desoto1939

I just received the below information via the POC, Plymouth Owners Club facebook page. We have lost another major supplier of MoPar parts. If you have anything on order please take your time. The family and friends will be trying to complete the order. Refer to the POC facebook to get updates. ATTENTION! Sad news to report that Wayne Brandon, also known as The Plymouth Doctor, passed away on December 9th. ANYONE WHO HAS ORDERS WITH THE COMPANY WATCH THIS PAGE FOR CONTACT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR ORDER. The Michigan Region of the Plymouth Owner's Club is helping sort out the situation with the family and asks for your patience until we get this worked out. His funeral will be Thursday, December 15th so nothing will get done until after that date. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

just from looking at your picture I can see the number 10 still stamped into the boss. But as has been stated it looks as if the original numbe has been ground off. So to me this indicates that the engine was rebuilt at some time. Hard to state the original engine number and year. Rich Hartung

For small and light weight items I always as the seller if he can do a better price on the shipping fees. Sometimes they will adjust and sometimes they will not. Also remember that the seller will lose approx 10% for the sale and the fees from Ebay. So sometimes they up the shipping cost to make a better profit. Also have to remember that they purchased the item and have been sitting on it for maybe a long time before selling one so you are thelucky person that gets hit with the upgraded price. Here is a very unique situation that happened several years ago at Hershey. I was a t a vendors site and a gentleman came to his table. He said out loud tha a piece of trim on his table was the missing part for his car. First mistake. The item was NOS and the seller was asking $35 for the item. The buyer offered $25 for the item and the seller said it was $35. The buyer kept trying to dicker for a lower price and everytime the buyer said something the seller increased the price by $5.00. This went on and the price got to be around $60. The seller asked for the trim back and then snapped it in have and said to the buyer that he had enough of his bickering and that no one will get the item. The buyer went nuts. The important thing to remember is that if someone has the item you need and or want they control the selling price and shipping and handling costs. So yes, it is now harder to get items at a cheaper shipping but this is reality, so you have the option to buy the item or not buy the item. If you need it then you pay the price to play in a big guys world. I have been a vendor at Hershey for several years and under stand the process. Rich Hartung

You forgot your tool box, socket set, open end wrenches, jug of water for radiator. Check the air pressure in all tires and especially the spare, good battery flashlite. scissor jack. Bare wire incase you have to tie up a part and also some extra electrical wire. Get a long piece of 14/12 gage withe with alligator clips so you have a jump wire. call your car insurance company to let them know you will be on a road trip. Your regular car ins might also have some extra towing that will include your antique car towing ins. Rich Hartung

Mark: i just did a search on ebay under the part number 1235538 and there isa seller that is stating these fit 46-48 and other sellers state that they fit 40-48. Do some searches on ebay. Rich Hartung

Yes my 39 Desoto uses bolts and both wheels are Righthand threaded bolts. i do not have Right and Left handed bolts I have verfied this in my 36-42 Desoto Master Parts Catalog. Rich Hartung

Sniper: On the 39 Desoto they had the outer metal plate and the rubber inner and outer gasket. But the ones that everyone sellers they state that they only start to fir at 1940 and up. But when I looked in my 36-42 Master Desoto parts manual I discovered that on the Right Hand drive export desoto they used the gasket that is listed for the 1940 Desoto. Very strange. I would think that the right hand and the left hand rubber would be the same but noone can verify and I do not want to be the Guinee pig and purchase a set and then not be able to use them. I know Steele makes a set so at next years Hershey I am going to ask them to bring a set and then matach it up to a plate that a friend gave me from his 39 Desoto. Rich Hartung

I am incognito and really a foreign dignitary. I have diplomatic immunity of all know and unknow issues. Rich

And you sent me the Monopoly paper money. remember DO NOT GO PAST GO and if you land on the PA railroad space you owe me $50. Have a Happy Turkey Day. Rich Hartung

Yes I did get hacked so delete any emails from Desoto1939@aol.com. Do not open the emails just delete. Thanks Rich Hartung

I suspect that my email address was hacked. I had to change my pasword tonight. If you get a wierd email from Desoto1939@aol.com please delete the email. Sorry and Thank you, Rich Hartung

Are you talking about the rubber grommet to stop the air from coming thru the floorboards? If you are then you have to remove the bolt on pedals then slide the rubber grommet down each pedal shaft. These rubber gromment then have to be pushed through the floorboard so the grommet is on the outside of the floor board and then then will make the seal when the pedal is returned to the resting position. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Metz: I run the Autolite A9 Stock plugs in my 39 Desoto. I just drove my car to the National Desoto car Show from Philadelphia Pa to Altoona, PA. I took the Pa Turnpike because it had service plaza's approx every 40-50 miles apart and the grading over the mountains is setup as a max 5% grade incline. I drove a total of 550 mile round trip and got around 16-18 mpg. Not bad for an 83 year old car. I drove the car at 50-53 MPH. These older cars are not speed cars they are good reliable cars and you are not going to win a battle at the drag strip. If you treat them with respect they will give it back to you. So, use the chart I sent you and your car will run jsut fine with any of the recommended plugs. I have had my car for 35 years. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Clay: i am so jealous of your car. I know it has taken you a long time to get it put back together but the wait has been worth the time. May be one day i will get the 39 Desoto done. Right now we will be starting a total kitchen remodel and will be gutting the entire kitchen. I got the car 35 years ago so now its time for the wife to get her dream come true. She has been patiently waiting. Still picking out some new table and lights but the really hard work was done just trying to pickout the style of cabinets. Have a Happy Turkey Day and go out a admire your car. You long time Miller Tool buddy. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Here is a prime reason why everyone should have a fire extinguisher in their car, modern and or antique. The FE should always be in a spot where you can always get to it easily. Also, when you all now go out to your car you should also check the expiration date on the label or the date of manufacturer. Most FE have a lfe span of 10-11 years. The date of manufacturer might be on the label or even stamped on the bottom of the FE. This also goes for the FE's i your home. Also Check the date of manufacturer of your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. They also have a shelf life of 10 Years and Since it now winter or late fall replace all of the batteries in your Smoke detectors and CM detectors. The cost of a $2 battery just might save your life. When you put the new battery in each unit put some masking tape around it and mark the date of installation so that each year you know when a fresh battery was installed and periodically test each of these units. I do this every October which is known as Fire Prevention Month when I was in school. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

most of the suppliers that you mentioned are just basically a middleman. They get the shoes from another person or have purchased the shoes already lined. So you get what they have in stock. The shoes can come in either bonded or riveted lining attachments. The brake lining can also come in different thickness and also in length for each shoe. You can also do a search for companies that reline brake shoes on your computer. One thing that you need to know is what is the correct thickness of the lining and also if there is a short and long shoe setup for your car. Also some of these cars used the short lining on the rear of the brakes and the long lining on the fron. Also some used the short lining onthe bottom of the brake shoe and some used the short lining at the top of the shoe. If you have a serie manual for your car then you might get some more info. I do have a Wagner brake catalog and also EIS and Thermoid brake catalog so might beable to find that info for you. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

The P15-D25 Forum is a great forum for all MoPar owners. The best part is that the members are willing to provide support, answer questions that other members have experienced. I have owned my 39 Desoto for 35 Years and I am always learning more from this forum just by the support and questions that everyone asks. Over the years we have lost some great experience guy such as Don and all of his pictures that he would post, along with the road trips of our departed friend in upstate NY in his Plymouth with his dog companion. Some members leave for awhile and then come back to post more info as they want to keep the forum going strong. As a poster I have had the great pleasure of meeting some of the members when they have stopped by my vendor site at Hershey every fall. It is with great pride that i can try to provide guidance and demonstrate things to other people. This is what keeps the forum strong and also the hobby alive. I would like to wish every member a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season. In the next month this is the time to reflect back on our lives and to cherish the time that we have with our family members, time is very short so be pleased with what you have and do not worry about what you don't. The little things are what is important. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

The first question is what current plug are you using? So you state your 1940 Plymouth truck. Are you using a cold or hot plug. Why do you feel the need to spread out the spak for the combustion? I have pasted a Spark Pug Table so you can see what the regular plugs that were used on your 1940 Plymouth. A hotter plug will go down a little into the chamber but you have to make sure that they do not extend to far and hit the top of the piston. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Clay: I was talking to one of the members in the MD chapter of the National Desoto Club and he does repairs also on Packards. They had rebuilt and engine and torqued it to specks. Then came back to the engine a couple of days later and found out that the head bolts had to be retorqued. You might have to do these process a couple to time to get everything tight. rich

Here is some info on Carb for Desoto, Dodge and Plymouth : taken from my AEA catalog 1949-58: Hope this clears up the topic to determine if you have an original or replacement carb. Rich Hartung

Alot of people have said timing, point, condenser etc. How old is the breaker plate assembly in the distributor body. Remember there are two sections and these two section pivot on top of each other. They do wear out and get sloppy from just normal wear. Pull the dizzy cap, pull the rotor. then grap the breaker plate and see if you can wiggle the top plate with some movement. A friend came to my house and drove his 39 Desoto from Maryland and was also having ignition issue and running rough. Drove the car to my good old mechanic and he checked the above steps and yes it was the breaker plate assembly was worn out. Came back to my house replaced the Breaker Plate with a NOS one and this solved his issue. Just passing this along as a possible solution. Also if this is the issue then look for a NOS breaker Plate for your car becasue it will have all the components assembled and then you have complete spare unit in your parts box inthe car with all of the small wires and jsut plug and play. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

The picture tells the story. Yes with the broken connection this is very likely the issue. Rich Hartung

Clay: I would at least check to see if any of them have loosen and if so then retorque them all inthe proper sequence. Rich Hartung

Here is a picture of the Miller factory tool that I own that is used to pull the inner axle seal. Look at the picture inthye upper right corner. This tool goes back to the early 1930's. Note that there a three fingers that will grip the inner seal and the use the nut to pull the seal out of the axle hosuing. We have used this tool to replace the inner seal on my 39 Desoto Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

I have heard that if you try to use LED bulbs in the front and rear that the regular flasher unit will not work. You have to get an LED flasher to make all four bulbs work. I have had the 1158 6 volt bulbs in my car for 35 years and have maybe only replaced one or two in all these years and it is still a 6 volt system. I use the rgular flasher unit with the signal stat unit mounted onto my steering column on my 39 Desoto. Rich Hartung