1955 Pontiac Chieftan

[stevegintn]

Greetings, Pontiac Peeps

I just acquired a 1955 Pontiac Chieftan - it's a one-owner barn find, I got from one of my Mississippi cousins. Brought her home and started going through it - yesterday, son and I replaced plugs & wires, oil, and gassed her up - unfortunately, she appears to be locked up (may be a show-stopper for us?)

My Mom worked in car dealerships in Memphis, all of her career (mostly Pontiac) and back in the day, she bought a new '55 Star Chief - it was an awesome and I just knew it would be passed on to me as I approached my 16th (driving age) birthday. Alas, my Dad sold it - for a couple hundred bucks! (yes, I cried)

Appreciate any advice (I have ordered a factory shop manual) and any local area shops that might be of help?

Thanks,
Steve Gillespie
Memphis, TN.

 

[melsg5]

welcome to the forum and good luck with your project

 

[stevegintn]

Thank You!

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Welcome aboard, Mr. Gillespie! And thank you for signing up...

______________________________

 

[stevegintn]

Thanks, Sal!

 

[Thriftmaster]

First off I am assuming this is a V8 car so take the plugs out of the engine so there is no compression to deal with, place the tranny in neutral, make sure the starter is not jammed in the engaged position. Squirt some move it or kroil oil or some sort of lubricant, entrant into the cylinders through the spark plug holes and while the oil seeps in go have a coffee.
After coffee try turning the engine over with a breaker bar and a socket on the front of the harmonic balancer crank shaft bolt. Make sure not to go nuts with the breaker and break the bolt off.It will take some pressure to pull the engine over but not a large amount if it is not frozen.
If it does not move at all make drain the fresh oil back into a clean jug for safe keeping. load the heck out of the cylinders with more oil Moove it or Kroil oil or some sort of rust inhibitor. You may have to do this several times over the coarse of a few days or even a week or more. I would also suggest that after you spray the heck out of the cylinders through the spark plug holes that you leave the breaker bar in ther of a ratchet on a socket and put a small post jack under the handle and jack up the ratchet handle to apply a good amount of pressure to the ratchet and then leave it like that. Check each day to see if the pressure has released on the handle at all and if not more oil in the cylinder. If it has again more oil in the cylinder and apply more pressure to the handle with the jack. Unless the rings are so rusted into the cylinder wals that they have become one which I do not think is the cars unles the cylinders where full of water I have had success breaking many frozen motors loose in this manner. Hope this works for you and all the best of luck to you and your son with the project.

 

[kanewilsonjr]

Hi there, Best Wishes on your new Buy !