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So I am now an owner of a 1930 desoto. Just payed for it tonight and am hoping to have it home tomorrow. Original paint and engine. This thing is so. Cool I can't wait to get my hands dirty.

back in late june, i finally got around to replacing the exhaust manifold gasket. the new one that i installed with the replacement motor got blown out - my fault, i didn't torque the manifold nuts properly, so it was a bit loose - and i was tired of hearing the loud exhaust. of course i forgot that the long through-bolts on the exhaust manifold enter the water jacket, so i dumped a bunch of coolant before i could get the bucket under there. oh well. install went well, made sure the special nuts/washers were in the proper place, then torqued everything properly with the torque wrench. ta-dah! no more exhaust leak at the manifold. much quieter drive now. best part was i got it done in time for the "cruise-in" at a local restaurant later that evening. sure was a hot day, though, in the mid-90s. and, a month and a half later, still running quietly (as quietly as a spur geared, low ratio (5.83/8.11 2-speed rear), medium duty flathead truck can run).

I was at a drop in car classic/vintage gathering this evening, Tons of interest in my '38 Chrysler tonight. I had a good time meeting new Mopar lovers. Someone told me that because I owned 2 1938 Mopars, I "probably owned 2/3rds of all the local flathead Mopar cars". Lol. I did meet a guy tonight with a 1937 Dodge sedan. He's fitting a 1937 Desoto body on it. He found out the hard way that the Desoto body, frame, and wheel base is about 2" longer. THe 25" stock Desoto engine vs 23" long engine in the Dodge I assume too. He told me that his 1937 Desoto has a 1 piece engine hood. I had no idea. I thought they were all split hoods back in the 30's. I've never actually seen a 30's Desoto, so there's that. I met a couple new connections who are tempting me with spare removed stock parts. I have a few numbers to follow up on. I do indeed like stocking up on spare parts for my personal use. I am interested to see how the leads unfold here in the next few weeks. I forgot to take some photos. I was too enamored with all the attention my Royal was getting. It's a weekly drop-in so I'll be back.

I think its if & when someone does a search and then makes a comment about the thread or the posts and the thingamebob(technical term for the bells & whistles inside the computer) updates the thread with the new comment............or I could be completely wrong.......hey, I don't have a mobile phone, I drive a car with running boards and I'm a card carrying Luddite so what would I know.............and the the morning meds are just cutting in..........lol........regards from Oz.........andyd

GM started tabs in 1956 with T3 bulbs. I guess others did too. Here's a link explaining tabs

I wanna paint it. Bring it to the BBQ 2022..... Take it home from the next BBQ 2023.... Visit it a couple times between those two BBQ's. 48D

@Crazyred Your compression numbers are pretty good, so probably some carbon build up on the cylinders heads or valves, or valve seats. You may just want to leave her be, but if you want to go a little deeper, then taking the head off is the next logical step. Have you checked the plugs, if they are fouled, or whether the wires are still good? If you can isolate which cylinder is misfiring, then when you want to go deeper, you can focus on that one. As I have discovered recently, It's simpler and easier than you would think to take the head off, and clean the carbon off , and loosen up any valves, plus it's a whole lot of interesting fun to go one level deeper. I used a combination of brake fluid and PBBlaster soaking in the valves to loosen them up (with a light mallet tapping the sticking ones as I hand-rotated the engine). I keep the cylinders and head sprayed down in wd-40 to keep the rust at bay. A new head gasket wouldn't hurt either.

Thanks Rob! I have a long list of “to do” on it still, like the wiring, lights, correct gauges etc. you know me, just messing around..... ? Hope to get back to him seriously this fall

Not sure of the best method however after your post Dodgeb4ya I got my White Lithium squirt can out and lubricated both sides of the pivot on the dash support to the fire wall and all three points on the top cross bar. You are correct in that it makes it way easier to operate. Thank you for the tip, I never thought of that.

The Hydraulically Operated two range Prestomatic transmission has a low range...(push shifter upwards) and has a Driving range...pull lever down. The are two gears in each range..1st &2nd gears in low and 3rd and 4th gears in driving range. Hydraulically shifted. Doubt you would do well parting it out on ebay unless the chrome parts are in excellent condition....drive train parts, body sheet metal not worth much at all and $$$ to ship. Post pics of the car here....let's see it.

that was written over 5 years ago. Phil hasn't posted n over a year. Not sure you are going to get an answer other than to get a factory service manual and the wiring diagrams should show you where they go. As for myself, I know nothing about those fancy transmissions.

For starters where is it and how much would you like to get for it? Perhaps a photo or two would be nice.

There are a several guys running around with mobile pressure washing units with these big tanks, and they are blocked from sliding off of the flat bed when full. They use the widest ratchet straps criss-crossed over the top in those grooves just to keep the tank from flying out when empty and rolling down the highway.

I bought rebuild kits online for a Ford. The gaskets were exactly the same. It also had new material for the paddles and the rivets to rebuild them. I only needed to rebuild one, so I still have the second kit for future use. I can supply a part number if anyone wants it. I did a full disassembly and clean, the use Mystery oil to lube things up. Testing them was as simple as moving the lever and seeing that it blows my finger off the nozzle. I live in Southern California, so rain is rare. I'm yanking the 6V electric crap the previous owner installed and putting these babies back in. Never liked the look of that toggle switch where the pull was supposed to be.

LOL, nope, the 7 won’t work for you Mertz! Needs to find someone with a big truck/s to function properly ..... I know just the guy ? ( of course I’m kidding unless you take me seriously)

E7T2 is(was) used from 1940-60 Trucks and Marine. E6P5 was used for Chrysler cars 1934-39. Trucks were expected to carry heavier loads then cars and would require carb dynamics to perform at lower rpm's (ie lower vacuum). If you drive a truck like a car, might never notice the difference. 48D

It's the pop off valve for the turbo entabulator!

The Hollywood Wolf whistle were vacuum operated

Some of us actually like to shift gears and are old enough that having someone ride next to you isn't a thing. If we really wanted to go the full route, put in an OD automatic then you never have to shift, you can keep a column shifter, torque multiplication, lock up converter and Bob's yer uncle. As for getting a more modern rear ale, I have to state this. I changed a flat this morning. Put the E brake on, stuck it in gear and jacked up the pass rear side. Just as I was pulling the tire off the car started to roll back and fall off the scissors jack. That's when the realization hit me that an E brake on the trans output is A Bad Idea. With an open diff the tire with traction will roll and the tire up in the air won't. Death trap. I had been thinking about just keeping the stock axle, not any more. Gone to the scrappers as soon as I can get a modern one, till then a set of chocks, not that I have a spare.

Thermostats only regulate the low end of the engine's operating temp. It will not affect the upper limit other than to possibly increase the time it takes to get there. there is no reasonable reason to run a 160 degree thermostat on a well running street engine. https://help.summitracing.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5284/~/should-i-run-a-colder-thermostat%3F