keithb7

Dude, thanks. That made my day. Nice tool! Lol. If a video I made, helps educate and inspire you, my time was worth it. Flathead Mopars shall live on! Get ‘em out of the garage or barn and onto the roads for all to see and enjoy.

I suffered vapor lock on a very hot day here. It was over 100F. I was part of a large group of vintage cars. In excess of 150 cars I estimate. It was slow going in the downtown core. Block to block, light to light. My engine was getting hot and it started bucking and kicking. I left the parade of cars, and got my ground speed up on more-open roads. Shortly after I got my speed up, the wind cooled things down. No more engine bucking. It was indeed vapor lock. On my other car I experienced similar. I installed a back up 6V electric fuel pump, in line. When vapor lock starts to appear, I hit the electric pump toggle switch and the symptoms immediately disappear. Whether parked or when actually driving it has happened to me. The electric backup pump solves it. I still run mechanical fuel pumps full time on both of my old Mopars. I have rebuilt them both myself. It's not hard to do. Since those episodes I also only run non-ethanol infused fuel. It helps too.

I’ve heard enough crappy examples of people left dead from Pertronix. Enough that I am firm on my stance. I will not use that product. I can perform practical diagnostic work on the stock system and fix it anywhere. Long trips I’d throw in points and a condenser. Easy-peasy. Then crack a Mtn Dew and feel good that we’re back on our way, down the hiway. Sure there are folks who swear by their Pertronix update. That’s fine. Its just not for me.

Tying-in a fuel pressure gauge at the carb entry point could prove whats going on. A long enough hose, feed it up through the cowl area so you can temporarily watch it while driving. Go with the full mechanical pump and watch fuel pressure. Is it dropping when things get hot along with warm ambient air temp? When things act up, monitor closely. Then switch over to electric pump. Now what is the fuel pressure? Does pressure stabilize and symptoms disappear? If this proves nothing, then on to the next thing to test. Thinking I might also consider plugging/sealing up both ends of fuel line at various spots as needed. Pressure it up a few psi with a gauge. Then monitor pressure for leaks. This will confirm if you are or aren’t sucking air somewhere.

What am I up-to lately ? Too much reading here. Not enough wrenching. Lol. I do have a project in mind. I bought a new pressure plate and clutch for my ‘38 Plym. I may just get around to it soon. Might as well share the project on YT. It’ll turn up on my channel eventually.

We are on the same page. I did the same with my ‘38 Plymouth sedan. Solid reliable driver. Yet it looks like it just came from the farm. Seems the general public loves it as-is. They are surprised to hear when I have taken it on a 6 hour hi-way trip over the mountains here. Rock solid. With parts and labor prices where they are, and no relief in sight, more people are choosing the path you and I are taking. Upholstery Paint and bodywork are a luxury.

Looks like a ton of fun. Plenty of challenges and honing of your skills lie ahead. What are your goals for this project?

One point not memtioned: There are at least a couple different filter sizes. Some are still easy to get. Others seems to be drying up.

Outstanding! Love the photos. What’s the story behind them. Is there a book available?

Mark I’m wondering, did you notice in my video on page 1, you can see that I sprayed the cover gasket with orange Permatex Copper spray. Both sides. 3 coats to make up for any surface irregularities. I did not use any silicone nor any other type of sealer. Every step I took is there. Including pipe thread goo on the mounting bolts. Also notice how I centered the cover on the pulley. Also pre-oiling the seal and mating surfaces. Its all there Mark.

I was happy to skim this photo off a Craigslist add. This is 1938. Lets play “Name All The Cars”. I ‘ll start with what looks my 1938 Chrysler Royal Coupe, front & center.

Ay time now a self proclaimed parts Pro will have a simple solution to oil filters. I am confident there is supplier who works for 5 cents an hour just waiting to lower the quality, and get the dimensions wrong.

The lowering look seems to make them appear sleeker. Faster. Sexy. My ‘38 brochure is all artist drawings. No photos. All sit lower than stock. Later when they used actual photography I hear that they loaded up the cars with sandbags. Trunk, engine compartment. Cab. Anywhere to drop it down for the lowered look.

Recently I was reviewing my collection of old Mopar literature. I was pleasantly reminded of one of our members here. Andy is an active member and contributor here offering lots of free good advice. If you've read Any's posts you're recall his writing style.... Pauses with a row of dots.... Like this sort of......Used for effect maybe to slow you down....Think about about what he just said....... Look at this 1938 dealer brochure below. This is exactly what they are doing. Clearly Andy is a die-hard Mopar fan. He's been reading many old Mopar publications for decades. It has had an impact! lol. No foul meant @Andydodge. I enjoy your posts. Just thought about you when I saw this ad! I like the connection. ? Cheers Mate! - Keith

Like many of us here, we'd rather drive old cars and trucks even for daily use. They are more reliable and easy to repair yourself. No they are not as safe, nor comfortable with all the luxury items. Yet those items are useless if the car is a piece of crap and costs an arm and a leg to repair. For around town, dump runs, moving, picking up bulky items, you cannot beat an old reliable well maintained truck. You nailed it @Worden18 You've been there with the new Eco Diesel Ram. Long gone. Replaced with an awesome 1969 D200! ?

There could be lot going on here as many things may cause the symptoms. There could be a long list of instructions to find the problem and fix it. The best thing anyone can do for themselves become proficient at diagnostics and troubleshooting is to study the fundamentals automotive systems. One year of reading in your spare time would give you tremendous knowledge to fix this. Saying that, it won't fix the problem before the National Desoto Convention. Based on my experience I'll pass along some things to check. If you report back we can get to bottom of this. I am not trying to hone in on your specific symptom. I am will mention things that will effect overall engine performance. -Perform a wet & dry compression test. Post results -Test fuel pump pressure. Post results. -Any fuel filters? When were they last replaced? - Drive around the block with no filter and choke rigged fully open. -Take the top off carb. How's the bowl looking? Clean or rusty scale looking down in there? -Check & set float level -Hook up vacuum gauge at intake manifold. At idle does adjusting your air/fuel mixture screw make any difference to vacuum readings? - When was carb last disassembled or deep cleaned? Are the paper separator gaskets sealing? - Throttle plate linkage sloppy at the shafts? Worn carb body bores at the throttle shaft? -Spark plug wires. Age and condition? Start up engine in the dark, watch for sparks around the ignition system under the hood - Remove spark plugs and clean/gap -Remove distributor cap. Clean inside for possible carbon tracking. Clean lugs where spark jumps. Clean rotor. Both with emery cloth. - Inspect points and all related wire inside distributor cap. File and gap points. If anything is questionable replace. Wire mounting screws all tight. Rubber isolators in place? -Points squared off all related anchors tight? Condenser age? - Set points gap. Set dwell with a dwell meter. Set timing. Recheck dwell and set again. Double check timing after setting the dwell. -Set Air Fuel mixture to maximum vacuum. Set engine idle RPM. - Break plate able to rotate as needed? Test vacuum advance pot. Is it working? Pull a vacuum on it. - Wire from coil to distributor. Nice new, clean and fastened securely at both ends? - Wire from ignition switch to coil. Snug tight, clean. Test continuity while wiggling wire. Solid firm connection? - All wires at ignition switch: soft, clean, not crunchy and snug at all ends? -When were valves last set? If you are going on a longer-ish trip all these items should be in good, maintained condition. A few ideas. Looking forward to you reporting back.

Winter grade modern ethanol fuel with a lower flash/boil point? Hot engine causing vapor lock. Mechanical fuel pump cannot push through vapor lock. Electric fuel pump can. Cold engine, no problem. No vapor lock. Hot engine, yes. When engine is fully hot, I mean hot, then turned off for 15 mins do you notice it is a little harder to start? As discussed here:

There are many-a-damaged timing covers out there. Many that will no longer hold oil in. Just sayin....

Just cause I wanted to whack the horse 1 more time: In my 1953/54 Mopar parts book I am comparing the L6 and the V8 engines. The 6 does not show a felt dust seal in the parts diagram. The V8 engine does show the dust deal in the parts diagram. Yet in the parts listings I see a dust seal part number for every single 6 and V8 engine is listed. 6 cyl #1328250, V8 # 1328250. Funny hey? Imagine that. No wonder there is so much confusion and we are 3 pages in and about 800 views to change 1 seal. I am now done whacking the horse. Send it to the glue factory.

At 6:31 you can see it sandwiched between the pulley and the front cover.

Page 1 of this thread. I posted my video. Did anyone watch it? At 4:51 mark. Look at the large felt washer. See it? I had also installed a speedi sleeve on the pulley hub too. I recorded it and posted the separate video on YT.

When using blow hammers, guides, etc. installing a new seal without tweaking the cover, is going to be way harder than removing the old seal.

That’s fantastic @38DeSoto 11 in Canada, meaning 27 only were built in the USA? Totalling 38. Looking in my Chrysler Catalog it does show total production for 2 door, 3 passenger coupe with rumble seat at 38 qty total. It seems to be consistent with your Dad’s letter. That’s awesome. Have you or your Dad found another one, the same as his Canadian ‘38 R/S coupe? There cannot be many left. Your info gives me a little more confidence in my Canadian Chrysler production at 40. Thank you for that.

A ‘38 Desoto coupe built in Canada! It is super rare! I’d be interested to learn how many they actually made. I’ll guess under 50 in Canada that year. The previous owner of my ‘38 Canadian built Chrysler coupe told me that only 40 were made. I can’t seem to find a way to verify that. I know of a ‘37 Desoto coupe laying to waste in a garage. Here in my town. I kinda want it. To save it. The owner is quite fragile and older. I wonder if it was made in Canada? Possibly. I too have had ‘38 out a few times already.

At the 2:28 mark in this video we are installing the front seal. Inserted at the rear side and pushed in, toward the front.