Uncle-Pekka

I bought a set of three (two front, one rear, as there are in a D24) two years ago from this Argentinian. They were exact same length as originals and correct fittings too. I installed those in May of 07. Seem to be allright. Price was low, I got the set of three plus postage from A. at same price that one chinese made would have cost at Napa. However, I've only been driving them two summers, - a couple of thousand miles, thus cannot comment how durable they are.

I suppose DeSoto would be similar to Chrysler and Dodge, dash trim being cast potmetal chromed. The external trim are mix of chromed parts (nose pieces, tail light frames, door handles and bumpers) and polished stainless (grille, headlight doors, waist & rocker trim mouldings). You can tell the material & finish by the shine, the older parts, the more significant difference. I like the dull glow of old stainless parts, it is a little bit like worn out wedding ring...

Great video! Thanks for sharing your find. There is also another one: The same guy does coast-to-coast AAA sponsored economy run in an Airflow Imperial 2D sedan/coupe. Great sceneries both country & cities. This is where I find the www-net most fascinating: There are great period material available easier than I ever could imagine. Where a common man could have found films like these or prints like for instance in "Old Car Manual Project" ten years ago? Or a great site like P15/D24 with all invaluable information and top notch fellow hobby people!

Smart dressed set of wheels, indeed! The older hub caps and beauty rings go very well along with the smart trim on the fender skirts. Also the mint preserved pin stripes on RollieJoe's '51 Cambridge caught my eye. It must be factory original paint job on your wheels? - Congratulations!

All the cars and wheels posted here are handsome, but B.K.'s '51 is one cool machine. The hub caps with c/bullets, big rear bumper guards and the long tail pipes are really classic combo. Top chop job looks mighty fine! Where did you got the bumper guards?

Well, I agree with the radioDude, that the TOCMP web site is one of the greatest places in the web (after the P15/D24 forum, of course)... You will find tons of scanned period brochures, owner manuals, carburettor manuals, etc. All are high quality scanned originals. I've also printed out some in color or b/w. Some useful some just fun to browse. All are excellent sources of information and because they are car maker publications they are correct, not edited. Of course it would be nice to have the originals on your hand, but as far as I know there are no such libraries on the planet...

I'd bet for Gregg's answer. Now, let's take a step forward; What was the abbreviation D.K.W. for? (Most people tell you "Das Kleine Wunder" (=The Little Wonder), but that is, as you may suspect, a joke...)

I bought a set of Big Jim's fiber glass skirts a couple of yrs back. They do not fit well on the vertical direction, because the D24 fender is spherical in both ways (Y & X), but the skirt is straight in vertical direction. Back then Jim's glass fiber set was ca. $150 and Agape's steel set $250. I regret I did not spent the extra 100 for Agape. If I could get any at same price I'd surely took Agape.

USPS used to be reasonable, but a couple of yrs back they ended the overseas surface parcel mail for private people. I suppose they are still the least expensive for consolidated airfreight parcels,but that's ca. 5x more expensive than the ship freight used to be. Thus no-deal for me for pieces of iron (=heavy items). There are independent freight forwarders who do sea container shipping for vehicles. These people do take parts of various sizes & weight and ship them along with the cars, trucks & bikes in the containers. I've used a particular company in Lamar, SC run by a finn. He gathers parcels at his warehouse and sends them to a finnish port to his associate there. It takes time, also to arrange and agree with all parties involved, but is the only possible option for parts such as bumpers, wheels, tires or engine (parts). I suppose there are movers like this to most west EU countries, but the contacts may be easier to find from the destination country. Then again they all do have some sort of a home page in the web.

The seal rubber is a bit smaller than the groove on the cowl. I stretched it in my hands quite a bit before installing. Then you're supposed to use extra strong adhesive and secure the rubber in place by clamps to allow the glue to set properly. The vent has to be dismounted to allow space to work. I bought the rubber from Bernbaum. Do not know the manufacturer, but logically would assume there cannot be many makers for a piece of this limited demand... Thus suspect all dealers are distributing the same product (?). Then again I may be wrong. In case somebody has got a rubber which is just the right size just to drop in place and leave - please share the source with us. Yet the final thought: Is the vent exactly the same size on all models: Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto & Chrys? Or is it that the repro rubber is made for the smallest and the rest are supposed to stretch...? (not likely)

Well, yes... (This is going far off-topic, but whatta h...) Actually I am life-long fan of Carl Bark's Donald Duck stories and when I changed my nickname to Uncle-P., Unkka-Don was exactly what inspired me into that name. If there would be avatars at this forum, mine could be Donald in the old 313... I also share many of Donalds characteristics, such as high intelligence and patience, not to mention handsome looks. Yours, Unkka

Ok Joe, You should have asked me to hurry up However, please feel free to ask for details any time. /Pekka

Gee, I wish I were some five thousand miles closer to California... Not necessarily because of this particular car, but generally. At the time I ended up buying my D24 from Illinois, there was a 1941 Chrysler business coupe for sale for some 3-4 kUSD in Los Angeles area... Decent condition as well. Freight from West coast to Europe was over my budget...

I have to make a positive testimonial for Andy Bernbaum, since so many here are blaming him for poor customer service. I have ordered maybe four times from Bernbaum and discussed three four times with him on a long distance call. All the parts I've received have been correct, fair quality and right priced - no complaints from uncle-Pekka. I agree, that he does not do small talk, nor much thank-yous or pleases, but for a finn that makes me feel at home On the other hand: I tried to buy windshield rubber seal from Roberts: They had those listed incorrectly at their web site. I made the selection by their description and even called to be sure. However, the piece I got did not fit. After receiving the wrong product I called them second time - THEN they admitted the selection at the web site was incomplete and recommended another model only listed in their printed catalog. They refused to replace the product or take part of the postage of a new one. In short the mistake was due to supplier, but no responsibility was taken by Roberts. That was my 1st & last deal with Roberts. Fortunately Bernbaum & Kanters carry all the items, thus 3rd supplier will not be needed for consumables...

Joe Flanagan asked about replacing vent window trim or glass a couple of months ago. .. I remember giving a link to this post, but did not check the original posting at that time. Now I found, that all the picture links were bad. I suppose ImageShack had removed my original uploads from their server(?). Well, today I did refresh the pictures from my PC hard disk. Sorry for the "communication breakdown". /Pekka

Norm, Did your 1960 Opel looked like this one: http://www.oldtimerteam.de/my/opel-p1a.jpg ? This was the best seller Opel from 1957 to -60. In Europe the model was called Olympia Rekord. My old man had a one (1959) when I was pre-school kid. I was very proud of it, to me it was the most beautiful car in the neighbourhood. I still like it best of all Opels. It is a kind of 2/3 size of 1955 chevy with a nose a bit like a buick... A Buick V8 in this little car would make it REALLY thrilling, I guess. Did you plant the V8 in your car?

That is an Opel made in Hitler's 3rd Reich Germany, thus model names were military rankings: Smallest was Kadett, this one Kapitän (Captain) and the biggest Opel was the Admiral... Whatever, a nice well made car it is.

Rockwood, They drive mostly on small country roads, where salt is not used, only snowplow and sand. However, a good carefull wash with cold water right after the trip will remove harmful chemicals... Norm, I do like the wornout globetrotter beetle as well, the skies and suitcase add the top of the cherry. Your suitcase is exactly the style, I wish I'd came across similar deal. This one is similar style, but may be more exotic make to you guys: A russian Popeda, which was a russian design for semi civilian/semi military purposes after the WW2. The car sported high ground clearance and big wheels for rough terrain and poor roads. It was a popular taxi cab in Finland early 50's when american cars were not available. This one is a finnish hillibillies roadtripper, what do ya like? http://picasaweb.google.fi/buick55/7209Talwiajot#5300123581641600546 If you back out from the picture of the Popeda, there is another album of pictures of the same day by another photographer. P.S. Norm also admired the Volvo "Duett" sedan delivery: The Volvo 444 and 544 series has been and is extremely popular car in Finland. When new they were appreciated because of quality, performance and reliability. They never went out of fashion, but turned straight from duty to hobby items. One funny aspect is, that they serve in Sweden and Finland as good substitute for young people keen on 50's american cars, when they cannot afford "a real thing" - Well, Volvo has always been most american influenced european car and as far as I've understood also appreciated in the States.

Good afternoon from Finland, There is a traditional winter run for vintage & classic cars held in my (current) home town, Jyväskylä. The run ran yesterday was the 36th,thus the first was ran in the 1970's. The temperature was ranging from 15F to 20F and it was lightly snowing. The route is ca.80 miles mainly on small narrow country roads, which are ice or snow covered at this time of the year. In the first years the participants drove mainly 1920's and '30's cars, today the majority are 60's cars. The oldest this year was 1923 Ford fixed head coupe. on the pictures of the following link you'll also see a 1925 Citroen Torpedo Touring, which ran with the conv.top down. This car and driver has been participating several (tens?) of times, also same age Ford T-tourings and the habit (or spirit) has been commonly to drive with top folded down - enjoy the breeze... http://picasaweb.google.com/Kuvatodellisuus/Talwiajot2009# ...what about Uncle-P, I hear you asking... well, the Dodge is partially stripped in the garage, preparing for some engine overhaul and paint job... so I got a good excuse to enjoy warmth of the stove at home.

Fellows, The current plan is to go there next week with a fresh battery, tools, jacks, new spark plugs, coil, etc... I will try to get it started and see how far it could be driven. However, this is a car that has been sitting in a Detroit warehouse for 5-10 yrs. Never been restored, daily ran until eighties. It has severe rust damages all over in fenders and running boards. After 30yrs Michigan winter roads a touch of finnish snow & salt will not change a thing. The body must be restored all over anyway. The road conditions in Finland are poor just now. We've got five inches more snow today and temp. may be varying btw. -5C ... +5C, thus roads are really slippery. Once again, thanks to all of you. Mine problem was that I do not know automatic transmissions at all. Have just heard that towing may hurt most of them and wanted to make sure how it is especially with the '61 Hydramatic. Now I know it is better not to tow it long distance. However, if I compare to similar situation with my D24 three yrs back: It ran Ok when started, but started to cough after 50 miles and would not produce enough torque for steep up hill. I found out it was sucking fine rust dust from the tank and a 200 mile trip took me six hours - because I had to take apart the carburettor 6-8 times on the road. Would this happen with the caddy, one possibility would be run the engine idle and tow it by a rigid bar. Then the trans would get oil, brakes would bet pressure... right? /pekka

Ok, I belive your advice... Thanks all the folks sharing the knowledge. The idea was to tow it with a big van or small truck using a rigid tow-bar, but apart from the risk of an accident there is the transmission problem. It may be that I have to leave the cad in the harbour area until April. There's a friend who keeps his boat behind a closed wire-fence. The car would be exposed to the elements, but hopefully not to the boyz' in the 'hood:(

Hmm... I am not sure if I understood that... Do you mean that I should tie up steering wheel and place a dolly under the REAR wheels and tow it rear end first? One: Do not have a dolly, just a towing bar, thus all four must be on the road. Two: it should be a special "long horn dolly" to reach the rear wheels, because this bird has long tail. I guess towing is not a good idea with this project. Have to work out "plan B" ???

Please do not throw the stones on me - help me! I am in deep ssss with an old caddy. June last summer I bought it via eBay and hired a guy to transport it to Finland. It was supposed to be here by end of Aug. Well, the guy ducked up his business and let me and many other customers down. The car spent 5 months in the container because the sea freight company kept them for unpaid bills. The car is finally out and I should drive it 200 miles from harbour up north where I live. Only... it is winter, frost, snow and according to the fellow who took the car from the container today it won't start... The question: I've heard, that some automatic transmissions cannot take long towing, because the oil pumps won't run, thus bearings will die dry. Some people recommend removing the drive shaft for towing. (It is not a pleasant job without proper jack outdoors in snow when temp is below 20F...) What is the case with the Caddy 1961 Hydramatic version? Can it be towed in case the stick is on Neutral? P.S. I will always be true to you folks, this mighty forum and my wonderful reliable D24, the Caddy will not take the place in my heart, even if I get it home in one piece...

The cover of the set screw may be partially hidden under the weather strip rubber (on mine it was...) The set screw of the D24 is a tiny hex hole screw. Be sure to squirt some rust removal oil in before you try to turn the set screw. Othervise you end up with broken tool and more headache... Once you've loosen the set screw, it should be just to pull the lock cylinder out. You may want to check the detail on the shop manual. There are inexpensive copies available e.g. at eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Best-Dodge-Car-Shop-Manual-1941-1942-1946-1947-1948_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem390022009349QQitemZ390022009349QQptZMotorsQ5fManualsQ5fLiterature#ht_1937wt_946

Mine is yet never painted after leaving Fulton factory. The underneath is dull green and I intend to keep it that way, as I was amused by the "scientific" explanation found in Fulton mounting instructions: "the dull green finish has been baked on during manufacture. The under side should remain green since this has been scientifically determined as the color which absorbs the maximum amount of light, and therefore provides the greatest protection from sun glare." The top is for now dull or satin black and weather has eaten the color off the front edge and some on the top as well. My Dad used to paint cars in 60'...80's and he told the PPG 2K "acid" primer is best for bare aluminium, it will stick the surface. I belive this product was banned at least in EU from beginning of 2008, but we still have half a gallon left in the garage... I'll paint the top of the visor body color as soon as I will paint the car (which should be soon).