MC wrote:

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Wow!  That is a truly special find!  As much as the word 'survivor' is tossed around in the hobby, this one truly is a survivor!

That one deserves to be kept totally stock, in fact I would avoid lowering it as that would take away from its spectacular originality.

Thanks for posting, and yes, more pics please! 

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 Agreed! I think a thorough detailing, followed by wax would be the order of the day (or weeks since there is a lot of area to cover and you don't want to kill yourself doing it all at once).

As a survivor (really is one) you should take pains to not be careless with things like the original upholstery. Seat covers should stay on for general use and removed when you display the car. Go for non-destructive cleaners and retain all the crayon marks you can. What you don't want to do is spray bomb the underside! There are products like Cosmoline that can be applied to non painted surfaces to maintain them and keep them looking fresh. Also perform some maintenance like applying heat riser lube to the exhaust heat riser valve, a solid tune up with the points being dressed, set, lightly lubed on the rubbing blocks. You also want to check the flex lines for the brakes. They can swell, crack, leak, or appear fine but still cause a total brake failure.

There is no crime in replacing the tires, in fact it is a serious safety consideration. Since tires & wheels really project the image of the car, and being a survivor, my recommendation would be to go either with a set of reproduction bias plies, or if you are going to drive it much, vintage replica tires based on modern radials as sold by Coker, Diamondback and others.

Sure it has survived all these years in original condition, but casual use and the ensuing degradation would be senseless and all the more tragic. I have seen showroom condition old cars end up looking like just another beater within 2 - 5 years of indifferent usage.

WOW ANOTHER SURVIVOR , THEY KEEP SHOWING UP . 

Merci! un 1952 aussi! as tu plus de photos?

52basementsurvivor wrote:

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I am not 100% sure if I will be lowering it but one thing I am sure is that this car will not be a trailer / garage queen and will be driven.  I spotted the Coker classic nostalgia's and will be ordering them as soon as I am sure what width the wheel are (assuming 6 inch wide but better be safe than sorry).  Tks for your advice this car will be thoroughly looked after and will go where it has been designed to be: on the road!

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My comment about lowering was just that original cars like that look best (to me) at stock height. 

For me it goes back to the fact that these cars were originally designed to handle roads that were far worse than we've come to expect today.  Funding for the Trans-Canada highway was approved in 1949 but the highway was not completed until 1962.  From relatives who made the journey from the maritimes to BC in the mid-1960s, I understand that there were still parts of the journey that were gravel roads at that time.  In fact, before 1942 it wasn't possible to drive completely across the country on Canadian roads, until a final 246-km stretch of gravel highway was constructed in northern Ontario, so the road system was crude at best.  Cars of that era were built to be tough and with sufficient ground clearance to traverse even the worst roads.

My point being that with a car as original as yours, it is a relic of its era and lowering it just makes it look like another custom or street rod.  Of course it's your car, so I would expect you to enjoy it in any way that you wish, I just wanted to explain where I was coming from.

FWIW, I think that driving it is the best possible outcome - enjoy the car in the way that it was meant to be enjoyed!

oui j'ai d'autre photo