DonaldSmith

I hit the "L" on my leftie bolts with White-Out, to remind myself which way to crank on them.

My 47 DeSoto speedometer (out of the case) has a felt-lined oiling hole near the end of the threaded part that receives the cable.

My dad was the always-in-a-hurry type. He told me once of the time he was driving with his father, my grandfather. Grampa took off, and then shifted from first to second. Dad suggested that he shift into third. Grampa responded, "I'm going fast enough."

I mounted my fan sensor in a tee, spliced into the hose to the top of the radiator. Since the functon of the sensor is to ground the fan relay circuit , I ran a copper wire to ground the sensor and tee to the rest of the engine.

Search "oil pressure safety switch"'. Look up the post, "Help with a electric fuel pump".

Sure looks like a 5. What's the engine number? Maybe years ago, someone misread it when they filled in the paperwork.

I remember my dad telling me that when cranking a car, do not close the hand around the crank, or the thumb may be broken by a backfire. Engage the crank with the handle at the bottom, and lift only.

"Out" is towards the steering wheel, and down is the usual first speed location for a manual transmission. Many a parking jockey has wondered why a semi-automatic Mopar won't go into first gear.

As I remember, the pulley and damper assembly bolt to a hub. The hub needs a puller to remove, but the pulley can be unbolted. One of the bolt holes is off the mark, so that the pulley can only be installed with the timiing marks in the right location. Similarly, the key in the hub assures its proper location.

If you have the semi-automatic transmission, there will be wires running to the carburetor from the transmission. These wires, on the right side of the transmission, can be seen from beneath the car, but better with the floor pan access cover removed. Remove the access panel, and you can see wires running from the solenoid, governor, and interruptor switch. And yes, there is a pump in the transmimssion, to send the 10 wt oil into a piston that performs the semi-automatic shift. My shop manual shows this extensively and explains the operation. With either type of transmission, you may have some wires on the left side of the transmission, to control a backup light.

My 47 DeSoto (Tiptoe Shift semi-automatic) has a tag on the transmission that says to fill with 10 wt oil. The usual transmission oil would be too thick for the upshift plumbing. (And the fluid coupling gets the AW32.)

Here's a trick for filling the coupling: Small pipe nipple in the fill hole. Larger 45 degree elbow, with reducing bushing. Funnnel.

Here's a photo. The fluid coupling access is by that fluorescent shop light. There's an oblong access panel in the floor and a round access plug in the bell housing. The small plug is in the coupling itself. Have fun turning the coupling just right. (Underneath, there's a vent screen. You can remove the screen to pry the flywheel by hand. You have to turn the coupling so that the plug is at the bottom, to completely drain the coupling. ) (To the left is the access to the transmission electrial components.)

Ring, ring (Caller ID says Cleveland 216-539-etc.) Wife: "Hello?" Person calling: "Grandma? ... Some of us boys were out drinking ... I didn't have that much, but . . . . . . .etc, bond money, etc, etc." Wife: "I'll let you talk to your grampa." Me: "Hello?" Disembodied voice: "Grampa, can you write down my case number? etc, etc, etc." Me: "Is that you, Benny?" Voice: "Yes, Grampa". Me: "You rotten kid! You deserve to rot in jail! You've caused nothing but grief to your parents!" (Hang up) (I don't have a grandson named Benny.)

Summit Racing, CRT-A68301, "Oil Pressure Safety Switch - Recommended When Wiring Electric Fuel Pump (Mfr. # A68301)" It cost me $17.97 plus shipping, back in July of 2015. I'll keep looking for the McMasterCarr double throw switch which I used. 7343K28 Toggle Switch, Sptd, on-Off-(on), 10 amps ($9.92 back in 2010)

"CB" for "circuit breaker". It doesn't burn out and need to be replaced. The oil pressure switch screws into the block instead of one of the plugs along the oil gallery. It's the thing with the three yellow-insulated contacts. I installed it on an elbow and nipple, to be more accessible.

OK martin 53, here's a sketch of my fuel pump wiring. The switch is double throw, center off, with one throw constant on , and the other one intermittent, providing power while the toggle is held in position. The common post of the switch feeds the pump. For priming, hold the toggle in the intermittent position. For running the pump constantly, flip the switch the other way. Power for this position is controlled by the oil pressure switch. The N.O.position is closed only while the engine is running.

About 18 years ago, I was about to go to work. My wife had left already. Suddenly feeling tired, I decided to sit in the easy chair for a while. Shortly thereafter, my daughter called from a nearby expressway, on a borrowed cell phone. Her car had been bumped lightly, and she had pulled over to the shoulder. The car would not now start. I knew the problem. I drove over to her location, opened the trunk of her Sable, and reset the inertia switch. Then my daughter and infant grand daughter were on their way. If I hadn' been known about the inertia switch, and had not grown tired so suddenly, my daughter would have had quite a time getting roadside assistance. And how many tow truck drivers would just reset the inertia switch instead of doing a tow and repair job?

You don't need a relay. I got fancy, in wiring my electric fuel pump. From McMaster Carr, I bought a double throw switch , constant on in one direction and momentary in the other. Push down and hold, to prime the carb. If the mechanical pump fails or falters, push up to have the electric pump turn on and stay on. Then I got worrying. What if I get in an accident and the engine stops but the electric pump is still on? So I bought an oil pressure switch. Engine running, pump on. Engine not running, pump off. But, like I said, I got fancy.

Good probable suspects. Thanks. Head bolts are tight, and no sign of leakage under the heads. Mostly, I suspect the thermostat housing, since the bolt nearest the housing is rusted. Maybe something to do with a coolant shower from the thermostat housing. I've never had the problem before, but I have been idling the engine this Spring, for maybe 15 minutes or so at a time. I'll keep the eagle eye on the situation, and issue a full report, or at least and executive summary.

47 DeSoto, out for Spring to-do items, discovered coolant in plug wells 1 (some) 2, 3 and 4. Heater tube adjacent, but no noticeable leaks in tubing or hoses. Will observe. Alligator hood, besides, it doesn'r rain coolant. Mystery - anybody see anything something like this before?

Yep, your car should be positive ground. Two wires at the positive post of ignition coil, one wired to the distributor, and one, the through the transmission relay, to the interruptor switch. The distributor and the interruptor switch go to ground, at their own proper time.

Your GPS will give you your actual speed. Then you can see how far you are off. Some time ago, I had the speedometer rebuilt. The rebuilder adjusted the speedometer to a set RPM. My reading was still 10 percent off, due to axle ratio, tire diameter, etc. I bought a 10 percent ratio changer on line, and installed it at the transmission. I reworked the transmission access cover to fit the projecting ratio changer. I should have put a short cable between the transmission and the ratio changer. (Why do I keep typing ration? Something subconscious?)

Maybe the Auto Beer Bar was a joke in its day, like the present-day Hazard Fraught Cat Carrier

Radial tire, bigger, flatter footprint. I couldn't steer my DeSoto Suburban when stopped. Very tricky to go slow but fast enough to steer. Added power steering.