MarcDeSoto

You don't need a 12 volt system to get FM and blue tooth on your old tube radio.

The trend now is to do restomods and make the car as modern as possible. 12 volts, disc brakes, dual MC, v-8 engine, electronic ignition, fuel injection, modern interiors, etc. Those that was to perserve auto history are in the minority now, so I don't even bother to argue with them. But I agree that some of these mods like disc brakes and seat belts should be considered for safety.

That's a good question. My 48 DeSoto is 6 volt and will stay 6 volt. So maybe someone with experience with changing over to 12 volts can tell you.

Looks like your rubber grommet is broken. Can you still buy these linkage grommets? I need them too for my 48 DeSoto.

To those who say you should never change your fluid drive fluid, I have a question. What if the fluid smells burnt? Wouldn't that deplete any anti foaming agents in the fluid and cause cavitation and loss of power? I don't think Chrysler intended for that fluid to last for over 70 years. Common sense tells me to change it.

They sure don't. I called them back and I asked why the kits don't fit the car, and he just said there's a lot of variation on the cars. But he said I could return the whole kit, or return what doesn't fit, so that's what I'll do. I found that Steele Rubber sells the right part with the dimensions 1 13/16" diameter, 1/2" hole, and 3/8" thick, but will cost another $200 for the 14 I need. Some of the lower rubber mounts still look good enough to reuse, but they do have some age cracks on the edges.

I got my body mount kit from MoparPro that I had adjusted to get the correct parts. Turns out the 8 sleeved mounts were correct, but my car only needs two of the "donuts" with the big hole. I have 16 in the kit, so 14 of them don't fit. I need 14 of the smaller lower rubber mounts with the small hole that the body mount long bolt goes through. That is because the big hole is where the sleeved part fits through on the middle bracket that extends out from the frame. It's obvious that MoparPro has no idea what to include in these kits and someone who has never worked on a car like mine put these kits together. So now I have to call MoparPro to get the right parts or return the wrong parts and get a partial refund. I'll call Bernbaum tomorrow and see if he will answer this time.

True! I saw Rock Auto had some DeSoto rear motor mounts selling for a about $2. I bought them just to see what they had. It said made in India. They may have got the dimensions right, but if the idea of motor mounts was to isolate the body from the vibration of the motor, they utterly failed. The Indian motor mounts had about as much give as steel!

The Dodge D-24 Parts book calls them steering insulators, same as they call the body mounts insulators.

Steele doesn't sell anything called steering isolators, but think you mean insulators. They don't sell that either, at least in the catalog. Is that the rubber that goes next to the frame with three bolt holes in it?

But Steele is outrageously expensive. After adding up the 24 parts on Steele, the price came to $435.76 with a 7.5% sales tax. I paid 159.99 total including shipping from MoparPro!

I wasn't able to get a response from Andy Bernbaum by email or phone. So I called MoparPro and got him to change the order to 8 sleeved mounts and 16 round mounts. Cost was $159.99.

this is a sweet illusration. It was not in the S-11 DeSoto Parts book. It was not in the P-15 Plymouth Parts book. I don't have the Chrysler Parts book, but it was in the D-24 Dodge Parts book! I scanned it so all of you who have 1940s MoPars can use it. Note that they only use one illustration for brackets 3 and 4, so be sure to add that to your rubber mount count. Note that you will need 8 special insulators for the 8 sleeve assemblies. But on the mount kits on Ebay, they include 12 rubber mounts with sleeves when you only need 8, and they include 12 donut shaped rubber mounts when you need 16. I've emailed them to see if they could adjust the order, but they don't reply. Andy Bernbaum sells the donut rubbers mounts, upper and lower for $9 a set, but he doesn't show the sleeved type insulators. So I assume he doesn't have them. https://www.ebay.com/itm/173267739279?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dde43c65143fb400391b8c47959ca9e25%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D173311799766%26itm%3D173267739279%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A36a14408-1337-11ec-a3a0-328b3e11e722|parentrq%3Ad65a30e917b0a7647d10d780fffc31e2|iid%3A1

I already have the firewall grommets for Bernbaum. I'm talking about the linkages that go to the clutch, the transmission, etc. and of course the body mounts. When i looked at Bernbaums, he didn't seem to sell the kind of grommet with the part that sticks up.

I've noticed that the body mount rubber kits sold on Ebay give you almost twice as much as you need. And who sells the linkage grommets for a 1948 DeSoto?

I believe it's a 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe 118.5" wheelbase P-20 2 door sedan. If this was the fast back sedan, it would be a 111" wb Deluxe P-19.

When I opened up my fluid drive and smelled the fluid, it smelled like burnt oil. I have a 48 DeSoto. That is probably the original fluid put in at the factory. I knew I had to change it by instinct. Would you ignore burnt transmission fluid in your automatic transmission? NO. So I bought the Mobil One hydraulic oil suggested by James.

Don't forget to check out the excellent resources at MyMopar where they have the original Master Tech videos going back to 1947 that Chrysler mechanics watched. This filmstrip is about the Chrysler DeSoto semi-auto transmission, but you can go back to select other filmstrips. https://mymopar.com/mtsc-1948-volume-a-the-hydraulically-operated-transmission/

What does an upholstery job cost these days where you are? Also are you doing a close to original style interior? I'm doing the same type of restoration on my 48 DeSoto in So. Calif. Marc.

That's the kit I bought. It's true the lines are easier to bend than ones in the past. I'm still going to use the line bender tool. I don't think I'm going to have to cut lines or flare, so the job will probably be easier than I thought. I don't even think I need the clips and can just use the old ones. The lines just slide right in. Today, right after getting some take out food, I was driving home and right behind me was a cherry red 46 Plymouth business coupe. I'm sure it was a hot rod as it had the hood louvers and after I turned off, I saw it speed off fast.

I bought a brake line kit for my 1948 DeSoto. it has already been flared with the couplings installed. Will I have to cut some lines and put new flares on them? Or will I just have to bend them to fit? Who sells fuel lines and are they pre-fitted to my car? Thanks, Marc.

I guess I'm lucky. I bought some NOS rocker moldings in the 80s for about $50 still in the wrappers!

Mopar was not the only company to use positive ground 6v batteries. In fact most car companies before 1956 were 6v positive ground, including Ford. GM was different because they used 6v negative ground systems.

I like these 3 window coupes and currently am restoring a 48 DeSoto. I bought a 50 Plymouth business coupe in the 80s and rebuilt the engine and replaced the clutch. Unfortunately the car had rust out in the floors. I bought it in Tuscon AZ, which is very dry, but that alone doesn't mean a rust free car. I discovered the car had a leak at the back of the passenger drip rail that dripped rain water down on the floor. That made the carpeting wet and it finally rusted the floors. I also had some problems with the new clutch, which emitted a noxious smell every time used the clutch. Never figured that one out. During this time, I got a 50 Plymouth Special Deluxe sedan to do a tune up on, and it ran so much better than mine. I think my biggest complaint about my 50 was that it screamed for a 4th gear when on the highway doing 55. Good luck with your 49 as it's a cute little car. Many of these business coupes from Plymouth came without any accessories. No radio, no heater, no clock, no turn signals, etc. Is yours like that?

I agree with you guys, but on the Windsor Facebook page a guy is saying he has collected 41-42 Chryslers for decades and the engines, block and head, are almost always red. And several others gave him the thumbs up. He also says he's presdent of the Town and Country car club and knows of which he speaks. Pictured is a 42 Chrysler Windsor engine.