thrashingcows Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Well I'm going to link all my posts on Fernando into one thread, and in the future all updates will go into this thread. This will make it easier for those who wish to follow my progress. Original post about Fernando...Feb 01/2010...and picking up new motor and tranny... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=19876 Lubing engine cylinders....Mar 09/2010... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=20514 Engine ID'ing.....Mar 06/2010... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=20453 Bringing home Desoto from Portland OR.....Nov/08/2010... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=24476 Cleaning up Fernando....Nov 15/2010... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=24572 More Cleaning....Jan 19/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=24572 Why Fernando was abandoned...Feb 07/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=25741 Master Cylinder rebuild...Feb 07/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=25742 46-48 Desoto designations and production numbers...Feb 14/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=25841 Back up lights...Feb 21/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=25943 Wheel Cylinder rebuilds...Mar 12/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=26228 Little more brake work...Mar 22/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=26369 Rear axle removal..tech..May 03/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=27044 Front and rear brakes...axle pinion seal...May 03/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=27036 Rear axle yoke questions...May 11/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=27187 Flathead to Slant 6 distributor conversion...Dec 15/2011... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=30308 Old engine removal...Feb 05/2012... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=31051 Rear engine mount removal...Feb 21/2012... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=31297 Motor going in and rear mount reconstruction...Mar 03/2012... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=31468 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Well the other day I picked up my new tailshaft seal...Thank you to our forum members for posting up this info. The old one put up a bit of a fight... The new one fit perfectly and has not leaked...Part number is SKF 15620... Then I decided to pull off the side cover...since I couldn't figure out exactly how the shift arms worked together. I now understand how things work but since I had the cover off I decided to replace one of the shifter seals that was leaking. Here is the old seal, which is cork, and other parts... Since I didn't have any original seals available I did a little brain storming and came up with a potential solution to my problem. I would dig into my jar of new/used misc O-rings and see if I could find one that would work. I did eventually find one. Then installed it and needed a very thin washer to cover it, and protect it from the movement of the shifter arm...so to my tin of misc washers. Here it is... No leaks yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Well since the original E-brake system that came on my 3 speed tranny was incomplete I decided to use the complete system off the old fluid drive. Really it was not that hard to make things work. Here are the original 3 speed brackets and small drum... And here is the system on the original fluid drive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 After cleaning up all the parts off the fluid drive tranny I then had to trim and shim out the original 3 speed bracket on the pass. side. And then trim the bracket on the drivers side and straighten it. Then it was install the bigger e-brake drum and band...line up the pass. side original fluid drive bracket with the other bracket and tack into place. The the driver side I had to cut off one of the top mounting hole on the original fluid drive bracket. The it was line things up and tack it onto the cut and straightened original 3 speed bracket. Then I adjusted everything and it all seems to work properly. Just have to remove everything and do a final weld on the brackets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 And today i picked up my new Coker Classic 7.60 x 15, 3" wide white, Bias Ply tires. Now I have to pull the old rims and tires...sand blast and repaint, before I can install these beauties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingster Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Outstanding photos, just fantastic!! They show so much of what I took off my '47 Desoto that I did not document. Thanks so much for posting these. I hope they will be archived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Well as long as I don't loose my pic account on-line these will stay posted up. If anyone ever needs any specific pics just drop me a PM or e-mail and I can send you the pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconvan Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Very cool; the Desoto had the coolest looking front end of all the Mopars of that era; I think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop138 Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Well as long as I don't loose my pic account on-line these will stay posted up. If anyone ever needs any specific pics just drop me a PM or e-mail and I can send you the pic. Nice log book you got going----very clear pics----keep it up......Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Been up to a bit more over the last week or so. Moved on to the next part in the hook up of the motor and tranny. I needed to see if I could make the current drive shaft work...or figure out if I had to get a new one made up. Well here is the original drive shaft. It has a splined section at the front , near the tranny, that slides in and out with the movement of the rear suspension. The rear section is your standard U-joint style. There is a threaded collar, and seal, at the front that helps keep the two pieces together...and provide a sealed area for the grease to be held. The splined section is about 2" long. I initially installed the drive shaft unaltered and found that it was going to be short. Then I removed it and proceeded to be sad..thinking I was going to have to spend some big bucks on getting a new drive shaft made up. Then I had a thought....what if I unscrew the threaded stop, therefore giving the drive shaft more range of motion, and extra length. I did this and re-installed the drive shaft. I found the drive shaft only needed about an extra 1 1/4" (1.250") more length over stock, and the splines only extended about 1/4" (.250") past the threaded stop. Pic shows what it looked like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty O'Toole Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 The factory made different length front yokes for just this purpose. Maybe you can find a longer one to fit your shaft at a wrecking yard or driveshaft emporium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Well with the 1/4" (.250") of spline extended past the end it still left 1 3/4" (1.75") of spline in the drive shaft. I was concerned that the travel of the suspension would cause the splines to extended out too far and perhaps fall apart. So I first loaded up the car with as much weight as I could find...about 1000lbs of bricks, sand bags etc. Then jacked the back end way up and let the suspension hang at full extension. The splines only moved less then 1/4" in either direction. So I figured I'd be safe driving it this way. But now I was faced with a problem. How do I keep the grease in and around the splines when I no longer have the threaded end and seal to do this for me. Man hours of thinking...I'm a trucker so have a bit of spare thinking time on my hands....I came up with an idea of using a replacement CV joint boot. I went down to the local jobber and asked them is I could get one with a 1 1/2" x 2" openings. He looked through the catalogs and could find anything with sizes or measurements. I was about to leave when another idea flashed into my head....how about a shock boot like they use on off road trucks? So he ran up and got me a shock boot...I checked it out and figured it would do the job. First I had to clean the two ends of the drives shaft, wanted to get all that old grease out of there. Shock boot number... The front part, or top of the boot was a little snug getting over the splines of the front yoke..but eventually with some grease, and a bit of luck, it slipped on and over. Then it was repack everything and slide the front yoke into the drive shaft....make sure to orient it properly before doing this...I didn't. Then I slipped the lower section down and over the cleaned exterior section of the drive shaft...again a little grease helped things. I found that the boot was a little long. I ended up initially cutting off 5 ribs. and after final assembly...and installation I cut off one more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I also dis-assembled both U-joints. Some of the grease was hard as a rock, but all the needles were in great shape. SO everything just needed a good cleaning, the re-lube and assemble. Here it is all done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I also go the 3 speed installed. Here is a couple pics of the tranny and drive shaft. I'm now working on the E-brake and the column shifter and clutch rods and mechanisms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 The factory made different length front yokes for just this purpose. Maybe you can find a longer one to fit your shaft at a wrecking yard or drive shaft emporium. That is great info. I will keep my eyes, and PM open if anyone can help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 SO been working on things a bit more in the last week or two. I've finally got all the shifter and clutch linkage cleaned, lubed and installed. Here is what the linkage looked like after removal and dis-assembly.... And since I was going from the old fluid drive, to a standard 3 speed I needed a shorter shifter linkage and adjustable clutch rod. Thankfully I had those piece from that 48 Dodge parts car I picked up a year or two ago. Now everything cleaned and installed...and mostly adjusted. And with the clutch pedal and MC assembly installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Well I had been trying to come up with a solution to the E-brake cable problem. Since I made the fluid drive E-brake system work on the regular 3 speed transmission, the mounting points for the E-brake cable was in a totally different location from either of the factory set-ups. So here I was with a fluid drive E-brake cable, mounted in a standard 3 speed mounting location, having to make up about 8" from the end of the cable to the e-brake assembly itself. I tried all kinds of neat and fancy things...even built a few brackets and coupler, but could not get the cable to pull nice and straight. I eventually decided I had to go more cave man. I finally came up with a piece of chain run from the E-brake cable end to the e-brake assembly. Seems to work great now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 And as of right now I'm working on the exhaust system. I will post up pics and info when that is done....hope you won't be too shocked and appalled by what I end up doing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 And as of right now I'm working on the exhaust system. I will post up pics and info when that is done....hope you won't be too shocked and appalled by what I end up doing.... Mortified maybe....:Dbut never shocked and apalled:eek:nice adaptation with the chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Nice solution but Im a little perplexed about how you shortened your drivetrain and still ended up with a parking brake cable that was too short? Shouldn't the elimination of the fluid drive moved the parking brake closer to the firewall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted April 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Nice solution but Im a little perplexed about how you shortened your drivetrain and still ended up with a parking brake cable that was too short? Shouldn't the elimination of the fluid drive moved the parking brake closer to the firewall? The E-brake system off the fluid drive mounts farther back on the transmission, then on the standard 3 speed. So on a fluid drive it mounts farther back along the drive line, the 3 speed mounts, as you said..."closer to the firewall". The cable itself is made to work with a short distance between the transmission mounting point, and the E-brake mounting pointon the fluid drive. As well since I had to "adapt" the fluid drive E-brake system to the 3 speed transmission....a combination I don't think was ever offered along the assembly line...I had to combine the fluid drive, and 3 speed, mounting brackets to make things work. I too had hoped things would have worked out a little better...but it's all working now so I will just go with it. Besides this is only temporary until I get my 8 3/4 shortened and installed in the next couple years....then I will have a rear drum e-brake system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ194950 Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 I too had hoped things would have worked out a little better...but it's all working now so I will just go with it. Besides this is only temporary until I get my 8 3/4 shortened and installed in the next couple years....then I will have a rear drum e-brake system. After install of the 8 3/4 you will need a LONGER chain to reach the new e brake cables! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted April 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 I too had hoped things would have worked out a little better...but it's all working now so I will just go with it. Besides this is only temporary until I get my 8 3/4 shortened and installed in the next couple years....then I will have a rear drum e-brake system. After install of the 8 3/4 you will need a LONGER chain to reach the new e brake cables! Now that's pretty funny.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted May 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2012 Well been busy working on the car the last couple weeks...but haven't taken the time to update regularly. So I was working on the exhaust after my last update. I originally was going to try and run a true dual exhaust system. I had an old system from an 87 Dodge ram V8 truck. But after getting parts and pieces in under the car I decided it was not going to work. The stock panhard bar was going to mess up the drivers side pipe. I then decided that I would go with a bigger single exhaust...so I bought an exhaust system from a 90's? Chevy diesel truck for $40. A little over kill at 2.75" but hey the price was right. Compared to the original 1.75" pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashingcows Posted May 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2012 Now the fun began. I started with the tailpipe. Got it up and in position as best I could...but that spare tire well made it hard to get it up too high though. Once in place I had to find a way to mount it. Found that it was really close to the rear bumper bracket bolts...so I made up a nut and stud to thread onto the exposed threads of one of the bumper bracket bolts. Then I could use a universal mount to run from the stud down to the pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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