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Will be at least another week before my latest parts order shows up....In the meantime we wait. Painfully.

Well my guess would be that little old thing called WWII might have driven major improvements in oil technology as well as materials design

Yes, just 1,950 DeSoto S-11 3 window coupes were produced, and that was the last of 3-window coupes for the DeSoto and Chrysler lines. Of course Dodge and Plymouth continued making them from 1949 to 1952. When my grandfather died in 1953, my dad inherited his 1950 Dodge Coronet club coupe. So I remember riding in the back seat of that car from 1953 until 1957. In 1957, my dad traded it in for a brand new Ford Fairlane convertible.

This can be obtained from ebay for $2.15 out of China, guanxishuan (2pcs 26″ 6mm Silicone Frameless Car Windshield Wiper Blade Refill Universal) , you get enough to fix 4 blades. The width and grooves are perfect.

Welcome and good luck with the project! As mentioned above, we all love pictures, the more the merrier!

yes paint it with a primer and then paint it a black to prevent any rusting rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com.

46Desoto: Where are you located? Is the car a 4 door or a coupe. Take some pictures. I own a 1939 Desoto with three on the tree is yours a fluid drive car? Ask a lot of questions. You will need to get at least a three arm drum puller to removed the rear drums because this is a tapered axle setup. Also note that on the right side of the car you have right hand nuts or bolts and on the left side you will probably have left handed threaded nut or bolt. The bolts should be marked either R or L. So becaredul to verify which way you try to remove the lug bolts or lug nuts. I you ever take the car to a mechanic remind them at least three or more time of this fact and also that the car is 6 Volt POSITIVE Ground and not Negative Ground like the cars that you are accustom to working on. If you have to replace the battery cable do not go to the napa store and get the regular 12 volt battery cable. You need to get the larger 6volt size 00 or 1 thicker cable because of only using a 6v battery. we all have done the 12 volt and they do not carry enough voltage. You have basically an Autolite electrical system for dizzy, points, rotor, condenser and vacuum Advance. I can give you the appropriate numbers for the replacement parts but need to know the number that is on the dizzy body such IGT4102. Parts are specific to the dizzy. The brakes are Lockheed and are not what you are typical to a more modern car. If you contact me I can explain in more details and you will have two wheel cylinders be wheel. Take you time to get to know the car. Best advise is to get a 19-46-48 Desoto Service Manual and also a Parts book. These are valueable piece of literature to have when workingonthe car and will answer a lot of your questions. There isa water distribution tube in the engine block behind the water pump this distributes the water to the back of the block to keep the valves cool. These get rust and will have to be removed and it can be easy or it can be a real trying experience. We all have done these so ask around on the forum. Again my name is rich Hartung I live near valley Forge pa just outside of Philadelphia you can contact me. I have a lot of cross reference catalogs for looking for replacement parts for these older Desoto and Mopar cars and trucks. Looking forward to seeing pictures and hearing from you There is a National Desoto Club and the 2020 Convention is going to be held in Wisconsin The contact person is Dave Frank 262-745-8161 desoto2020@outlook.com. every year it moves to a different state. The NDC can be found at www.desoto.org you can also contact the 46-48 model year coordinator he is a good friend of mine and he is the president of the club Les Pesavento 586-945-5105 lesterpes@gmail.com You can tellhim that I gave you his name. Both of us have a vendor spot at the fall Hershey swap meet if you ever make it to Hershey, PA in October. Hope this gets you going in the right direction. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com cell 484-431-8157 home 610-630-9188

Welcome and take some before pictures so you can see your progress in the future.

Welcome.

Who knew pot metal was the base for unobtanium?

BRASS nut is key for these manifolds. If you use steel you will be revisiting this problem.

This is great advice. I've been there with a broken manifold bolt. I tried all of the above but one did break off but fortunately with enough of it showing out of the block that I could get it super hot and put a pair of vice grips on it and slowly work it out using the old tighten/loosen method mentioned. I am not normally a big fan of vice grips but it really worked well for this application. I got a new bolt and a brass nut from a local auto supply store. I just cut the bolt to the desired length.

Ditto! After reading this thread, I decided I will try Red Line MTL 75/80W in the rebuilt tranny of my '51Dodge business coupe. It shifts a bit roughly from 2 to 3 unless I go really slowly. I have been told by a couple of people that I am probably running the wrong oil in it. At present it has GL-5 80/90W. I'll see if the Red Line makes a difference and post back on this thread.

I always use heat from a propane bottle, penetrating oil, and some light hammer taps on the bolt head to get them off. Work them back and forth a little at a time instead of just going in the loosen direction only. Takes time but I’ve gotten a lot of them out without breaking them this way.

dodge made more than cars.....think truck series..... https://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-1955-1956-Dodge-Custom-Regal-Pickup-Town-Wagon-Panel-Truck-Hood-Ornament/402024182912?hash=item5d9a823480:g:4f4AAOSwwO9eEBAl

It does say super red ram on the valve cover. Thanks I didn't even look at that.

If it says Red Ram it's a Dodge Hemi, which the D553 supports, in this case a 1955 Dodge Super Red Ram, top of the line 270 Hemi for Dodge then. http://hothemiheads.com/hemi_info/hemi_engine_id.html

That looks like a nice project. Good job on the firewall. Keep us updated on the progress

Well it fits now, lol.

How much is scrap metal going for these days? While loving the early hemi's is a given, I believe I would be more interested in the model A or T motor that leaning against the hemi, though I am not. JMO DJ

I see tape on the plug tubes on the driver side and a tarp that may have covered it. Hopefully protection from internal water damage. Beware! On closer look, maybe that's note tape. More beware!

Hah!! Didn't even think about that!! I prefer girls with 38s, easier to handle.. edit to add clever remark

I am with Merle. Had mine done by a local upholstery shop with tuck and roll and the result is comfortable.

You do nice work

I'm sure glad someone is out there to keep me honest. Of the heads/blocks I've done in the past, I have chamfered around the sharp edges. I had forgotten this time. Many thanks for the reminder. I cleaned the head again and give her a good coat. I got it mounted and torqued down yesterdy. I was able to add some of the goodies now the head is on. Many thanks again and take care.

My favorite jack stands:

I bought these about a year ago, but haven't used them yet.

OK.....Thank goodness for Brent, Tim and Mark to keep me on my toes.... COVID-19 has kept me pretty busy out here......and not with the trucks! IWOYTD is normally in the last days of May, so the International Work On Your Truck Day #9 is ALL WEEKEND AND MONDAY!!! No excuses from me, its awesome to know its still a thing nine years later. The Five Rules: 1. Work on your truck. Not Mark's, but yours...unless you are Mark, then work on your truck buddy. Its not done....it needs a working pass side mirror. 2. Report what you did to the Forum, not the girl at the post office, she doesn't care, she's just trying to get the junk mail sent out. 3. Post a picture of what you did. Its all good, sitting in it counts.....but at least hold a hammer or something. 4. Explain how you got the truck, what inspires you about it. 5. Try to share the days experience as soon as you can!!! Sharing is caring!!!.....Believe it or not, your story could inspire one of us to get back to it! Your story could help build another truck!!! Good luck!!!! ITS HERE NOW!!! 48D

I guess I am a bit different....when I stopped by in my 54 Savoy to see Jake, at State Farm, yes no joke his name and my agent....he asked me to start the engine so he could hear it, imagine his surprise when I said it is running now....

As long as they had chrome pieces in inventory they used them tillthey were gone.