andyd

The December 2023 issue has a 10 page article on the 1937-1941 Plymouth Trucks......good reading......andyd

The trunk handles usually have a circular ferrule that is crimped onto the handle to keep it located in the licence plate/trunk lock housing......if it is missing which allows the handle to move in/out of the housing then as mentioned theres a good chance its not original............if the actual handle is properly located in the housing but as stated the shaft is too short then its either the wrong handle or housing/handle assembly............over the years i have seen handles that have had a short piece of square rod welded onto the handle shaft to make up the difference..........dunno if this would help......BTW...welcome aboard from Sunny South Grafton, NSW, Australia...........andyd

The "plastic" or nylon versions of these bushings were in fact originally designed and made by mother mopar........either original alloy or nylon bushings will work just as well........and I just did a search in US Ebay, Parts & Accessories under "mopar clutch bushing" and theres a listing there for Mopar part # 2265938, Clutch torque shaft bushings 1962 to 1979............for $16.00...........these are NOS in original mopar packaging.........andyd

Dunno if this helps, the original two piece clutch pivot bushings were made of a diecast alloy, AFAIK there were 4 used, two on the frame pivot bracket, two on the bellhousing pivot.......what MAY help in your search is that at least here in Australia and AFAIK in the USA 1960's Valiants used nylon versions of these two piece bushings, exactly the same size & shape as the original alloy versions........might make it easier to find these......those shown in Soth's link at AB's are exactly what I'm referring to.........nylon versions of the alloy originals...........andyd

Looks like P6DAN has disappeared .......... a shame as I was hoping to get some clarification of what he is actually chasing.....oh well...we can only try to help............andyd

Bob......thats a neat trick.........andyd

Ivan........I've found that the rubber steering box isolators that go between the steering box & frame & outer steering box plate if are old tend to soften and allow movement of the steering box, replacements ones were available & do make a difference........andyd

P6DAN........have you any pics showing the overall view of the front suspension?....ideally from the passenger side, the chassis suspension area behind the wheel?..andyd

Pete........Dans car appears to have some sort of arm or linkage going back beside the rear shackle of the US passenger side front spring.....its that bushing he is referring to......see the close up 3rd pic that he posted.............note that his 1st pic shows that the car doesn't have that front sway bar that your car has..........andyd

Dan.....I just checked my 1936 to 1942 Plymouth Parts manual and on page 291 it has mention in a sidebar that P6 cars with a Sway Eliminator use part # 679691 and P6 Cars with a Front Axle Radius Arm Assy use part #'s 687816 Right and 687817Left (Frame Bracket Assy).......... ................it appears that there is also a Front Axle Radius Arm Assy part # 690899 that is also used depending on the location of the cars build, ie Detroit, Evansville or Los Angeles and actual chassis number..........can I suggest you post some pics showing the overall front suspension and pics showing where & how these bushings etc locate as that may well help........regards from Oztralia....lol........andyd

Maybe I'm looking at this wrong but the bushing that P6DAN is indicating looks like the rear of a sway bar........didn't the 1938 cars even with the tubular beam axle have a sway bar on the axle?........again I could be wrong here and will defer to those with more knowledge but it doesn't appear to be connected to the rear spring bushing or is it some sort of for/aft movement control arm or link.........my direct experience is with 1940/41 cars & their front ends so happy to learn.......my Oz workshop manuals do not show the front suspension clearly to indicate what this could be..........andyd

Yeh....... if the high beam indicator is centred & above the instrument cluster then the high beam socket will have a screw thread that screws onto the high beam outer decorative piece with that bracket sandwiched between the socket & outside decorative piece........pull the high beam wire from the socket, unscrew the socket and the instrument cluster will come away once the lower nuts are undone......at least thats what its been like on the mopars I've played with........andyd

The 1941 Plymouth I had needed a 1 & 13/16th 3/4" drive socket to fit the crank bolt...I bought one socket specially for it & also a 3/4" to 1/2" socket adaptor as I only have 1/2" drive sockets.........I also used a block of wood wedged between the pulley and the frame to undo the nut......and then wedged the block of wood on the other side of the pulley and frame when I had to tighten the bolt..........worked fine both ways...........and whilst I ended up selling the car I still have both the large socket and adaptor piece.........just in case..........lol........andyd

Anything is possible, it just depends on your motivation... ..........I installed a 318 Poly in my 1940 Oz Dodge sedan in 1973 when the car was 33 yrs old and I was 19yrs old........all it takes is the desire and some fabrication abilities..........I still have the car and it still has the 318 Poly 50 yrs later........don't get me wrong but if you have to ask if its possible then I suspect that you either don't have the skill or the experience to do it.........lol.........a small block Frod & trans would be a fairly easy install........an issue will be the lack of a parking brake as that originally lived on the end of the stock mopar trans which you replaced with the Frod setup....as for "electronics"...........there are NO electronics as such in a 1950 Chrysler....if you use a mechanical sender for the stock water temp gauge and oil pressure guage...the amp guage just reads amps so doesn't care whether its 6 or 12 volts and with a resister in the stock wiring to the fuel guage it will more or less work........and you may even find that the speedo cable may fit or be able to be adapted from the trans to the speedo..............have fun ........Andy Douglas

Well....buggar me.........lol..........I actually found it in the Parts manual...........90 degree is # 869572, straight version is # 670463 ........both are called "Engine to Oil Filter Tube Elbow Nipple" ............regards, andyd

As far as I know those brass block, 90degree fittings are just a standard pipe fitting, I suppose they do have a mopar part number but I think they are a 1/8th BSP fitting that you should be able to find in any good spare parts place or hydraulic parts shop.......I'll get out my 1936-42 Parts Manual & have a look but they are just a generic piece AFAIK.........andyd

There is an oil channel(brain fade, can't recall the proper name) running the length of the engine on the US drivers side that usually has 3 or 4 ports with either brass fittings to allow oil lines or oil pressure gauge lines to attach.........the mechanical water temp gauge line normally attaches to the USA drivers side of the cylinder head in line with # 6 cylinder, later version of the engine have an electric sending unit for the electric gauge.

In 54 years of playing with mopars I ALWAYS use brass welsh plugs........I have never heard of any detrimental problems using brass plugs..........they cost a littler more I suppose than steel plugs but once installed they never rust and as far as reacting with the cast iron I have never heard of that and would think its codswallop.........but use whatever you feel comfortable with.......andyd

Do you have a parts manual showing the actual parts that you need.......that would help people trying to compare the other mopar brand bits to the DeSoto parts you want.

When or if you replace the freeze plugs use brass plugs, they never rust & will outlast the car.

I thought the only dropped spindles were those made for the independant suspensions from 1939 onwards..........andyd

Not sure but I would have thought that the original tierods would have been right hand threaded outers and left hand threaded inners, but thats purely due to what I've found on various cars over the years.........I've not noticed whether its specified or mentioned in the workshop manuals, just made sense to have one of each on each tie rod to allow for ease of toein/out adjustment.....andyd

The October Collectible Automobile magazine has a 1939 Chrysler on the cover and a neat 12 page article on the 1939 Chrysler cars.......worth a read.

41Rog..........I can't help re the outside stainless trim piece as Oz cars didn't have this but regarding the centre division piece good luck in finding one as they are a diecast piece that is prone to cracking & breaking......I ended up making a new one out of brass..........I used two pieces of brass......the 1st was a piece of brass bar 1" wide by 1/2" thick and the length of the centre piece.........I cut it lengthways to the overall side profile......I then used another piece of brass bar, 3/8" square that I cut to the tapered width to fit between the glass and rubber centre seal then drilled & tapped the 4 holes that the inner molding used to attach the centre bar...........I then soldered the 2nd piece to the 1" wide piece and after various adjustments had the piece rechromed. ......All this was done 45yrs ago when I was young & silly using a fine toothed blade in a hacksaw, a flat bastard file, a half round file and lots of effort then getting it chromed and the nice chromed brass centre piece has remained in perfect condition since........many people have asked how come I have a perfect centre windscreen bar when theirs is cracked & broken........lol.........well I say........lol.........this is what you have to do......good luck with yours....Andy Douglas.

Rick........what info do you need regarding the Powerflite......I have a 57/58 Plymouth Shop manual which covers the air cooled Powerflite, also a 1957 Oz manual which also covers the same transmission.........capacity of the Powerflite is 10 US Quarts.......andyd