desoto1939

there isa a serial number on a flat boss on the side of the motor near the generator. This will have been stamped with letters and numbers There will be a suffix then numbers. so on my 1939 desoto the number starts with S6 which is the model for my 39 Desoto. So that ells me this morotor was built for my 39 Desoto and then there are the appropriate serial number. So look at the boss and then record the number and suffix and this will tell you if the correct engine for your car. The letters might start with a P3 or P4 rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com

the eccentric cams can be replaced but the upper half moon I do not think can be replaced Rich HArtung

a friend of mine has the record player in his 57 Desoto and it is factory. Rich Hartung

I would look for NOS parts over the cheap new parts ask the seller if they are newly made or if they are old parts. If you can see a picture of the box they come in this will also help you determine if they are the good old american made parts and not the overseas parts. Rich Hartung

Here are the wheel cylinder numbers for the 1946-49 D24: Front right U-EW10581 L-EW10583 Front Left U-EW10580 l- EW10582 U= upper L=Lower rear R EW10588 Rear L EW10588 This info was taken from my EIS brake catalog and this is the same number across all manufacturers of wheel cylinders. NOS is always better than the new chinese crap Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

when i replaced the trim beltline modling on my 39 Desoto They had used the metal clips. But as you can see the metal clips rust from the rain and then the cowl molding gets loos and then falls off. The person that painted my 39 told me to use plastic clips that had a tip with ripples and this would hold the modling tight against the body and the molding and the clip was very snug together. Plus this also eliminated the rusting issue and also the issue of when you pressed in the metal clip of chipping the paint where the clip was pressed into the body. Mine has been onthe car since 1996, 20 years. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

nice job that you are doing yourself. Looking at the last picture with the carbs on the plentum anhd sitting on the intake header manifold are you going to have enought room to have aircleaners ontop of the carbs and beable to close the hood or are you just going to leave the hood off the car. Just asking. You will have a butterfly hood that opens from the middle and folds upward correct? Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

There is a special factory mIller tool that is used to remove and install the hood springs. The C-875 tool is the correct tool. I have this tool. Rich Hartung

You might want to Contact Max Merrit. He is a Packard dealer that I know can repair these sending units. Max is located in Indiana near Terre Haute. I have know Max for over 20+ years and he does great work. Also do a search on Atwater Kent. They are also making new sender units. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

I would suggest that you put on an electric fuel pump near the gas tank. Then have a toggle switch under the dash. Use this as a primer pump for the carb after the car has been sitting. I have had one on my 39 desoto for 10+ years and they work great.. Also remember that you are positive ground so the electric FP will have its positive wire going to the ground to the car and the negative wire on the Electric Fp will supply the power to the pump. Put the pump as far back as you can on the frame near the gas tnak. The electric Fp like to push fuel and NOT PULL FUEL. I have also been using hte new stabil 360 product in my gas tank since it is all metal. When the 360 stbil fixes with the gas it creates a vapor that coats the upper top and side of the tank to stop rust and mositure build up that then drops rust and particles down in the bottom of the tank and then get logged at the outlet line. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

So lets say you invested the $125000 as a full restoration. The next question is this really worth the investment, is the car a 4 door or two door or a convertble. So if a 4dr then you will never get your money out of the car convertible maybe and some for a 2 door. So now you put 125K into the car then you will be afraid to drive the car becasue you will get paint nicks and sand and dirt on the frame. The car will then either sit inthe garage and then be a trailer queen. So now you need an inclised trailer maybe 5-10K and then a truck with a V8 to pull the trailor and car So another $30-40K. and figure gas mileage will be low so the other gas costs. So now you have 125K + 5K + 30K total maybe of 160K for a 1950 Cornet. Really think about this proposal. Just get the car running in good mechanical condition and have alot of fun and then you do not have to worry about every little ding or dent or scratch when driving down the road. I see all the trailor queens at Hershey yes they are beautiful but they never are driven on the road on any tours. Might as well just have a picture hanging on your wall of your car. Just my 25cents worth. Rich Hartung

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