DonaldSmith

Flat head, flathead, I get it. Even this early in the morning.  I do have sort of a flat spot on the back of my head.  Maybe I was meant to have my flathead DeSoto.

My vintage car insurance won't allow me to haul a trailer.  For the low cost of the insurance, I can live with the restriction. 

"Big Brown Car"

So named by my grandson Jakob, about 20 years ago.  He just graduated from college, for a career in the film industry. 

Granddaughter Samantha ("Sammy") has graduated and is completing her student teaching. 

Ditto to Merle Coggins' post.  Dummy me had the points in wrong. so that the spring was not operative.  Running well at idle and slow revs, but flattening out at mid revs.  Of course, I had been working on carb issues so the carb got the blame.    

Why oh why? -does the driver in front of me stop two car lengths behind the car in front of (him)(her)(them)? (or other acceptable pronoun) 

Maybe the driver wants to have room to change mind and change lanes. 

Maybe there is a sense of accomplishment, to inch forward occasionally, while waiting for the traffic light to change.  And everyone in the line can inch forward occasionally.

Maybe it doesn't usually matter. 

But there are situations where some poor soul way back there, at the back of the line,  is trying to maneuver into line, to stop blocking someone else.  If only those in line would move forward a little.  Wait.  There are all taking turns inching forward.  Patience, patience.  

Many drivers are oblivious to those behind them.  (Plural pronoun, always acceptable) 

Spare us from the oblivious.  Oh wait! Someone behind me honked.  Sorry, I was daydreaming.  

I've been doing it wrong all these years.   I've been putting in Spring and Fall air in the tires, Spring in the fronts and Fall in the rears.  And the spare is a mix. 

I've been on P-D for years.  I heard about if from a pony express rider.

This adventurousness, driving about to see the eclipse-distracted, or wandering through a riot, seems like when I find myself driving through a snowstorm. 

I tell my wife that I was going out to see what sort of an idiot would drive around in conditions like this.    

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. 
X
X

Just happened to have a screwdriver...

This photo is titled "wrong tool".  "

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.  

Whenever I try to type "Ratio", it comes out "Ration".  Ratio  Ratio Ration?  

I notice that my Desoto dash has the instrument cluster the same size and shape as the glovebox door.  I've seen photos of a RHD DeSoto.  Shazam!   Clever! 

Photos?  I'm just to lazy for now. 

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.         

From 2004, the grandchildren.  (I should get another photo these days, in their adult personas.) 

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. 

Old line:  My get-up-and-go got up and went. 

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? 

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.  

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. 

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.)

o 

1951?  Korean War?  Chromium and other metals needed for the "police action"?  Chrome going on thin? 

Likely the bumper guards got less of the good stuff than the bumpers.  

Jonny Carson.  

In the words of the late Jack Carson, "I didn't know that."

Castle Nuts are not to come off!  It's forbidden!  (The slots are for a cotter pin, to keep the nut from turning.  Maybe obvious. but someone missed something.  (Did I check the cotter pins on my last project? Ya, I'm sure I did.  Positive.)   

Inner rod from throttle fast idle cam. 
Outer rod from Sisso choke.