desoto1939

The parts numbers that Gray Beard listed are Autolite numbers since our mopars used Autolite electrical parts. If anyone needs help in identifying or trying to get the autolite part numbers upto 1951 I can be of assistance since I have an Autolite catalog with all of the various Autolite OEM components that were used on the Mopar cars and trucks. Just send me your specific car or truck model and year and I will gladly send you the information. The Autolite numbers willhelp when you go to a show or fea market and thenyou can identify the part when you see them in the box when the seller can not identify them. You will then have to look up the appropriate part in your specific model parts manual to get the appropriate MoPar number. rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com 484-431-8157 cell phone

Tom: My 39 Desoto had the holes for the rubber but on mine it was one continuous piece of rubber and not individula bumpers. No one is making a single piece of rubber modling so everyone is using individual bumpers. I can not provide any more help but thought that this little bit of history might be usefull. rich desoto1939@aol.com

Robert: My 39 Desoto has the original philips head screen to hold the door hinges to the frame. Also on my headlight door one of the screws is phillips and the other is slotted. The top screw is phillips and the bottom is slotted. These are orginal since the top screw sits in a raise section that has a cross etched in the chrome section. look in the doors on your cars and you might find various types of screws. I can see why they used the phillips inthe door so they can get a better grip on the screw head. rich desoto1939@aol.com

Here is a link back from April with seatbelts and the mounting hardware. Juliano's - www.Julianos.com

You do not have to plug the Vacuum Advance. On the lowere pully vibration dampener should be a flat with line grooved into the metal. Go to a motors manual to determine the specifi mark that you should use. Also determine which plug you should use for the timing. My 39 Desoto uses 2 degres before TDC Top Dead Center and uses the 6th spark plug to base the timing. You can also use a 12v timing light on a 6v system. MAke sure if the car is positive ground that you have the timing limit hookup the correct way. The light will be a little bit weaker but you can time the engine. Mark the line with chalk and or white paint for a permanent mark. I check the timing at least every few months just to keep on the mark. Send me your specific car and I will look in my motors book to get you the specifc mark and info. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Andy: Onthe countersunk holes that you are refering to are these onthe cowel and when looking at the cowel from the front on the car they would be on the left side of the engine compartment. On my 39 Desoto they were used for the heater two hole for the plumbing of the hoeses to the block and three holes for the bolts that were used to hold the unit to the firewall. I am assuming this is what you are referencing. Pictures of the area will help us to help you with your issue. rich desoto1939@aol.com

Pete: There are several of the Ammco tools out on Ebay ranging from $475 up to $1100. I recently saw that there was a set of the Miller Brake gage tool MT19 with all of the adapters and It went for over $900 bills. I am lucky that I have both of these tools and did not pay that much or even near that price foe either one. The tools are getting harder to find and if you have them then you definately have an item that is worth some $$$$$ to certain buyers Rich desoto1939@aol.com

Set the dial to half the meausrement as per the instructions. I just did a lecture at the AACA convention here in Philadelphia in Feb. I demonstrated both of the Ammco tool and the Miller MT19C tool. The secret to the tool is that you are getting the shoes to be arced to your drum. Do this for both shoes. The put the drum onthe spindle. You are not done. You still have to do a minor brake adjustment. Mount the drum and the tire back on the car. Spin the wheel and use the upper cam to lock the drum back off the cam so their is just a small amount of draging. Then do the same with the other cam. Now you will have great brakes. Call me if you have any questions, I live near Valley Forge PA which is near Philadelphia PA. Rich Hartung 484-431-8157 Cell Desoto1939@aol.com

I am assuming that you have 6 volt battery cables on the car and also a good grounding stap to the frame. If you are using 12v battery cables the car will start when it is cold but after driving the car and it gets up to operating temp the system is not carrying enought volt to get the system to fire over. It will crank slowly and then will eventually fire. I have a 39 Desoto which is the sister car to your Dodge. I also have a hood for your car if you need a spare. I can provide a great deal of information on the various parts also such as electrical parts etc. Rich Hartung i live near Valley Forge PA Desoto1939@aol.com 484-431-8157 cell

In the old day they used shims to make adjustments on the various body parts. Can you put a shim under the hinge that is bolted on the inside of the trunk lid? I had to do this to get a better fit on my 39 desoto. Give it a try it might work. As stated prior these old cars did not have the fit like our newer cars and when we take cars to an AACA event the jusges are expecting the seams to be perfect, in all reality they were not perfect when the left the factory. There was a group of Sernior AACA jusges that took a recently built car off a show room floor and they jusged it. They in all of their most experieced ways found faults with the car. They were all wrong in their findings because the car was deliver fresh from the factory and should have received a 100 points. Just enjoy the car as best you can and make the adjustments as best you can. rich desoto1939@aol.com

Did you put the distributor back into the block inthe same location that it came out of the block? You stated that the rotor is in the same location but if you spun the distubutor housing and you marked onthe body where the rotor was point you could be off by 180 degress. I alwasy mark on the block with chalk a point onthe dist as a reference point so I get it back in the same location and also mark on the lip of the body the location of the rotor. Always markup things to make sure you get them back in the same rotation and location to elimiante the possibility of being 180 degrees out. Take your time and alwasy look before you take it apart I can not stress this with the older cars. It looks easy but make it simple for your self. If you put the dist down for a day and then come back to it you have lost your reference poitn if you did not mark it properly. rich desoto1939@aol.com

Here is a little bit of warning and advise. If you ever need to put in a new horn button wire You need to be very careful. If you disconnect the HB wire at the end of the steering tube do not pull out the wire util you have attached a piece of string or small gage wire ( I prefer a very thin gage wire) to the end of the horn button wire. this needs to be taped together. Then you can pullthe wire up the steering tube, Pull very slowly so that the string or other wire does not seperate at the end. When the string come out at the top of the tube then you retabe the new wire to string and you can pullthe wire back down thrught the steering tube. The hole is very small at then end of the sterring tube and it you do not do this you will have a very hard time gettin gthe new wire to come out the other end of the steering tube. I had to do this on my 39 Desoto. Alwasy look at the situation before you take something apart especially if you are not a mechanic or hav enot done the repair before. remember not to be in a hurry because you will get bite in the rear end. Take your time. rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I converted my 1939 DeSoto to Dot 5 back in 1988. I have not had any problem, nock on wood. You did to use denatured alchol to flush the old dot 3 fluid from the system. Do this several times. If you then flush via the blleder screw into a clean jar you will notice that the two fluid will float at differnt levels. Keep flushing untl there is only one type of fluid in the jar. Put on new fresh hoses, cwheel cylinder cups and internal cups. Make sure the brakes are adjusted properly. Do not tamper with the eccentrics if you have the Lockhead brakes. Pour the fluid in slowly to the MC do not shake the fluid maybe even let it sit over night then start the bleeding of the lines. I assume you willnot be racing with the old car. At least every month go out to the car and pump the brakes this will also insure that the entire system is functionaing and keeps everyhting moving. I do this during my winter months. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Here is another suggestion. Is there a vactional tech school in your local school district that has a body shop. The kids are alsways lloking for work and with the help of the instructor they might beable to provide you with a great job and also you might get to over see the work. My father in-law had theis done on his 64 Impala and the kids did a great job for a driver. There were a few runs but these car when they came out of the factory had runs they were not perfect show pieces. The object from the factory was to get the car out the door and they were not putting them in a museum. Even the older Model A and T's had runs. Our cars are over restored and we hear this constantly at Hershey in the fall. These car never lloked this good. Do the best that you can with the dollar figure you want to spend. Its your money a good painter should be able to provide you with a qaulity job with all of the new wer paints and guns that are out on the market. For the 4-6K I would even thry to do the job yourself. If you can find a good garage that you a mask off the car then go for it. Rich Hartung

I touched base with a driveshaft center here in reading PA. They would cut my original driveshaft to fit the newere cross style for aound 275. I was considering this but this does not give me a backup. You can get one from the WPC member that just bolts up to your existing flanges and you get to keep the original for the next owner or as a spare. I am thinking of getting the one from the WPC guy they are not cheap but everyone that I have spoken to has stated that this is the best thing for our older cars. To but in the new rear pin can be a real pain because it has to be perfectly centered between the ball else the driveshaft will be off balance. There are special tools to press out the pin and set it back to the proper depth. I have both of the Millers tools that were used to pushout ansd set the pin but would still leave it to a driveshaft expert to do the work. rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Try restoration Supply in Windbar PA. They have a great selection of clips and if you get their catalog they have exact size pictures of each clip so this helps you determine if the clip will fit your application. They are great people to work with. They come to Hershey each year in the chocolate field and also macungie in August. rich hartung

I think the part holes are the same but the lenths on the parts are different. I do know that the Ply/Dodge and the Chry/Des can not be interchanged. They are differnet numbers. The 39 Dodge, Chrysle and Deosot in the body style looked the same. But since the engine in the Dodge was the smaller L6 the hood is shorted that what was used onthe Chry/Desoto. I think this is why the Ply/Dod have the smaller suspension parts because of the diffenece in the weight and length of the engine and engine compartment. Not an expert but there are definately differnet part #'s rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

WPC is a national car club standing for Walter P Chrysler. They recognise all the various makes and models of car and trucks that have been associated with the Chrysler family. They have a very nice monthly newsletter that is printed on glossy paper and a lot of technical articles. A lot of work goes into each edition. I have been a member for several years. There are local chapters of this national organization throughout the US. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Glad the picture of the 39 brought back so memories for you. Hope you can attend the show again. I live about 35 miles east of reading in valley forge pa. This is a great show with the old mopar cars and the vintage aricraft. Spatz Field (reading Airport) was a training site for our WWII pilots. I f you ever make it back to the show definately stop by the car and look for me. Its alwasy a pleasure taling to another Mopar owner. Yes it is a small world. If you want a copy of this picture send me your email address and I will send you a copy for you and your friend. rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com.

Last Summer I drove route 66 east from Kingman to the Grand Canyon. Sad to say I was in a modern car. I have attached some pictures of the gas station at Hackbury. They had lots of old cars and parts sitting in the yard including a 35 dodge four door sedan that was still oiginal and then we drove into Saligman. If you every get to drive on route 66 definately stop at these two sites Some really great sites. Rich Hartung

I am assuming that you have the correct suspension parts for the car. The Chrysler/Desoto suspension parts are different that the suspension parts for the Ply/Dodge. They look the same when being posted on ebay and or sold at the flea markets. So I am assuming that you have the correct items. That would be my first area to look into. rich Hartung

rodney, Great post. Since the world is moving at such a fast pace today I love driving my old 39 Desoto because the world gets to slow down for part of the day. Everyone in their modern car is going past me on the highway to no-where go 65-75 miled per hour while I am driving down the road between 45-50. I get to enjoy the sites, take a breath of fresh air, get to relax and enjoy what i currently have and not want for more just to keep up with the Jone's. Life moved at aslowere pace, we all respected each others items, we looked after our neighers especially our older sernior citizins. We could even leave our front doors open and not be concerned of some violating our space. This is why we are all part of a very special organization of people that what to keep some of the past in our lives and want to keep some of our history in perspective. How many times have we all gone to a Nuring home with our cars and the residents all come out to look at each car. They do not care if the car is perfect or not. It brings back the memories of their lives with their friends, family and of the times that were important. It is a very calming site to see the smiles that come to each of their faces and I am every so glad that I can make someones day aliitle bit brighter for a few moments. To me this is what this whole car experience is all about. Memories is what keeps all of us alive and kicking. Rich Hartung desoto 1939

I had the great pleasure last summer to to go Las Vegas and also saw this same. car. i have the sister car a 39 Desoto four door sedan. The curator was very pleasent and I was extend the opportunity to have the doors opened so I could get some close up shots of the interior, etc. I also did point out that the headlights were not correct but were they after markert style with the sealed beams and also noted that they did not have the correct license plate lens on the car. Overall the car is quite ocrrect and has the optional overdrive. The runningboards were recovered but with not the correct rubber mat. Even with these flaws it is not Senior or grand NAtional AACA award car. We should appreciate the car for its styling and that Johnny was able to get it back to a very presentable condition. I am also ways available to look over any 39 Mopar vehicle to provide input on the condition Attached is a picture of my 39 Desoto. rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Did you install the King pins od did you have a front end specilaist install them? I would also have assumed that after they installed them you would have had to do a front end alignment. So assuming that that was done and the car was not pulling all over the road and not a very loose front end while driving I would think that the accident that you spoke of might be the culprit. From what i can determine all of the king pins that were manufactured for the mopar cars were the same for numerous years. This is my best guess. Rich desoto1939@aol.com

There is a gentleman that is a member of the Walter P Chrysler club that is currently making the new style drive shafts wict the cross style universal and replaces the trunion and pin style. These just bolt up to your trans and rear. the cost is around 395 and up. Joe McGinnis 2675 deer foot rd Blairsville, GA 30512 706-745-3985 email is callent.joe@gmail.com He does great work rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com