19 November 2013

making the Chrysler air-cooled

My wife's car reminds me about everything I hate about American cars

* Water cooled
* Left hand threads on driver's side lugs, what's that about?
* Huge and heavy
* Mainly automatics

I removed the leaking radiator, so at least it's air-cooled for now. The guy at the radiator shop was really impressed with it and said it's likely all original. If it just needs a clean and repair it'll be $80-90, if it needs a re-core it'll be $500... ouch

I'm glad Rock Auto stocks so many parts for this car, with any luck she'll be able to drive it around reliably by the end of the month



this guy's not smiling about the car, he's smiling about the road-head



08 November 2013

new (old) project... my wife's

My wife's very first car and daily driver was a 1954 Chrysler New Yorker. Eventually she got tired of pushing it and went modern. Since then the car's mostly sat in the garage at my brother-in-law's waiting for us to find the space to store it and make it reliable again. That time is now, and for the time being I'll have another project to keep my hands busy for awhile...


It definitely need a new radiator, but I've heard that the shifting linkage may need adjustment, the front tire has a leak, and the carb needs an idle adjustment... In other words, nothing really that major, except for the radiator, which I haven't been able to locate on the aftermarket yet (if anyone has any ideas let me know). Then it'll be time to bolt in seat belts and prep it for carrying car seats, and then hand it back over to the wife. I really have no desire to drive it, a heavy, floating sled just isn't my cup of tea, but I do appreciate its beauty and period luxury.