Congrats on getting your Grandfathers 53 Customline they great little cars up until 2014 I had a 1954 Customline with the 223 and 3 speed with Over Drive. The Oil Bath Filters are great all you need is the clean them up and than add fresh oil to the fill line you won't find any other Air Filter that is going to give you any more power and the little small chrome type ones will actually take some power away. With a regular 3 speed or an Auto Trans 60 MPH might be a bit much for it. Do you know what the Rear Axle Gear Ratio is that you have in the car? Its code is on the drivers Door Warrantee Tag Info. There are a good bit of Performance Parts still available for these engine too. Best of luck
1953 Ford Customline Base Prices when they were Sold New this is in 1953 Dollar Values | |
2 Door Sedan $1,582.00 | |
4 Door Sedan $1,628.00 | |
Club Coupe $1,591.00 | |
Country Sedan 4 Door Wagon $2,076.00 | |
Base 6 Cylinder (Serial No. Code A):
Cast-iron, Overhead valve design
215 cubic inch displacement
Compression ratio: 7.0:1
101 brake horsepower @ 3500 rpm
Bore: 3.56 Stroke: 3.60 inches
Holly Model 1904F single barrel carburetor
4 Main bearings
6 Volt Positive Ground Electrical system
These are the stock 1953 215 Six Tune Up Specs I have
Spark Plug Make: Champion H10
Spark Plug Gap, Inch: .035
Firing Order: 153624
Ignition Timing: Groove Vib. Damp.
Engine Idle Speed, RPM: Manual shift trans. 475; automatic shift trans. 450
Compression Pressure & Cranking Speed: 130 Min.
Distributor Vacuum Advance Data:
Degrees Advance:
at 500 RPM: 3-1/2 - 4-1/2, Inches vacuum: .50
at 1000 RPM: 8-1/4 - 9-1/4, Inches vacuum: 1.8
at 1500 RPM: 11-3/4 - 13, Inches vacuum: 3.8
at 2000 RPM: 14-1/2 - 15-3/4, Inches vacuum: 6.0
Breaker Gap, Inch: .024-.026
Condenser Capacity: .21-.25 Mfds.
Breaker Arm Spring Tension: 17-20 Oz.
Cam Angle: 36 degrees
When I do these tune ups I found that doing them in this order was the quickest way to a good Tune Up
1. Set the Spark Plug gap to the above spec first.
2. Set the Points to the Basic Gap setting first, then with the engine running check the point dwell setting and adjust as needed to bring it to the correct dwell specs.
3. Set the Base Ignition Timing.
4. Set the Valve Lash Setting this can be set to .019 either Cold or Hot I usually use the Hot setting with engine warmed up good. the Valve lash setting is very important and can cause the engine to be down on power by a considerable amount when they are too tight of a lash setting.
5. Check the choke operation with the position of the Choke Blade when fully open is centered and is pointing exactly straight up.
6. With the engine warmed up good and choke is wide open, now set the Carbs Mixture Screw Setting to the Lean Best Idle. To do this first set the mixture screw so you have the highest Idle RPM or if you are using a Vacuum Gauge then set it to the Highest Vacuum Reading on your vacuum gauge. Now turn the Mixture Screw inward one 1/4 tuner this is now set to the lean best idle.
7. Last thing to do is to set the Carbs Curb Idle RPM Spec.
I will also repeat the last two (6 & 7) again just to verify them and see if the setting will change any more. You might also check out your coils output too, you can know it's still in good condition when it has a strong "Bright Blue Spark" that can jump at least a 1/2 inch gap or more. Be sure that you check out all the Electrical Connections and also all the Grounds to make sure they are all nice and Clean of any Dirt, Crud, or Corrosion and that they are a nice & snug tight fit this is very important on the Stock 6 Volt Electrical Systems to have an excellent working electrical system and the best posable Engine Performance. One other thing to check out is the condition of the Intake & Exhaust Manifolds plus their Hold Down Bolts often on these engines these bolts will be loose from Vibration over time and then you will have Vacuum Leaks. Be sure to Soak those Bolts good for several days with some good Rust Pernitrate so you can turn them without breaking them, then Warm up the engine good and tighten them to spec I think this is about 23 to 28 Ft. Lbs. Torque if in doubt look up the Torque for their bolt size. Good luck