desoto1939

Yes there is a reason. My battery is a factory setup in which the battery box is under the fron seat on the driver side of the car. So in order to connect directly to the battery I would have to lift out the seat then remove the top cover of the battery box and then connect the two leads. Then when wanting to take the car out have to reverse the whole process. The way that I have it working is I just remove the two alligator clips and I am good to start the car and go for a ride. This unit has no issues with charging the battery in this setup. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I have attahed pictures of the 3amp Battery Tender that I was talking about in a prior posting. The nice part of this charger is that is can handle 6v and also 12. you select which type of battery. Since my 39 Desoto is a positive ground I connect the positive red clip to one of the head bolts and the black which is negative directly to were my battery cable attaches to the start soleinoid on the starter moter. This unit will inform the user when the unit it charging and also when it has fully charged the battery. The unit has a storage/float maintenance mode: ( low constant voltage, battery is 100 to 103% charged Whenthe battery is fully charged the battery level status green Led light will turn solid green and the charger will switch to a storage/float maintenance charge mode. The Battery Tender will automatically monitor and maintain the battery at full charge I have a picture of the fron of the unit and thenone with the red clip on the engine head and the third clip on the battery cable going to the battey on the starter. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I have a 6v trickle charger that is constantly hooked up to my 39 Desoto. The topic of keeping a 6v battery fully charge has been discussed many times at the annual AACA meeting and lecture series in Philadelphia every year. There isa n engineer from Penn State that talks about this numberous times. By keeping a trickle charge on the battery it wil extend the life of your battery. I have one and got 8 years out of a battery. The importance it that when a battery goes down then in the process the plates strt to lose the metal from each plate and this then settles in the bottom of the battery case. and then makes it harder for the battery to come back to a full charge. ALso import is to keep the fluid or acid level up to the required level. So by keeping it a fullchagre less break down of the metal plates and losing metal on each plate so therefore the battery wil last longer. I purchased a 6/12v wall mounted charge at Costco several years at it is a 3amp system has the two alligator clips and has the indicators light to tell when charged and fully charged. I think the cost was around $35. If you need pictures of the unit I can take some and post to the forum. Best Xmas to myself and I always know that the car is ready to turnover even in the winter. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

when the airtex 588 taken out of production then they did a remake and changed the number to73201. I had spoken to an Airtex Technical rep and he confirmed that the 73201 is the same pump as the 588 FP. They made some modifications but it is the same mechanical pump. When the fp that was in my 39 Desoto failed I removed the entire unit and there was a metal tag screwed to the main body and on the tag was AC588. I have over the years collected over 30 catalogs on replacement components and one of the catalogs is a 1954 NAPA catalog and under the Chrysler/Desoto/Dodge/Ply from 1938 to 1953 the fuel pump that they list as the replacement pump is the AC588. I am not an expert mechanic but backup my information by doing my research in my collection of 30 plus cross reference catalogs prior to supplying or passing on information to help another antique car owner. Rich Hartung Taken from Airtex fuel pump catalog for Chrysler cars.docx

the advantage to the glass bowel is that you can see and dirt or sediment that has come up from the gas tank. Since sediment is heavy it will drop to the bottom of the glass bowel. This can then be removed by loosening the wire clip on the bowel and removing the glass bowel and cleanout the dirt. Some people also put a filter with a glass bowel on the fuel line just before it enters the carb as a second prevent in case some dirt got past the fuel pump. I like the glass bowel because you can see if it needs to be cleaned a sealed metal inline filter you cannot see the dirt. Also some do not recommend using a plastic inline filter because there is a possibility of the plastic melting and then gas can drip on the manifold and then catch on fire. The new Airtex is the remake of the old 588 pump. Rich Hartung

Harmoney: stop worry about RH and LH drive. You have a LH drive. Go to a napa store and have them order a 588 FP. put it in the car you will be fine. Attach a the metal fuel line to the outlet end on the fp. Disconnect the line at the carb and have a can to catach the fuel when the engine is turning over. If you are getting fuel into the can then you are good to go. The attach the fuel line back on the carb. Then start the car. If the car runs and accelerates without any issues then you are also good to go. You are over thinking this issue. Rich Hartung

RHD is for Right hand Drive. They did export to Europe and Australia so there would have been Right hand drive. In the early years such as my 39 Desoto they also had 12 volt electrical systems instead of 6volt like here in the USA. I do not think the rocker arm is going to make that much of an issue. As far as I have seen the AC or AC588 FP will work on all of these cars. Some people replace the mechanical FP with an all electric FP. But the electric pump has to be installed near the gas tank. Electric pumps are a pusher type of pump and the mechanical is a puller type of pump. A lot of us owners have installed the electric pump as a backup pump and use it after the cr has sat for a while to help prime the carb with gas prior to cranking the engine. I personally do not recommend that you only use the electric pump instead of the mechanical. If doing this then you will need a cutoff value installed to insure that if there is an accident or the car rolls over that the electric fp is automatically turned off and also a reflow line back to the gas tank if the pump is pumping to much gas to the carb. Rich Hartung

checked on ebay tonight and there isa 42 dist for sale for $41. Here is the lisiting: 1941 1942 DeSoto Chrysler 6 Cylinder Distributor Auto-Lite IGS-4113-1 - DS171 Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

48ply: You did a fantastic installonthe head liner. When my car was repainted the painter helped me do the install of a new headliner along with the rubber windlace. We took our time and got it in wringle free We started from the back window and then worked each sides and then did the front. Used dulled plastic putty knives to get the headliner tucks behind the metal teeth on each side to hold the headliner in place. Tacked the windlace in place. It has been in my car since 1996 and still looking great. Rich Hartung

According to my Napa Catalog dated july 1954 the fuel pump for Chryslers all 6 cylinders from 1938 to 1953 would be an AC number 588 or Rayloc for the same years is 4588 also rayloc rebuilt pump from 38-52 is 588. So the cross refereance to an Aitex would be a 588 Hope this is helpful. rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com

From looking at your last picture of the wheel puller it looks as if the center threaded bolt is hitting the outer edge of the center section of the steering wheel and the smaller threaded bolt is hitting some where inside the steering wheel hub. If this is the case when you try to pul lthe wheel the main center bolt is pushing the wheel down on the main shaft so you are working against the puller. The three slots in the puller need to alighn up and the smaller threaded bolt needs to thread into the hub of the wheel and the big enter bolt is then pushing against the threaded section of the steering column so that as you crank down on the big bolt it is then pushing the steering wheel off the serrated end of the steering column. Als did you run a stiff wire up thru the steering column from the bottom of the steering box. You will need to do this inorder to get the horn wire back down the steering shaft and to come out the end of the steeringbox. In the internal part of the steering box there is a small tube that the wire needs to pass thru so it then can come out the end of the steering box. The small internal tube prevents the oil or grease from coming out the end of the steering box.to Inside the center hub there should be three threaded holes to thread a bolt into and thru the main puller for each slot in the puller and then the main threaded bolt pushes the wheel off the shaft. remove the puller and look closer to see if this your setup. If not then you might have to use a gear puller under the base of the hub of the steering wheel with a bar over the top of the wheel and just go very slowing with a minimal amout of tighten the main botl so as not to damage the steering whel hub. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Greg: So why you want to go throught all of the issue of dismanteling the entire dizz then have to find the correct shaft but in the new dizzy upper and lower bushings and drive in a new retaining pin and then hope that you did it all correct. I woud think it would be better just to get the correct dizzy. rich hartung

according toone of my books the the 1949-50 desoto dizzy is an autolite IAP-4102c-1 breaker plate autolite iap-3004rd points igp-3028ES rotor- IGS 1016B condesor IG-3927G Cap IAO-1003 dizzy cam igs-1100r-1 dizzy shaft igs-2112RA dizzy housing IAP-2012 Vacum Afvance VC-3147 rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Yes the Hollander was the bible that allof the junk yards used to determine if they could supply a part from a car or truck for a customer. The other option for some of the smaller items for the electrical components etc is to look on ebay for various automotive catalogs like Autolite, Borg warner because they were the major suppliers of parts to the car industry. rich Hartung

the early 30 to late 30 cars use 6 digits numbers so for my 39 Desoto it ranges from 100129 to 872268 rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com

you can make your own rod. It is bend on each end so that one goes into the lever arm of the choke and the other goes into the butterly choke plate on the carb. You will need to clips that can be purchase at a napa store. You might find one of these rods on ebay but that will be a hard items to find. Do you know how to set the choke to make it work properly? Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I have a brass water dist tube as a spare for my 39 Desoto and this is the 25 inch long one. most were the galvanized style. Rich Hartung

Brad: Are you talking about the spring that rapped aroubnd the exterior part of the brake drum? I think just by the part number this was used in the 50-60's. My books do not go up that far, sorry. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Jerry Here is th elink to the National Desoto club: https://desoto.org/ Attached is a picture of my 39

Steele is expensive but I feelthat their rubber products are probably the best out there. Also remember that the Desoto line is not a real popular line to reproduce individual rubber weather stripping. Again the Ford Chevy line-up had more cars so these companies will reproduce where they can make a profit and where there is a mass of car owners, basic supply and demand issue. Next question are you a member of the Natioanl desoto club, I would suggest that you join the club. They have model coordinators and if you contact the 51 model coordinator they might beable to answer your question. I own a 39 desoto and even have a harder time getting parts for my car because of the small number or cars that were produced in 1939. Where do you live it is not indicated on your profile. I live near Philadelphia, PA Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Back in October the Pollock Auto restoration Shop which is located in Pottstown, Pa had their annual open house to showcase their shop and show off some of the cars that are in their collection. Pollock was known for their classic car restorations from back in the 1950, They did a lot of work on classic cars such Rolls, Bugatti and other makes and models. This year we were privileged to see some good old original Mopars, Chrysler, Plymouth and a 1957 Ghia along with other cars and trucks. I have attached pictures of the cars for your enjoyment. The last car is a 36 Terraplane, the truck is a a had winched dump truck AA Ford note the side plate on the had dump operation. The 6th picture is a stil original Chrysler I think a windor but cant remember. The Dual Ghia was a very unique car and I would love to have that in my garage. Another unique car is the Muntz, first time for me to see one, only pictures before today. Enjoy the pictures. His open house is an annual event and we drive our old cars to his shop every weather permitting. Several years ago I was doing some wood graining and I had shown the owner an example of what I had done and then he asked me if I would like to do the graining on the Essex. I was taken back by the offer but I declined. I told the owner that I was not up to the standard that his customer would be expecting from his shop, but the offer was nice to have received the opportunity Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Junkers: I see from you reply that you own 47 Desoto sedan. I own a 39 Desoto 4 dr sedan. I do have a lot of cross reference parts catalogs for the desotos from 1938 upto 1950. I was recently upto Jim Thorpe or as I still call it Maucunt. Did they close down the old train ride? I heard this was going to close because of an issue with taxes. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Well I guess this topic might have gotten your attention. As some of you might know there were several major mechanics tool companies during the 1950's. One of these tool manufacturers was the Bonney Tool company and they were located in Allentown, PA. Last month while I was making a delivery of some automobile windshields I literally ran into the old Bonney Tool Manufacturing facility. I had passed this facility on the other side of the building every day but never knew that the plant was still in existence. I have attached some picture of the building with the Bonney name still on the building. While going thru my Miller Tool catalog, I found several pages in which they had listed some of the Bonney tools that were available to all of the Mopar dealerships. I have copied on of the pages from the Miller Tool catalog. So yes we still have some reference points and building that pertain to our old MoPars. You never know what you might find just around the corner or when you take a different route to get to another delivery point. Life is full of surprises and I just wanted to pass this onto everyone. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

So sad to hear this news about Don. I would like to send my condolences to his wife and family. Don was one of those special person that had a great deal of knowledge about our Mopar family of cars and trucks. He was someone that always had pictures for a person that was working on an issue and was able to explain to the forum members onhow to diagnosis an issue and get you started on the right track to solving the issue. Don came from old way of doing things and was great at passing on his knowledge. As a current society most people only want someone to do the work for them and provide them with the answers to their questions instead of doing some research, but Don was always there to help when ever he could. As club members we still need to support each other in all of endeavors and issues with our cars and trucks and I hope that we can all continue to support each other and continue to pass along the knowledge that we acquire as we continue to be the custodians of our antique cars and trucks. I say custodians, because they really own us and not us owning them. Our goal is to pass the car or truck along to another person that is interested in keeping the hobby alive. Don we will all miss you and you updates and especially your knowledge on cars. May you rest in peace and hope you find another car in heaven. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

the tires look great and with the simple green the white walls willnot crack. Rich Hartung