Got my car back. The problem was a gasket on the intake slipped to allow air in. This screwed everthing up- bad idling,tranny stayed locked up,hard to adjust carb too. He cleaned some rust from the carb as I just repaired the gas tank and he adjusted the timing by ear. It runs better and smoother than ever.
This car was made in March of 1953-Belair hdtp. I would like to know info on what kind of automatic transmission it has. It apparently has no filter and he said it is a heavy cast iron affair.
