Projects 1953 cranbrook help!?

hey guys looking at a 1953 Plymouth cranbrook. Last ran in 1994. Found a old compression test in the glove box lowest is 45 and 75 psi is the best is that enough for it to run decent? If I had to do rings is it a hard job on the flat head 6 ? Any help is much appreciated.

 

Get it running first and then re check the squeeze. Also it may be your valves that need work.

 

A ring job is the same on any engine. Unless that is an ultra low mile motor it is probably going to need to be punched enough to clean up the bores. Just from an aging machinists perspective.

That is not a high compression engine to start with and 75 is probably about as good as it gets. I personally don't like that much difference in cylinder pressures but it may be a leaky valve as much as bad rings. Chances are good that you can pull the head, and do a quickie valve job on it if it doesn't have a burn valve. You may even get away with hand lapping the valves, I have done that on a lot of old motors to get me by until something else could be done.

I actually bought a Crane Brook in the '70s cheap because it ran but didn't run well. I lapped the valves and tossed a can of Caseite Motor Honey in it. I drove it all winter and gave it to my mom who put another 30K on it. Yep burned oil and got another can of caseite with every oil change but it motored around.

 

I second getting it running and trying a hot compression test. Even if it smokes at first I wouldn't be too hasty to tear it apart until I put some heat cycles and miles on it.

 

Well first thing first,that is not a 53. What is the engine number? It is on a pad cast in the block above the generator. A 53 should start with P23 followed by several other digits, if it is the original engine which it is likely not, as engine swaps were more common than rebuilds to keep them on the road. Your body style is common of 50 thru 52. 53 was a change over year that continued thru 54 with trim changes being the main differences.

Your compression readings are fairly typical for an experienced engine who's rings are worn. Pull the plugs and do another test with a new or fully charged 6 volt battery. Chrysler 6v systems are POSITIVE GROUND. 6 VOLT SYSTEMS NEED O GAUGE BATTERY CABLES at minimum. After you get new base line readings, put a tablespoon of motor oil down each spark plug hole and test again. IMPORTANT NOTE! If you have a screw in type compression gauge, assure you do not screw it in exceeding the length of the spark plug threads. DAMAGE TO VALVES can occur if the gauge is inserted too far. Some say it is necessary to hold the throttle wide open,but its not critical at this stage. If you are able to see an increase in cylinder with oil, this indicates rings acting with the oil as they should to increase compression. You are looking for consistency at this point not peak compression,a ten percent range from high to low is acceptable, and encouraging. Cylinders that don't improve are likely stuck valves. See what you find and post your results.

 

Thanks for the reply! i think im going to scoop it up then. body is in great shape its up for 1,000$ im just looking for a old car to bomb around in. I think its worth putting some time and money into.

 

its plated as a 1953 i have the body number but i didnt snap a pic of the plaque in the engine bay

 

LOL I gave 35 dollars for mine.

As Dilan said, "The times they are a changing"

 

How many miles on the clock? Typical engine life was 80,000 miles although it could go a short as 50,000 or long as 100,000 depending how it was treated.

Engine in perfect shape would have 110 - 120 PSI compression. Your readings indicate normal wear to valves and rings.

It looks like a good buy for the money. I would try to get it running and check compression again as others have said. If it does need work they are a simple engine and all parts are available cheap. Check compression and oil pressure. If oil pressure is good but compression as you say, then a ring and valve job should fix it up for another 30,000 miles. Gaskets, rings, etc cost about $200 - $300. Vintage Power Wagons had NOS pistons for $65 a set of 6.

 

Had to give $250.00 for mine, back in 19and70....

 

Think I bought mine in about '75 the farmer had it just in his yard 7 miles down a dirt road. Added caveat the heater worked. LOL

Oh sorry for the music fellas I needed something to put me in the mood to turn a wrench.

 

Probably a late year sale 52. Happened in some states. New not registered cars were sold as new year in January. My 46 was plated as a 47, but serial number confirms built in 46. Should be a plate on drivers or pass side A pillar with serial number. That is what Chrysler used as ID for assembled car. Bodies were stamped by Briggs and trucked to assembly plant so body number is a Briggs number, not Chrysler.

 

In California clear into the '60s new cars were registered as the year that they got registered. My mom had a '65 Buick Special deluxe that she got a deal on in '66 from the dealer and it was registered as a '66.
Good deal for her bad deal for the next buyer.LOL

 

The 1953 Cranbrook I had my eye on locally had a one piece, curved windshield..
looked more like these, just FYI:
https://www.google.com/search?q=1953+cranbrook+images&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS752US752&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=e8juHZ9k0nrZyM%3A%2CArfTw-8u9qnJ8M%2C_&usg=__TktUXm_2HxZgE-Thb4tW92-FMBA=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8rLflpO_ZAhUNVa0KHeqIANcQ9QEILTAB#imgrc=P8MomCoiiDK0SM:

maybe it was a leftover 1952 they titled as a '53 can they do that in your state?
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1......0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.G9OG4toiAbw

$250 in 1970 = $1646.77 today....so if it is a '53 you're getting a deal!

They say 25% rule of thumb lowest to highest reading...you're at 40%, maybe squirt some oil in there and check in again with a good gauge. If it comes up maybe you have stuck rings, some Marvel Mystery down in the cylinders for a week spark plugs out, then crank it over until the oil comes out, reinstall the plugs and she if she runs. Then when it gets warm check the compression once more. maybe you unstuck the rings/got lucky.

 

I bought a 51 2 door in 1973 for $100-drove for 2 years and sold for $500. Loved that car.

 

For that kinda loot, Ya can't go wrong! Even if it needs a quick rebuild, I'm sure a hone,. Rings, check/lap valves, oil pump, maybe shave the head, set of blocks in the rear(lower), skirts... B(.)(.)Bie's!

 

Also with a bunch of compound and elbow grease that paint might surprise you how it comes back.

 

Looks like a 1952. I had a two door sedan back in 1961.

 

Alright i have an update and need some more advice. Got the car home and picked up a new battery. Jumped power direct to the solenoid and the starter would spin but not engage. Tapped it a few times and it engaged but was stuck. Pulled it out and tested it out it worked as it should... put it back in the car and now it turns over great???. I have the plugs out and dropped alittle oil down the cylinders to lube them as i was messing around. I currently have no spark and am having a hard time figuring out what plugs i need. It had a mix of bosch and champion J8C. Do i need a resistor plug? from what research ive done it seems like i should be running champ rj12c ? also the ignition switch is gone so i need to figure out what wires hook up to where on the new ignition switch. Part of my spark problem could be that. Any chance one of you guys have or could snap a pic of the back of your ignition switches? Thanks for all the help

 

Might find this handy,maybe just previewing it will help. https://www.classiccarwiring.com/1951-plymouth-color-wiring-diagram/ Good picture of the switch here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NORS-Ignit...ash=item1ca4852c61:g:vQwAAOSw3wVagHYz&vxp=mtr

 

Thank you that will help!

 

I'd try cleaning the ignition points with emery paper and gapping them and check again for spark.
The points tend to get a bit of corrosion from sitting, but usually work fine after cleaning.

 

Ac 46 or 47. If its got a radio get resistor plugs. Do you have power to the coil with ign. on? Pull the dist. Mark the vacuum advance location, and the rotor position, remove the coil to dist wire, leave the sperk plug wires in the cap and let it hang. The service parts are much easier to deal with on the bench or in a vise. Tune up parts must be ordered by the number on the dist tag. It will start with "IAG" "ITS" or similar followed by 5 or so digits. Mopar used several different ditsributers over the years. The dizzys are interchangeable but internal parts and caps do not exchange among the dizzys. Pay particular attention to the wire inside the dist that connects the coil wire terminal to the points. This wire flexes as the breaker plate moves. The insulation crack causing grounding to the body instead of through the points. This wire can be replaced at Napa. It needs to be flexible to allow much and vacuum advance to work correctly. The other spot to check is terminal that goes through the dist body. Any inavertant ground there will cause a no spark to the plugs also.

 

For testing purposes you could connect the coil - to bat- with a jumper wire (called a hot wire) or connect with a simple on/off switch.
Are you getting current to the points with the key on? Good. Are the points turning the current off and on? You can check this with a 6v test light. If the points are not working do they have white stuff on them? Clean it off with a shot of contact cleaner spray or brake kleen. Take a little piece of 600 wet or dry paper, fold it over and drag between the points to clean them and follow with contact cleaner and drag a piece of white paper between until it comes out clean. OK now the points should be switching the current on and off, when you open the points the coil should fire. You can check this by sticking a plug wire in the coil, lay the plug on the head so it grounds and it should fire. Or hold the coil wire 1/8" to 1/4" from the head. If the points are working but no spark you could have a bad condenser or bad coil, or just a bad connection.

So that is the basics of checking the ignition. Do everything systematically and you will soon track down any faults, do not go tearing things apart until you check what is working.

If you get the coil firing you can clean the distributor cap with a rag and brake kleen and put it back on, don't forget the rotor. Now you should have fire to all the plugs.

If you didn't mess around with the points too much you should not have to worry about timing. The points should be opening .020 but this is not critical, I have seen them keep working when they were only opening .003.

One online reference says plugs were AR-8 gap .035

 

I agree with everyone who says it's not a '53. Bought my '53 2 door wagon back in 1976 for $325. Still have it today.

 

It's DEFINITELY a 1951 or 1952 which are virtually identical. The 1953 was way different.

 

The 51 had two bars in the grill and the 52 had three bars in the grill.

 

Can you show me the difference? I do not see any more bars on one grille than the other.

 

Here's a shot of my 51. You might have to stare at the picture long enough to find the car but it's there. As far as I know 51 and 52 were very similar.

Sent from my SM-G920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The badge and emblem on the hood are different from '51 to '52. The one pictured in the original post has '51 items. The '52 has a round emblem and the name badge is a one piece casting with ressesed letters rather than the raised individual plastic ones. Another difference between is the instruments have dark grey back grounds on '51s and the '52 have silver backgrounds. Having said that, there can be a blurring of the lines when model years transitioned as far as trim. It was typical for vehicles to be registered as the current sales year back before VIN numbers were instituted.