DonaldSmith

What happens when a lobe is right at the rubbing block of the points? (That's the idea of rotating the distributor.) Maybe the points aren't adjusted to open the specified gap, or open at all..

For a 6 cylinder engine, the lobes are 60 degrees apart. You should be able to turn the distributor 30 degrees in one direction or the other, to open the points. Check the bolts on the base of the distributor for minor and major adjustments. Somoene recently posted some good pictures of the distrubutor, showing the parts at the base.

Long Wheelbase Sedan (Such as DeSoto Suburban) vs standard sedan - From an angle, it's hard to tell, but full side tells the tale. I bought a model that claimed to be a DeSoto Suburban. It was actually a model of a standard sedan, with the Suburban two-tone paint scheme. I printed two photos, and added 18 scale inches to one of the photos. Here are the two, for comparison: (Pardon the haze and "invisible" tape.)

Here's my converted air cleaner (see post no 4), with the lid on: (The air gap is about the same as it was- close enough.)

Here's my air cleaner. A persistent oil leak led me to gut the mesh interior and cobble the unit for a dry filter. Filter size may vary with the particular unit. I used the top of a coffee can to seal the inner part of the filter. It looks stock. (Edit:) The element is a Fram CA6370.

Years ago, the night before a DeSoto convention, I was busily scurrying around to do all those maintenance things. My second year with the car. I did the oil change, using a jar to measure out the oil. Was that a quart mark on the jar, or a pint mark, I wondered later. Fifty miles down the road, an engine bearing went. Flatbed home. The well-worn truck only had room for two, so my wife rode up front, and I rode in the Desoto, high in the sky. Stately. Complete engine rebuild followed. Moral of the story, keep up the maintenance as you go, and get your rest the day and night before a road trip.

My 47 DeSoto has two threaded holes in the steering wheel hub near the end of the shaft. I used a puller with two bolts to removde the wheel.

Try lifting the edge of the door while trying to open it. It works on the back door of my 47 deSoto.

Well done, grasshopper. To reinstall the clip, get it started on the post. Use pliers with one jaw against the loop end of the pin, and the other jaw against someting solid, such as the post to which the pin is intalled...Gently squeese the pliers, and the clip should snap on.

Loop a thin wire through the loop of the pin, maybe twist the ends of the wire together, and pull the wire. The pin will come out readily. Getting the pin back in is another matter.

In my humble IMHO opinion, the doors above the beltline should be the roof color. It takes a little extra work. The pre-war/post-war bodies do well with the two-tone, although for most models the trunk needs a moldng to separate the colors. The 50s models for the most part have the bustle trunk, which helps define the color line. Here's my 47.

Ice cream scoop makes sense. Twisting the knob will move the arms to cut the ice cream free. ...or whatever sticky mass you are scooping. Peanut butter?

Now boys, the rest of us can't tell by reading your exchanges that you really like each other a lot, and are just joshing each other.

I mulled over the problems of adding cruise control to my 47 DeSoto (a real mind game). Cruise control: o Would Need 12 volts, 10 to 15 amps. Either convert the whole car to 12 volts, a large project, or get an inverter, which would draw up to 30 amps from the 6-volt system, or add a 12-volt alternator for just the new stuff. Whew. Starting to gert complicated. And expensive. o Would need slack in the pedal-to-carburetor linkage, so that the cruise control module could open the throttle without pulling down the pedal. At present, a large spring closes the throttle and pushes up the pedal when the foot is removed. The linkage would have to be reworked to provide the necessary slack, and a separate spring would be required, to close the throttle. I came up with numerous ingenious ideas, each requiring careful design and fabrication. (We don't want the throttle staying open.) But wait! The problem is the right leg getting tired from working the gas pedal on the occasional extended trip. (For me, an hour-long trip is beginning to be extended.) Why not push the pedal down by hand? What do the handicapped do? I saw a portable pedal pusher available for about 180 bucks. Why, I could make something similar from junk (precious recources) around the house. Stick, flexible connection to a small base, and lugs or downturned edges of the base to keep the base from slipping off the pedal. Place the base on the pedal, rest the stick against the edge of the seat cushion, and push and pull as necesary to modulate the speed. Lift off and set aside to resume foot-pedaling.

Stroboscopic effect. Stagecoach wheels going backwards. I had heared that fluorescent lighting is bad at operating machinery, because it can make moving parts appear to be standing still.

The cell phone was not invented when the first person invented a clock. He called 472-1212: "The time at the tone is ..."

In our arrogance, we underestimate what people centuries ago could do. I saw something a while ago about some ancient Greek celestial clock, with many interacting gears. Some philosophers (lovers of wisdom) even determined that the earth was round, and calculated its diameter, pretty closely to what we have determined. People long ago had the same brain power that we have. In sme ways they applied it better than we do. Ever memorize a book?

You cant leave; all the plants will die!

You forgot Klunk-O-Matic.

The clock shouldn't need so much amperage. Someone in another thread mentioned a 2-amp or 3-amp fuse? At the back of the clock is the winding mechanism with coil. There are numerous pivot points that may need lubrication. Or maybe the clock is just wearng out. (This coil needed re-soldering its connection to the point system. The coil moves the winding arm, which powers the clock mechanism. As the arm reaches the end of its travel, usually taking a few minutes, the points close, moving the arm again.)

One can never have too many ground paths.

One difference between bench-testing and in-car performance of the clock would be the ground circuit. Clock case to dashboard, dashboard to body, body to engine, where the ground cable is attached. There might be just enough resistance in the ground path to compromise the winding mechanism of the clock. That's one heavy-duty thunk every few minutes.

Not ready to consider a 12-volt upgrade. If I knew the amperage required for a speed control, I would consider an inverter of the necessary oomph. I assume there would be a steady amperage for holding the speed, and more for increasing it.

I believe that only the semi-automatic and overdrive transmissions needed the downshift contact at the carburetor. A three-speed with the Fluid Drive coupling would not need an interrupter circuit. Wouldn't a 47 Dodge have a three-speed behind the fluid coupling, or was the GyroMatic semi-automatic available?

I had a 68 Mercury with a clunky speed control. It had a vacuum leak and would not hold the speed. I put a speed control in a Datsun that worked. But for my DeSoto I'm interested in what experience anyone has had with the current devices in a vintage car. i presume that the devices are all electric, no vacuum.