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I am new/old to this forum, I first joined in 2012 when I started a massive restoration on a 50 Olds 88 2dr fst back. As a result of many life changes I have not been active with the Olds group since 2015.
On Friday 9/10 I had a very unusual thing happen to me, surfing the web I came upon a 1953 Olds Super 88 fore sale. What was so unusual about the '53 Olds? It was an exact twin to the Olds Super 88 I bought in the spring of 1955 with 7, K plus on the odometer. I called the owner of the '53, I asked him some questions about the car, asked him to send me pictures of the car. I reviewed the pix, was quite impressed, the car was dead stock in very nice running/driving condition with 77K plus showing on the odometer. The paint is a little tired as is the upholstery on the front seat. It was obvious that the car needed some TLC.. I bought the car!!!
So what is so unusual about this 53 Olds.?? I had bought my original '53 Olds prior to meeting my wife to be. We ran the wheels off of that Olds having it in the majority of the Western States, and driving from coast to coast twice when I got drafted into the US Army in 1956. From my point of view the '53 Olds Super 88 was one of the finest and fastest cars ever built.My Olds would run off and hide from the very popular '55 Chevy's. When my new wife and I went on our Honeymoon in early '56 we went to Reno NV. It was late at night when we left Vegas, my wife was asleep in the front seat, she was half asleep when I told her I was going to have the car looked at when we got to Reno, she wanted to know what the problem was; I told her the car was a little sluggish when the speed got above 120 MPH...She did not go back to sleep for awhile.
My head and heart are full of memories that my wife and I enjoyed in the Olds, we drove the Olds over 80K from '55 to '58, then sold it when I got transferred to Germany. My wife and I were together for over sixty-one years when she passed away in 2016. Wm.
I am new/old to this forum, I first joined in 2012 when I started a massive restoration on a 50 Olds 88 2dr fst back. As a result of many life changes I have not been active with the Olds group since 2015.
On Friday 9/10 I had a very unusual thing happen to me, surfing the web I came upon a 1953 Olds Super 88 fore sale. What was so unusual about the '53 Olds? It was an exact twin to the Olds Super 88 I bought in the spring of 1955 with 7, K plus on the odometer. I called the owner of the '53, I asked him some questions about the car, asked him to send me pictures of the car. I reviewed the pix, was quite impressed, the car was dead stock in very nice running/driving condition with 77K plus showing on the odometer. The paint is a little tired as is the upholstery on the front seat. It was obvious that the car needed some TLC.. I bought the car!!!
So what is so unusual about this 53 Olds.?? I had bought my original '53 Olds prior to meeting my wife to be. We ran the wheels off of that Olds having it in the majority of the Western States, and driving from coast to coast twice when I got drafted into the US Army in 1956. From my point of view the '53 Olds Super 88 was one of the finest and fastest cars ever built.My Olds would run off and hide from the very popular '55 Chevy's. When my new wife and I went on our Honeymoon in early '56 we went to Reno NV. It was late at night when we left Vegas, my wife was asleep in the front seat, she was half asleep when I told her I was going to have the car looked at when we got to Reno, she wanted to know what the problem was; I told her the car was a little sluggish when the speed got above 120 MPH...She did not go back to sleep for awhile.
My head and heart are full of memories that my wife and I enjoyed in the Olds, we drove the Olds over 80K from '55 to '58, then sold it when I got transferred to Germany. My wife and I were together for over sixty-one years when she passed away in 2016. Wm.
Nice you found a car to relive your fond memories. Thanks for sharing your story.
I am new/old to this forum, I first joined in 2012 when I started a massive restoration on a 50 Olds 88 2dr fst back. As a result of many life changes I have not been active with the Olds group since 2015.
On Friday 9/10 I had a very unusual thing happen to me, surfing the web I came upon a 1953 Olds Super 88 fore sale. What was so unusual about the '53 Olds? It was an exact twin to the Olds Super 88 I bought in the spring of 1955 with 7, K plus on the odometer. I called the owner of the '53, I asked him some questions about the car, asked him to send me pictures of the car. I reviewed the pix, was quite impressed, the car was dead stock in very nice running/driving condition with 77K plus showing on the odometer. The paint is a little tired as is the upholstery on the front seat. It was obvious that the car needed some TLC.. I bought the car!!!
So what is so unusual about this 53 Olds.?? I had bought my original '53 Olds prior to meeting my wife to be. We ran the wheels off of that Olds having it in the majority of the Western States, and driving from coast to coast twice when I got drafted into the US Army in 1956. From my point of view the '53 Olds Super 88 was one of the finest and fastest cars ever built.My Olds would run off and hide from the very popular '55 Chevy's. When my new wife and I went on our Honeymoon in early '56 we went to Reno NV. It was late at night when we left Vegas, my wife was asleep in the front seat, she was half asleep when I told her I was going to have the car looked at when we got to Reno, she wanted to know what the problem was; I told her the car was a little sluggish when the speed got above 120 MPH...She did not go back to sleep for awhile.
My head and heart are full of memories that my wife and I enjoyed in the Olds, we drove the Olds over 80K from '55 to '58, then sold it when I got transferred to Germany. My wife and I were together for over sixty-one years when she passed away in 2016. Wm.
Great story and memory. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the new ride. Maybe it won’t be sluggish over 120!
Matthew that is a great story. You are to be congratulated on your 61 years of marriage. You have to have lots and lots of wonderful memories. My wife and I have been married 55 years. I was 19 (almost 20) and she was 18. As I know you and your wife were, my wife and I are very blessed. Enjoy your car and the memories it will bring back. Let us know if you need help with the car. There are lots of guys on here that know lots about these old cars. I have a newer model (54) and am still learning. Welcome back and I hope you enjoy it here.
Very interesting story!
Glad to hear you were able to obtain a close example of the car you have fond memories of.
I too own a 53 Super 88. Its my first and only classic car, and after 6 years I have put 30k miles on it.
I absolutely adore it.
The person that sold it to me also owned a 53 88 Holiday. Out of his 10+ other classic cars he owned, he told me the 53 Olds was always his favorite to drive.
There is definitely something special about them.
I hope yours helps bring back some old memories and creates some great new ones!
I wish to extend a big thank you to everyone that added their kind thoughts regarding my good fortune to find the 53 Olds.
My recent purchase of an Oldsmobile will not be my first experience with an Olds. Prior to owning the '53 I had many years ago I owned a '50 Olds 88 2dr fast back that was a fantastic car that only had 29+k on the odometer when I traded it in on the '53.
Reviewing the pictures of the '53 that the owner of the car, a total of 28, sent to me, gave every indication that the car was in excellent condition with no apparent rust-out in any panels. the list of accessories on the car, the interior/exterior colors made the car an exact twin to my original car. An added feature was the fact that both cars were Supers built at the GM Lancing Mich Plant. I would have to assume that the light blue was not a popular color for '53, In sixty-six years I have only seen two cars that were originally painted light blue.
My original '53 was an excellent car from the day I bought the car. Shortly after buying the car I had it serviced. The service tech noted that the front springs hand spacer blocks inserted into the coil springs. I took the car back to the dealer I had bought if from. With only 7+k on the car it would not be normal for there to be font end issues.
I was informed by the Service Manager that many of the '53 Olds 88's had front coil spring issues, the recommended method to fix the problem was to replace the springs with new springs, the spacer blocks were an economy measure. The dealer replaced the front springs under my car at no cost to me.
During the 80k we drove the car the only service work that was required was a couple of tune-ups, trans service in Maryland and a new fuel pump in Idaho Falls. I had noted that the windshield wipers were not working well, so during the course of our cross county trip from Maryland to California I took the Olds into the local Olds Dealer.
The '53 Olds 303 engine has a two stage, double diaphragm fuel pump to boost the vacuum to the wipers. Failure of the diaphragm can result in fuel being pumped into the crankcase and/or engine, thereby contaminating the oil and/or fuel intake and leading to engine failure. When a two stage fuel pump is viewed, you can note fuel and vacuum lines running to the pump..
The transportation of my Olds from the seller to my location in California has been taking longer than I had hoped.. I heard from the shipper yesterday, they now have a truck/driver assigned to the project, so i should be seeing the car by the end of the week, maybe the first of next week.
The wait is almost killing me, I have been looking for a light blue 53 Olds Super 88 to replace the one I had to sell when I was in the US Army and I returned from over seas in 1958. Wm.
After a wait of several weeks my 53 Olds finally showed up in Ventura today. The wait was the result of transportation problems that is plaguing everyone, the whole world seems to be on back-order.
I spent the entire afternoon doing a survey of the vehicle, the more I looked the better I liked the car. I found a lot of pluses that I did not expect. The main items being all original shaded glass with the correct matching manufactures 'bugs'. a really big surprise was that all of the weather stripping on the doors, etc., is original to the car in like new condition. The head liner is dark, but not a tear in the whole thing, even the visers are near perfect. Everything on the dash is in excellent condition, When the doors are opened the interior lights come on, under the dash and the dome, the parking brake red light even flashes when the key is turned on. Even the horn works. The engine starts right up, has excellent oil pressure. According to the lube records the engine was service 3,000 miles ago, no date on the record. The engine is smooth and quiet which can be unusual for an Olds 303 V8.
On the down side, the car has been repainted many years ago, a used car type of paint job. Recently someone tried to put lip stick on a pig, they sprayed some kind of a clear coat over the entire car, including the stainless trim. The clear coat has a sticky touch to it.
I am going to give the car a good cleanup tomorrow, scrubbing it with powdered cleanser.. I have had good luck with powdered cleanser reviving paint that appeared to be beyond help. Wm
Last edited by blucar; October 22nd, 2021 at 08:59 AM.
The body is cleaning up very nicely, the goop that was sprayed on the body is coming off, so is the majority of the rust freckles which are mostly minor paint chips. The man that sold me the car claimed the stainless trim was very good, which it is.I think the majority of the interior is going to clean up very nicely. The front rubber floor mat is total junk, the rear is not so bad. I am checking around to see if I can find a source for carpet, preferably dark blue to match the set bases.
The bumpers have been sprayed with some kind of a dull chrome like product similar to the product that is used on exhaust manifolds. of course as most know, or should know the '52-53 cars all had terrible chrome on the grills/bumpers, good 'Korea Chrome'. Good chrome was hard to get during the Korean War. The rear bumper guards are total junk, especially the right side, probably the result of engine exhaust.
The engine is in need of a lot of TLC, radiator, hoses in pretty bad shape, however, the general condition of the engine compartment is very good.
Doing some checking around, I think I am going to put a Petronix Ignitor ignition on the engine, took the carb to the carb shop yesterday.
I am also thinking about converting the oil filter to a spin-off modern filter, much easier to deal with.
During the course of the body clean up we sprayed engine cleaner in the engine compartment, actually it was not to bad, the engine has minimal oil etc.,leaks, Could not see the coolant in the radiator, the engine has not overheated, in fact the gauge has not got above 1/4 of the way, is it a faulty gauge, or no thermostat. The radiator hoses are in pretty bad shape so we decided to remove them.
The coolant that came out was very dark green, a little on the thick side, probably has not been changed in years, it would appear that the car has not ran much since 1994.
I was quite surprised that the bolts in the thermostat housing were not frozen, the stat looked terrible, a lot of 'gunk' around it. The stat was stuck in the full open position, that would explain the engine running cold. Upon removing the stat it was noted that it was a 180, also noted that a small hole, about 1/16" had been drilled in the valve part. I have heard/read about people doing this, however, I don't understand the thinking behind the hole in the thermostat. Such a small hole is not going to allow coolant to pass if the stat fails to open.
Ordered new hoses, belt, thermostat w/gasket, 7lb. pressure cap and a new water pump from Fusick on Friday.. Fusick had a new pump and hoses on the shelf.
I am thinking about putting a new aluminum radiator with shroud and electric fan on the engine. We put a aluminum radiator w/ shroud and electric fan on my 49 Olds 88, worked great.
Before the purists get their knickers all bunched up, I'll clarify my intentions with the '53. I like vehicles that look stock, some people call them sleepers, but they run well and can be driven at any speed, safely!!
As I wrote in my introduction to this topic/tread, I had a '53 Super 88 from 1954 to 58, it was probably the fastest car I ever owned, that is why I bought the '53 I now have. Traffic, etc., has changed a lot since the fifties, therefore, I will make sure that my present car is as safe and reliable as we can make it, while maintaining it's original look. Wm.
I have an aluminum radiator in my 54. I looked and looked and could not find one made for the car. I measured and wound up using one for a 68 Dodge Coronet. It was the same width as my 54 (24 inches I believe) and not quite as tall. It had the flanges on each side to mount it like the Olds had and the outlet was on the left side. I had to cut the hose off a little and use a bushing in the hose since the radiator outlet was smaller. I used a flex hose on top. I also put a universal shroud on from Speedway Motors and a pusher fan on the front. It cured my cooling issues.
I have had excellent luck with Summit's Racing radiators, page 216 of their most current catalog. A very cleaver friend of mine figured out that a radiator did not know if it was a cross-flow or a verticle, on old cars we use a cross-flow standing it up. Summit sells a universal fit aluminum racing radiator combo with shroud/fan for $420.
When the cross-flow is stood up the fill neck has to be relocated to the top of the tank in lieu of side, to get the hose connections right we use a Ford in a GM and a GM in a Ford.
I have the Summit Racing radiators in a '38 GMC, w/292 6 cyln, 39 Plym w/sbc, '49 Olds 88 w/78 403 and a '64 Chevy C10 w/5.7 v8, all of which are air conditioned vehicles. wm
I forgot to mention earlier that during the course of my survey of the '53 that the backup lights are not really backup lights, they are dummies with no receptacle for a bulb behind them. I did some searching through the various sources I have, could not find a listing for the backup lights, plenty of lenses, gaskets. I noted that the '53 Buick backup lights appear to be very similar. Anybody have any suggestions? wm.
I have found that upgrading the cooling system on vintage vehicles to modern high flow aluminum radiators with shrouds and electric fans is very practicale, especially the way we do it with a Summit radiator in lieu of a customs made well known brand of aftermarket radiator that can cost over $900. In today's world with the high cost of labor plus the cost of a new radiator core, the rebuilding of an old radiator can run into the hundreds of dollars, and you still have an old out of date radiator, cooling system.
I am also a firm believer in coolant recovery systems and PCV's. The addition of a PCV to an old engine solves a lot of problems and actually makes the engine run more efficiently. Coolant recovery systems purge the system of air entrainment in the coolant, which minimizes air pockets/cavitation, thereby improving the cooling system.
The '53 cooling systems generally used a 7lb cap whereas modern systems use 16lb. caps, The boiling point for modern coolant goes down 3 degrees for ever pound of pressure, which equals 48 degrees, a 212 boiling point now becomes 260, in lieu of 233.
When all is said and done the average person has no clue that modifications have been done to the vehicle.
In the late '60's, early '70's California was on a big quest to clean up the air in the state, getting rid of the SMOG that was choking up most of the larger cities.
California came out with a smog system called 'NOX', this system had to be retro-fitted to the majority of all vehicles in the state. Basically the system was a valve that was placed within the upper radiator hose, the vacuum line to the distributor was rerouted through the valve in the upper hose, then to the vacuum advance. A hole was cut into a valve cover to which a fitting was attached for a 3/4' hose that ran to a fitting that attached to the carb air cleaner.
The net result of this system was that the engines had terrible pre-ignition, "ping" and dieseled, would not stop the engine when the key was turned off. The only way to stop the engine was to turn the car off in gear, set the parking brake and release the clutch, stopping the engine.
At the time I had a very nice '57 Ford T-Bird with very nice billet T-Bird valve covers and a factory chrome air cleaner. The regulators said I had to cut into the valve covers and air cleaner to install the NOX system.. I said NO!
My company had several trucks, two of which were '59 Ford F100/250 w/292 V8, no PCV and a '64 F350 w/292 V8 /PCV. The '64 was exempt from the NOX requirement because it had a PCV. I went to a wrecking yard and gathered up all of the PCV systems I could find on 292 Y block engines. I added the 64 PCV systems to my two 59 Ford 292's, they passed smog, then I added a '64 system to my '57 Bird without installing the hose from the valve cover to the air cleaner.. The car passed smog, no blow bye, no smoke/fumes from the draft tube.
I will probably use a PCV system from a '63/68 SBC on the '53 Olds, it is a very simple system that works very well, simple to install and simple to maintain.. Most people will never know its there. wm.
Last edited by blucar; October 26th, 2021 at 09:04 AM.
Making headway getting the engine compartment and chassis cleaned up. Pulled the carp. took it to my carb man. My carb man found just about what he expected in a carb that had not seen much use in many decades. Other than the accelerator pump being the wrong pump and the bowl being full of gunk, everything else was good, an original Carter carb that just needed a little TLC.
A pleasant surprise when we pulled the wheels off, the drums appeared to be new. Removing the drums revealed that the entire brake system was new sometime in the recent past..We also found many new suspension parts, bushings, stabilizer link parts, etc.
The car was last registered in 1994, therefore I would have to assume that a previous owner had, or was in the process of fixing the car up. Wm.
During the course of my maintenance/cleanup work on the Olds I discovered that the back up lights are actually dummy light delete, in lieu of actual backup lights. Surfing the web I can find lenses/gaskets for the lights but no light housings.
Does any one have a pair of backup lights they would like to pass on.?
We installed the HEI Pertronic Ignitor II yesterday, pretty simple unit to install..
Getting close to having things tidied up so I can put some miles on the Olds. Wm.
Last edited by blucar; November 9th, 2021 at 09:25 AM.
I was cruising around the various vintage car web sites on Friday looking for parts for my Olds, mainly backup lights. Not much luck until I stumbled upon a listing for backup lights GM, Buick, Chevy, Olds. One listing had NOS light kits that stated they would fit 53-54 Olds, '53 Buick and '58 Chevy Nomad/Station Wagon. Actually found six listings for this light kit, some loose and four new in the box with wiring harness, instructions, etc.
Looking the lights over about the only difference I could see was that the trim bezel seemed to have a slight hood over the top. Since my car has the backup light delete, the exterior bezel is on my car, as is the large hole for the light receptacle.. Maybe I lucked out, we'll see when the parts get here. Wm.
The NOS GM backup light kit showed up last week, very nice items, as advertised on eBay, the kit was complete with the wiring harness, instructions, etc.
The car is really turning out to be a "twenty-footer" the more I look, the more I find that needs attention. I think I mentioned earlier that a previous owner had tried to put 'Lipstick on a Pig". When the car was repainted many years ago, the majority of the emblems were removed. The majority of the chrome emblems were sprayed with what I call 'Jet-Cote' a poor excuse for chrome that does not hold up well when exposed to the weather.
Many of the emblems had broken/missing attachments and/or insulators. Haunting the internet, eBay, I have found most of the emblems I need, the majority of which are original chrome that have cleaned right up.
The newly rebuilt carb and Pertonix HEI Ignitor II and ignition wires w/pugs have been installed, We changed the oil and filter, installed the new water pump and hoses from Fusick and lite the engine up, It sounded great, Very quite and steady on the idle with great response. Wm.
Last edited by blucar; November 25th, 2021 at 10:50 AM.
Cruising around the internet I found some listings on eBay for the rocket hood ornament, the prices varied from $450. to $25. Carefully looking the listings over I found what appeared to be a very nice ornament with all of the correct attachment bolts/nuts. I very carefully scanned the pix, noted some very light freckling in a few places on the chrome, the majority of the chrome appeared to be just surface tarnish that Never-Dul and 0000 steel wool would remove. I bought the hood ornament for $85. I received the ornament on Tuesday, did a good cleanup on the piece, it turned out very nice, not show quality but very good for an un-restored driver.
Now that the Olds is running very well and we have established that the brakes are all new we felt comfortable driving the car around the neighborhood.
The old bias ply 820x15 WW tires proved to be a problem, very poor ride and handling. I have to assume that the previous owner had put the 820 tires on the car in lieu of correct 710's, because he, they liked the wide white sidewalls, I think the WWS look out of proportion for the '50 model cars.
I looked through my tire catalogs finding that the 710 x 15 tire is 28.82" where-as a 235/75R15 is 28.80". We took the car to the tire shop, had the 820's taken off and Cooper 235/75R15 1.75" white sidewall tires put on. much better look and better handling.
Within a couple days of getting the car running the radiator sprung a few leaks, bad gamble, new pump, coolant, hoses and thermostat. Pulled the radiator off to the shop it went. Had a new three row core put into it. Wm.
Last edited by blucar; December 4th, 2021 at 10:16 AM.
We have been busy for the past couple of weeks taking advantage of the radiator, grille and bumper being out of the car, Got the engine bay and core support all cleaned up and a new coat of satin black sprayed on the sheet metal. Spayed the engine with a new coat of Olds Green engine paint.
I ordered a new fuel tank w/sender and attachment bolts from Fusick, the tank was a little pricey compared to other vendors, went with Fusick because their tank and sender unit was an exact duplicate of the original. perfect fit.
Surfing the internet I encountered a custom chrome shop in the Los Angeles area that had a complete set of front/rear re-chromed bumpers in stock, they also had a re-chromed grille. my bumpers and grille severed as the cores so I will have new chrome bumpers/grille on the car before the first of the year. Turned out the owner of the shop has a daughter that lives in Santa Barbara, just 35 miles up the coast from me so he is going to deliver the parts to me.. Made a good deal on the bumper because he had it in stock. Wm.
Rear bumper question pertaining to the rear bumper on my Super 88.
I recently removed the front and rear bumpers from my car. While taking the rear bumper I noted that there was not much holding the bumper onto the frame brackets, The two outer brackets had bolts in then, however the two inner frame brackets were not attached to the bumper. The bumper guards were not attached to the bumper, they were laying in the trunk, The bumper guards have two threaded mounting nuts that are fixed to the back side of the guard.. There are no mounting holes in the bumper that line up with the frame mounts.
It appears to me that originally there was a T shaped plate that attached to the back side of the bumper via the two 3/8" bolts that extended through the bumper and into the guard. I don't have such a plate. Any help with this situation would be appreciated. Wm
Rear bumper question pertaining to the rear bumper on my Super 88.
I recently removed the front and rear bumpers from my car. While taking the rear bumper I noted that there was not much holding the bumper onto the frame brackets, The two outer brackets had bolts in then, however the two inner frame brackets were not attached to the bumper. The bumper guards were not attached to the bumper, they were laying in the trunk, The bumper guards have two threaded mounting nuts that are fixed to the back side of the guard.. There are no mounting holes in the bumper that line up with the frame mounts.
It appears to me that originally there was a T shaped plate that attached to the back side of the bumper via the two 3/8" bolts that extended through the bumper and into the guard. I don't have such a plate. Any help with this situation would be appreciated. Wm
I cannot answer your question directly, but I'll attempt to assist you. There is a great thread regarding the bumpers on the following CO thread below - read through the thread (esp. Post #7). It most likely will serve you well. Charlie Jones may have better information. I hope this assists you in some way. You may find the brackets you need (if you need them) by performing a Google search - I found a modest selection of brackets. Good Luck.
I noticed in a post above you obtained a back up light kit for your car. If you care to sell the original back up light delete metal inserts, I'd be happy to buy them. Thanks - Chris
I noticed in a post above you obtained a back up light kit for your car. If you care to sell the original back up light delete metal inserts, I'd be happy to buy them. Thanks - Chris
Hi Chris,
I would be very interested in selling you the backup light delete that are on my '53.. They are stainless steel in very good shape. At first glance it is hard to tell that they units are not back up lights.
PM me... Bill
The link that V.Chief attached to his comment about my bumper problem was very helpful. I did not find much about the '53 rear bumpers but I dd find a pix of a parts brake-down for a '54 Olds rear bumper. It would appear that the '54 rear bumper has a pair of attachment brackets to secure the bumper guards to the bumper and the frame mounts, part #7852, Spacer Inner. The bumper guards on a 54 are different from the '53, but have a similar concept. I did a search on line and found a '53 chassis parts manual, the chassis is listed in the 7k section which is the same as the '54. I bought the parts manual.. I found out a long time ago that if a person is going to work on old cars, it is very handy to have the factory manuals and parts books. I have them for my '36 Ford, 39 Plym, ''38-40 Buick's, 37 GMC and '64-66 C10-30 pickups Wm..
Last edited by blucar; December 29th, 2021 at 02:06 PM.
The link that V.Chief attached to his comment about my bumper problem was very helpful. I did not find much about the '53 rear bumpers but I dd find a pix of a parts brake-down for a '54 Olds rear bumper. It would appear that the '54 rear bumper has a pair of attachment brackets to secure the bumper guards to the bumper and the frame mounts, part #7852, Spacer Inner. The bumper guards on a 54 are different from the '53, but have a similar concept. I did a search on line and found a '53 chassis parts manual, the chassis is listed in the 7k section which is the same as the '54. I bought the parts manual.. I found out a long time ago that if a person is going to work on old cars, it is very handy to have the factory manuals and parts books. I have them for my '36 Ford, 39 Plym, ''38-40 Buick's, 37 GMC and '64-66 C10-30 pickups Wm..
One of the reasons I pointed out Post #7 in my response (above) to you was to encapsulate the following statement which I believed would assist you:
A bit late to the party, but according to my parts book the 53 and prior used two brackets (inner and outer "back bars") per side on the rear, and starting in 54 the went to one bracket per side. On the front bumper you can see they moved to one back bar per side in 55. Unfortunately, it shows different parts number every year, so minimally you would be looking at trying to modify brackets off of any other year, car if you can't find the correct 55s. I don't see the B-A-C-P codes for cross-use on other GM cars either, but can't recall if this is the book that included that info.
I'm pretty sure 1953 like 1952 uses spacers between the bumper and mounting brackets, as seen below. The rear bumper is way too close without them. If 1953 has the decorative end bolts out at the corners, they just float, no mounting bracket. It is a unique bolt with the chromed stainless cap fastened with a Tinnerman clip.
Thank you for the reply. Yes, my rear bumper has the dummy bolts on the outer ends, there is a bolt on each outer face going into the bumper bars. As you can note from the attached pix there are two vertical holes for the bumper guards to attach to, these holes do not line up with the frame mount bars.
When the '54 rear bumper pix that Chief attached to this thread is reviewed the wide spacers 7852 can be seen, which my rear bumper does not have.
I noted before we removed the rear bumper that the bumper covered up the license plate light, that is what the spacer brackets you have must of allowed for. Looking at the '54 pix those spacer brackets also are shown at the outer ends, Interestingly, the outer spacers have the same part number 7852 as the inner.
Would you be interested in selling the spacer brackets you have?.. The '53 chassis book that I bought on line yesterday is scheduled to be here on the 6th, when that arrives I should be able to solve the mystery.
Footnote: When the pix of the rear bumper is reviewed it can be noted that the holes in the center part of the bumper where the guards attach, do not line up with the holes near the ends, The mounting plate I am looking for would allow for this. Wm
Last edited by blucar; December 30th, 2021 at 10:30 AM.
September 13th, 2021, 03:31 PM
