Desotodav

I have been watching your 'division bar' thread with great interest as I am up to that stage with one of my trucks. I have bought a few items from over your way from Andy Bernbaum and see that he has the 'A-381 L-shaped division bar fuzzy' (so he calls them) listed for $15 per pair. I have noticed from various threads that most people seem to shop at Steele's. I have had no problems with other items that I have bought from Bernbaum's and I think that his prices are quite reasonable, but am I shopping in the right place? Desotodav 51 and 55 Desoto 108's 53 Dodge 108b 56 Dodge van 108e

I'm not sure whether yours are the same over there as ours here in Oz, but maybe these photos of the front and rear brackets will help...

You guys are doing well over there. If my calculations are right, our fuel over here is selling around Brisbane (Queensland) for $5.37 a gallon (or $1.42 per litre) at present.

Here are a couple of photos of the 'A' pillar end, and a photo of a door check arm. The plate at the 'A' pillar end appears to be spot welded in place. There is a rectangular metal piece inside the door which prevents the rubber from pulling through the door. and a couple of shots from inside and outside the door... I hope these photos are of some help to you. Desotodav

We seemed to go to twin headlights here in Oz somewhere around 58. How about a two tone using timber Bud? My mate made a timber bed for his truck influenced by vehicles from the 40's era. It was a fair bit of work, but I think that it was all worth it in the end.

Welcome 50farmtruck. You just need an 802 radio in your dash and then you are good to go. Let me know when you install it as I am trying to find instructions to install one in my truck. You better connect up that speedometer cable too! Desotodav 49 Dodge 108b truck 51 Desoto 108B truck 53 Dodge 108b coupe truck 55 Desoto 108c truck 57 Dodge 108e van

I'm not sure whether this photo helps you guys out, but my 51 Oz (Canadian) Desoto is about as original as you can get. The fuel bowl at my carby contains a porcelain filter. I've tried to keep my 51 truck original. Disregard the rubber pipe to the left of screen, it is the over flow for the vent which I haven't chopped off yet.

Bryan A couple of photos of 59 Oz Dodge trucks for you from our HCVC forum. No transplants - we just do things a little different!

Good luck with the paint job Bud. I decided to paint my 51 Desoto truck the original factory blue colour. I plan to take the original owner for a drive when the truck is registered shortly. I wanted it to look similar (only shinier) to the day that he picked it up from the dealer in 1951. I will probably paint my 55 Desoto truck in the original factory cream colour too. I have seen a few trucks painted in two tone here in Oz. The attached photos were emailed to me from a friend who attended a Chrysler rally in Renmark South Australia recently. I don't know who owns either of these trucks but thought that it may assist with your paint dilemma. Desotodav

What's wrong with just 1 tone Bud? Dare to be different!!!

I had the same suspension problem with one of my trucks in Oz. I found a fellow that had a few of these suspension blocks NOS. I paid around $50 each a few years back for mine. I can check with him to see if he has any more of them if any of you are interested. I have a few used ones in my parts stash now also. I would imagine that the freight cost to USA would be pricey as they weigh 500 grams each. The attached photo is of a couple of my spare ones. Let me know if any of you want me to chase some down for you. I can check up on freight costs if you tell me where you are.

Steve The oz trucks have a small slotted-head screw holding the lock assembly in on the inside of the door. I'd imagine your trucks to be the same in your part of the world. Remove the fittings on the back of the lock, remove the retaining screw and gently prise the lock assembly out - that should work! Davin

It's good to hear from a fellow Mopar person in Oz. I'll send you some truck numbers in a PM Tony. I contacted Bruce (a Chrysler Historian in Canada) early in the restoration stage and gave him numbers for the 50 and 54 trucks. He advised me of their approximate age at the time. The blue 50/51 truck is a 108b. The cream 54/55 truck is a 108c. Our trucks seemed to differ a lot from the ones in the States. I suppose this makes sense when you allow for the shipping time, and then the time of assembly in the factory. My Dodge van is a 108e. I would imagine this one to be around the 56 era. From what I've seen, we went to the twin headlight models here around 57/58. The van is a bit far gone for restoration but I can't bring myself to chop it up for now. It's a pity that I didn't get to it about 10 years earlier!

They tell me that you didn't get the Desoto branded truck over there. I don't think that they weren't too common here in Oz either. I have a 54 Desoto truck also which is probably the next in line for a rebuild. The sand blaster that I used for my 50 truck was a panel beater by trade. He used Garnet sand. I have heard of other jobs where panels were rippled by careless sand blasting. I certainly had no problems with mine - but I think that it's all in choosing the right guy to do the job. Good luck with the rebuild!

Hi guys. I'm only new to the forum site. I went through the sandblasting and body-off rebuild stage here in Oz recently. I found that the trick was to find a sandblaster that knew what he was doing. I had a few photos of the progress posted on the web to assist other enthusiasts. Check it out at the following link if you're keen. Maybe it may help you in some way, shape or form? http://gallery.oldholden.com/Streetneat/album73/Davins+Desoto/

The 50 Desoto truck body is stock. We had a few varieties of bodies available in Oz. I have 5 trucks at present. My next project is possibly the 54 Desoto. Hopefully I won't have the same issues with a radio in that vehicle!

Thanks for the favorable comments. The truck has been a labor of love over the last 5 years with probably way too much money thrown at it. I'm happy with the way it turned out. I need to sort out my radio mounting issues before installing the wiper motor. There are 150 photos of the truck on the internet with a running commentary of the build progress- search 'Davin's Desoto' on Google and follow the link if you are interested.

Hi guys. I have just signed up as a member. Forgive my lack of knowledge as I am new to the forum game. I browsed through your 802 radio mount location thread thread with great interest. I am in the process of adding the finishing touches to my 1950'ish Desoto 108b truck (ute). I recently bought an 802 radio and have found that there is minimal space between the firewall and the dash (due to the length of the radio) to fit the radio. I have pushed out the radio delete plate and drilled the holes out for the 2 radio knobs. I noticed a 3-4 inch rectangular shape pressed into the firewall on the left hand side from the inside of the cab to the engine bay. Can anyone confirm for me whether this was done in the factory to aid in fitting the radio? If this is the case, then I may have to cut and weld a similar pressed section in the right hand side of my firewall to cater for the right hand drive vehicle. I haven't seen any trucks over here with radios fitted - and now I think that I know why!