Hot '53 Mercury flatty

Vin-tin

Vin-tin

Well-known member
This engine was in a car that burned in a structure fire. The car was toast but I'm hoping the engine is salvageable.

The good:
Engine turns over nice and smooth.
Coolant and oil levels were still full.
Water pumps, fan, and generator still turn. (Gen is a little stiff)

The bad:
Fuel pump, wires, and carb melted some.
What are the chances of this thing ever running again?
 

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Agreed. That looks like minor external damage only,and internally the engine will be as good as it was before the fire.
 
I think it would be ok. But Im not an expert. if it was mine I would try keeping it by replacing the damaged stuff and seeing if it runs ok. If it run fine I would not worry. If it it ran bad then I do some tear down and measuring perhaps.
 
Years ago, I bought a '66 Galaxie hardtop that had an engine fire. The carburetor was totally melted and I had to sandblast and repaint the valve covers and get a new air cleaner because they were burned and the rusted. It looked a lot worse that your pictures, but once I replaced that damaged parts, it ran great.
 
Ross F-1 said:
A lot of people would die to get that power steering setup!
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If you still have access to the car get the rest of the PS of of the car. The units are few and far between. I know, it took me 4 years to get a complete set up for my 53' Merc Convertible, and it was not cheap.

Here is what is still on the car.
 

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The generator armature may be toast if the solder melted out. As long as the fuel pump and carburetor didn't drip down into the engine then it should be easy to clean up. Cast iron can take a lot of heat if there was still coolant in the water jackets. Fire has a tendency to carry the heat up and if there was no fire directly on the engine then it likely has no internal injury. The fuel has a tendency to boil out if it's contained well enough. It takes air for the fuel to burn so containment can keep that from happening.
 
Thanks everyone. I feel better now moving ahead on this. I should probably pull the pan and intake and take a peek inside just to be safe.
 
Vin-tin said:
Thanks everyone. I feel better now moving ahead on this. I should probably pull the pan and intake and take a peek inside just to be safe.
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Not sure there is much reason to pull the pan unless you suspect something got inside of the engine. I would start by just pulling the intake and see if everything looks ok on the top end. You could do a compression test to check out the cylinders.
 
Merc Cruzer said:
If you still have access to the car get the rest of the PS of of the car. The units are few and far between. I know, it took me 4 years to get a complete set up for my 53' Merc Convertible, and it was not cheap.

Here is what is still on the car.
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Is the pitman arm different on a car with power steering? If so, I think I have one of those offset pitman arms in my stash.
 
JSeery said:
Not sure there is much reason to pull the pan unless you suspect something got inside of the engine. I would start by just pulling the intake and see if everything looks ok on the top end. You could do a compression test to check out the cylinders.
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Yes a compression test is one thing I'm gonna do. This engine had the Merc-o-matic behind it originally. I have the starter from it. I also picked up a flywheel, cast bell, and starter plate. Will this starter work with the cast bell / starter plate? Or do I need to change something or get a different starter?
 
Tim Ayers said:
Is the pitman arm different on a car with power steering? If so, I think I have one of those offset pitman arms in my stash.
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Power steering pitman arm, on the left, without power steering, on the right.

Hose bracket location, shown with arrow:
 

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Thanks for the pictures Merc Cruzer. All you guys are really making me wish i had grabbed that power steering stuff. I'll have to check on the car. Maybe its still there. Is there anything else i should look for? If i remember correctly, the car had fender skirts and the stainless steel spare tire cover in the rear. Is any of that stuff rare?
 
Vin-tin said:
Thanks for the pictures Merc Cruzer. All you guys are really making me wish i had grabbed that power steering stuff. I'll have to check on the car. Maybe its still there. Is there anything else i should look for? If i remember correctly, the car had fender skirts and the stainless steel spare tire cover in the rear. Is any of that stuff rare?
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Power anything: seats, windows, brakes etc.

"stainless steel spare tire cover in the rear." Are you talking about a Coronado kit? (see picture) Was this a Mercury or a Ford?
 

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Merc Cruzer said:
Power anything: seats, windows, brakes etc.

"stainless steel spare tire cover in the rear." Are you talking about a Coronado kit? (see picture) Was this a Mercury or a Ford?
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It was a mercury. The spare was what I would call a continental kit.??
 
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