MarcDeSoto

My shop manual says on the valve guides "counterbore down on intake and up on exhaust." You asked for a tip and here is one I remember from decades ago in my auto shop class. After you install the valve guides, it is a good idea to "Knurl" the valves guides. Knurling puts a spiral groove in the guides. This can two things. If the valve stem is too loose, the spiral groove will tighten up the fit, and the spiral groove provides a path for some oil to lubricate the valve stem.

Yes, my 48 DeSoto also does not have any rubber body mounts on the very front position.

Yes, I bet it would, and a lot of complicated plumbing on the cowl. Being in Southern California, I don't need the extra heater. Is the idea behind the All Weather system that you can drive with the cowl vent open all the time? Then when you want more ventilation, you open the plenum door. And rain gathers in the bottom of the plenum and drains out of the cowl somewhere? Can I install most of the wiring that goes on the back of the dash on my desk before installilng the dash in the car. Could that also include the big heavy radio?

I have a 48 DeSoto, so I'm not sure of all the wires you are pointing at. I think no. 2 might be the horn relay. Your shop manual would have the wires identified on it on the wiring diagram. On the S-14 1950 DeSoto diagram, the horn relay has these connections: H - green wire to horns; B - wire to neg. battery connection on solenoid; I - red wire to X terminal on turn signal flasher; I - red wire to negative terminal on coil; G - black wire to horn button. I don't know what no. 1 is. If one of the wires goes to the top or A terminal of the regulator, the red wire should go to the A terminal on the generator. And a brown wire should go from the A terminal of the regulator to the bottom left terminal of the solenoid. My 1950 DeSoto diagram does not show a relay connection for these wires.

Mineral spirits is OK. Shop manual says to use 50W oil. You need a new gasket. Buy or make one.

Thanks Ed. Yes, that sounds right. The dash is pulled and I have the huge illustrated installation instructions that came with it. I even have the panel to block the ducting to the non-existent driver side heater. So I guess that means I will have two levers, one for opening the cowl vent and one for opening the plenum door?

Conn, we have more in common than you know. The last time I actually drove my 48 DeSoto was also 1980. I bought the car in the late afternoon in May, 1980 up in Banning Ca. That's on the I-10 on the way to Palm Springs. I lived in San Diego about 95 miles away. I knew the engine was very weak with compression readings of 25, 50, 75, 50, 40, 60. It was getting dark as I came into view of the sun setting over Lake Elsinore. Then half way home the engine started coughing and I thought Oh no here it comes. But it stopped and kept going. After I made it home, it drove for another week until the compression was gone. So I rebuilt the engine in a ROP class and made the woeful beginner mistake of saying "lets not stop with the engine, let's do a complete restoration! So here I am now, finally with the time and the money to do just that. I bought an NOS Compete Air control system that I may add to the car, but you scared me with your warning about how hard it is to install.

Some guys above said the bushings won't fit my car when I get these Monroe shocks. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Well, the big news on the new MoPar 51s were the new Oriflow shock absorbers. They won't go on cars pre 1951, and pre 1951 shocks won't go on the 51s.

I have a 1947 MoPar Streamliner Parts list for Chrysler DeSoto Dodge and Plymouth. It says the replacement shock absorber for the front axle is Monroe part no. 1119875 and it fits Plymouth, Dodge, and DeSoto. I'm not sure why it doesn't include the Chrysler six, which is part no. 1121205. For the rear axle, it says to use Monroe shock 854561, and it fits Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler six. So if it fits a Dodge, it's right for the DeSoto.

Conn, I just found this thread. Don't know how I missed until now. I'm loving this thread like no other. Thanks for all the detailed pics. I'm going to be doing all of this soon with my 48 DeSoto 3W coupe, and it's great to have some guidance. I'm taking the body off of my frame now and have made a body cart so I can work on the chassis without creeping on my back all the time. You probably saw my thread on this. That pic that you showed of the wiring connections. I also have an old new wiring harness made by Egge Machine, but I don't have those wiring charts. I'd really appreciate it if you could scan those charts as it would be very similar to my DeSoto. Marc.

I just checked the NAPA website for prices and they want $357 a pair for rear shocks and $252 a pair for front shocks! So I checked Rock Auto under Dodge. Their computer said they didn't have shocks for DeSoto, but I think Dodge shocks are the same. These are prices for the Monroe shocks #5752 front at $16.88 each and #31000 rear at $16.65 each. So that's about $68 for all four shocks. I think I'll go with Rock Auto! They also had some cheaper shocks from a brand I don't recognize. I wonder why so much cheaper at Rock Auto than O'Reilly's and NAPA?

I think I will skip O'Reilly's for shocks. They want $249 each!

Wow, that surprises me that these shocks could still be available from an auto store chain. I know Chrysler came out with new Oriflow shocks in 51 making the 1950 and earlier shocks obsolete. I wonder why O'Reilly's would carry parts that old?

I know new shocks are available from several vendors. Bernbaum has them for $187 plus shipping I think. Has anyone bought them and they available from NAPA?

Thanks Dodge, that's the best explanation I've seen. I learned something I didn't know about the straight eight engines and carburetors of the 40s.

The first pic above in my post is from a 42 Chrysler sedan. The second pic is from the post war era. I thought it might be a silencer, but then why doesn't the Windsor and Royal models have one too? Maybe Chrysler just wanted the 8 cyllinder to sound quieter showing more elegance that the Windsor 6.

Does anyone know what the big cylinder is that is attached to the oil bath air cleaner on straight eight Chryslers from the 40s is?

I've finished making the body cart, except for the cross beam 2X6s that the body will be bolted to with lag bolts. I took the steering wheel off and it looks like the steering post will be able to get through the cowl after I remove the rear wheels. That way I can easily put the steering wheel back on so I can steer the chassis. I'm thinking of putting the rear axle hubs on wheel dollies. Then I will pull the chassis out the front way. I will have to jack the body up in the front to get the two wheel dollies and resupport the front body with 12 ton jack stands. Then I can push the body cart that I made under the body and lower it onto the cart. Then I will screw the body to the cross members, so it can't fall off, and then roll it to the third bay of my garage. Then I will put the rear wheels back on and roll the chassis back into the first bay of the garage. I can't leave anything out on the driveway as I have an HOA!

Great work Bob! I wish I had that tractor and that space! Marc.

You can't drive a car if the fluid drive is leaking. First, you will have to find the source of the leak. First check the fill hole. If it's leaking there, you are lucky. Tighten the nut and check again for leaks. If it's somewhere else, you may need a fluid drive overhaul. There is a shop somewhere in WA I think disscussed on one of these threads that offers complete fluid drive rebuilding where they open up the housing and install a new bearing. I think Chrysler did not have the Fluid Drive until the 1941 model year and they didn't have overdrive.

No, those bolts are easy to see. If you look at the trunk floor, you will two strips of metal that are sort of a continuation the gas tank straps. Those straps are welded to the trunk floor to give the real tank straps something strong to connect to. At the very back of the trunk, there are two carriage bolts that go through the ends of those straps and through the rear frame cross member. The Parts manuals don't show these bolts anywhere, not even on the blow up of the body to frame bolts. Often these carriage bolts are not visible if you have a good undercoating on top of the trunk floor. All you have to do is crawl under the trunk and look up and you will see the 9/16" nuts.

Isn't headliner for Mopar cars of the 40s usually made of cotton, and the seats are mostly of wool broadcloth? It's probably getting harder to find a good upholstery shop and the textile suppliers for the material.

I put the body cart together today. I tried to use angle brackets to put the 4x4s together, but they are too weak. The only way is 6" lag bolts. I had to go to HF to buy some 6" 3/8's size drill bits to make pilot holes. Then I put the 6" lag bolts in the holes and ratcheted them all the way. It seems solid. After I remove the chassis,k I will put some cross members across the top and screw the body to the cart soon. Then I will roll the body out of the way, so I can restore the frame, etc.

I'm not an expert, but I think LeBaron Bonney just went out of business. They made Ford interiors I think. I can probably tell you that there is no such thing as ready made 1946 Chrysler interiors. Model A's maybe, but Chrysler? If there were ready made 46-48 Chrysler interiors, they would be out of business fast for lack of enough orders. I'm in the same boat. I need new upholstery for my 48 DeSoto. Your seats look pretty good in the photos. It will be very expensive to replace it with factory quality upholstery. I've heard that upholstery jobs that are true to the originals are six to eight thousand. I think Chrysler used a type of carpeting called hogshair.