthur Fulmer front and rear carpet set in black. $24.00! So, in a nutshell, the new upholstery for my front and rear seats AND a complete carpet kit cost me less than ONE outer wheel bearing cost me this afternoon. Still holding out for a $20 headliner kit... Lol.

[RagtopBuick66]

Just received my 2012 Mecklenburg County Vehicle Tax Bill for the '53, and to my surprise, apparently I've been working on a rather valuable car! They have the assessed value as $10,950, and I owe $167.27 in vehicle taxes! I knew I got the car for a bargain, but WOW! I never imagined! BWAAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAAA!

This weekend, and this weekend only, I'll be taking offers on the Chevy. Any offer over $8k will be considered. I'll be holding my breath...

I have a bridge and some nice waterfront property in Arizona for sale too.

Who comes up with these asinine figures?

[rustynewyorker]

Originally Posted by RagtopBuick66

I've actually been looking for a 51-52 210 4-door for a while now. .

A 51-52 210 doesn't exist either. Special, Deluxe, and the Bel Air are it.

[RagtopBuick66]

Originally Posted by rustynewyorker

A 51-52 210 doesn't exist either. Special, Deluxe, and the Bel Air are it.

I meant 51-52 Chevy in general. Neither here nor there.

[midnightoilgarage]

nice score.How about a using, a preserved rod,unrestored rod.I have a preserved 36 custom.

[RagtopBuick66]

Originally Posted by midnightoilgarage

nice score.How about a using, a preserved rod,unrestored rod.I have a preserved 36 custom.

Howdy! Well, until tonight I haven't really been updating this thread much, for a couple of reasons. I got it road-worthy, and have been driving as often as I can in order to identify any more "bugs" that need working out, and to get an overall "vibe" from the car before I made any decisions on the finish.

Also, something important I've learned from the HAMB is that at the end of the day, IT IS YOUR CAR. Built it how YOU want it.Opinions are going to vary, and no one is ever going to agree 100% of the time every time. If I built this car to appease everyone's opinions, eh, it wouldn't truly be mine. I've decided to fade off into the background for a while, and then hit y'all with the finished pics.

There are PLENTY of more interesting threads than this one, and folks on here who have more talent in an eyelash than I have in my whole body. So I figure nobody will miss the build while it's in-progress. That being said, when it's done I expect a lot of heads to turn.

I'm not going patina or preserved. I'm not going primered. And I'm not going flat black, red, green, or flat at all. I have a plan, I've been moving forward with it, and I'd rather just keep it my little secret for now. Thanks for all the opinions so far, keep them coming! It was all of you jointly who put me on the right path. Now I need to prove that all your teachings weren't in vain.