Re: Debi's 1953 Patrician

Posted by jfrom@kanter On 2013/5/7 9:50:13

Duane,

You have done a great job so far and your wife is one lucky gal. This thread reminds me of the restoration of my wife's Fairlane. Before it was restored she would drive it all the time, but once all the paint and body work was done she refused to drive it as she would always say "I don't want to scratch it" LOL. My response was that's why I ordered an additional gallon of paint just for that reason.

But back to your engine issues at hand. I would first suggest get your hands on a service manual if you haven't already. It is a great quick reference to have when you are working instead of stopping to jump on the computer.

Secondly do you know what kind of mileage is on the engine and did you have the engine running before you pulled it to start the restoration? In general before pulling an engine apart I like to do a compression test to get a general idea of what cylinders are having issues. Next I normally do a cylinder leak down test. This will tell you if you have a intake valve, exhaust valve, or leakage problem past the piston rings.

Since you have already pulled the head and discovered the intake valve issue I would pull your side cover to investigate further. You could have a couple of different things going on a bent or warped valve or possibly a valve that is frozen to the guide. At this point the only way to know is to dig in a little deeper and open up the side of the engine.

Again Kudos to you and your lucky lady on a very nice car.

James