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DonaldSmith

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Posts posted by DonaldSmith

  1. I found photos of my carb rebuild.  The tool that I had sent away for did not fit. I found that I had a screwdriver whose blade was jus wide enough to unscrew the tube. 
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    carbrebuild2023(4)screwdriver.JPG.9f1a52c9107f4a4bf62e5f7b36a4eef6.JPG

     

    Just happened to have a screwdriver...

     

    carbrebuild2023(3)wrongtool.JPG.5abe32add6db9a5bcab47611ee9c7ad8.JPG

     

    This photo is titled "wrong tool".  "

     

  2. Easter - maybe that will motivate me.  We have had a few months of no snow, no salt on the roads, and mild weather.  But I haven't touched the DeSoto, which is still asleep in the garage, with the battery tender tending the battery.  Come on, Don, you're not that old. 

     

    Maybe these photos will inspire me.  

  3. I had liquid around Plug No 1 and maybe #2. from time to time.  It seems it would come and go.  I found a sometime leak at the fitting between the radiator hose and the head. 

    It was coolant, leaking at the bolt head and migrating to the plug well.  Permatex on the gasket and bolt solved it. 

     

    Disclaimer:  This might not be what Desert Rat has, but I had to tell everyone about it anyway.         

  4. Wow to westaus29's 1938 stretched Plymouth. 

     

    Briggs made the 7-passenger body for the long wheelbase Chryslers, DeSotos and Dodges, which shared the larger body, while Plymouth had its own smaller body. Maybe today it's called a platform. 

     

    I had seen a few pictures of long 1930's Plymouth sedans, and wondered if Plymouth had the same large body back then. But the 1938 Aussie was a cut and stretch job. 

  5. Maybe only 3500 long wheelbase Dodges per year, or was it 3500 for the entire Mopar line?  

     

    Many of the body parts were common to other body styles.  Fenders.  Cowl and windshield. (except convertibles and station wagons).  Trunk lid and stampings, and rear window, common with sedans.  Many other components were common.  Need longer frame, with heavy duty running gear. Add an 18-inch drive shaft between the standard propeller shaft and the transmission.  Longer body required, with floor panels, rocker panels, door and frames, and roof panel.   No big deal, if they can sell enough.   

     

    Long wheelbase sedans were common for taxis, funeral processions, and hauling people to and from hotels, resorts, etc.   

    So, if Ma Mopar is getting Briggs bodies for Chrysler and Imperial limos, and DeSoto taxis, why not make some long wheelbase Dodges? 

     

     

    • Like 1
  6. Yes, the long wheelbase body was common to the Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge, coming out of the Briggs plant in Detroit.  The 18-inch additional length was 9 inches in the front doors and 9 inches in the rear doors.  The front doors were common to the 2-door sedan, but the rear doors were unique. 

     

    Years ago, someone in Iowa, it think it was, had a long wheelbase Dodge, DeSoto Suburban and Chrysler, that he had been going to restore.  The DeSoto had been gutted.  He also had a black Suburban which James Douglas drove home to San Francisco.  

     

    • Like 1
  7. This is no laughing matter.  This venerable vehicle deserves the respect (and loving care) it deserves from surviving this long.   We trust that you will give it the care it deserves. 

    • Like 2
  8. Taxicab hood release:   We know the story of a New York dealer who modified long wheelbase DeSotos for service as taxicabs. 

     

    At the 2003 National DeSoto Convention, I saw a New York taxi that the owner was going to take back to France with him.   I noticed that the hood had an external latch, so that a mechanic could open the hood without getting inside the car.  The adjacent trim was reworked to allow for the dimensions of the latch. 

     

    (Incidentally, the exposed edges of the back door window glass had a metal edge, and the door gap was wider to accommodate it.  This was presumably to protect against an idiot hanging out the window, breaking the glass and cutting himself.)

     

  9. There were rail inspection cars through the years.  Some were back-to-back.  Drive to the end of the line, and get in the other end to drive back.  Others built-in jacks and frames, to lift and rotate the car. 

    I've got photos somewhere. but maybe someone will beat me to it.   

  10. Because I started this thread, the system wants me to indicate which response was most helpful or offered "the" solution. 

    So each post has a green box "(check mark) Mark as Solution".   I'm getting tired of seeing that prompt. 

    Maybe I'll mark the next post, or go back and select one at random.   I would have a hard time picking the best response, they've been so good.   

    • Like 1
  11. Joecoozie beat me to it.   It's the Sisson automatic choke.  A wire from the starter solenoid is live only while the starter is running.  This partially closes the choke plate.  A bimetallic strip in the Sisson also partially closes the choke plate.  The heat from the manifold opens the choke.    

    • Thanks 1
  12. When I turned 80, I didn't feel that old.  When I turned 81, I began to feel that old.  

     

    Everything hurts, thankfully not all at once.  The other day, nothing hurt at all.  I felt like I was 65 again. 

     

    I find that I can still put in a full day's work - it just takes me a week or two. 

     

    The mother of four next door mentioned that she was going to turn 40.   She knew what I was thinking, ah, to be 40 again. 

    She said, "You've already been forty again."

     

    That's all i have to say about that.    

     

    • Like 4
  13. Rex52, the innards of your steeering wheel look different than the DeSoto versions.  I wonder if you have parts missing.  (In the steering wheel, that is.) 

     

    In the center, I see the horn wire sticking through a kiind of cap.  Then the hollow steering shaft, a gap, and a maroon round thing to which the horn ring is attached.   I see nothing that would contact the horn wire.  

     

    We need more help from the 52 Plymouth experts. 

     

     

  14. Here's my 47 DeSoto horn ring, etc. 

    A cover is held on with screws on the backside (the side facing the windshield).  

    The cross bar has tubular things that go through the plastic wheel and are attached to the hornring on the backside. 

    (My wheel has the third leg, attaching to the bottom of the horn ring.) 

    Now, before you separate the horn ring from the cross bar, make sure that the horn is not powered.  

    Behind the crossbar is the magic thing that makes the horn honk.  

     

    image.jpeg.ce2634fcb577b86827467853f97b3a41.jpeg

     

     

    The brass thingie behind the cross bar is connected to the ground wire that runs through the steering shaft to complete the circuit to the horn relay.  

     

    The thingie contacts the spring, which is grounded to the steering column. 

    The cross bar has lugs on the back that push the spring away from the thingie, keeping the horn from blowing. 

    The lugs provide an even pressure, unless the horn ring is pushed.  Then the spring contacts the thingie, and the horn blows. 

     

      

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