MarcDeSoto

I love your car! My first car was a 1950 Chrysler Windor club coupe dark blue with blue interior. but yours is definitely better looking than mine! Love that color and interior. I rebuilt my engine in a class and put it in a boil out tank. Someone removed the engine and set it aside. When I returned it had started to rust so I sprayed metal prep on it. I assembled the engine and got it started, not knowing anything about the oil pressure relief valve. When the engine turned over, I jumped in the seat to observe the oil gauge. The needle had pegged and broken off. I just thought the it was broken, but the gauge was trying to tell me something. Namely that the oil pressure relief valve had rusted shut and the engine couldn't relieve the high oil pressure. I sold the car to guy in the Navy who was going to drive it back to Florida. It blew the oil filter off half way across the country and he had to have repairs. I always tell this story so others know to check the oil pressure relief valve on these flat head engines!

Chrysler products are kind of a forgotten entity in today's world of Toyotas and Hyundais. Several years ago I asked several older people at work to name the original four makes of Chrysler cars, and nobody could do it. One guy, the principal, was able to come up with Dodge. When I asked people to name the "low-priced three" of cars over forty years ago, nobody could come up with Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth. That's ancient history now!

I remember the water dist. tube on my 50 Chrysler Windsor was hard to get out too. That was back in the early 80s. I remember I used a Come-Along to get it out. I hooked the come-along to a iron post that was cemented in the ground and started jacking. Now I know why they call it a Come-along, because it came along!

It doesn't look stock to me, just looks like kitsch. What's so wrong with the original oil bath air cleaner? I think it works great and looks great.

To Branded, It looks like you have that rare dealer tool for separating the control arm yoke when you torque it down on the vise. I have one of those too, but I don't have the little tool that helps you put the dust shields on. It kind of looks like a bent over shoe horn. What is that cadmium colored thing in the fifth pic? Is that some kind of special factory tool or gauge?

As far as part are concerned, I am rebuilding my front end with all MoPar NOS stock parts still in their 1940s boxes. I don't think NOS MoPar parts are hard to find, but then again, I bought these parts in the 1980s. Maybe it's changed now? BTW, you are doing a beautiful job there! Excellent paint job too! And a 49 Dodge Wayfarer is certainly worth it, especially the roadster! That's a car I've wanted forever!

Seems like pushing in the clutch would disengage the fluid drive and make it idle faster instead of slower. I've never heard of that before. Have to do some research on this one!

A new tank sounds nice, but as I say mine looks good. No leaks. And the new replacement tanks cost about $650 with shipping!

I am restoring a 48 DeSoto 3-window coupe. Should I remove the gas tank and have a radiator shop boil it out. Then I think you are supposed to put gravel inside and shake it around to break loose any rust. Then you pour in a special type of liquid that seals the inside of the tank from any further rusting. I should say my tank is in great shape and I don't know if it even has any rusting inside, but after six decades, I guess that's a possibility. I am asking because I remember reading decades ago, (1980s), that it would be bad to coat the inside of a MoPar tank because of the permanent fuel filter inside the tank. Has anyone ever done this coating to their 1940s MoPar gas tank with good results? Thanks, Marc.

You hit upon a very interesting topic of how do car companies choose the names of their marques. This question even puzzles me on today's cars. What exactly is an Elantra or a Veloster? I think committees choose names and then vote on the winner. Some marques are just named after the head of the company, such as Ford, Dodge Brothers, and Chrysler. Some are named after planets or Roman gods, like Mercury and Saturn. In the case of Plymouth, I think Chrysler wanted a very American sounding name associated with American history. The pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, so then they named the rock where they landed Plymouth Rock. I guess they could have named the car the Mayflower just as easily. Some marques were named after early American explorers such as Cadillac and DeSoto. Here is Allpar's explanation for the choice of DeSoto: The car name honored Hernando de Soto, the 16th century Spaniard who discovered the Mississippi River and had covered more North American territory than any other early explorer (editor’s note: the Chrysler people were probably not aware of During the first twelve months, DeSoto production set a record 81,065 cars. DeSoto built more cars during its first year than had Chrysler, Pontiac, or Graham-Paige. The record stood for nearly thirty years.

I'm doing the front end suspension on my 48 DeSoto now too. I don't feel even the slightest play with the king pins, so I will leave them alone. As long as you are rebuilding part of the control arms, I would just go ahead and rebuild both upper and lower control arms while you have it apart.

If your Dodge has electric wipers, that is another indicator that it is a Custom. I think the Deluxe Dodge had vacuum wipers. Even in 49-50 the smaller Wayfarer Dodge still had vacuum wipers. As to what that other switch might be to, it could be for an accessory electric gas cap.

The radio and clock and dual heater points to Custom too. Check the maker's plate on the cowl.

I can tell you that your deck lid came from a 46-48 DeSoto, but may fit a Chrysler or Dodge.

Those New Yorkers must be a dream drive on today's freeways. I got a ride in a friend's 1948 Chrysler New Yorker club coupe in the 80's and it was the smoothest ride I've ever had in an old car and it just sailed down the freeway! Kind of the opposite of my 1950 Plymouth business coupe.

Does anyone know the difference between Generated type and Formate type?

After checking all the reference books and several owners, it seems to be true that the Chrysler 6 cars did indeed keep their 3.54 rear ends through 1948, while the 46-48 DeSotos changed from the 3.54 ratio on the 41-42 models to the 3.73 ratios on the 46-48 cars. Then, in 1949, the Chrysler 6 cars copied the DeSoto and went with the 3.73 rear ends too. Makes you wonder why Chrysler would go with the 3.73 rear end if the 3.54 is as great as some say.

Thanks for citing your sources. I noticed that your source for the Chrysler was a Data Book. I know Data Books were written for salesmen and were printed very early, maybe even before the Chryslers were made. I wonder if its accurate, since both Chrysler 6 and DeSoto both used the 3.54 differentials in 41-42? What does the Chrysler Parts Manual say? They are more accurate as they were printed after the actual cars were made. I noticed your 46-48 DeSoto shop manual doesn't list the 3.54 ratio for the DeSoto. My DeSoto shop manual, printing in 2/1950, lists both 3.73 and 3.54 for the S-11 DeSotos. My DeSoto Parts manual, printed in 1949 lists the 3.73 ratio as standard and the 3.54 as special for the S-11s.

Sounds like a "sound" idea Greg. I think I'll try that on my 48 DeSoto too.

If you are planning to stick to the 6 volt battery, which I recommend, be sure you use the same gauge wire as original. If you don't want to pay for a new wiring harness as I did, there are some articles out there on how to make your own harness using the same cloth covered wire. Of course that would cost more than going with modern plastic covered wire. There is an article on this subject in the Nov.-Dec. 2014 issue of Old Cars "Guide to Auto Restoration".

After doing some research on this topic, I found by checking the Parts Manuals that the 3.73 rear end was standard on DeSoto and Chrysler Windsor and Royal with M-5 transmissions, and the 3.54 was "special equipment" on DeSoto, and Chrysler six. Perhaps the special rear end was for drivers in the flat states like Kansas?

Caspar, Great job! i used to drive a 48 Dodge 3 window coupe back in the 1980s and loved it! Love that side opening hood. Are those red lines on the frame brake lines? Are you going to weld in new rocker panels? The originals looked roached. Great body holder too! You must be a professional mechanic.

If you are right about all Chrysler Windsors having a 3.54 rear end that would also make them a slower car from a stop. What is your source for your information about the Chrysler differential ratios? Mine came from a DeSoto shop manual covering the years 1946-1950. I just went to get my DeSoto manual and looked up rear axle specs. For the DeSotos with Tip-Toe Shift transmission, which is about 99% of them, I was surprised to see that regular wheel base cars have two possible differential ratios, 3.73 and 3.54. And I'm sure that most DeSotos and most Chrysler sixes have the 3.73 to 1 rear end ratio. Some had the 3.54 ratio, and it would be interesting to find out why some had that ratio, and if it was picked out for a certain purpose back then. The difference between the 3.73 and the 3.54 is the former has 41 ring gear teeth and the latter has 39 teeth. If you are not sure what ratio your differential is, you can crawl under your car and find the boss on the side of your differential housing where the ratio is stamped into the steel.

Why would my 1948 DeSoto have a 3.73 rear end and a 1948 Chrysler Windsor have a 3.54? That just doesn't sound right to me. I think the Chrysler 6's have a 3.73 just like my DeSoto. Is there a reliable source of differential specs on the Internet to check this out?

Slim, I also have a 48 DeSoto. Mine is a DeLuxe business coupe. The standard differential ratio on these DeSotos and Chryslers with the semi-automatic transmissions is 3.73 to 1. They did make a higher speed 3.54, and a lower speed 3.91 for the taxis and long wheelbase cars like the Suburbans. I'm not sure what cars would get the 3.54 and what would get the 3.91 differentials. I'm guessing that maybe taxis would get the lower speed 3.91 rear ends for more stop and go driving, and maybe the Suburbans would get the higher speed 3.54 rear ends for more crusing, but that's a guess.