desoto1939

my 39 Desoto came with safety glass so at lest you know that far back it was used. Rich Hartung

You do not need to removed the metal support that hold the front motor mount. Un-bolt the four bolt that hold the motor mount then put a block of wood under the front of the oil pan put a jack under the front of the oil pan and just slowly jack up the front of the engine enough so the from motor mount will come out the top bracket and bottom bracket. Inset the new mount put on the nuts bottom lower the engine to make sure the top bolt come through the metal support put on the top nuts and tighten and also retighten the lower put the rad belt back on the car and then start the car. This is how I did mine Also replace the upper and lower rear supports at the same time as has been suggested.. rich hartung

You have an issue with the MC. Check to make sure that both holes in the MC reserviour section are not blocked with sediment. I had a simalar situation and found that the weep hole was not completely tap and this was a factory installed MC and was orignal to the car. Overfilli9ng the MC is not your isse. When you let out brake fluid from a clylindar you relived the built up pressure so the pedal will return becasue of the lack of fluid in the line. Have you done this with different wheel cylinders and not the same one allthe time. So take out the floor boards then take off the lid to the MC and take a small wire and thry to puch the wire throught each hole in the bottom of the reserviour. report back if this works. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com.

when you have drained all of the water and are ready for antifreeze make sure you use the old style green antifreeze. The new extended stay stuff is not recommended for our older cars you need the original green. About two years ago i spoke to a technician from one of the major AF suppliers and they told me directly to only use the old green the newer extended stay is not to be used. Also recommend taht everyone put a pint of Antirust inhibutor, can be puchased at NAPA. This puts the antirust components and chemical back into the radiator and engine block. Basically the antifreeze will last a long time but the antirust chemicals is what breaks down over time. Put this in every fall when you are getting ready to store the cr for the winter but make sure you run the engine and get it up to full temp to open the thermostat this wasy it will insure that the antirust inhibuto has circulated throughtout the entire engine. Also it is a lubricant for the water pump. I have done this everyear in the fall ounce of prevent is worth money saved for a cloged engine with scale and rust and other issues. Rich Hartung

Bingster Thanks for the update on the project. Some of us did not know if you were making progress. Glad to hear that you have the fan belt installed. So you are making progress and keep on going. Rich Hartung

Bingster, It seems as if you are going from one project to another project on your car but never fully completing any one of them. Have you gotten the issue fixed with the generator and the radiator belt? Now that you flushed the radiator system and engine block did you have the spark plugs insterted into the head or were they just loose and not snugged down like they should be with the copper metal gasket? The flathead MoPAr heads would get water into the indent if rain did get into the engine compartment. My 39 Desoto has the butterfly style hood and some time water does drip into the indent of the plugs.So soakup the little bit of water and then start the engine to get the head warm and hot and the little bit of water will dryup. Also you should start the car to insure that there are no leaks where you disconnected the various hoses. So I guess we can assume you have the fan belt installed and the belt is now fitting perfectly on the generator. Rich HArtung

Ok so now the length of the belt sounds as if to be tooo short did you take a measure ment of the total lenth on the outside diameter of the belt that you and compare it to the measurement that I gave you. Rich Hartung

I advise everyone to personally call their antique insurance car carrier to ask the appropriate coverage questions as to how their car or truck is covered when they have the car in a consignment shop or museum. I did this immediately after the article was posted and Grundy Worldwide stated that my car would be covered. Prior to putting my car in a consignment shop I would get a copy and any statement in writing from the underwriters to clearly state your coverage. DO NOT and I again say DO NOT assume anything alwasy get it in writing if in doubt. Cover your posterior it is your investment and hard earned money. If on a trip and your car is on a tour the car is covered becasue you are on a car trip. Rich Hartung n Desoto1939@aol.com

Bingster: Now you state that you will see if you can get the belt off. So I am confussed, Have you been able to get the belt over all the pullies lower pully, water pump pully and also the generator pully and have the generator moved out to have the proper tension on the fan belt? Not sure now what issue you are having with the belt. Please update us so we all know where you are inthe process. I provided you witht he total outside measurement of one of my fan belts that was used on my 39 desoto and according to one of my other posts the same size belt is used on the 47-48 desoto. Please update us with some information. Rich Hartung

Love the steering wheel. I guess the owner must have hands and fingers of steel or some other material inwhich he will not cut up the hands when the wheel turns. Sometime stupid does as stupid is. Not my cup of tea and i feel a real dangerous vehicle. How does this pass to be on the road????????? rich Hartung

mlozier: This is the same reason that I have been collecting the old cross reference catalogs on the various compnents such as suspensions water pumps fuel pumps miller tool speedometer cable autolite parts. The more data that you have the easier it is to support your car and or truck especially when they are over 70+ years old. Rich Hartung

Bingster: I just went into the gargae and I had a spare belt for my 39 Desoto this belt is the same that would be used on your car. I tool a tape measure and measure on the outside circumferrance from a starting point and then ended at my starting point and the total length is 50 inches outside measurement so think of a circle and measure the outside totally around. Rich HArtung

If the paint that was used on your truck was a single stage paint then the paint has faded over time and is hard to match. Two stage is what is used on our modern cars and the second stage is a clear coat to help prevent fading and also permits the body shop to blend the repair section but over spraying from the damaged area unto the two adjacent area that were not damaged. The clear coat is then applied and this is what giced the shine and the colors old and new paint will blend together. You might find a fabulous paint store inwhich someone has a great eye for color and they could try to match as close as possible. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Do you use a straight hose for the top hose or a curved hose?. If you have a straight hose it is very simple. Measure the outside diameter of the water oulet that is on the top of the engine block. The other end that is on the radiator at the top of the tank should also be the same outside diameter. Then measure the distance from the middle of the outlet on the radiator to the middle of the outlet on the engine block. Add a few more inches for extra length. Then go to any good autootive store NAPA etc. Also for a straight piece of radiator hose with the inside diameters and then get a piece of the appropriate length. You might have to get a longer piece but just cut to length. Think out of the box a straight rad hose is generic just like heater hose the diameter and length is all that you need. Rich Hartung

I have an Atlas replacement Specification catalog all Desotos from 1938 to 1950 used the same fan belt the number was 628. My booklet does not show the lengths so I you do some reserach your might beable to find the correct length for your desoto. I have taken my belt of several times and have not had any issue with getting the belt over the pulley and then generator. If you plan to tkae the gen off the mounting braket it willbe so difficut to hold up the gen and try to bolt it back onto the support braket. You might have to move or pivot the braket that is connected to the water pump loosen this nut just enought so you can move the braket arm . Push the gen all the way up against the bloc and then belt should slip right over the gen pully. If this is not working then you probably have an incorrect belt. Also provide the generator model number this is an easy task just read the information on the autolite red tag on the gen body. If you want help then you have to provide information. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com

Maybe a blown headgasket. rich hartung

Let us know what is listed on the red tag on the generator and then we can tell if you have an original gen that was put on your car. Rich Hartung

gARY I HAVE A FACTORY HEATER IN MY 39 dESOTO. Most heater were installed by the dealer along with radio's and other accesories. One wire would be to a speperate heater control switch or knob that ran the blower motor. Contact me and i will send you some pictures of the factory MoPar heaters You need to stop by and look at my 39 becasue it is the sister car to your 39 Dodge I have a lot of factory dealer sheets and accessory sheets and dealer special instruction and dealer bulletin for 38 and 39. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com

Dale: This why we should all contact our car insurance carrier to see if and when and when not our cars are covered by the insurance plan. Rich Hartung 8/11/17 update I contacted my Antique car Insurance carrier Grundy worldwide. They informed me that if i had my car in a garge or phycsilty that was a consignments shop they car would be fully covered for the amount that was agreed upon minius the comprehensive deduction so my car was valued at 20000 minus the $200 deductable for comprehension the they would pay me 19800. The same is true if the car was even stored at an offsite gargae. They did suggest that you always verify before putting hte car into a consignment facility and they also suggested that you get a copy of the consignments shop insurance policy to make sure that they have coverage on your car. This is information that everyone needs to take heed of just to protect your investment. rich Hartung

Hope all of the cars that were on consignment were insured by an antique car insurance policy. What a lose of some great antique cars and trucks. for some owners they might get more money for the car if they had a policy that had more coverage that what they could have sold the car to a new owner. Heck of a way to get money for your car. This is where an agreed value car policy is need becsue if you agrred and the insurance carrier agreed to a specific price lets say 20000 and on the open market the car could only get 10000 then the owner gets the full 20k becasue of the car being totaled vs regualr car insurance of a stated value inwhich like your regular car has a depreciation and as we know when we have old car they are worth notiging to a regular car ins company becasue they have no real blue book value its just a 50+ year old piece of metal . So check your antique car insurance policy to mke sure that your car is covered for the full value if it ever got destroyed or stolen do not wait until a situation like this happens. Rich HArtung

Bingster. I just checked on the position of the strap for the gen on my 39 Desoto. My stap is in the same position as yours and the screw goes throught the back of the strap and into the gen tab hole. First check to see if this hole is treaded and also make sure you have the correct sized threaded bolt with the correct thread number. You unit might not have thread so you will then need to used a bolt with a nut and lock washer. I have about 1 to 1.5 inches from the end of the slot let to move the gen. Again you should not have any issues with putting on the belt.. Put the belt around the lower pulley then around the upper water pump pulley. Then move the gen assembly by pushing it townds the block. The belt should slip right on to the gen pulley. If the belt is not the correct length then this might be your problem. Rich Hartung

The bracket is install upside down Look at the picture that Don posted and the gen will fit perfectly and you will beable to get the belt on with out any issue. The other thing is do you have the correct length on the belt or did you get a new belt without measuring the old belt. Rich Hartung

Yes that is the bolt that broke so I do not know if this can be repaired.

did the car come equipted with an oil filter when you purchased the car. If it did then the prior owner might have used a multi viscosity oil like what you are currently using 15-40. Most of th eold car of this vintage ran a straight weight oil such a 30 weight in summer and a 20 weight in winter. With straight weight oil there is the tendancy to build up sludge in the oil pan. The multi wieght oil is also a detergent oil so it might lossen up the sludge in the bottom of the oil pan and clog up the oil filter. Just watch the oil pressure and keep checking the oil dip stick to see if and when the oil is getting black. Detergent oil gets black becasue of the cleaning action Rich Hartung