desoto1939

I put a trickle charger on mine when i have the car in the garage and this keeps the battery up. I have attended the AACA annual meeting in Philadelphia and there has been several lectures about battery life and the recomendation is to have a slow trickle charger on the battery at all times and this willalso prolong the life of the battery and helps to stop the removal of the lead plates surface material. i have had a battery last 5-8 years while doing the recomended process and i do not remove my battery inthe winter time. Plese contact me and an I can explain in more detail. rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

This past Sunday i attended the Macungie,PA car show which that been running for approximately 50 years. Sunday is car club day and the local chapter of the national Desoto club has there annual meeting and we also gather together to show off the Desoto brand. the Blue Coupe that is seen in the background on the last photo is a 1938 Desoto I have posted several of the pictures that a local newspaper reporter took of several of our Desotos. This show is a 2 day event and hosts approximately 1100 cars on saturday and Sunday. A great day in the community park with entertainment and lots of crafts for the women and a great day for the family with children. The show is held every August and is also known as the Das Awskt Fest or the August festival. This isa pre-registration car show so no day of show registration. If you are ever in the area around Allentown PA come to the show. Next Years feature cars will be Chrysler's and the main tent will be showing Chrysler's, Desoto, Dodge and Plymouth and Dodge trucks should be a very interesting show next year. If anyone wants registration information I can send them the info Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Belveder: Yes I understood your posting but just wanted to add some pictures of the correct pullers and the 5 hole puller so other members could see what is the correct pullers that were used. Not saying that the puller that you used was incorrect but it was not made to pull tapered axle drums. rich Hartung

I have a 39 Desoto so the two inner fender shields on the driver side woud have to be modified to support the battery also on this side of the car is the headlight junction box and that would also have to be rerouted. i have had my 39 desoto for over 30 years with the battery under the front seat and the battery is located directly under the drivers side of the car. i not had any issues with the battery being in its original location. The only thing that I suggest is that you have the battery box lid on top of the battery to prevent the seat springs from making contact with the two posts so toprevent the shorting og the electrical system. If it has worked for my car which is almost 80 years why move the battery? Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Yes this will work but the regular three arm drum puller is better suited to do the job becasue of the amount of force that you are putting on the dogbone and also the center screw to pull the drum from a tapered axle. The best type of rear drum puller is one that has all five holes so that you can pull directly with even force on all five lug bolts or lug nuts. The Chryslers and desoto would also require to have the slot for the mounting pin becasue they used bolts and not studs. The one on the left is the three arm puller that does not puller evenly on the drum becasue of the use of three arms. i have seen users put on a 4th arm to get more even pressure. The one on the right has the five lug holes and if you notice the slot that is at the 12 oclcock position is used for the mounting studs that was cast into the drum for the Chrysler and desoto cars. I have both of these and with the one on the right I have never had a drum that I coud not remove. This one is very similar to the Miller factory tool that the dealers had in there repair shops. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

the top FP would be an AC588 fuel pump that was used from at least 1939. Notice this is not a dual action pump. the dual action pump would have a line opening to supply vacuum to your vacuum wiper motor if the vacuum did not come of the vacuum advance line. I have the same first pump on my 1939 Desoto so that is why i state at least 1939 and up. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Yes the prices have gone up and up over the years also checkout labron for material and you will also see that they have high prices. If you are going for a Senior car that has been a total ground and frame off restoration and you want to have the bragging right about your car then you will need to spend the big bucks to get the car perfect as it would have looked like when it came off the showroom floor. Also remember that there are only a few material makers and from what I have seen they come from England and Europe. So you have to figure the cost to manufacture the material and shipping to the states and then also the demand here in the states for someone to stock the materials. restoring a car is not cheap these days, so the big question is how far do you want to go with the car, total rebuild or have a driver? This is the million dollar question. Most antique cars are really drivers so if a driver then go with the best material that you can and what you can afford. if someone comments on the car then I always ask them where is their car if they do not like what I have done to the car or ask them for the money to get the car to their standard. I am not trying to be smart with my comment to them but there is only so much money a person has so i do not comment about someone else car because I understand the economics. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Linus6948: So was Mikes reply that he would not make good onthe parts. Since he is a forum member i woud have thought that he would have been more accomadating becasue if the parts are as bad as you say he should have asked for the pictures of them and if his other guards were better as he states then he should have reshipped a new set to you. Sorry for the bad experience but the bad taste makes everyone else Leary to deal with hom. Most quality vendors will fix the issue. As you know I sell automotive catalog, One of our forum member purchase a lot of them from me and the other day he wrote to me stating that for some unknown reason some of the files got corrupted. I resent him the files that went bad and he paid me for my postage. When someone purcashes from you, and your item goes bad them you have to make good. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

After looking at the first set of pictures again we all can see the difference in the twometal stone guard or shields when they are placed next to each other. So my first question is did either one of there fit the bolt pattern on the fender on your car? If one did then the other side either right or left in this case was manufactured or reproduced incorrectly. I would have taken pictures and then notified the seller of the issue with the stone guard onthe car to show that it did fir if it did and how the other would not fit onthe fender. The person that had these manufactured or reproduced needs to know thisinformation so he can go back to his supplier and have the issue corrected becsue if they are not corret he will be sitting on a stock pile of stainless steel that can not be sold. I would have given him the chance to review the issue and have him send you another pair to try onthe car or even look at the ones he has in his warehouse to reverify the issue. I feel that he should have looked at his supply, maybe he got a bad one and may the others are good. If he is a seller of parts, and I have an idea who he is, then there will alwasy be the possibility to some item being made incorrectly. I would hope that the seller would reachout to you in a PM and contact you and try to resolve the issue in a private manner and make good on the item. If the item is really bad then he should make good on the item. He is selling the item in good faith and should always stand behind the item if incorrectly made. If he does not then he will be out of business because buyers will be very cautious to buying items beacsue he will not refund any money or resend an new item to replace the damaged or incorrectly made item. I sell items and if someting is incorrect then I either refund the funds or try to get the correct part to the buyer. I know there have been issues with vendors not sending the correct part but the majority of them try to correct the issue. They want our business so they all should try to help. Their money stream depends on selling the parts without issues. Contact the seller with a PM or on ebay send a message to the seller to have him call you to discuss the issue. You make the first step and see what happens. Rich HArtung Desoto1939@aol.com

So when you say 40 weight oil We are assuming that you are using 10w-40 oil. The straight thirty weight oil was a non detergent oil. First question is do you have an oil filter on the engine. The 10/40 weight being a detergent oil is now starting to loosen up the old old sludge that has built up over the years and detergent will turn black becasue it is cleaning the engine of dirt. that has built up over the year. So if the original owner had run only straight weight 30 oil why did you go to 10w/40 weight oil? Jus keep an eye on the exhust and other exist areas from the engine. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

I will be posting some other good finds this week. The next find will have some car medallions and i am going to ask the members to try to guess which are manufacturer. It should be very interesting becasue you do not see many of these cars at car shows. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Also try ebay they do get listed. rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

The original would have been the metal line and the reason for the bends and or curvature is for engine movement and twisting. The line can flex since there is a curve to the metal line. If it was rigid then it would bend and then break and then cause a vacuum leak. Also with a rubber hose the hose would be crossing over the head and also the manifold and there would be a good posibility of the hose getting hot and burning a hole inthe hose. Get the new nicad metal lines and bend a new line with the fittings. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Ok so what is the real issue with the speeomtere or the odometer? If the spped dial is not showing the correct MPH then use a gps devise and run it on the GPS battery and run down the road. The GPS will tell you the exact speed you are going and then you can callibrate the difference between the two unit so Lets say the GPS state that you are going 40 but your speedometer show 35 so you would know that the speeomter is 5 MPH under your true speed. So try this with differnet speeds while drivng and then you will have a better idea of your issue. So are you trying to go faster then you want to with these old cars I thought the idea of having an antique car was for us to slow down allitle and enjoy the driving and not be in a big hurry and always rushing to get somewhere. Just my 25Cents worth of input. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

So they were rebuilt 9 years ago and I assume they were never put onthe truck. If they were left in a box with dry storage then there should not be any issue. I assume that they might be leaking from dried out rubber boots and cups and that the inside of the cylinders are perfectly fine without any rust. So yes if there is not any rust issue or pitting then get new cups and outer boots and rebuild the inside should be good and should not have any markings or grooves. Plese provide more input as to the condition of the cylinders or where are they leaking. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

The person Is based in NY and also is selling alot repo gas tanks and he had a dodge coupe that was a ground up resto several years ago. so you might figure out this person by these clues.

The other day i had posted about a 1940ish Dodge flat bed truck that I took pictures of the truck. Today I left a note in the owners mailbox and the owner Anthony contacted me becasue someone had posted that they or a friend might be interested in buying the truck. Hi Rich, This is Anthony, I have the 44 dodge flatbed. I would entertain the idea of selling it. I'd probably want 3500 for it if I were yo sell it. It doesn't run and needs a complete resto. It is pretty complete thought. I recently bought it to park out front and sell stuff off the flatbed. Lmk thanks Anthony Anthonyies email is 215657Tree@gmail.com My email is Desoto1939@aol.com The truck is located on PA route 412 south of hummelstown near Springton, PA. I have no other info but if interested then contact Anthony. Rich Hartung

Basic rues are if they take your money then they need to be gracious about your vehicle and put you in the proper class to show your truck. They do not have the right to snub you or your truck. They were willing to take your money so be polite to the owner. Cruise ins are usually free so everyone is welcome to attend rich Hartung

Always search for as much info that you can find for your truck or car. Also note that the manuals do not have to be original MoPar manuals. Copies are just as good as originals and usually are cheaper. When a car or truck is shown at an AACA judged event you see alot of owners show off inthe trunk area the original manuals. this is just for show and has no bearing on the judging of the vehicle. The books are there incase if the head judge has a question about some component onthe car and the owner then can so the head judge that the part is original or was an acessory item. Even look for part manufactured catalogs such as Autolite so that you can get the appropriat eelectrical components, etc. Anything is better than nothing and you willbe surprise at what you will leran from looking thru a manual. I have a 6 foot shelf of cross reference catalogs and manuals. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Even if there are not dash placques and only trophies you still should enter your truck. It is a working and running example of what these trucks were ment to do and be used and driven. The AACA has a class called HPOF Historical Preservation of Original Features. This class is for the owner that wants to show an original car or truck or motorcycle that has not been restored. The importance if that for someone that wants to restore, ground up or partial resto, can see how the original wiring harness door panels etc were attached to the truck or car. So your car or truck is very important to show at an event. You are proud of your truck and DO NOT and I say DO NOT let anyone ever put down you or your truck becasue it has not been resotred. If they make a fuss then ask them for the money to restore the vehicle and also ask them how many fully restored vehicles that they own? We also started out with a working car/truck and then took the time to do what we the owner wants to do. So stand up to these people and also ask them where is their original car or truck. This is a hobby and if this person or car club wants to be that snobbish then you need to inform the car show contact person on how you were greeted by one of their members. This is not the way to get members and if you tell other people it will push car owners away from the show and the club. We have a car show that has been running for 40+ years call Macungie in Pa. It has approx 1300 vehicles on sat and Sunday. This is just a show not a judged event. You get 100 and AACA senior winner cars, originals, partially restored, etc driveable cars and trailer queens. BUT no-one cares becasue it is a car show not a contest to see who can up another persons car. We all look at each others cars and that is the point to see different makes and models and to see how they have survided that is the important part not who has the most money invested inthe car. So enjoy your trucks and show them with pride and they are great examples of original trucks. Bad representation on the clubs part. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Even Hershey is changing, I have been going for 25+ years and there are less parts for the 30-40's car going toward the 50-60-70. Have to remember that the guys that had owned these early cars are now dying so the parts are not coming out and the newer guys had the mustangs caermo, firebirds, vets, t-birds and cuda and shelbies. So the hobby is changing becasue of the current members that do sell parts and also becasue of the internet and such as Ebay they do not have to come to Hershey to sell a part they just list it and you can not haggle with the price and they do not have any travel expenses. Clay hope you make it to Hershey and stop by our site OAD 7 and 8 inthe Ornage field all are welcome to stop by and sit for a while and talk Mopar and Desoto. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

I live near Lancaster PA and get to see first hand the Amish and their work ethic. They will always have the last laugh on the general public. The Amish can support themselves and do not need all of the modern equipment and do-dad to live very simplistic. When in colege in Dover delaware we had a few Amish that would come into town to shop and they would go through our campus. i got to know some of them. At first they were standoffish but as we saw each other on a routine basis they becsme for friendly. The Amish are a very unique and after you get to know them they are the greatest people and will always put out their hand to help you. Our general society should take a big lesson from their ways and manners and we would all be in a better place. Rich Hartung

Linus: My grand parents had a summer home on Penn Lake which is just outside of White Haven PA. I went there as a kid for many years The house has been sold and the house was located at the far end near where the road came in from the quarry entrance. My dad grew up in Freeland PA so i knw the area. When we would go to the lake we would cross over the Lehigh river onthe metal bridge over the railroad tracks and then turn right at a small meat market and take this road out to the lake. We then would turn left to take a small gravel road just at the stone crushing plant and this would take us to the far end of the lake and the house located Penn Lakeview Drive if i remember correctly. I own a 39 Desoto and currently live in Valley Forge PA. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

The other day I saw this old 1953 Dodge PU parked behind a local Deli up near Nazareth PA. I stopped inthe store and spoke to the wife about the truck to see if it was for sale and said it was her husbands and that it was not for sale. I went past the same place on Friday and the truck has now been moved out to the edge of the road and I get the feeling that it might be up for sale but there is no for sale on the truck. Seeing that it was moved to the edge of the road makes me feel that they might be interested in selling the truck. Do not know anthing elase about the truck, took some pictures. i could get the phone number the next time i pass the deli. The store is located north of Allentown Pa. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com cell 484-431-8157

The other day I saw this old 1953 Dodge PU parked behind a local Deli up near Nazareth PA. I stopped inthe store and spoke to the wife about the truck to see if it was for sale and said it was her husbands and that it was not for sale. I went past the same place on Friday and the truck has now been moved out to the edge of the road and I get the feeling that it might be up for sale but there is no for sale on the truck. Seeing that it was moved to the edge of the road makes me feel that they might be interested in selling the truck. Do not know anthing elase about the truck, took some pictures. i could get the phone number the next time i pass the deli. The store is located north of Allentown Pa. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com cell 484-431-8157