desoto1939

Keithb7: I know what you are saying.. How far up can these prices go. There will be a point where no one could afford the parts. I see the samething with all of these High Performance Cuda and Hemi engine cars. With the advent of electric cars coming in about 15 years are the people that paid those high prices ever going to break even or even lose when they try to sell the cars again. I guess there is a seat for everyone but how far can they continue to rise is the real question. Rich Hartung

If you send me your email address I will copy the page out of the autolite catalog on Generator with the information that you need to replace the commutator end rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

This is the commutator eng of the generator. I think whne these bushing wore out they just replaced the commutator end as a unit. It was a whle lot cheaper to get the entire new part then spend the time an effort to pull the bearing press in the new bearing. Just went to the parts depart and had the NOS item in hand then put the new part on the generator and reinstalled the unit back inthe car. rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Tom, That was a fantastic price that you got the Sisson chokes for on Ebay. The question is what does everyone think one of these chokes should sell for. We all have seen the annual price increase on just regular items in the stores and also for current car and truck repairs. So when you think of a part that was produced from the mid 30's to the early 1950's and were only used on the MoPar vehicles the supply not is getting smaller every day and year. When you see these items listed by the major parts suppliers of MoPar parts and they are the ones that have more access to these parts and they put a price of $175-$225 based on the unit and also based on the year that it will fit the smaller parts collector has to say to themselves why should I just give the same item away at say $50-75. I know it is hard to ask someone to pay the current market prices but if a person that is looking for a Sisson choke has not taken their time even to go to a swap meet and look for a NOS or even a good used one and another person has taken their time, money and has purchased some of these items then the seller has a right to charge what the current rates are. They have done the leg work and have laid out the cash for the spare parts. So when someone has not done anything and then just wants to go to a catalog and get the part then they have to pay the going rate. I have seen the MoPar and especially the DeSoto parts starting to climb higher and higher every month. I have been in the hobby and collecting for 34 years and I knew from the beginning that when the parts were cheap to get them because the supply is declining everyday and the costs are going up ever day. So my advise is if you see a part that will fits you car and it is a very good price then buy it now because after you walk by that vender it might not be there when you come back later on in the day. I have found great buys at Hershey and other Swap meets because I knew the parts and also when you see the prices on Ebay or even in catalogs you start to look for the great deals. You might not need the part today but when you do you do not know if it is even available or even the cost and can guarantee it will have gone up in price. Several years ago i stop at a vendors site at Hershey and a gentleman found a NOS piece of trim that he needed for his car. The buyer said outloud so that everyone could hear him that this is the last piece he needed for the car. The seller had $35 on the piece. The buyer offered $25. The seller said the cost is 35. The buyer kept pushing the seller for a lower price and everytime the buyer opened his mouth the seller increased the item by $5.00. It got to th epoint that the cost was around $70. The seller asked for them back. The seller then took the piece and snapped in in half and then told the buyer that he di d not care that he did not make the sale. The buyer was totally upset. But you can only push so hard and the seller has the right to refuse your offer. So I learned a valuable lesson that day make a fair offer and if the seller does not want to negoiate and you really need the part then you have to pay the asking price. If you want to join in on the dance then you have to pay the admission price. So many local sellers look at Ebay to get an idea on a selling price and they might or might not adjust their price to be lower or might even be higher but the owner of the part sets the selling price and if someone wants to pay it and if they are happy then everyone is happy. Just my $1.00 worth of input and I have been vending at Hershey for 30+ years so I do know the game that is being played. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I am the one that had posted the orginal information I di d not know it was downloaded. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

according to my Thompson Chassis parts book for your car the numbers are Right had assembly ES60 right and Left Left hand assembly ES131 right and left. this also covers from 1940-54 Plymouth Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

This rate is not what the seller is charging it is what Ebay is charging. When you are from a foreign country and you select the United Kingdom the Ebay system automatically enters the shipping fee or $271 dollars. Ebay is the issue not the seller. Another person also had the same issue and we figured out the reason why the high shipping costs. Do not blame the seller it is Ebay. Try it where is states ships worldwide on the ebay listing then go to the next screen and select a foreign country and then see what happens to the shipping costs. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

OK I willbe attaching pages from my power point presentation that i did on the sisson choke there are 27 pages worth of information. I do have the sisson choke testing stand and also a 2nd one but that is just missing the thermometer. Also have all of the adjusting tools and several of the setup rod pins. Since the file are larger than the limit now set up on the forum if you want the information send me an email and I will send the documents to you. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Marcel the heat riser is not connected to the choke and does not effect the Sisson choke. The heat riser was set up so that the base of the carb would not ice over during cold weather cars that have cold winter weather. It directed the heat up to the base of the carb to get it warm and stop the carb from icing over. When this happens the car will stall and idle rough inthe winter. As the fuel is vaporized it will then ice up the base of the carb.

Yes everyone is correct on the sisson choke. It is important to note that you do need the gasket under the choke body. But do not ever bend the bi-metal spring of the choke. If you do it will then mess up the function of the choke. I do have the sisson choke testing stand and the adjusting tools. I also have several of the factory pins or rods that are used to set the choke up properly. I will try to upload some printour from a seminar that I did on these chokes at the AACA annual meeting. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Send me you home email and then I can send you the page the file is to big to post. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Wow Thats even bigger then Hershey here in the east Coast. Do they have alot of venders or is it just a car show? Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Check where the breaker plate come out of the dizzy body. Under this flat spot were the wire fromt he coil attaches there should be a piece of red sort of looking bakelite maternial. This prevent the breaker plate from grounding out the dizzy. On some of the older dizzy' they had a rubber insert in the body where the breaker plate comes through the body. This small piece of rubber was also used to prevent the plate from grounding. Check you dizzy at that location. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Are you sure the dizzy is an IBR-4001. I looked inmy Autolite catalog that goes from 38-54 and can not see that even listed as a dizzy. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

when rebuilding the carb go get your self two empty egg carboard containers of go to the dollar store and get two bill reminder containers for each day of the week. Number is slot starting with 1- you have no more slots. As you take the carb apart put the first part in hole 1 and so forth until it is completely apart. This is important since there are several small ball bearing and each are a different size and they need to go back into the proper holes and can, can not be mixed up. This way you know which parts goes where by the reveser order of parts. Also go to Harbor Freight get their Sonic liquid vibration cleaner to help clean the parts of the carb. do not put the ball bearing in the cleaner keep them in the appropriate slots in the egg crate box. Take your time it is easy to rebuild a carb. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

the 588 tag is the model of the pump.. AC was a major supplier of FP and the metal tag tells you that it is a model 588 these were used up in to the 50-60 and are also used on inductrail engines such a tree chippers. So if you go into a good quality parts store just ask for a 588 fuel ump. the 588 also fits my 1939 Desoto. If they ask for a year tell them 1948 desoto 6. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

you will also need to replace the fuel pump with a new one that can use the newer enthonal gas. That also is an easy repair. You are also going to have the inthe fuel tank. The old fuel if any will smell terrible and there wil be rust inthe tank. Might think about a new tank contact MoparPro. He has replacement tanks. I have a 1939 Desoto and have alot of cross reference manuals that might help you with your car. where are you located and can you post some pictures of the car. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

The lheadlight might not be working becasue there is a fuse built into the switch like on my 39 Desoto. It is a little metal tube that hangs down from the body of the switch. The fuse might be missing or blown and bad. Will need to check that first. replace if the fuse is missing and or broken. I have a 39 Desoto so our cars willbe similar to each other. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I run Autolite A9s in my 39 Desoto not Champions because of the bad press that they get from being of poor quality. ALso try an Autolite 306 which is a resistor plug but the gap will be around 30-35 Rich Hartung

The two fittings that come out of the oil filter canister should be a flare fitting and the oil lines should also be a flared fitting and I would think that they are double flared. The lines were leaking so the prior owner did a quick fix. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Would not be to concerned with the metal shaving. Dril a small hole just to tap the welsh plug screw in the screw and pull it our and water int he water jacket will come out and so will any metal parts. Suggest to use brass welsh plugs an the flat welsh plugs not the lipped style which are not correct. Snap on tool made a tool that had different sized disks to help drive the plug into the holes. Rich Hartung

OK if you replace the battery with a 6 volt battery remember that this car originally was a 6 v positive grounded car, yes 6 volt positive grounded car. So prior to taking off the battery cable check to see where each cable is going and where it is connected on the car. Also check the battery cable since it is a 6v you can not use the thinner 12 volt cables. You will need the 0 or 00 thick battery cable to carry the voltage to start the car when the temperature is hot. We all have made this mistake on using 12 volt battery cable. You will need at three arm drum puller to pull the rear drums since it is a tapered axle. They might be stuck on but will come off. As you go through the car post pictures, ask questions if you have doubts about sometime stop take pictures and post your questions. There are some very knowledgeable owners on this forum. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Ken: These were the original steel rims 16 in that were delivered with the car. I have been running these rims for 34 years and since the car is a 39 the rims are approx 83 years old. This is the first time that I have had an issue with a tire and or rim. I am going to watch this rim a tire real close but I just think it was a wierd issue and might have been casue by some of the very rough roads we travel on that day there were some rocky roads that were not good at all. Thanks for the advise on the upgrade on the rims. That would have been around 1941 the rims had the safety bead. Rich Hartung

Got the tire fixed today. They took the tire off the rim, took the tube out and there was a small cut in the tube. On the stem it is stamped radial. So the tube must have moved or some how got a cut in it. They did not find anything inthe tire and even checked the rim. Go figure. The tube is still holding some air so I do not know what happened. I will keep checking the tire to make sure it hold air. Rich Hartung

when setting up the opening gap for the points I use a tool called a Snap Gap tool. The tool has several sleeves that go overt the cam on the various disbrutor manufactors. The sleeve is setup so that you do not have to be on a high point on the cam. There is a feeler gage with the different thickness to set the points and also an adapter to compensate for the sleeve. So you select the 20 gage feeler gage and then the adapter comes right up to match against the 20 gage feeler. You then gap the points with the two flat gages. The points again do not have to be on the point of the cam and can be at any sport on the cam. Set the points. pull the two feller gages, pull the sleeve. Put the cap back on and you are set to go. I will try to attach a picture of the Snap Gap Kit. To see some of these tools go to Ebay and type in Snap-gap. there are several sets. The kits start around the late 40's but can be used for earlier cars such as my 39 Desoto. It is all based on the type of distributor on your car. Rich Hartung