desoto1939

Ok I have read your comments I just looked in my Tri-State all mopar catalog that covers mopars from 1937-52 and under the suspension there is nothing mentioned about drag links. I see info and part numbers for tierod service packages and tierod bars. refer to the attached document that I copied from the catalog.I might beable to provide the Moog ort Thompson ot Toleado Steel Tie rod ends numbers Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com Tie rods on Chryler windsor.docx

Chris: Are you sure you need a draglink. These cars would use tierod ends and the pitman arms for the sterring. Draglinks were used on the early 30's cars and then on the trucks. So not sure what you are looking for or maybe I am not sure either. Rich HArtung

this is rich Hartung with a 39 Desoto. Yes the little nut that you see on the axle housing just before the backing plate gets removed. AGAIN DO NOT use a lube gun under pressure to insert grease into the bearing. It will put too much grease into the bearing and then push the grease out of the axle shaft and onto the brake shoes. When reading the service manual you put some bearing grease on your thumb and then push that into the smallhole to get grease into the bearing it does not take a lot of force just pack the bearing. You do not have to pullthe axle out to lube this bearing from the back just follow the above steps. I have owned my 39 Desoto for 32 years and this is the recommended steps. ALso replace the nut after putting the grease in. Do not put a zerk fitting into the hole because someone who does not know your car will use a high pressure lube gun and put too much grease into the bearing and then mess up your brake shoes. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Bob: Here isa suggestion contact the 1951 NDC model coordinator. They are very helpful with qustions and you would be getting someone that owns a 15 Desoto. Hopefully this will get you the correct answer and help you to remove your seats. Rich Hartung

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the members of the P15D25 Forum. This is a day to be with friends, family and loved ones. Please remember anyone that might has passed during the year and keep them in your thoughts and memories. Celebrate the time that you can spend with your family and friends because time is all to short, forget about the little things and rejoice in the good things the memories are important and not the quantity of things we have but the quality of what we can give to each other. From the cradle of history here in Valley Forge, PA have a safe journey during your travels during this holiday weekend and also during the entire holiday season. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

There have been many great posts regarding your issue. BUT, since you stated that you do not own any wrenches and this seems to be your first experience with an old car and you sound like you have not a lot of knowledge on this car then either have someone follow you home in another car incase you have a breakdown on the road. or get someone with a trailer to bring the car home the 40 miles. If you belong to an automobile club like triple AAA or some other car serviceing company, then you could start on your way home then if you have a problem call them to have the car flatbedded to your home. Most companies havea 100 mile range. But have a chase car follow you with the old car that you just purchased. I would drive the car around the block at the current location to make sure it stops and starts the brakes work not fuel issue, have brake lights and headlights. Do some leg work prior to taking it home with you. If there are issue then they can be fixed at a local garage if the current owner has a mechanic that he knows. Welcome to the club you will learn a lot about an old car. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

nice job on pinstriping the rims. I was told the best cleaning product to use is simple green. I purchased new tires at the Hershey swap meet and the tire manufacturer said that simple green will not harm the tire like the old Wesley whitewall cleaner because it has an alcohol base that is not good for rubber. My tires come up very nicely and use a soft bristle brush. It might two or more cleaning to get all the blue off the tires but they will be nice. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

If its in the groove around then edge then get some 3M yellow glue and this willhold it in place. Do a test fit first to make sure you are putting it in the correct way to make a tight seal. Rich HArtung

ED thanks for your replay on PM. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

young ED I sent you a PM regarding the brass connectors. I also am interested or can you supply the name of the store were you got them and the part number and then I could contact them directly. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Bob Desoto; Next years National Desoto convention and car show will be held in Milwalki Wis. So this might be near your home. You need to be a member of the NDC to show your car. Here is the link to the NDC: https://desoto.org/ I have been a member for well over 30 years. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

I like the picture of the front end great way to save the part and put it to good use. Rich Hartung

One thing do not use starting fluid or ether to prime your carb. If you spray starting fluid down the carb and the car does not start then you will cause more damage. The starting fluid needs to ignite and get the car started, BUT and here is the issue. If the car does not start then the vapors and the fluid that was sucked down into each cylinder acts as a Degreasser and then strips the oil from the cylinder walls. Most people stop trying to start the car so the pistons on the next try do not have any lubrication and now you have bare metal. It might not be that much of an issue but just wanted to bring up this topic. In you car manual there should be a section on car starting in cold weather. I also assume that you have a sisson electric choke on your car. Is this setup properly. The sisson choke is an electro maganetic choke that needs to be set correctly to close the choke butterfly. I have the instruction sheet on how to set these up. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

on my 39 desoto on the front seat I just lift up on the bottom seat section and the entire bottom portion of the seat cushion comes out as a unit. The you will see the two rails that the entire unit move on a right and a left rail. These bolt to the floor. Unscrew the four bolts for each rail and the entire back cushion and the frame of the seat can be removed from the car. The bumper bolts for the bumper have a nut on the inside of the bumper. Crawl under the front or rear bumper and look to see if the bolts come thru the bumper. Unbolt the bolts and the bumper should come off the car. Rich HArtung

Marc: So true about the cost of antique cars. A lot of the guys are older and gew up when things were cheap and now they can not get ahold on the current prices that sellers want for their cars. On this car that is for sale the current owner might have paid 3-5K for the car and wants to get some money back on his investment when you think about what he might have put into the car just to brake even. Just going to Hershey I have slowly seenthe increase in prices. The cost of a site is $90 and I remember when it was cheaper than that. Rich HArtung

The car hobby has changed, yes it has and the older pre war and after war II is no longer of importance to car collectors any more. I have seen this slow decline over the past 32 years just from attending the Hershey swap meet. The car hobby has changed to the Hemi cars and high performance cars and trucks, BUT these cars are so OVER PRICED that they will also lose there appeal because the market keeps changing. So you buy a Hemi Cuda for 100k then you are afraid to drive it because of the cost then it sits and deteriates in condition over the next 10-15 years and now you lose money on the car. So buy what you like run the hell out of the car and have lots of fun and enjoy the hobby so one mans pleasure and price that they can pay for a car is not what you will pay, but the idea is that we have saved another car from the crusher, another person joins the hobby and the hobby continues and maybe this gentleman has a son or daughter that wants to get involved with the hobby. This a positive thing not a negative thing just because of what someone else wants to pay for a car. Its the continuation of the hobby and then enjoyment of the hobby. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

I agree with Plymouth Adams. Just go price a nice paint job on a car today you are starting any where from 7-10 k. Tires period correct for my 39 Desoto with the ribbed sidewall and in White for 5 and new tube were over $250 each and I picked them up at Hershey plus moutning and balancing at $15 dollars each. So I just have over 1300+ in tires even though it is a door the older cars are still not cheap. If the interior is good and usable and you do not have do do that that is another 3000. Quality material runs approx. 90+ per yard for the period correct cloth plus installation. Yes some of this can be done by you, but just price out a good compressor air and water filter, a very good spay gun, material to remove the paint, material to correct any body damage, paint primer and then top coat paint. These all add up. The cost to chrom eplating is not cheap. Just to do a triple plate on my rear flat style bumper is running $500. So when you start to figure in these cost I do not think that $7 is that bad of a cost. Also remember that Mecum, B Jackson car auctions have driven up the prices on these older cars. We are not living back in the 60's when these cars were cheap the cost to find parts is going up just watch the prices on Ebay, the parts are getting harder to find even at Hershey with over 8000 car venders in one 4 day event. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

the foot switch should be on the left side of the floor board near the driver side kick panel. Have you lifted up the floor mat or rug to see if there is any type of indication of a prior hole. So assuming that you do not have the floor switch then you only have a direct wiring setup to only have the low beams work on your car. The h/l beam floor switch is a generic item and would have a wire running from the headlight switch down to the floor switch. then a wire running out to the lowe beam on the wire block and then the wires run to the low beam on your headlights. Also a sperate wire running from the foot switch out to the wire block for the high beams. If there is no prior hole then first get the foot switch and then determine where you want it to be located. You will have to drill out three holes, one for the button to sick up thru the floor board and then two smaller hole that use two screws to attach the foot switch to the metal floor boards and then run the appropriate wires from the headlight switch and then out to the headlight terminal block. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

This is rich Hartung with the 39 Desoto. Great to see your 40 Dodge moving and running on its own power. First, can you contact the prior owner to contact them to see if they had added any brake fluid to the master cylinder which is under the floor pans? Since the car seems to be a fresh barn find I would assume, and assuming that the prior owner used off the self brake fluid, and that would have been Dot3. Do not install, again do not install DOT 5, that is silicone brake fluid and IT DOES NOT MIX. If you are going to install DOT 5 then you need to bleed the entire brake system with denatured alcohol, Install all new rubber brakes hoses, rebuild each brake cylinder with new rubber cups, also rebuild the master cylinder with all new rubber components. DOT5 can be a purple color and or even a yellow color. Dot five will not remove paint from metal but DOT3 or DOT4 will remove paint when spilled on a fender or other painted surface. I have lots of cross reference catalog for this car such as the autolite electrical components and other info. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

This is rich Hartung with a 39 Desoto. I have a similar tag on my 39 Desoto. If you look on Ebay for paint chips for your car you will find next to each paint chip there are numbers. These numbers refer to the specific body color for your car. the 566 refers to the type of material that was used on the interior. If you lookin your parts manual in section 23 arounf section 23-AQ you will see some number and this will list if ther interior is a pile cloth or bedord cloth and or leather interior. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Since you are asking the part number question we can all assume that you do not have a parts book for your car. My answer would be to first purchase a copy of the 1949 Chrysler Royal Parts book. You will need this is you are planning to restore your car and to also look for parts on ebay and other vendors parts listing. I am not trying to supply you with a smart ass reply but this is one of the basic catalogs and also the service manual for your car. You also might want to check restoration supply in Windber pa, they carry a lot of clips and rubber molding for antique cars and trucks. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

Clay, Rich Hartung, It is a very very fine adjustment with the screw. It take time and a lot of small in and out turns. I had the same issue on my 39 Desoto but I finally got them both to work. This is a great winter project since you can do this type of work in the house so long as the wife and or kids do not mind the sound of the horn going off and on. Rich

also check where the small wire in the above reply that there should be a rubber plug that has a slot that the tag from the breaker plate extends to attachs the wire. If the tab is hitting the body of the dizzy body this will also cause you to ground ut the dizzy. There also should be a small bakelite brownish material on the breaker plate tab to help stop the BP from grounding out. I have seenthe rubber plugs on ebay. I still might have a few in my supply area. I just did a search on ebay and the part is Autolite IGS-34 there are acouple listed and it also has a picture of the rubber plug this plug was used from 1935-50 Mopar part number 648029 this is a picture of the plug from ebay Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

you have the same MC as in my 39 Desoto. The rebuild kits are available and can be gotten from Andy Bernbaum. The MC is very easy to rebuild so long as there is no scoring in the main area where the piston goes in and out. You can rebuild one in less than an hour if this is your first time. You can also get an new unit off of ebayMC complete for around 175 and that should have everything and just add brake fluid and bench bleed the MC prior to putting it in the car. If you have more questions please feel free to contact me. Also look on ebay there are MC rebuild kits, get one that has the piston. The 39 Mopar parts are not an off the slf item but there are more ply parts then Desoto parts. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com