desoto1939

DOn: Not being a mechanic and looking at the picture I would say there is a lot of carbon build up and the car is running rich in the air fuel mixture. The blck stuff also looks wet to me inthe picture. I would say a fuel air mixture issue. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

I used small sheet meal screws to attach mine. This way I can remove the fuzzy strip if I ever what to replace. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Basically when you take down the driveshaft for another reason sya to just do a pinion seal you should make the alignment of the housing on the u joint to a specif bolt hole on the pinion flange to insure that you are putting back in the same spot. This is to help prevent you from getting any vibration because you chnaged the way the DS way attached to the housing and the DS then is back to the original position. But since you have replaced the pin and all of the internals that would make it a little harder. Did you replace the outer metal hosuing along with the inner parts? I do not think you would get a growl from the Ujoint but a thunk sound is insatlled incorrectly. Did you refillthe differentail with enought fluid. Growling could bea wheel bearing or low fluid maybe in the trans> Just point to check. Did you force the pinion yoke on with a hammer or use any tool to insatll it. You might have it insatlled to far and the pinion gear might be growly on the ring gear, just another thought. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Attached is some brake information for the 41 dodge taken from my EIS brake catalog The 41 Dodge uses the Type K master cylinder Brake Cylinder EW 6854, 6853 Fronts,, EW 6856, 6855 Rears The numbers after the wheel cylinder refer to the internal bore sizes which indicate as we call them stepdown cyclinders because of the two different sizes. When these are resleeved they cost more because of the two sizes and insert sleeves that need to be installed and bored to the correct size. Refer to the attached data sheets this are the EIS numbers I have this EIS catalog and a Wagner Brake catalog scanned onto CD's if anyone is interested. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Brake information 1.pdf Brake information 2.pdf Brake information 3.pdf

search ebay use 1937 nos mopar master cylinder piston 666535. Write to me at my email Desoto1939@aol.com rich hartung

the 37-41 Chrysler/Dodge/Ply/Desoto all use the same model wagner MC. It is better if you do remove the floor boards to get access to the master cyclinder. There are two bolts holes on the bottom flange on the MC that bolts to a braket. When you take out the floor boards you will get a better view of how the whole unit is installed. I did rebuild my MC and I have a 39 Desoto so used the same MC that you have. Get a kit that has the broze piston if you can. Write to me I have lots of information on brakes and the various Wagner numbers for the MC and also brake cyclinders and also hoses. The lockeheed brakes are not eay to adjust properly without the Ammco brake tool. Refer to the Technical section on brakes with the Ammco and also the miller brake tool. I have these tools. The 39 Desoto is a kissing cousin to your car and some things are the same. If you can get a NOS that would be better but they are not cheap since only a few years from 37-41 as you already know. I live near Valley Forge, PA Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com cell 484-431-8157 Phone 610-630-9188

PArt of the reason why you do not have any rust is that you have the alligator style hod on your car. The early cars had the butterfly style hood that had the hoos hinge down the middle of the hood and the water would then leak in via the center pivot chrome hinge and then the water would collect in the spark plug holes. Also at the same time when they had the coil that came throught the fire wall they ahd an issue that when there was mositure or heavy dew the cars would have a hard time starting becasue the coil wires to the dizzy would get mositure. So in the later years they moved the coil to be mounted on the braket just off the top of the head to eliminate this issue. Shorten the lenght of the wire and this solved the probblem to a degree. Rich HArtung Desoto1949@aol.com

question do you have a pressurized radiator cap on the car. Our systems in the early years is a non pressurized system. I have a 39 Desoto so basically we have the same car. Did you ever replace the water distibution tube and also pull al lthe welsh plugs on the engine to force out al the crud in the block. Also only use the green antifeeze in your 40 Desoto DO NOT used the yellow extend stuff. ALso put in a bottle of water pump lube which has a rust inhibutor. Most Af will last 5+ years but the rusting agents breaks down and the and the antifees will start to look like a rust color. Chnage the Af every 4 years Even thought you put a rad flush on the car and then opening the petcock on the radiator you still might have junk inthe block. Pipewrench where are you located? I live near Valley Forge PA. Contact me. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Yes, I can tell you about Bias Ply. I have the Goodyear tires on my 39 Desoto. Yes they will find every rut in the road and if you get to travel on a road that has just been milled, inwhich they have taken off the top layer of asphalt then you had better cut your speed down. The car will be pulled all over the road because of the milling process. You will not notice any issue on a smooth asphalt road or cement road. You will get some pulling when the road is rutted from the heavy truck dual tires if they have made a pattern in the asphualt. The use of radial with our older cars is still not recommended by the AACA. The cars were originally designed to support Bias Ply tires. The suspension is not setup to handle the rolling action that a radial tire has and the design of the radial. So if you use a radial then you do so at your own option. So slow down and enjoy the ride of our oder cars and do not be in such a hurry. If you want to go fast then get a street rod that has the correct suspension and is setup for radials. This is just my 2 cents so please do not take an offence to my statement just trying to provide information on the topic. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

When asking about parts for a car or truck it is advised that you at least let us know what model car or truck and year. There is a lot of information that the various experiecned memebrs can provide but we are not mind readers. We all need the baisic information to help answer your questions. As stated the dizzy models did chnage with various years so we need to know that so we can tell which points, rotor, condensor and cap to order . ALso search on ebay under you car or truck model year you will find lots of things being offered and this is another opportunity to know what specific items you will need. I have an autolite book with this information let me know the specifics. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

If you can find out what is the proper socket size to use on the nut then go to a dollar store and then llok for round magnets. Then take your spare socket and i would suggest that you get a cheap socket and then glue inthe magent to the bottom inside of the socket and build up the depth until you know that the bolt head will then touch the magnet in the socket then when you take out the bolt it wil then be attached to the magnet in the socket. So this would be one of those special made tools only to be used for this purpose. Sometime you have to invent the tool from a mordenr tool to meet your needs. Yes Miller tools made a socket that had a magnetise capability but that is just what they did. Rich HArtung I will look in my Miller tool cat to post a picture of the appropriate tool and its corresponding Miller tool number. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Yes and only use the green antifreeze not the extended yellow stuff. Rich HArtung

another suggestion is to look for a couple of breaker plates for your model distributor. I can provide the specifi autolite numbers for cars and trucks up into the early 50's. A NOS UNIT HAS THE CORRECT CONDENSOR AND POINTS AND ALL THE LITTLE WIRES ALREADY ASSEMBLED. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS UNSCREW THE OLD UNIT AND THEN PLOP THE NEW UNIT IN PLACE AND THEN SET THE GAP. THEN YOU GET YOUR NEW POINTS AND CONDENSOR AND REBUILD YOUR OLD BREAKER PLATE AS A SPARE. i HAVE SEVERAL FOR MY 39 DESOTO AND IT SAVES A LOT OF TIME. RICH HARTUNG DESOTO1939@AOL.COM

Unfortunately, there are no brown repo mats currently being reproduced. There was a gentleman that had made some awhile ago but I understand that he has sold out his supply and has not made anymore. Instead of using the rubber mat see if you can get a carpet done for the front and rear. They do make a universal rubber mat that you would have to fit and then cut the various holes but they are not in brown and do not hav ethe ribs. They are mostly black with a textured pebble looking pattern. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

When taking my Dizzy out of my 39 Desoto I also but some masking tape or painter tape on the block with a reference point so that I know the body is also aligned when insatlling the dizzy back in the block. I also use tape to note the positiion of the rotor. I do this because as you set the gap you are rotating the shaft and you will losose the ref point if you did not mark it. Also make sure that you have the shaft all the way down into the keyway or slot in the oilpump unit. Verify this by trying to sping the rotor by hand. The rotor should not spin if the end of the shaft is in the slot all the way. If you have it in the slot and then try to start the car and it willnot start would might be 180 dregrees out of timeing. Then pull up on the dissy and rotate the rotor 180 and then reinstall, you should be set to fire up the car. As Don stated it is much easier to do the adjustment work when the dizzy is on your work bench and in a vise. Rich Hartung Desoto19392aol.com

Sounds as if you have a grounding issue. HAve the mechnaic run a sperate ground wire for each tailight bucket. I had a similar situation after my car was painted with the rear taillights. What wires did he replace in the steering column. Was this for the factory installed turnsignal? When you have an add on turnsignal the brake lights also run througth the turn signal unit. If you have this setup make sure it is wired correctly. Grounding the units and the buckets is important. Assuming you are using double filiment bulbs in the taillights. The double filiment is one for running lights and the other is the brighter filment for the brake light. When you hit the brake pedal the brighter filment lights up in both taillight units. When the brake pedal is pushed and you have the turnsignal engaged either r or l the appropriate brighter filiment now will be the flashing filment. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Sad to hear the news about your neighbors. I bet you are glad that you decide to stop and talk to them and had the chance to see them. It is very strange how certain things will happen in our lives and we do not know why we are driven to something. In this situation karma made you touch their lives and I hope that it also touched your life. Our journey on this earth is very short. So we all need to step outside the box at times. I think the story is that we need to take the step to meet our neighbors and other people in our lives and enjoy their company and friendship. At least they both were together with each other and hopefully they did not suffer during the accident. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

After installing a new fuel pump and also the new rubber fuel line. Then let us know if the car starts. If the Fp is now working right now even with squirting Starting fluid into the carb it will only run on the small amt of starting fluid that has atomized and gets to the appropriate cylinder to fire over. But since the fp is not sending any fuel to the carb then the egine will stop running because of no fuel. Correct the firt issue then report back. Hopefully it is just a FP that needs to be replaced. Also as Don stated using starter fluid can be dangerous. The Starting fluid has a tendency to wash the oil from the cylinder wals if the car does not fire over. I would recommend that you get an electric fp have it installed as far back near the gas tank as possible. Then you can always use that to get fuel to the carb. When a mechnaical FP fails the electric will still push the gas to the carb, Also help when the car has sat for a long time and if you do have a vapor lock issue it then can also push fuel through the system. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

I did the build sheet from Chrylser and it is worth the money. I even found out the original dealership they sent the car to and also the correct day the car was built and came off the assemkbly line. They even set pictures of the 39 comeing down the assembly line, not mine specially. Knowing the history is very important and Chevy (GM) and Ford can not longer provider their owners with this type of information. I was able to contact the great grandson of the original dealership that sold my 39 Desoto. They now runa a major school bus manufactor facility in Exton PA. So there is a lot of history around my car. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Basically on allthe butterfly syle hoods, even on the mopar car/truck that have the side opening instead of the alligator style. this has always been a problem. Yes the water will drip down onto the head of the engine and the water then would get into the sparkplug indent hole inthe head. To solve this isse MOPAr designed the Everydry kits to help heep the moisture out of the spak plug area. I have a 39 Desoto that has the butterfly style hood. I also get some water onthe to the block when it rains, but I do not drive the car inthe rain unless I get caught in a rain storm. I just watch this area on the egine and use a towl to soak up any water if the car has sat in a rain storm. As the engine gets hot from running the water should evaporate. Just watch this area when it rains. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Yes Model A is positive ground. What does the grounding have to do with this question? The manifold intake permits the mixture of the air and gas to atomize and then be sucked into the appropriate intake value and then into the cylinder at the appropriate time to be fired. The on the exhaust stroke the exhaust value open that the exhaust goes out the exhaust manifold throught the muffler and tailpipe. Basic process Rich Hartung

Note: When draining the engine block and then putting in new water and ANTIFREEZE since are cars are PRIOR to the 94 models you should only, and I will state again ONLY USE THE STANDARD GREEN yes the GREEN old style antifreeze. Do not used the extended stuff that you can get in WALMART, Wally World. NOT the new YELLOW OR ORANGE products. The chemical makeup is not compatibale with the internal of our older cars. The auto supply stores do carry the OLD Standard green that we all are familar with. They might not have a full shelf of them but they should carry it since there are still alot of vehicles that still need and use it. I spoke to a factory rep from one of the major Antifreeze manufacturer and he provided me with this information. He stated that over 45% of the vehicles on the roads today still use the old green style, so we donot have to worry about hording the green antifeeze.

This sounds more like electrical than fuel issue. I would suggest that you might want to chnage the condensor. This might have gone bad on you. Try than and also check the points gapping. I do not think its the coil since if the coil got real hot and an internal wire in the winding broke then the car when hot sometimes will not start but then when they cool down the wire then are cooled and they then make contact and the car would fire up. Check the battery cabales to make sure they are not loose onthe posts and also where they attach to the motor or other point on the car. Check the rotor and cap. Just points to look at first. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

I have been told that when they install a bladder the tank need to be heat so that the bladder then seals itself to the metal tank. The cement or sticky material would then have to unbind itself for a bladder to delaminate. The enthinol should not cause the bbladder to delaminate. For this to happen the enthinol would have to go throught the bladder then loosen the cement. This is an old time repair guy and we will see how it goes and I will get back to you after getting more info. Hey also the NASCAr cars use bladders. Did some reading and methanol seems to be the bigger issue and not ethinol gas. Some even state to use dry gas inthe tank but I will wait for more instructions from the tank guy. Rich desoto1939@aol.com

just had my 39 Desoto into the shop for some other repairs and we discovered that I had a leak also in my original tank. I called around and Mitchell wanted 900 for a NOS tank. The mechanic sent the tank out to a gas tank specialist to get it repaired. He informed me that if the guy can not repair the leak then they ( expereicned gas tank guy) would then install a bladder inthe tank. This would be the type of bladder that they have inthe NASCAR gas tanks. The tank should be done this week so I do not know much more on this but will let everyone know how it comes out and the cost. I am trying to keep the original tank and not have to convert to an aftermarket and then go through alot of customizations to get the tank to work. I have a driver so want to keep as much originality as possible. Had the car over 25 years and this is the first major issue that I have had and the tank was original to the car. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com