desoto1939

Ivan: I just looked in my 1936-42 Desoto Master parts book under the electrical section, and I just found what you might be looking for as documentation on the sparkplug cover. I just learned something about my car and for the other Mopar cars. So the items that the guy is selling for the WWII jeeps might be correct for your car. The rubber spark plug cover was first used in 1938 and up thru 1942 as per my catalog. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Ivan: i just did a search on Ebay and found what you are looking for: These are Bakelite plastic shield there also is another type that are rubber but are cone shaped. These seller sells these for WWII jeeps and they come in set of four. These are not correct for your 1940 Plymouth the ever-Dry is the correct accessory that was sold by the dealerships. WWII ford GPW GPA ✅(A1096-BAK) Ignition Spark Plug Rain Shield Bakelite, QT4 JMP here is the lisiting for the rubber ones: willys MB ford GPW ✅(A1096-RUB) Rubber Spark Plug Rain Shields ▲ non conductive▲

Here is the instruction sheet from the ever-dry kit showing the angled sparkplug metal connector. Rich Hartung

for whats it worth in the technical section I posted a link to the Borg warner timing chain catalog that I recently purchased at the Hershey swap meet. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

When you rebuilt the carb and I am assuming it was a Ball&Ball carb. when you replaced the two small ball bearing in the base of bowel did you put the correct one back into the correct corresponding hole. These are small ball bearing but are different sizes. So this also might be the problem. When rebuilding a carb I always suggest tht you have several egg cardboard cartoons ready and then number each hole and then put each part as you take it off the carb into the next corresponding slot. So that when you go to reassemble the carb you are selecting the appropriate parts in reverse order. Just a thought on your situation. Do you know anyone that might have a condensers testing gage to determine if the condensers are holding the correct microdiodes. Een brand new condensers can sometime be bad. I prefer the good old NOS Autolite condensers. Also might spay some WD 40 along the intake and exhaust to see if the car runs better under load. If the engine runs better when doing this then you have a vacuum leak in that area. Rich Hartung

To be really safe only jack up the front and leave the rear touching the floor. The front brake drums are easier to get off the spindle. Put the jack stands under the car like the what kencombs stated. Also on the side that you are working on also put your floor jack under the frame on the same side for extra support. Then when that set of brakes is done then install the drum and tire and rim and bolt it tight. Lower the floor jack and then go to the other side and place the floor jack under the car. When done install the tire and rim. Then jack up the car and remove each jack stand. Rear loosen the bolts or lug nuts on the wheels. Jacku p the rear end and place jack stands out as far as you can but leave room to work behind the backing plate. Get you three or four arm drum puller. Screw out the castle nut to the end of the axle, DO NOT TAKE OFF the castle nut. Put on the wheel pullerr. bring it up tight agains t the end of the axle. Hit the dig Bone end with a 5 lb hammer. It might take several times but the drum will pop off. This is why you left the castle nut on the end of the axle. Pull the drum off with the key. Do the same for the other wheel. I also keep the floor jack under the center of the rear pumpkin ask extra support. Do one wheel at a time so you have an example to alway refer back to. Complete both wheels, Adjust the clearence according to your manual for your car. Bleed the brakes if needed right rear, left rear, right front then left front. After bleeding the brake also check the brake pedal to reset the shoes. Also have extra brake fluid on hand to efilll the master cylincder as needed. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

here is the info on the starter selinoid that Bingster was talking about. Autolite Starter Controls Soleinods.pdf

That will do it everytime. Had similar situation on my 39 Desoto. Used the car in my daughters wedding. When we were getting ready to take the car back hom ehte next day i noticed that the char was not charging. I was able to get home just on the battery. The next day the car was dead as a door nail. Thought that maybe the generator needed to be rebuilt. Started looking around in the engine area and then went to the volt regulator and also saw that the wire coming from the generator the A wire had broken off at the terminal end at the VR. I put on a jumper wire from the gen A post to the A post on the VR nad was able to get the issue solved. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

according to my Atlas catalog the atlas number is a belt number 628. This same belt is used on my 39 desoto and it is 48 1/4inches in length. Also here is a listing of all the cars that used this same belt and if i remember correctly it is 3/4 wide. I also just added a document taken from my Mopar Cooling Catalog that has all of the fan belt info and measurements please refer to that also. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com Fan belts.docx

You are welcome. I am always looking for service catalogs and information on part cross reference lists and catalogs. Rich hartung

Yesterday I downloaded a catalog that I have found while attending the Hershey swap meet. It is from Borg-warner and it covers their timing chains for our MoPar cars and truck from 1928-55. I posted the catalog in the Download link option. It is a very nice piece of information to have for own library on your specific car or truck. early xmas present to everyone. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

1929-55 Borg warner timing chain catalog for cars and trucks View File I recently purchased a brand new Borg-warner Timing Chain catalog at Hershey. i just scanned the entire catalog tonight. It covers our cars and trucks from 1928-1955. Just nice to have this info when looking for a new timing chain. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Submitter desoto1939 Submitted 11/07/2023 Category Reference Information  

Sniper, I have been following the posting and read the post but I did not remember from my prior reading that the car started regularly by turning clockwise before rewiring the car. So, the poster still needs to ask why the mechanic wired the car backwards? Would be nice to hear a reasoning and why he did not see the issue after the car was tested. Always nice to know why something was done incorrectly. Maybe the wires were not long enough to go back to the original setup who knows. Rich

So I quess we al assuming that the owner of the car provided the mechanic with a copy of the wiring diagram for the car. The diagram shows which wires get connected to which specific gage, switch,etc. Or did the owner provide a complete wiring harnes from a specialty company such as Rhode Island wiring or another company. Most quality companies label and number each wire and they correspond to where they get attached on the car. So it seems there are still questions that need to be answered. from all of my driving experience and I am 72 year olds and I have driven a 1915 Overland touring car, several model A's, my 1939 Desoto and also other various other cars, the key has always been turned clockwise to activate the ignition and counter clockwise to turn on the accessories. So why would the mechanic not follow the standard pattern or maybe the ignition switch was original rewired incorrectly and he just followed the wiring scheme that was currently in the car. The owner of the car needs to provide more info. Rich Hartung

I looked in my Autolite sparkplug literature that covers from 1930-1939. The only reference for the A5 was for the Hudson. Refer to the attachment below. for High speed driving C. I Hd from 1936-1939. The A 5 is a colder plug according to their chart. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

how old are the sparkplug wires? sounds as if the wires are leaking and you are getting the arching. Go to your loal auto supply and get several feet of sparkplug wires with the ends and the caps and make new individual wires. Do one wire at a time. So pull the number one wire for the number 1 spark plug. put the end on the end that goes into the cap. then run the wire up through the holder and then cut it to the proper length for number 1 plug put the end button on the wire then the metal end crimped to the wire then install the wire. Do this then for #2-6 and also the main wire from the end of the coil to the dizzy cap. Also make sure the top of the cap is clean without any corrosion where each wire connect to the cap. Also check the cap on the inside to see if is worn or any arcing and replace if necessary. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Have you checked each cell to determine if there is distilled water covering all of the plates? Also pull each battery cable and clean the inside of each connector and also each post. There might be corrosion. Get each post nice and clean and also the connector. Tighten the cables Spray with protectorats and use green and red washers. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Also another nice thing about the Monroe Site is that you can go to their technical link and then select the Mounting and Length Chart information. If you know your specific shock number it tells you the type of shock attachment on both ends also the compressed and extended lengths. See shock number 5752 which is the front shock for our car Notice the end code L1 and L1 so that mean loops on both ends. The 5753 is l1 and s4 with a rod with a nut to hold the upper part of the shock in a shock tower. Also note that it tells you the compressed and extend lengths of the of the shock and also the travel limits So if you need the 31000 information to to the same link and then scroll down to find that specific info and if you go to the bottom then you can get info on the loop diameter information Just shows what info can be found if you do some searching. Rich Hartung

Monroe Shocks for 1938-50 Mopar Cars View File Here is some information about Monroe replacement front and rear shocks that are still available. Compare the cost with your local parts store versus the costs that are listed on Ebay. Also compare them with the cost of signing onto the various MoPar vendors to see what they charge and cost of shipping. You might be really surprised at the cost differences. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com Submitter desoto1939 Submitted 10/25/2023 Category Reference Information  

Plymouthy: Yes I know they were posted before. But since I was working with a friend to get shocks for him I figured it would not hurt to repost the info. If a new member just joined the forum he might not even think about looking for information on shocks. Just trying to post an FYI for the members. Hope you are doing well. Rich Hartung

The other day i was helping a friend find replacement shocks for his 1939 Desoto. This gentleman is 83 years old and di not know what brand of shocks and or shock number he could find to replace the front and rear shocks. I knew that the Monroe shock company did make replacement shocks. I also have seen shocks listed on Ebay or in this case E payout for prices that are out of this world. Ihave seen a pair of shocks going inthe $200 range. Our Mopar DPCP shocks are standard airplane shocks. If you sign onto the Monroe web page: www.monroe.com you can do a year and model shock look up. So most of you know I collect cross reference catalogs and in one of my older MoPar Shock catalogs it lists that from 1938-1950 the Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler cars all used the same front shocks and from 1937 to 1950 they also used the same part number for the rear shocks. My friend was able to get the Monroe shocks for around $35-40 each as compare to the out of this world listed prices on Ebay. The front shock number is # 5752 and the rear # is 31000. I have also posted my copy of the information from my Mopar Shock catalog and also the information that I copied from the Monroe webpage.. So, if you are in need of new shocks check with you local parts house to see if they can order in the sets for your car and save a ton of money. Most people are not willing to investigate and take the time to get the same part at a cheaper price than what is listed on Ebay. The cost of the catalog that I purchased several years ago has paid for itself because of being able to help a friend save a major amt of money and also passing along valuable information to other MoPar owners. So always look at a vender's stack of literature when at a swap meet. You never know what you might find for a couple of dollars. Most of these paper catalogs are being destroyed and sent to the land-fill. Preserve the history for your own education and to help pass the information along to others. About 6 years ago I was at an early spring indoor swap meet and found at a venders table two McCord gasket catalogs that were brand new. They covered the years from 1909 - 1936 and from 1937 into the 50's. I asked the vender what is the price and low a behold he said $1.00 each. I purchased these two very brand new catalogs for $2. I have seen these same catalogs go for over $50-75 on ebay. what a great source of information for $2. I have gone to other swap meest and have found Mccord gaskets to fit my car becasue the vender did not know what they had. The $2 expense has been worth a ton of knowledge. Hope this is helpful information. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com 1938-50 Monroe Shocks.pdf

congrats on the new arrival. I have a 39 Desoto and have owned it and driven it for the past 35 years. was at a local car show today and most of the cars were GM, Ford, Chevy. Lot or people were asking lots of questions about the car and they wanted more history on the car. Nice to know that other car owners appreciate the other makes of car and not just the FORD and Chevy brands and the more modern cars with the full bling works in the engine area. Hope you enjoy the car and take you time getting it on the road. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

currently Moparpro has reproduction 1939 Transmission shifter cable listed on Ebay. He lists that he has 6 and the cost is $335. Yes that is correct $335. The 39 is different than the 1940 shifter cable. so if you need you then you have to pay the piper or find a used one. These are hard to find. Rich Hartung.