Bringing a 53 Sedan Back From the Dead

[Dan LeBlanc]

And now the fun begins.

Threw a set of tires on her that held air right off the bat. Just that alone made a difference.




Cleaned out the trunk on Saturday to find some rust. No surprise but I think it's fixable. It will test my patience no doubt.









It's strange. The car is bad where it should be good and good where it should be bad. One would think the floors should be totally gone but they're not that bad. The body mounts, inner rockers and outer rockers are bad. Those should have been decent. The floors - a couple of front floor boards and that should be the extent of it. Very strange indeed.

I've got each of the cylinders full of Marvel Mystery Oil so now the waiting begins.

In all though, she fits well in the new home we built for her.

[Smedly]

Lookin good Dan

[Bill Gauch #23121]

...

It's strange. The car is bad where it should be good and good where it should be bad. One would think the floors should be totally gone but they're not that bad. The body mounts, inner rockers and outer rockers are bad. Those should have been decent. The floors - a couple of front floor boards and that should be the extent of it. Very strange indeed.

...

In my experience, the rockers go bad from road salt and inadvertent curb/speed bump damage. I would bet there will be some rust in the rear wheel wells too. Usually, the floors only rust out when the gaskets dry up and rain gets in the car. The undercoating protects the floor from the salt/road grit, but the carpet accelerates the rust on the top side if it's wet. Still, it looks pretty darn good for 60+ years old.

Bill.

[Tye_Cowan]

Awesome thread.  So glad to see so much traffic on the '53 model, as I am doing my first restore ever on a 53 Fleetwood. 

As to the rust issues, be sure to pop off the door panels, open the access plates, and clean out the accumulation of debris in the bottom of each door.  Mine was filled with dried mud that never made it out of the weep holes.

As time permits, I'll create a thread on my acquisition, and it's restoration progress.

Best wishes to you and yours!

[Dan LeBlanc]

I have an unexpected change in direction.

The rust issues have this car just too far gone.  I did find a donor body and drug it home, but, as I was doing so, a nice 53 Sixty Special has turned up that has some missing common items that the original project car is now the parts car and what was bought as a parts car is better than the project car, so common sense dictates to fix the Sixty Special.

The body I drug home was a 51.  Needs one rocker panel repaired but otherwise solid.  Plans were to take out the division rails in the rear window and swap the firewall as all else is the same.

Guess I now have a surplus of stuff to work with.

Sometimes, you can't save them all.   

[2manycars]

Sorry to hear the 53 didn't make it. Looking at those photos I was picturing it done and all pretty again. I love blue, and that car would have been gorgeous. But this is what happens sometimes.

[Dan LeBlanc]

The rust shown is really one of the better areas. One of the worst areas is on the passenger side where the skirt, dogleg, and body mount all come together. It is gone. Literally. Nothing there to even start to rebuild.

Sometimes you just have to pull the plug. It will be a good source of parts for the Fleetwood, however, so parts of it will live on.

[Smedly]

Dan, how about a few pics of the new project car. Sorry to here the first project is not going to work out but at least you have lots of parts.

[Dan LeBlanc]

Just got my export declaration this morning from the broker.  I'm picking it up on Saturday down in Massachusetts.  I'll post some new pictures on Sunday when I get home after 14 hours on the road.

[Dan LeBlanc]

Well, folks, the Fleetwood is home and nestled comfortably in the garage.  I haven't really dug too much into it yet, but I have given it a quick once over.  The car originated in Wyoming and then went to Colorado for a bit before coming to the East Coast.  It is a typical western car, sunburned on the top and dry on the bottom.  I've found a few minor pinholes in the driver's floor and that's it.  It does have its fair share of dents, but, I'd rather fix dents than rust.  So, here she is:

[Smedly]

Dan, any updates on this?

[Dan LeBlanc]

It's home and that'she about it. It's in the garage with the Series 62 but, since I haven't insulated the garage yet it's been a bit cold here to spend any time out there. Things are on hold until the spring. Then I'll really dig into it.