Hey guys. I acquired a 53 Cranbrook and I was trying to sell it but no one bought it so I'm going to build it. I was driving it for a while on the stock drivetrain and the engine took a dump so now I'm in scramble mode to get it back on the road. The plan for now is to get it on a modern chassis and a more reliable drivetrain. S10 frame swap using the power brakes, power steering and a 350/350 combo. Should be fun.
The stock chassis is fine - factory IFS. Use a Cherokee or Explorer rear end to keep the same lug pattern. Your choice of small blocks will fit fine; you can often (still) find running flathead motors cheap. I once saw one of these motors rebuilt in the car - head off, oil pan out, a couple of cylinders honed, etc. they are tough motors - what happened to yours?
There's plenty of info on adding Explorer diff and front brakes on these and steering racks, it would be less work than a chassis swap. Here' in Australia we had Chrysler Royal's based off the same body/chassis with Poly V8's from factory too. Here's my Chrysler Royal AP2 Poly V8 Custom, I looked at a chassis swap but upgrades are easier.
Upon further inspection of my six I found that a large piece of sludge had plugged up an oil hole and starved a rod journal or I wasn't getting enough oil to a wrist pin. Motor won't turn at all. The six is done. The block may still be ok. It's been bored 40 over already. It will be cheaper for me to swap than fix. Most of the parts I have laying around. Definitely a budget build. Plus when it was driving it was all over the place so vice replacing the entire suspension anyway. This is the route I'm going. Cheap to find parts too. I'll have to cut a section out of the frame for sure and build new body mounts. Probably build the steering with u joints. As I go if anyone is looking for parts let me know.
"Hey guys. I acquired a 53 Cranbrook and I was trying to sell it but no one bought it " Who wouldn't want a car with the ultra-kool name of "Cranbrook"?
Drop it, put some white walls and imperial wire wheels on it. Add skirts, hop up the flathead and add two rows of louvers in the hood. My 2 cents.
I would love to do a lot of the thinks you guys are talking about (especially the red ram hemi) but this is a budget build for now so I am limited my what I have laying around. I already have a 350 combo. Wait till you see what I have in store for it when I finish my shoebox. Then it's time to breakout the torch and welders.
Can we get an updat on this vehicle? Look like I'm doing a 1953 belvedere the same way maybe ? Thanks
I would recommend the original chassis. An S10 chassis fits… an S10. The suspension on the old Mopar cars is actually very good. Mopar built cars that were quality, not flashy. They put a lot of engineering into making sure they were good cars
Please let me tell this story. I'll try to tell the story without and blaspheme words which would kick it out. This car was a $500 Plymouth. I bought a later model medium/small car built by a large general automotive manufacturer. From that I got much better braking systems without the stupid transmission drum, an easier steering system, a 3-speed automatic transmission, a non-generator 12-volt electrical system, a tilt power steering system and more for $250. Alas, I did slip back to use a 354" Chrysler motor, but not the carburetor system. They all function together and seem happy. I know I am.
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