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I found 4 of them in my oil pan when I dropped it, yet all my retainers were in place when the valves were inspected. For a mechanic it was easier to grab another retainer out of a box, then it was to drop the pan to retrieve one what way dropped down the oil return holes..

Judging by the gunk you have found I am voting in favor of the ring job. Looks as tho there's been plenty of blow-by.

I continue to work various projects simultaneously. While awaiting engine and transmission oil pan gaskets, I worked on two of the rims by media blasting them and then primering and painting them.

Since my car only had four wheels (no spare) I assume the wheel without the hubcap clips is the spare so I'm going to order a fifth wheel with clips. When talking with Max Merritt, they asked whether I had 11" or 12" drums. Mine were the 12" drums but I was wondering if anyone knew what the difference was (besides an inch).:) Did the easamatic cars come with standard 12" drums or was this more of a Standard vs Deluxe/Super issue.

Pix below. Even after paint, the one rim that was badly pitted doesn't look great. A local shop recommended I use body filler to smooth it out but all I could imagine was the filler causing a huge imbalance that would require multiple weights to balance.

Also, another shop was unsure whether the tires would bead on the post-media blasted rim and recommended I use tubes with the tubeless tires. Has anyone done this? Any issues?

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After Media Blasting.

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After painting. I only painted the front side. While media blasting, it appeared that neither the back nor insides were previsouly painted. Was this how they normally left the factory?

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Just remember if you are going to find a 5th wheel, '54 Supers share the same wheels as 53 Clippers. While 54 Deluxes, Specials share the same wheels as 55 Clippers. The difference is the bolt pattern and hub hole.

Also if the car that had full wheel covers, then they would not have had the dog-dish hubcap clips.

I actually have a set of 53 wheels here that I need to go to a good home (for free, some just needs to pick them up). None of these wheels have the dog-dish clips.

This is what the '54 clipper full wheel cover looks like, which I would think was standard on the Supers. I have several spares if you are interested.

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The car came with four full wheel covers which was why I was surprised that three of them had the clips under them. I assumed the majority ruled the stock state but I guess it's possible over the course of 56 years for three of the wheels to have been replaced.

My full wheel covers do need to be repainted through. Only the black hexagon remains. I've been thinking about making a template to cover the lettering in order to paint the red portion. How did you do it? Did you use a brush instead of a spray can or did you cover the script lettering?

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The wheels with the clips for hubcaps are from 1950 or earlier and may not be as suitable for tubeless tires as the later ones.

Wheels like your spare with the 3 stamped "ears" for small hubcaps were used for the 1951 to 1954 Clippers.

Quote:Can't answer the question, but I would suggest it's better to paint all wheel surfaces regardless of factory appearance.

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After I had the wheels from my '50 blasted (they used a pretty rough blasting media), I painted the insides with two coats of POR15. This provided a nice smooth beading surface. I haven't had any problems with the tubeless Diamond Back radials holding air.