desoto1939

If you have any questions about this 1939 Desoto coupe please contact me. I have the 39 Desoto 4 door sedan and can help you with your questions. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

If the hood release cable and pullhandle is similar to my throtle cable on my 39 Desoto you might bebale to repair it. On an older throttle control handle that i found I pulled the handle out on the unit. The handle has a metal a metal rod inwhich the metal wire is attached. I was able to open the rod and then slide in a new wire and then was able to close the road and pinched the cable into the metal housing and then tjreaded the new wire through the spring like housing. You can get any old hood cable mechanisim and use the new wire. If this does not work then install a new handle like Young Ed suggested especially if your car is a driver and not a car being judged. Rich HArtung

according to Autolite.com the 306 is gapped to .025 not .035 Also check your service manual for your car. Inthe back of the book there should be a section on tuneup and spec and it should also list the gap for the plugs. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Don: is this the black colapasble fabic hose that has the metal coil in the hose? If so I think this is just a standard hose that you should beable to get at any good parts store Looks like a black slinkee but covered with black material. Is this the hose that goes from the heater up to the two defroster nossels? Rich HArtung

Hey Bingster: I already beat him to the find, becasue I have both of these two tools, the Miller MT19 with the 7 sleeves and also the AMMCO gage. The Miller tool is like trying to find hens teeth in a rooster!!!!! Rich HArtung

It would be neat if you could acquire several of the bricks from the building just as part of your collection for the car. It is nice to say that you have one of the bricks from the original factory where you car was assembled. I know several years ago the National Desoto club was able to get some of the bricks from the main Desoto plant. Jus tplan nestolgia for any plymouth owner. Rich HArtung

Go to a good auto paint supply store not a napa store but a store that suppliers paint to autobody repair shops. They should have clips in all types of sizes and assortmaents Find a clip that will fit you molding. I like the plastic molding clips that have thye plastic barrel on the end and then you just push the barrel end into the hole. Plastic does not rust and is easier to work with and no one will ever see the clip so use modern stuff and not the old clips. rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

There isa wire that comes from the starter to the sisson choke. WHen the starter is energised it send the electric current to the choke to close the butterfly. This will alwyas happen even if the car is hot or cold. The bi-metal spring on the bottom of the choke housing is what control the mechanism to slowly let off on the chocking of the carb. As the bimetal get colder it then comes down and lets the butterfly open up or retact. In the Technical section there is a compy of a presentation that I did on Sisson chokes. Also send me you home email and I will send you the power point presentatin. Also you need to have the gasket under the choke body and between the manifold, this is very important to help with the function of the choke. Rich Hartung

if you know the tool numbers ( Miller Tools) will be referenced in your Service manual. Then do a search on the Bay. This is how I found my miller tools for my 39 Desoto. Since I do not have Fluid Drive I do not have these tools, sorry that I can not help you. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

on one of my Mopar Decals for the Oil Can style oil filters it said change ever 8 thousand miles. ALso remember that were were using oil that had alot of wax pertrolium products back in the days. The oils of today are better refined and have better protection properites. Also the chnaging of the filter depends on how many miles that you have put onthe old car. The changing of the oil is more important to get the oil sludge out of the oil pan so you do not build up the sludge in the bottom of the pan. In our cases I feelthat you can get two oil chnages and 1 filter change but for an additioanl 8 dollars or so why not chnage the filter. rich hartung

If that is for the MoPar or Fram throwaway metal can that is not tooo bad. i have seen them higher than that. The cost for the one that has the metal housing and the drop in might also run about the same price but in the long run they payfor themselve since the cost of the drop in cartidge is about 8 dollars. Rich HArtung

OK: Well its almost that time again when MECCA will be calling all antique car/truck owners to gather in Hershey PA for the Annua lNAtional Eastern Fall swap and carshow. The car show will be held on Saturday. So if you are attending most of the vendors have left the parking lot on Saturday morning since the car show is the major draw for the day. So if you are looking for parts then Tues-Friday are the days to be there. Alot of the venders come in from Carlise from the week before. Also be prepared for rain which is a tradition at Hershey, we call it the Hershey Liquid Sunshine. I am planning to Attned but will not have my vending spot this year. My fellow vending partner has decided not to vend this year so I wil lnot have a site for anyone to stop by and chat. Who is planning on attending and on what days? If you are going then lets start a list of who is attending, what days and your cell phone number. Maybe we can contact each other for a quick get together during the days that people are there. Would be nothing official but would be nice to meet other forum members So her we go: Rich HArtung Wed/Thurs/Friday Cell 484-431-8157 Desoto1939@aol.com

Ok: I was told that there isa 1939 Dodge 1/2 pickup truck in my local area that is up for sale. It has over 100k listed as the mileage. Looks tobe repainted, not the original wood in the bed but has been replaced, missing the metal strips on the bed, can not tell if it has been reupholsterd becasue of a seat cover in cloth. Told it runs and drives. Looks to be all there. can not tell if original tailgate. I have a 39 Desoto so more of a car guy then a truck guy. So what should I be looking for to see what might need to be repaired and to critique the truck before making an offer. Sounds as if a good old truck but thats all i know at thios point. Asking 6K for the truck. More of a fun truck and truck that you can use for some work and not a show truck but you could take to shows becasue of the rareity of the truck. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

I like the old style canister style with the drop in filter. If you arleady have the lines for the old style metal throwawy oil filter then you will probably have to make new lines but just connect the new lines to the same spots on the engine block and then onto the the appropriate holes on the metal housing. The initial cost of the metal container is the most thenthe filters cost around 10 dollars. I have an old AC unit that was marked as to fit my 39 Desoto. There was no real specific unit since these were dealer installed, so the mopar delaer might use a MoPar unit or another brand that he got from a wholesale supplier. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

I know I got mine while at Hershey one year, but anyone the suppliers should be able to send you the cloth style hood lacing. Bernbaums lists the cloth and rubber for your car inhis current catalog for $12. Rich Hartung

Yes every year has a parts manual. You can get reproductions of the originals that are photo copies of the originals. You do not need an original a photo copy is perfect fpor our usage. Even when showing a car or truck at an AACA or NAtional event does not get you any extra points. The parts manual is only a reference point incase the jusge is questioning a part that is installed onthe car or truck. Check onthe bay for a parts book for your car or truck, also sometime you can find them at local swap meets. The if you have a scanner then scan the various pages so you will always have a saved copy for future use. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Ply Adams: Ok I was basing my input on what I have on my 39 Desoto so that is why I used the flat head slotted screws on mine. As I stated in my last post everything is deteremined by what style of hood lacing is being used on each car. Thanks for the input on the size of hood lacing. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

On the original styled cowl cloth seal the screw fits into the space between the two ridges or bumps on the cloth so the gasket looks like a double humped camel and inthe sapce betweenthe two humps is where the original rivet and in my case the new srew was installed. I did this on my car over 18 years ago and the srews are NOT touching the bottom of the hood. Now the hood lace as it is offically called might be of a different style that what was used on my 39 Desoto. So if you do not hve the indent than yes the heads of the screw might touch the bottom of the hood. So it also matters what type of hood lace you are using on your car. Would you want me to take a picture of the style on my car as an example? rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

On my 39 Desoto they has a similar rivet that had a slot onthe top and this will fool tou into thinking that this is a screw. But as you stated they are acutually a push in nail rivert that have serrations on the part that goes into the cowel. I have search at Hershey for several years and have never found any replacement rivets of this style. So i just took a flat head screw and then just matched up the foles in the cowl with the cloth webbing onthe cowel. Since our hoods tend to move they do make a rubber gasket instead of the hard cloth gasket webbing material. With the rubber you will get less of a chance of the paint rubbing off on the under side of the hood. More of a preference thing or f you are going for originality thing. I would use a stainless steel screw this way you can always take them out again if needed and since mine had the oirginal slot no one can tell the difference. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Tom: The AACA does not require that you work at any car shows. The National events are run by a local chapter of the AACA and they the local hosts the event. They put out requests for certified judges that are in the area and or coming to the meet to help judge the cars. Also a rookie is never permited to judge a car. A new rookie has to attend several NAtional meets and is assigned to an experience group with a Senior Judge. The rook and or judge that is still in training tags along with the group and is given education on the various cars and then after meeting specifc qualification than they can be part of an official team. Ye they AACa are not perfect and I also agree on that. They do have some strange rules like any car prior to 1946 can have an electric fuel pump on the car but after that year they can not. I have asked why at several AACA meets and no one can explain it. Also I pointed out that any car that has had their safety glass replaced also has to have points deducted on their car becasue most of these cars have not put the date code and glass maufacturer stamp in the various corners onthe glass. So technically every Sr and also Grand NAtional car that does not have these glass marks is not a 100% restored car. Guess what they did not like my comment but some of the judges siad I was correct and they do not take points off for that so yes they are not perfect. But they are a great organization and if it were not for the AACA we would not have the Eastern NAtioanl event at Hershey every fall with approx 8-10 thousend venders. So all is not bad there is good inthe AACA. Just think of all the various venders and parts suppliers that have started companies such as Bernbaums, Mitchells, etc. The AACA gave them the opportunity to go out a buy the old parts and the avenues for us to get the NOS parts. They come to the bigger swap meets so we can get the parts. Prior to them alot of old cars just rusted away becasue people could not find the parts an or no one was buying up the old stock to resale. Alot of times it went to the scrap yards and the Mother Car manufacturers di dnot even want to take back the parts. So thank god there are vendors and the AACA. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Go to a good auto paint supplier and take several pices of your trim with you. Also measure the size of the hole in the body where the trim mounts to the body. WHen I redid my 39 Desoto we did not use the metal trim clips but used a universal plastic clip. This was done because the plastic will not rust and it is easier to push the plastic into the holes and they are never seen by anyone after the trim is put back on the car. Even if you are having the car jusdge they are not seen. Us the modern clips becasue they are eaier to find and are cheaper. NOS sometimes is not the way to go but you are the ones that is doing the resto and its your money to be spent. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Do you also have it set to the proper timeing mark. That can also affect the gas mileage Also check that the road that comes across the top of the engine might need to be backed off could be pushing the carb to run rich. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Repainting a car: I have a 39 Desoto that has been repainted. About 4 years ago there was an AACA car show here in Reading PA. I took the car to the show and entered it in the HPOF category. I told the judge that this car has been repainted and a new headliner was put in the car. He replied that is ok. He looked over the engine and the interior and under the car. Asked a couple of questions if anything has been replaced. I told him that it isa matching serial numbers car, Oiriginal engine, trans, rear, front suspension and so forth. I was awarded my HPOF bage then there isa an Original HPOF that they are really looking for an original car that has nothing done to the car except for what might have to been done to keep it running even if it has a bump or dent that is ok. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Loyd: So have you figured what the cost is to get a quality caliper to measure the drums and also the brake shoes. And now you still do not have the correct method to do the brake setup You might be close and you might not be close. So figure all of the hassle of trying to make the tool, learn how the tool works and even guess if it works. The use of the Ammco brake gage is the only way to go. Just ask some of the members that have used my gage and they will tell you that they would have never gotten a good brake without the proper tool. The offer is still available so when you get to that point let me know. Also in some cars the toe has a different gap and the heel has a different gap so make sure you have read your service manual to make sure you have the proper setting. Rich HArtung

This car should have on the left side left hand threaded lug bolts and right hand treaded lug bolt onthe right side. Chrysler was know for the left and right hand threaded lug bolts and many mechanics broke and or stipped the left side lugs becasue of this. Check that the lug bolts on the left side might have an L stamped in the head of the bolt. How did you stripe the threads when using the puller? If you thried to put the wrong bolts onthe wrong side then that would happen but the right handed bolt would not thread inthe the left side becasue of the thread being left handed. Also did you use a three arm drum puller to remove the drums or a gear puller to attach to the sides of the drum to pull the drum? Need a three arm puller or a puller that permits you to use all 5 lug nuts and bolts to pull the drum with even pressure. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com cell 484-431-8157