desoto1939

I have the rivet tool that screws the rivit tight I do not like the type that you strike with the hammer style. I feel that you are putting a lot of pressure on the point of the opening and that these old linings can get brittle over the years. With the screw type you slowing compress the peen the rivet over and you can ncontrol the pressure. The style I have is used by the small aricraft owners when they reline their brake shoes. Also when you reline the shoes with riveted style lining you will also need to know the correct rivet size to use. I have a wagner book that lists the size rivets that you should use. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

questiion did you left rear drum have left hand threaded bolts and did you recently have someone work on the rear brakes. They might have thought that you have left hand bolts onthe right and then stripped them and did not tell you. Just a thought as to what might have happened. Rich Hartung

The other question that you have not answered is if you are restoring the car/truck to be judged eithe WPC Walter P Chrysler, POC, Plymouth Owners Club, AACA Antique Autombile Car Assoction standards or are you just trying to make it a drivers vehicle that looks nice and meets your standards. If you are going for jusding and points then you will need to keep allthe original bolts and have then cad plated to look original. If you are making a driver then do what you want and fits your pocketbook for expenses. Goin to full restoration with original bolts that have the DPC logo is great but costly also. It all up to what you plan for the car or truck. If you are planing on judgeing then I suggest that you get the jidgin manual for each orgainzation so you know what they are looking for in a vehicle before you go to your first meet and fined out that you have to redoe everything over agian with additional cost to find the missing part. Also note that they all willnot tell you what you did wrong that is up to you to find out. Welcome to the world of having a vehicle judged. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

On my 39 Desoto the timeing mark in 2 degree before TDC. Check your repair manual on the timing. This migt also be part of your over heating issue.. As you also stated you did not put in a new water tube so you can also have an issue with this being packed with junk. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

I would spend the extra 120 to have it on a trailer. With the front wheels off the ground the rear end and drive shaft will be spinning. Also you do not know how fast this guy is going to be going down the road and also what kind of road conditions he will be facing like post holes etc. The extra stress on the rear-end, wheel bearings, u-joints and drive shaft are not worth the savings. If you were pulling the car on the dolly then you can control how fast you go and also keep an eye out for any issue while going down the road. Also what condition are your tires are they in good shape or are they marginal with tread, any side wall cracks, these are the things to consider. Also pull the hub caps off the rims because at high speeds and bumps they might come off and the driver will not be noticing that they came off. Spend the extra and keep the car safe and sound. The 120 you save might be spend to doing a rear axle or some other type of repair. Just my $120 worth of advise.

Since the rear brakes do not have the rubber brake hose you will have to disconnect the brake line from the rear of the brake cylinder. Also suggest that you put a block of wood behind the brake pedal so that it willnot go down and then lose brake fluid. just a safety precaution. rich hartung

Even if Berbaums replys back to you the new owner will probably not know what the correct length of the pin should be. These Detroit Pin and Trunion U joint were made by several manaufacturers. I have several from different sources. So the housing could have not be milled correctly which also could have been the problem. If you look at the housing you will see how they are tapped and drilled out and then polished. Did your new housing come with the grease fitting so you can lube the internals without having to take it apart. I would recommend that if anyone is going to replace the entire unit which includes the outer housing to take the housing to a machine shop and have them tap the unit so you can screw in a zerk fitting. Just my 2 cents. Hope the new owner can answer the question. Thanks for getting back to all of us on what was done to the pin glad then did note grind the pin where the needle bearing run onthe pin just the length of the pin. There is a Miller tool that is a seal installer that fits the pinion seal properly and then when you drive the seal in to the diff it puts equal pressure around the entire seal. This is the proper way to do the job. So mechnaics just drift them into place with a brass drift and hammer put then then can be damaged and still leak. I have the tool to use if you pay for shipping. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

so was the pin too long or was the pin diameter too big to accept the roller bearings and the cap and the end of the pin. Can you provide more details. Did they assemble the pin into the end of the ball and then did you complete the rest of the assembly of the hosuing and the end cap. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

So you would have a D34 dodge 1950 According to my McQuay Norris suspension catalog 1942-52 D22-24-30-34, 7 and 8 pass sedan, limo and estate wagon , 6cyl is their number KA-135 the 41-52 D19-22-24-33-41 except 7 pass sedan and station wagon 6 cyl is their number KA-16 Look in your parts book if you have one and let me know your Chrysler Mopar number and I can also x-ref the McQuay Number. This is why I have collected the various catalogs that I have available on CD so you guys can have the information at hand for your learning about your cars. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Are you tryin to pull the pinion seal or the differentail gasket? You will need puller if you are trying to get the pinion seal out and also a seal driver to get the seal back in. I have the millers tools to get the pinion flange off the diff and the tool to pull the seal and the drfit to install the seal and the toolto install the pinion flange. These are all factory Miller Tools. ALso have detroint Pinion and Trunion U joints with the body and Internals also with leather and rubber boots. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

But since the Japanese where making a better car the America Auto makers were then forced to make better bodies and better cars that are more reliable. When was the last time that you saw any major rott out on a car. I know that some cars in the upper states may get the rustout because of the amount of salt that these states use but overall the bodies are not rusting. Look at the engine life, going 100k before replacing spark plugs oil life now going any where from 5-10K. Got rid of the old pure based oils and now running synthetic oils. Electronic ignitions getting better gas mileage tires that can last upto 80k miles if rotated. brake linings no going 50k and up. So yes the cars of the years that we are running now as antiques had alot of steel but that would rust out. So overall the car companies have improved and were forced to improve as the Amercan started to buy the Hondas that had better quality right out of the box. So in this instance foreign competition was good for the american buyer and forced the American Car manufacturer to improve their product or go out of business. When we destroyed Japan with the Nuke bomb there where forced to start over with the Demming model of business but inthe states we keep the status quo and then it bite us in the rear end. Now we are starting to bring back to the states the manufacturing that we lost so it is very cyclical. Rich Hartung. Desoto1939@aol.com

Check the breaker plate in the dizzy. If this is the original it could be getting wornout. See if there is slop in the upper and lower plate. I had a friend with a 39 Desoto that had similar problem. We took the car to my local old time mechanic and told him of the issue. He took the dizzy cap off and then wa able to wobble the breaker plate assembly. He told use to replace the breaker plate. I had a NOS breaker plate. Installed this and set the points and his issue went away. Things do wear out. Write to me and I can tell you which is the correct breaker plate assembly for your 47 Desoto. I might have one but not sure if the number is the same as my 39 Desoto. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com Valley Forge PA. 19403

On your new brake linings both end should be chamfered on cut on a slight angle and not have a blut end. The slight cut or chamferring permits the drum to turn without hitting the lining. This might als be your problem. If you can find an old time garage they might have the Ammco safe arc grinding tool to arc the shoes and linig to match your drums. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

There is only one spring or c-clip per eccentric anchor. The clip is in the shape of a horeshoe. There is a felt washer and a metal cap over the washer then the c clip. I have a 39 Desoto that has the same brake setup as what you show in the picture. I aslo have the miller tool that you see in the picture and also the ammco brake gage for setting up the shoes. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I looked in my Brake catalog and here ae the specs for your shoes: drum diameter 12 inches width 2 inches 3/16 thickness on the brake pad length 12 5/8 uses a 4-5 rivet if you have riveted lining all 4 pieces are the same length Model 1105A brake lining Desoto 1942, 1946-48 and 50 Write to me about the Ammco brake gage. Sent you a PM about the tool Rich Hartung

TJM70: I have the Ammco brake toolbut it is current on loan/ When the tool is returned and I think it might be returned this week or next. It can be available. Contact me on my home email so I can explain the rental process. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

I sued the Airtex newer model. Also put this unit near the gas tank. If you have a positive ground system then make sure the positive wire on the fuel pump is going to ground and the other wire is going to the power. The instructions assume you have negative grounding. Also make sure you have a 6 volt pump if using a 6 v system. I have a toggle switch setup so that I turn on the ign key then flip the toggle switch and the pump then send fuel up through the mechanical pump into the carb. Also remember that some of these pump have a shutoff when the bowel in the carb is full but the majority of these electric fuel pump DO NOT. I like the toggle switch because I then control when the pump is on and off. I use it most for priming the system after the car has sat for a few days. I also have a fuel filter just before the carb. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Search on ebay. Ther are lots of blank keys listed for the various Mopar. Also need to know which year that you are looking for and also if car/truck. Also assuming that you do have an original key for the ign and also one for the door lock for the locksmith to make a copy from. Rich Hartung

When I replaced ny fron motor mount on my 39 Desoto I did not have to take out the front metal bracket. I removed the two top moutning nuts then put a 2x4 under the oil pan at the front ant lifted the engine up so that the studs where no longer sticking out throught the top of the bracket. It is a tight fit then loosened the two bottom nuts and removed the rubber support. Installed inthe reverse order. Did this about 10 years ago. It is very tight take the fan blade off and also the water pump pulley to gain access to the motor mount. area. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

Hey Don thnaks for the information. I thought the cam angle equalled the dwell number. I used my hand held engine analyser and the dwell was around 30. I alwasy gap my points arounf 18-20 just to take in any wear or slop issues. She runs strong so I might ajust or not. Rich

Don or anyoen ele: Learning question? If the correct gap is 20 on the points and the degree angle onthe dizzy cam is 38 then what would be the correct dwell number. I can not find this number in my 39 Desoto shop manaul or even in any Motors or repair manual. Education for me. Or how do you calculate the dwell number?? Thanks, Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

Don, When I took the old breaker plte out I notice that the points had a major indent on the one side. So What i determined is that either the points or the condonsor was bad. So i opted to replace the entire unit which is much easier to do. I then will rebuild my old BP with new points and condensors. And when I mean new I use NOS autolite prts and not cheap china parts.

Well after 25 years of owning the 39 Desoto this is the first time that she would not start for me in the garage. This si what happened. I ran the old girl last week buyt she seemed to not run as smooth as she always does. So this week I tookthe dizzy cap off to check the condition of the points and the cap. I dressed the points and put the cap back on. The car would not start. Stated my dogisnotics. HAd gound at the breaker plate. the car woulod turn over real strong. Had electical current at the ign switch. Found my supply of NOS Brealer plate IGS3004A. Installed the new breaker plate set the gap. But the dizzy backinto the engine in the same position that I took it out from the block. I make reference points to insure that its going back inat the same point or rotation. The car would not start. WHY or Why. I had a freind over so we pulled the cap to watch the points. Hit the starter and he noticed that the point were not opening and that the rotor was not moving or rotating. Ok first thought did i snap something or did the oil pump break. what could it be. Well, knowing that the MoPar engineers were well schooled they did us all a really big favor when the designed the dizz shaft and mae it a slotted end. This way we alwasy know that the dizzy is right on in the correct reference or possibly 180 out of rotation. So remember this point. I then rotated the rotor by hand and did not get any resistance. Ok now you all might have figured this out. The dizzy was not fully down in the shaft and did not set into the slot. So I lossened the dizzy and pulled it up spun it to get back into the slot then tightened it back down. It still would not fire up. So remember the 180 degree point pulled it out agian just enought to rotate the rotor 180 degrees. put in back intot he slot and made sure this time that it was all the way installed. Then fired up the car and HOORAAAY. she tuned over and ran. Issue: My supidity of not putting the dizzy fully intot eh slot and not checking to make sure it was engaging the oil pump keyway. So the point always check and double check your work. For some of us we do not have to work on the cars that much and we get allitle forgetful as we get older. Lesson well learned. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I do not think this isa MoPar filter. The shape is similar but the top is differnet and also the mounting assembly is not the same. I had a Mopar filter assembly and from my memeory it does not seem to be the same. I know the early stuff for the 30's better. Someone else will chime in with better knowledge. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

I share a vendor spot in the Chocolate Field which is several rows away from the Bridge that takes you over to the green Field. Id there is interest then I could list the site number and a date and time for everyone to have a quick meet and greet. Whats everyones thoughts on this. Just throwing it out to the members. Just an informal meeting nothing specifc planned. We are located in the lower right hand side of this section very close the tool guy that has the large tent setup and down the same asile from the guy from I think SC that sells alot of MoPar items. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com