desoto1939

Brendan: The car stillhas the factory interior for the seats and door panels. I had to replace the headliner. Still has the factory radio and heater and also the facotry clock in the glovebox lid. The 39 Chrysler had a lot of plactic pats on the dash that would get distorted because of the oil in the plastic parts. Mine still has the factory woodgraining. I installed the dodge fender lamps to use as turnsignals. The desoto used these on their export cars to Euorpe. I have had the car or 21 years. Still has the original runningboards and original rubber on the boards. Thinking of trying to get this HPOF certified at the AACA show that is being held in Gettysburg this may. Not to sure if it will get past the judges. I have the following options onthe car, Mopar Heater, radio, rear gravel stone shield, fog lights. I did have the factory fender skirts. Galss has been replaced and was able to get the correct etched factory info for the safety glass and also in the correct placement. This is a very period correct car for anyone that is looking for pictures an info. I have rewired the car with modern wire and still need to use the appropriate cloth covered wire wit the strikers onthe wire but not to concerned at this point. Will to help anyone with any 39 MoPar questions rich Hartung

Rodney. I have the sister car a 1939 Desoto S6 4 door Sedan. The 39 Dodge, Desoto and Chrysler do share some parts such as glass and doors and trunk lid and trans. As you may know the motor inthe 39 Desoto will fit into the chrysler. The ply and Dodge are the smaller engines. The hood od the Dodges willnot fit on the Des or Chrylsr because they are smaller in length. I have been going to Hershey for the past 25 years and the parts for these cars are getting harder to find almost impossible. Ebay is a good place to look. You can get the engine parts at a NAPA store. There is a guy on Ebay that is now repoing the interior dash buttons and window crank buttons. This isa great touring car. If you get the car I will try to help you with what ever I can. Please contact me. Send me you internet address and I will send you some pictures of my 39 Desoto. rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com 484-431-8157 I live near valley Forge PA.

Purchase a 2005 Ford Five Hundred brand new car. My wife was driving the car on a completely dry highway and when she came to a stop the Antilock braking system engaged. She was not in a panic stop just a regular stop. I had the same thing happen to me several weeks later. Took the car back to the dealer. replaced the rear brakes and rotors, replace a module. Still had the pbm occur several months later. Tookthe car back and then the dealer had a Ford Technician come into the shop after they have had the car over a month they then decided to take the car back and they replaced the entire car for me. I was not charged any mileage fee and it was an even swap for a new car. I did repurchase a New 2007 Ford Five Hundred and have not had any issues with the car. This is the first time that I ever had a lemon and FORD did take care of me. I guess this was due to the fact that my father inlaw is a retired FORD employee. I still beleive in if you wait and document good things alwasy happen

Don, i had an original MC in my 1939 Desoto that was factory defective. After getting the car from the second owner and was driving around town I notice the pedal was getting harder to pres down. After letting the car sit over night the pedal worked fine. Took the unit out of the car. Took the cover off the unit. One of the hole to let the pressure out was not tapped out. This was a factory installed MC and was orginal. I tapped the unit and now It works fine. Check the two hole in the MC there is one before the piston and one behind the piston. If you have a 40 MOPAr this is the same that was used on my 39. Also when you do the brake job do you have the AMMCO brake tool to setup the proper arc on the shoes? The eccentric can be a real pain. Contact me I have the tool. Rich Desoto1939@aol.com 484-431-8157

Tom: I recently purchased the kit from the grain-it company and this is the only way to go. It is very simple to do and with some practice you can get a very good quality job. If you plan on doing the dash then I would suggect that you get the bigger plate with the grain and then get the smaller rollers so you can do the graining on the window moldings. Please feel free to call me at 484-431-8157 cell or write back to Desoto1939@aol.com I live near Valley Forge, PA I have some tricks that I have been doing and the results are great. They have simplfied the process for the average car owner. Rich Hartung

This is a general question about how the heaters and the appropriate tubing was setup for the flathead engines. I have an early Miller Tools catalog and it shows a pipe instead of the rubber hose that ran from the waterpump bypass back along the cylinder head. Has anyone seen this option used in any of the Mopars and would they have any pictures on the proper setup? i have a 1939 Desoto model S6 and would like to use this setup instead of having the rubber hoses flopping around in the engine compartment. Please feel free to email me at Desoto1939@aol.com or cell 484-431-8157. I live near Valley Forge, PA. Thank, Rich Hartung