desoto1939

They make a radio condensor that goe on the generator that is used to supress the static from the plugs. That is what came with my 39 desoto since the original owner had the factory radio installed and it does work and then you can use regular plugs instead of the resiter plugs. Rich Hartung

The original MoPAr head gaskets were copper on both sides and also had a middle layer of asbestos. I have several of my 39 Desoto. When i go to Hershey i look for the 25 inch block and have found NOS for around $10. Rich Hartung

A7 was the standard Autolite plug for our cars. The A9 is a hotter plug both of these are non resister plugs. My friend that has a 39 Desoto is running the Autolite 297 plug and you can get them at Walmart they are a small engine plug and cross over and cost around $2.90 a plug. Rich Hartung

To Dodgeb4a and Sniper. When i worked in a gas station I saw the ppint regarding the spring inthe hoses. I am not saying that it can hyappen or not happen in our MoPar vintage cars/trucks. I was just pointing out a scenerio that has happened and yes those hoses did come with factory springs and again I have not seen any in many years. sothe point that i was trying tomake is that yes an condenser can quit at any time also a coil and the coil will stop working if one of the internal wires breaks. So the point with the hose is to demonstate that if the support or base for a hose is compromised then the hose collapses and causes an issue. So the point is at anytime an issue can happen at any time. I am 71 years old and have seen some of the issues that I am discussing. Here is a lisiting on ebay for 61-81 cars that used the inner support spring Lower Radiator Coolant Hose Inner Support Spring 17" Long 1961-1987 Skylark GS Regal GN / 1964-1988 Cutlass 442 / 1967-1988 Firebird Trans Am / 1963-1981 GTO LeMans Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

what gap are you planning to use. Might have to be set at 35 for the resister plug versus regular at 25. Rich Hartung

Yes most coils that fail, fail when they get hot. So what is happening is that one of the two inner windings of the wire are getting hot and if there is a slight break in the wire the wire s then expand and they then pull apart and then the continuity for the coil to provide the appropriate amt of amperage is reduced and then you get sputtering. When the coil cools off the wires that had split come back together and the car will start and run again until they heat up again. Also some people have found that when a car get hot the engine shuts down. At one time the lower radiator hoses on alot of cars had an inner spring to keep the hose open. When people replaced these lower hoses they forgot to reinstall the spring back into the new lower hose. The spring kept the hose from collapsing and stopping the water from flowing so the engine hot and then shuts down. So you sit for awhile on the edge of the road, the engine cools off then you start the car and drive until it gets hot again and it shuts off becasue the hoe collapsed. Same similar problem but opposite reason why the engine malfunctions. One because the wires expand the other because the hose collapses. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

First take off the t handle you will see oil inthe canister. There should be a small metal ring that you use to pull out the filter. But you still need a new filter for the oil canister. The unit that you have is an original MopAr Canister oil filter element and they were made purolator. Drain the oil out of the oil pan first, Then remove old filter, use a basting tool to remoe th eold oil and clean out the inside of the canister with a clean rag. Insert the new filter and then pour some oil into the canister so as to cover the top of the filter. Put a new rubber gasket onto the top of the metal canister put on the lid tight down the lid and make sure it is tigh or oil will leak out the lid. Fill the engine with the appropriate amt of motor oil via the oil fill pipe. Check the level via the dip stick. Run the engine to check for any leaks and then check the level again. Always use a new metal washer on the oil pan drain plug. Simple job Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I have a condenser and coil tester. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com I got this off of ebay for around $25.oo

Yes condensors do go bad. When was the last time that you did a real tuneup with points, condensor, rotor and cap and also new plugs and wires. Yes things do wear out over the years. Does the car start ok and idle ok but after it gets hot then you start to get the supputer? You can get a generic 6 volt coil at NAPA for around $25.00. remmebr wicth wire is the positive and the negative. The positive wire on the coil will connect at the breaker plate connection that sticks out from the inside of the dizzy and the negative will come from another point in the car maybe from the ignition switch. Alsoconsider getting a NOS breaker plate assembly since it will have everything as one complete unit and it is then basically a screw it into the dizzy and adjust the point gap. I like to have at least two on hand so you have the small internal wires

First question that I have for you, Is your car tagged as an antique car or with a regular Pa Tag or classic tag? reguar tags and classic tags require Pa inspections. The cars that have the real antique tags do not need to go through Pa annual inspection. I have a 39 Desoto and my car does not go throught PA inspection and or Emissions testing it is grand fathered with the Antique tag on the car. Yes the two special tools do make it easier to put in and adjust the upper an lower control arms. If you are going to be doing the upper might as well do the lower and also the tie rod ends at the same time since the car willbe up in the air and also kingpins at the same time unless you are tight for spending money at this time. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

I use the baster and can get one at the dollar which is now 1.25. If you take off the drain plug then you better have a large container to collect the old oil. This seems to be harder becsue of the limited space. A plastic baster lasts aprox 1 year because of the solvents in the oil but this is cheap expense. and a clean rag to cleanout the canister. easy-Bessey . Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

connect to the company call Grain-it in Florida. They are the experts that teach all of the guys that do the wood graining professionally. They do have an owners kits that is very easy to use. I have done a couple on my 39 Desoto. They have allthe supplies and can answer your questions. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

My 1939 Desoto according to the owners manual states 28 lbs in the tire and I am using Bias Ply tire the Goodyear Airtire. So when running inthe summer the heat will increase when running them. Yes Bias Ply will pull when the roads have been cutdown to be repaved so you have to slow down also when crossing teel open grate bridges. I have owned my 39 for 35 years so I am accustomed to these situations. The younger guys never grew up on bias ply tires they had polyester belted tires and then they radials so this is a learning experience for them. Lot of owners go over to radials for the old cas, but the AACA does not permit them on cars that did not have radials. Their reason is that the geomety and the suspension on these older cars is not setup to handle the rolling action or sideway action of the radial tires. This is a major deduction if you are having your car judged. If you have a driver and then want to switch to radial to make you feel better than thats you option. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

One question that has not been asked, does the engine have an oil filter attached to the engine block? It could be in a metal canister inwhich there would be a large nut on the lid that you unscrew and then can take out an oil filter you can get replacement filters at Napa. or does is have a metal lokking can that the line thread into at the top and bottom of the metal housing. these are the throw away style and are good for 8k miles but these can are getting expensive. Can you post a picture of the engine compartment and then we can tell which type of oil filter that might have beeninstalled. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Outfixed: Thanks for the update: so basically I think it is just that the fuel has evaporated in the fuel filter and the lines from the pump to the carb. This is caused by the heat from the engine and the combination of the ethanol gas. If you can get some real old gas not a blend then try that to see if that solves your problem. so all that you came back with are all good signs so just think the evapoartion of the fuel in the lines. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

So car sat for a month. Then you put n a new fp in the car. Can we also assume that you are getting gas to the carb? Do you have an extra fuel filter with a glass bowel prior to the carb? When you first get into the car open the hood check to see if there is any fuel in the fuel filter if you have one prior to the carb. If this is happening then the fuel has evaporated in the fuel filter and also possibly in the carb fuel bowel. Also assume that you have 1/0 gage battery cable installed and good ground connections. So you state that the car struggles to turn over the car. Sounds as if bad connections or starter issue or maybe bad solenoid. Check all of your connects to make sure they are clean and also thiht even the battery connects also at the battery terminals and also clean. Yes by pulling the choke this chokes off the air and provides more atomized fuel to the engine just like in cold weather. How old are the points, condenser, cap and rotor? have you used a timing light to check the timeing after you get the engine to run and is at an idle speed. Check the point gap maybe the gap is incorrect or the points are pitted, check the contacts on the inside of the cap to see if pitted, check the rotor. What gap do you have on the plugs? Are the plug black and sooty or clean and gray to whitish looking. Run the car nigh in your garage with the lights from the ceiling turned off. Open the hood check to see if there are any blue lightening stream coming off the sparkplug wires, if yes then replace the wire is leaking. So here are something that you can check and report back to us with your results and then we can try to help you figure out your issue. Rich Hartung

Outfixed. So they question is how long has the car sat since the last time you ran the car. Also was the engine compartment hot. The fuel line runs up from the FP and is close to the manifold. The car has stopped and there is no longer any fuel being pushed through the fuel line to the carb. The heat from the engine not running is now causing the fuel in the line to evaporate so the next time if its been a couple of days there is no fuel inthe line and even maybe not in the bwel of the carb. So yes you now have to reprime the fuel line and the carb. So by pulling the choke will help get the car started. Some cars have to do this others do not but I feel it is all from the crap gas that we have to use. Do you have a sisson choke on the car? it also might be out of adjustment or a manual choke? I have an electric fp to help with this ery same issue. I prime the fuel line and also get some fuel up into the glass bowel in my extra fuel filter just before the carb. But even with this you have to remember that the filter has to fill and then get pushed into the bowel in the carb so that also takes some time to happen. So if the car has been just shut off can you then immediately restart the car without the choke, I assume you can so this happens becsue therer is fuel in the line and also in the carb bowel. Hope this might explain your issue. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Marc: I know that youhave been working on the car for a long time. When the car was running and driveable did you get any vibrations from the driveshaft if you remember? Yes you can install the shaft now and then when you get ready to drive the car you will find out if it out of round and need to be balanced. You can then take it off the car and take it to a driveshaft specialist. But mark on each end and each flabe in red paint or some other color on the driveshaft ends and the trans end and the rearend section where they should match up again. This is imkportant so that you are putting it back inthe same position. Rich Hartung

Marc: when people are building a new driveshaft and using the modern cross style u joint instead of the trunion and pin style they make a new drive shaft that at the fron near the trans one tube slide into th eother tube that goes to the rear u joint. There is a ring that connects the to section together and this hold the two halves together. That is the slip joint so the drive shaft is adjustable to compensate for length. Rich Hartung

OK this might work but figure you will have to have the head milled to make it perfectly level and flat also new head gasket taking the old head off the car with a potential to break a head bolt. So figure all of this into the equation just to have a cool looking head as to compared to your engine running fine right now with no know issues and any thing that also break when trying to make the engine look COOL. Purchase the head to have a spare but see my last comment. I come from the way of thinking: IF IT IS NOT BROKE THAN LEAVE IT ALONE BECAUSE YOU ALWASY WILL BREAK SOMETHING. Rich Hartung

Marc: on your driveshaft to you have a slip joint style or is this the original driveshaft and one continuous shaft? If you have a slip joint style then the end that has the slip joint needs to be adjusted and pulled out and then the rear ujoint assembly will fit snug and then you lock down the slip joint end. Rich Hartung

I would think that the flange should be up tight and there should be no opening or space. I would think that by having the space then this also puts stress on the bolts holding the unit together and then the stress is going to weaken the bolt becasue of the twisting action. Just my 25 cents worth od idea not a full mechanic but might ask a driveline shop mechanic of what should be the correct answer. Rich HArtung

Cef2lion. Since you are replacing the gas tank then I would make a suggestion that you also install an electric fp at the same time. The fuel line can be cut and then a rubber hose spliced intot eh fuel line from the gas tank to the electric pump. Also a good idea to put the filter prior to the electric fp. Electric pumps like to push fuel and not pull fuel. Hook the electric curcuit up to a toggle switch that is only powered when the ignition is on. You can control the electric pump via the toggle swith prior to starting the car to prime the carb or if you ever get a vapor lock. I have this setup on my 39 desoto for the past 25+ years. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

The three pumps that Sniper showed are AC 588 pumps that were used from approx 1937 up into the mid 50's This is the same pump that is only 39 Desoto. When my old pump went bad i took off the pump from the engine and it still had the AC 588 metal parts tag attached to the pump. Even NAPA had these pumps but they wanted to know for what car I told them that this is the pump I needed and they had it in two days. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Skrambler: I also do remember the big hill on the white field and how slippery it would get after a rain. I was such fun watchinh grown men fall on ther buts and then slide down the hill and laughing like little kids playing inthe mud as a child. But the best part is that they found get up at the bottom and do it all again. The little kids in all of us never leaves our body. I also remember al of the large tire tracks hole and people losing their boots and standing on one leg and trying to get the other boot back on. Those days of the mud have left but it was a big part of Hershey. I was camped out on the Chocolate field just across from Chocolate World. If you remember there was a large culvert and the field had a big dip inthe filed to funnel the water into the pipe drain. Well one Wednesday night it poured liquid sunshine and i woke up to hearing geese quacking inthe morning. i looked out of the trailer and three venders site had been flooded out and there was alake in the culvert area. These geese were just swimming around in the water and were as happy as could be. Those were the good old days along with the white field and the airport and the Green field were you could get some great deals. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com