Tony_Urwin

That said, I own a 3/4 ton truck, so my axle housing may be different than yours, Ed. Do you have Hollander's information on the swap? A tranmsission swap is my first priority, but it would make sense to do both at the same time. (Especially if I don't have to swap the axle housing.)

Seems like lately I've been disseminating bad information. (Not the first time I've ever been wrong!) I got that information from George Asche. On my last trip to George's place, he sold me a 3.73 pumpkin. I had planned to swap it into the rear axle of my truck. George insisted that I take along a DeSoto axle housing and axles because he said the truck housings were different. I hope you are right. The brakes on my truck are great, and it would be so much easier to just swap the center section.

If you decide to go with the higher gear ratio, get the whole rear axle. The truck and car axle housings are different.

The dry clutch and overdrive transmission were supposedly an option for my '52 DeSoto, Alex, but I have never seen one without the Tip-Toe transmission. I changed mine because I didn't care for either fluid drive or the M-6 transmission. They are historically significant and make for fine parade cars, but they just aren't any fun to drive! I drove my DeSoto for awhile in the stock configuration, but I felt like the old white-haired lady holding up traffic.

I ended up using about 4 1/2 gallons of the kerosene to completely submerge the tranny in a plastic bucket. I think I'll put the last clean quart of clean kerosene in a clean container and strain the dirty kerosene back into the original 5 gallon metal container through a paint strainer. I'll save it to clean another transmission or differential before sending it to the recycler. I usually use the citrus degreaser, but man, that kerosene really works for the tough jobs!

George Ashe built a 3-speed overdrive for me to replace the Tip-Toe transmission in my DeSoto. He used a longer input shaft from a later V8 to compensate for the longer bellhousing on my (formerly) fluid-drive DeSoto. He also furnished me with a longer throw-out bearing. George's number is (814) 354-2621. He lives in Pennsylvania. Once a year , he sets up a booth in a car show in New York, which should be pretty close to you, Alex. George is the guy to see about transmissions. I have seen the speedometer in his '50 Plymouth hit 65 mph in 1st gear overdrive. Not something I would ever try in one of my cars, but George sure knows how to build 'em.

The transmission in my Pilothouse truck has been making a lot of noise, so last week I drove over to George Asche's place and picked one off of his tranmission pile. Ugly and covered in road guck on the outside, the gears and syncros looked good when I pulled the top plate. George suggested I clean the insides with kerosene before installing it. So I have scaped and wire brushed the outside of the case as best as I could. I also used a screwdriver to scrape as much of the varnish off the inside of the case. I bought a five gallon bucket of kerosene. So what is the responsible way to clean this thing? I could use rags to wipe off some of the worst muck from the inside of the case, then clean the gears and sycros with a toothbrush and kerosene. Eventually, I will probably want to dip the entire transmission into the bucket of kerosene to rinse out the rest of the trash. How do I dispose of the kerosene? Any ideas how I can do this in an environmentally responsible way?

I have seen several places that advertise fiberglass running boards for our trucks. I did a search and found these (rather pricey) ones. I have seen them offered for less. http://www.pros-pick.com/pickupfenders_dodge.html

Alex, if you are still looking for a Gyromatic, Geaorge Asche has a couple of them for sale.

George doesn't go to Hershey. He does go to Carlisle twice a year. Anyway, I spoke with him yesterday. He says he puts 3 different shafts on his overdrives, depending on the bellhousing. There is the input shaft for dry clutch bellhousing and the shaft for fluid drive.To convert a fluid drive bellhousing to dry clutch, he uses an input shaft from a later Mopar (he thought it was from an early hemi). I got the feeling I had pryed loose one of his trade secrets.

Tim is correct in his assumption that I am using the DeSoto bellhousing from a fluid-drive model. George Asche furnished the input shaft and throw out bearing. So perhaps the different length shafts are for different bellhousings, not different length blocks. As I remember it, the fluid drive transmission had a much different shaft, and (I think) a different spline count. I'll be talking to George soon (when I have a spare hour or two); I'll ask him. I may even drive over to his place this weekend, since I need a transmission for my truck. Sorry if I confused the issue at hand.

George Asche rebuilt an overdrive transmission for me. The R-10 he rebuilt for me came out of a P-15 with a 218 truck motor in it. George replaced the input shaft with a longer shaft for my longer DeSoto flathead. That's the source of my limited understanding of this issue.

There are two different length input shafts for the transmission, depending on whether you use the 23' or 25" block.

1) I think the Spitfire head means it's a 251 or a 265 displacement. Pistons 40 over, rod and main bearings 10 over. 2) New oil, points, plugs, rotor, condensor, dist. cap, maybe plug wires. Any old gas in the tank is very suspect, so you may want to run a temporary fuel line into a gas can. A lot of guys will pull the oil pan to assess the condition of the bottom end, and remove the sludge left by antique oil. 3) Aside from scraping off the gunk and looking for serial numbers, most rear axles have a unique shape. Yours has probably been replaced with a later model for a more highway-friendly gear ratio. There's lots of info online. It may not even be Mopar. 4) The stainless grills go for a premium price, but the top bar is the easiest to find. I have an extra one for my B1C. I can't remember if it has any dings, but I'll look and let you know.

May we ask how much$$??

The flathead in my '48 Dodge truck doesn't drip at all. Unfortunately, the growl in second gear keeps getting worse, and I am desperately in need of a new transmission (or rebuild). So I am driving less until the transmission problem is resolved. I found a NOS transmission (3-speed, floor shift) at one of the the vintage parts dealers. Do you think a NOS transmission is worth a premium price? Might there be a problem with seals getting dried out?

Those bushings are common on eBay, and I think you can get them from Roberts, Bernbaum, Steele Rubber, etc. When I rebuilt the suspension on my '52 DeSoto, I took the springs into a local shop that does a lot of work on trucks. (The springs had these clamps around the leaves that I couldn't do myself). They had the bushings in stock, and I believe they were exactly the same as my P-15.

Right. I think the 1/2 ton should be 5 x 4.5" and the 3/4 & one ton should be 5 x 5".

Bryan, what kind of seat did you use in its place? Inquiring minds, you know...

We'll be happy to see more pictures of that bag installation. What are you doing out back?

Looks great! I think P-15 coupes look especially good in pale colors. But then, I like P-15s in all colors!

I understand the bags allow you to adjust ride height. How is the ride? Do the bags perform as well as shocks and coils?

The back window of 46-48 Plymouth and Dodge coupe are the same. You can install the rubber from a Dodge and use the stainless trim, but the windshields are different.

I posted a few weeks ago that I had some ugly noises in second gear, almost like clutch chatter. After driving the truck for a few hundred miles, the grinding chatter only happens part of the time. I decided to drain and fill the gear lube in the transmission, since I have no way of knowing when it was last changed. My questions are: 1) Do I fill it with 90 weight geat lube? 2) What is the capacity? Should I just fill it to the plug on the side of the transmission case?

You could also use your sanding block to create a dolly out of oak, then use the oak dolly to work your fenders closer to the correct shape. Less is more when it comes to bondo, right?