DonaldSmith

Here's a 1950 DeSoto Carry-All. Like my Dad's '50 Suburban, the back seat looks normal, and the trunk is closed. But flip the seat cushion forward, and the armrests support it. Flip the back cushion down to and pull a hinged filler panel forward to fill in the floor. The Chrysler Traveler of that era had the same feature.

The "Drive Report" in the July-August 1974 Special Interest Auto Magazine featured the DeSoto Suburban of that area. The Report had a side bar feature on the Chrysler Traveler. The text as copied is illegible. It does mention the ash strips and luggage rack on the roof and an "odd little detachable step plate" which "hooked into the hidden rear running boards, extending them three inches on either side" which "made it easier to reach cargo atop the car." It also mentioned a canvas roof-rack cover. I adssumed that the Traveler had an open trunk and fold-down seat like the Suburban, but I find, Not So. DeSoto had a Carryall version, on the sedan body, with only two seats, but the second seat folded down and extended the trunk's cargo floor, like the Suburban.

Rare car. Like my Suburban,. but in the normal sedan body. Roof rack. I would like to see how the back seat folds down to extend the cargo floor. Do you have the Fluid Drive with semi-automatic transmission. or the 3-speed manual transmission?

My car has two tubes for running the plug wires from the engine back to the distributor, 3 wires per tube. Some of the older cars have six tubes. I sometimes wonder if the wires have their own private light show within the tubes. Nah, not with wires that are in good shape. Right? DO ONE WIRE AT A TIME. I'vwe been confused when pulling a plug wire, and having one of its adjacent wires moving at the other end of the tube. Take one wire at a time comletely out of the tube. You'll have to take off the boot and connector from the distributor end, or cut the wire. If you cut the wire, be sure to take in account the length you cut off whe you measure for the new wire. It sounds like a Duhhh, but been there, done that.

When facing the engine from the front, the left side is to my right. And around here, driver on the left is right, and the passenger sits on the side that is left, the right side. Enough fun with homonyms (words that sound alke but have different meanings). Why not use "starboard" and "port", which mean what they mean, no matter how you look at it?

How would cashew oil reduce brake lining wear?

What's so special about Plymouth spark plug wires? Aside from vintagfe-looking wires, there are two types of generic wire sets: Solid copper core, where noise suppression is not needed or wheree resistance plugs are used. Noise suppression core. These come in unfinished lengths, and are cut to match the lengths of the exisiting wires. Then the ends go on- connectors and boots.

I've often wondered about the function of the bypass line in the filler pipe. I remember my dad's Suburban, which like mine today, whistled during fill-up. As the tank got full, the whistling stopped. Ahah! Maybe that's it. When it stops whistling, the gas is up to the filler pipe, so stop pumping. This bypass line, or whatever they called it, did not vent the tank. It may have helped during the filling process.

For my 47 DeSoto, I bought a vintaqge headlight relay - actually two relays under the same cover, one for the low beam and the other one for the high beam. (I don't have fog lights.) I can't answer if 30 amps are enough .

Points vs Petronix. President Harry Truman once quipped that he wanted a one-armed economist, because the person could not say "on the other hand..." We have a spectrum of mechanical abilities among the guys. Some guys can gap the points at night, on the side of the road, in a rainstorm, using the edge of their thumbnail. On the other hand, I can cobble together a power steering setup but can't get my points ignition to behave. I had the Pertronix system in my DeSoto, with the resistor in the Interruptor circuit, and it was working fine. But the tales of sudden failures scared me, and I put the points back in. Now I have a miss. I'll check the plugs to see if there is an offending plug wire or termination, telltale track in the distrbutor cap, fireworks in the engine bay at night, check the point gap, etc., etc. Maybe I should have bought the spare igniter, damn the cost, and left things as they were. If you want a Pertronix system, go for it. Be aware that they can fail suddenly, as can anything. Have your spare ignitor. Meanwhile, more power to those who are masters of the points system.

"Fliud drive" is not specific. For Dodge, the "Fluid Drive" fluid coupling came with a 3-speed transmission at first, and eventually with the 4-speed semi-automatic. Do you have the 3-speed manual transmission or the 4-speed semi-automatic transmission? (Does it have the "H" shifting pattern, with "First" toward you and down, or not?) The Fluid Drive with 3-speed manual transmission will have no governor or other wiring at the transmission, no transmission relay that looks like a voltage regulator, and no wires to the carburetor.

I had trougle getting my DeSoto to rev high enough. The limit was in engine revolutions, not road speed. Lower speed in lower gears. My carburation problem was in the distributor - I had the points spring in wrong, and the points would float. Do you have the standard transmission connected to the fluid coupling (st gear toward you and down)? There is no automatic up or down shifting? Is your speed limited to what gear you have it in?

" in gear where second should be...? What does that mean? Dodge was slow to get the semi-automatic transmission. It had Fluid Drive with the 3-peed manual, as described above. Eventully, Dodge got the semi-automatic. Easy way to tell - Standard Transmittion, H pattern. Pull and up for Reverse, pull and down for 1st, push and up for 2nd, push and down for 3rd. Semi-Automatic - pull and up for Reverse . NO Pull-and-Down - No "1st". Push and up for "Power" (automatoic shift !st to 2nd - stump puller.) Push down for "Drive" (Automatic shift 3rd to 4th.)

You were correct to connect from the top left of thesolenoid (as looking at it from the front) to a ground at the engine. Ma Mopar grounded the solenoid through the generator so that when the engine was running the generator's emf or whatever counteracted the ground, to keep the starter from cranking when the engine was running. As I recall from when I installed my alternator, I grounded the upper left solenoid post. I abandoned the red wire that led to the generator A post. I conected the green wire that went to the F post of the generator to the post of the alternator. I bypassed the regulator, and connected the other end of the green wire to the black wire that had been connected to the regulator.

The drain plug needs some sort of square driver to get it out. Think 1940's tool box. No torx bolts and screws back then. These drain plugs are special, since the tank does not have a deep pipe-threaded hole, so the usual pipe plug will not work. (There are holes around the base of the threads, to drain the last drop from the tank.) But there are workarounds. For a workaeround, I had a close-coupled nipple and a pipe cap. The nipple screwed into the tank,and the pipe cap held a gasket against the tank. It woked for 20 years, until I had the tank recoated, and the recoater came up with something, I don't know what. But that should last another 20 years.

Judy and I went to the 2023 National DeSoto Club Convention, in Chatham, Ontario, with our daughter Stacey, son-in-law Tim, and grandson Chris (former Ohio State practice lineman). We figured on driving to the the Convention on Thursday, but a shake-down cruise Wednesday evening removed all desire to driving the DeSoto, even that far. I had fixed a number of problems, but the car just did not seem happy on the highway. Good thing too, because something did "spring" up later, which would have made driving even worse. The backup plan was to rent a U-Haul trailer to transport the car. Early research resulted in Tim renting a 3/4 ton truck to haul the car-with-trailer, since his truck's rating was not quite high enough. Stacey would to drive their truck as the chase car. My research indicated that the platforms on the trailer were 6 inches longer than the wheelbase of the car. Thursday morning showed that I had not accounted for the enchroachment of the tiedown apparatus. So Tim and I took the trailer back, while Chris sourced a larger trailer, by internet, from a local enterpreneur. Cool. But winching the DeSoto onto the trailer removed the low-hanging mufler and pretzelized the tailppipe. We (the trucks, trailer and car, that is) got loaded, and we hit the border at Thursday rush hour. We spent a weekend getting off the Ambassador Bridge that evening. First order of business Friday was to have Midas reinstall the muffler - forget the taipipe for now. Get off the trailer, drive across contingent parking lots to the Midas. (Convenient, anyway.) Someting dripping - sprung a leak, antifreeze. Good thing I was only driving on and off the trailer and to the car show location. Good thing Friday night's rain forced a venue change from a beautiful, grassy ( but muddy) park to the parking lot at the hotel and Convention Centre. Short hop. Saturday was the car show. Afterwards, we loaded the DeSoto one last time. Saturday night was the banquet. First Class event. As throughout the event, we schmoozed with the car people. Despite the tribulations, it was fun. Some people attend for the fun but don't bring a car - fascinating concept. For next year, Tim is talking New Orelans (without the car.) Maybe the following year, trailer the car to Akron. We'll see, we'll see.

Update: I replaced the wires and the distributor cap. I had a real lesson in "1 5 3 6 2 4", "Replace one wire at a time", "Don't fray the conductor", and crimp the terminal the "right way" (not assend to). I bought a battery-powered strobe light from Summit Racing. It works, if I'm patient. Since I am shooting from the right side, the fan obscures the timing marks most of the time. Eventually it works around the where I can see the marks. I got the timing dialed in at 5 degrees advance, more or less. Good enough. The car starts and drives well. Some more shakedown before we go to the DeSoto Convention Thursday.

I can't view the timing marks from the left fender because of the power steering belt that I added. Looking at the damper from the right fender, the marks come up an over. I have the marks highlighted: 10 deg advance, the first to pass the pointer and the farthest from me; TDC; then 10 deg retarded, the last mark to pass. 4 deg advanced has been recommended, by the wisdom of the forum, for gas with ethanol. That's about where I have it. It's running well. I still have to listen for ping when going up a hill. I'll be trying to get a timing light bright enough to shoot the marks from the right fender. Then I can tweak the timing some more. Maybe get the vacuum gauge to 22 or so.

Executive summary: Car starts after some clunking. Solenoid roulette? I double checked the starter circuits. Even cleaned up the battery clamps and the quick disconnnects. Tried the voltage drop tests, couldn't tell much. Seems a bad connection would have a uniform effect on the starting. Erratic operation may be the solenoid. (Someone said check the timing. Less work for the starter if the engine wants to start right up.) So I static-checked the timing. OK, I can't turn the crankshaft by the fan belt; have to clunk it around. Never stops where I want. Is the rotor pointing to 7:00 on the compression stroke? Thumb over No. 1 plug hole. Rotor close enough. no way 180 degrees off. Finally clunked the crankshaft to 10 degrees advanced. Close enough. Got the light bulb test. Bulb went out near 10 degrees. The timing was too far advanced, Wanted around 4 degrees advanced. To take 6 degrees off, retarded the distributor about 3 degrees. I eyeballed it. Plugs sooty but back in. (Someone told me to check the wires.) At the distributor cap, Wires 2 and 6 looked burnt. Pushed the wires all the way in. Wire replacement slated. Primed the carb. Set the fast idle and squirted a bit. Crank, crank, repeat a few times. Started up. (Runs better with the timing right and plug wires all the way in.) Vacuum gauge at 19, not bad. Crunch time: With the engine starting better, do I play solenoid roulette, hoping that it gets no worse, or do I pull the starter and have a look at the solenoid? A little over a week before the DeSoto Convention. Maybe this afternoon I'll pull the starter.

The solenoid is a giant relay. The light gauge circuit gets power from the starter button, and is grounded through the generator field. Since I put in an alternator, I grounded this circuit to the bolt at the bracket that connects the solenoid to the starter body. Quick and easy. I might redo it, and ground this circuit to the engine somewhere. The heavy gauge circuit gets power from the battery cable, and is grounded through the starter body to the engine, thence to the positive (ground) battery cable. (10 points for using "thence" in a sentence.) I get good cranking with my remote starter, with leads that I clip to the starter post of the solenoid and to the negative (live) post of the battery. However, the starter circuit behind the instrument panel has some problems, maybe bad connections or a bad starter button or ignition switch. It's a real bear to get at. Waiting for better weather to back the car out to open the door wide. I should check all the connections while I'm at it. Ma Mopar had a real daisy chain of wires from one post to another. For getting to the Convention next week, I might just sneak in a stealth button somewhere, wired directly to the solenoid and clipped to a hot source. Or I can get under the hood with m remote starter. It looks like I have a make-do if necessary.

Breaking News! Cranking well! I went to do the requisite voltage drop test, and had to clip one of the leads to the starter case. Where to get a good connection? Remember Ma Mopar's trick to keep you from grinding the starter when the engine is running? Anyone? Anyone? She grounds the solenoid through the field of the generator. When the engine is running, the field is no longer a ground. When I installed my alternator, I grounded that solenoid post to a bolt that attaches the solenoid to the starter. I removed the bolt, cleaned the surface, cleaned the bolt, and added a short plumber's strap to have something to clip a lead to. Tightened the bolt. The blind pig stumbled on a truffle. When I connected my remote starter to do the voltage drop test, I noticed that the starter was cranking well! I pulled the accelerator linkage, flipped the ignition switch, and started the sucker! Professor Plymouthy gets the "Solved" accolade for urging me to go back to the basics. Now any minor rough running issues can be addressed. Now drive, drive, dive.

I've got No. 1 cables, available from Tractor Supply. No. 1 is what Ma Mopar has called for. Before I go to No. 1/0 cables, I'm going to do what Prof Plymouthy says, and do a voltage drop check on the cables and the starting circuit. I have quick disconnects at the battery posts that have served me well but may be suspect. The test should tell me. If the cables, wiring and connections pass the test, then I'll get into testing the solenoid. (I like Brian G's secret hole in the solenoid cover. for emergency situations.)

Voltage Drop Test, Current Test - I'll look them up on the internet. Timing too high (too advanced?) I will have to do the thumb-on-number-one and the light bulb. With my power steering pulley and belt, I cannot get my HF timing light to it the timing marks. It sounds like I'll be pulling the starter and taking it in somewhere. I printed an 8-page article on How To Test A Starter Solenoid (Step-by-Step Guide) and I'll be doing my homework this weekend. (Anyone got a spare starter? Can I borrow it for a few weeks? )

1947 DeSoto, Carb cleaned, ignition sorted out, runs well when it starts. A week-and-a-half to the DeSoto Convention. We can tow the sucker there and back, if we have to, but we should be able to start the car and drive it off the trailer to its designated parking spot. It'll crank sporadically, and maybe spin for a few seconds, stop, clunk, clunk maybe catch and start, maybe not. Great temptation to give it a small squirt of magic starter fluid. I've got a good accelerator pump squirt. I try not to flood it, but i I do, the remedy is to keep cranking. But it won't keep cranking. The battery is relatively new, larger size, Group 2. I get 6.12 volts or more across the posts. I put the battery on the maintainer but it says "standing by" (charged enough already). I've replaced the battery cables, since one cable got hot near the end after attempting to crank the engine. Am I looking at solenoid problems? Can I get a good one, overnight or in a few days? AB has one for Plymouth-Dodge - would it work on a DeSoto? . Can the solenoid be repaired? By an amateur? help

And the award goes to 9 foot box! "Your points return spring isn’t installed correctly." So I did the points right, The springy thingy and the brass thingy are now in proper position. Road test: Was able to get up to 30, 35 in 3rd. Pushed to 60, 65 (briefly) in 45 mph Zone. Tried taking off in Power range (1st gear). Did I hear the tires chirp? Major problem solved! Forum member suggestions still to follow, to get over roughness. ,