James_Douglas

Thanks for the update. I think I will do the rope WITH the plate seal on the back. I will assume that enough oil will get past the rope to keep the plate seal wet so it does not burn on a dry shaft...

I am basically working on the same thing as Sniper on my 265. But, I am building and adapter for my Edmunds Manifold to mount a single Sniper 2BBL on it. I am also thinking of using a VS-57. Can you talk a little bit more on using that with a flathead? I know that Holley is making a 2BBL sniper that is set up for using a blower or turbo. JAmes

Can you go into more detail on the statement that the, " lip on the new rear main seal used in the rebuild was bad" ? Bad How? Bad out of the box? Bad because they installed it incorrectly? ... James

The underside of my 1947 Desoto Suburban was coated with a heavy coating. So was the underside of the hood. The car never saw a salt road. It is thick, but it is not "tar". It comes off in hunks. It appears to have been done at the factory. James.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/science/laschamp-earth-magnetic-climate.html

I have seen that...but where.... It may be that it goes on the throttle pedal someplace. Maybe holding the pin in? James.

The BB has issues after decades of use with the emulsion tubes. You need a special tool to get them out and then you needs to find new ones to put in. On the 1947 Desoto with fluid drive, I went nuts trying to get the carb to work correct. I rebuilt EVERYTHING but the emulsion tubes on two of them and it still idled and ran kind of crappy. I then found a later NOS version that had the screw dashpot. I have used it for 15 years now and it works great. I just wired the choke open, here in San Francisco it just does not need it, although I need to let it warm up for 5 minutes and take it easy on the throttle for another 5 when I head out until it is all warmed up. I think the lead in the gas "sandblasted" the emulsion tubes and the passages over the decades and toss of the balance of the internals. That is my 2 cents worth. James

In the tight garage here in SF...I got it up and slid the frame out onto the sidewalk to clean if off and paint it. Worked good. One thing for anyone reading this...the Convertible and the Station Wagon in 1949 did not have ANY rubber between the body and the frame. I confirmed this this. It did have a VERY thick steel washer between the frame and the body at the mount points with the bolts going through them. On the convertible at least, you cannot get the engine with the transmission to go in from the engine bay on the convertible. The space between the firewall and the cross member is not enough with the M6. We had to loosen the body bolts and jack the main body up (everything else was off) and slide it in. The rubber in the other cars lifts the body up the 1/8 inch you need... James.

I have the same book, great information. I also went to Chrysler Historical about 2005 and asked if they had anything on that flat six hemi...they had nothing....

"Also there is an interesting point about setting idle under load that Tony brings up, that is important for automatic/semi-automatic systems." If the dashpot is correct...then setting under a load is not an issue. On my car, when I changed from the the M5/M6 to three speed with OD while still using the fluid coupling...I went to a later Dodge carb that has a manual adjustment dashpot. A much better system than the electric one. When I rebuilt the convertible that still has the M6 in it...I used the same dodge carb. The other things about that later carb is that it uses a heat pipe and not the Sission choke. (With respect to my fellow high school classmate Dave Sission who relative I think may have been the inventor). James

That is why I encountered. You can clearly see the massive differences between a NOS MOPAR (Vitctor) seal and the best seal. I would not use it again. James

I have had nothing but trouble with the Best 3675 seal. We have tried changing it three times. I did it twice and I had a 80 year old master mechanic that works on antique cars try it. It still leaks way too much. The crankshaft in question was NOS and check (straightened and polished and balanced) so the diameter of the seal surface was spot on. I have asked Best on several occasions what is the minimum shaft size and the maximum shaft size for that seal. The refuse to answer. On my other engine, that was a 1963 Automotive Engineering swap rebuild the rear does not leak at all, which for a flathead is something. That engine sat from 1967 to about 2013. It has a rope seal in it. My next engine, I will use a rope seal due to its larger surface area on the crankshaft and in my opinion a better ability to deal with distortions. The modern fine lip seals do not like it if the shaft moves at all in the block. Note that Chrysler changed the real main bearings due to stress issues when they went to torque converter. They were having issues. As the load goes up on these engines with them making more power...it is possible that the rear is moving just enough to cause issues with the micro fine lip on the 3675. In my case with a 5000 pound car...that is a real possibility. Sometimes new technology is too sensitive to be used on old technology. I have an NOS factory (Victor) seal for a flathead. The design is totally different at the lip. Much more surface area and the rubber has an vulcanized material embedded in it. James.

Pete, I always shudder when people extol the virtues of a part due to its use in racing. I would watch that. The truth is that 75K miles driven on the road is much harder on a part that an hour of running on the track. One does not take apart, every six months, a street engine... I would talk about is the fact that heads that have not been shaved a half dozen times are starting to get hard to get. Even when you find one that looks like it has not been shaved too many times you end up with some that have the water ports to the block are so corroded that a good block to head seal over time is hard to get. Having a head with a lot of meat left on it so that a block can be properly decked and if need be at an angle to get the deck parallel to the line bore I would think would be a stronger selling point. As an aside...I saw a Hudson inline engine in the early 1970's that apart at my machine shop. It was from I was told an old Trans American Racer. It had a custom aluminum head. What was interesting was that the block had been drilled at the water jack holes on both the block and the head. Little brass sleeves were sitting in there to "bridge" the holes. I asked about that. I was told it was to keep the electrolysis at the seal points down as they did not want to lug anti-freeze out on the course. They wanted to just use water... As I flash ahead to today, I cannot run an aluminum head as I do not use anti-freeze in my cars here in the middle of San Francisco. I know a LOT of cars guys and gals in this town across California who also do not. Why? because if we drained an engine and it was observed the fines would not be trivial. I have thought back to that old engine and wondered about ways to run an aluminum head without antifreeze... If I go to Like Tahoe I just dump in some alcohol in the radiator. I know there are some water soluble and ok to dump in the environment anti-corrosion additives out there...but I have never used them. It would not be a bad idea for you to run that issue down as well... Now, if we could just get Tony to own and run a machine shop.... James.

Less work on the block side with this modification. But, then all the pumps one has would need to be done. I guess one would have to carry a spare on the road as you could not swap one in if there was a problem on a trip. In my case, I like the idea of having the filer pointed down. Less spill and easy if I pull into a oil change place. If one goes to this setup and makes sure that the factory filter is partial flow, then one can use a very fine filter on that one and it it clogs up nothing will happen. Just make sure if you use both that the factor set up is not on full flow. If it clogs you will loose oil flow to the mains! James

As a rule I don't mind drum brakes. I have all the tools to do a proper drum brake job including a shoe arc machine... That said, the big Desoto at 5000 pounds has a hard time stopping straight from 65 to 70 MPH in a panic stop situation. I also most bought the farm once a couple of years after I purchased it on the Freeway here near San Francisco. At the time the front brakes were working as good as they could be. The car is just too heavy to be doing panic stops from 70. So I had Ralph, who has since sold ECI make a custom disc conversion for me. The other vendors mentioned on this board were not around at that time. It works fine. I do have to do some machining on the discs however as the Desoto uses the "Big Chrysler 8" front end so everything is much larger including the spindles and hubs. On a lighter car using the Chrysler 12 inch drums with them drilled (by that company in LA) for fade control may be a good option. I do wonder (Loren) about the king pin inclination angle and the like when swapping spindles. Since different cars and years have different control arms and uprights...it may work on some cars but not others as far a geometry goes. When I did the 1949 Desoto I used an ECI Disc kit that they sell. I have two issues. The first one was the spindle and hub supplied did not fit correctly. A spacer they supplied was not correct. They ended up making one that was correct once I got all the measurements. The second one they never did address and I had to deal with it. They specified and supplied a grease seal for their hub. After running the car for less than 500 miles I had the hub off and the grease (red) was black. The seal had been worn off. When I contacted the seal maker for the proper shaft size I...I found out that the spindle shaft size was larger then the seal specification. I called the new owner of ECI, he was nice, but they never did anything about it. In the end we lathed the spindle seal area down a few thousands to the seal shaft size. By the way, the seal company told me that that seal did not have a range and was for a particular shaft size only... So, the lesson learned is do not assume that ANY of the companies supplying kits are going to provide something that is 100% OK. Even when they tell you, "I have never had any complaints". A lot of people just punt and never complain or fix the problem without every talking with them. That is why Loren has a point on the subject of using an all factory set up. I also made a rear disc conversion for the '49 (I also did it for the big '47 but it is still sitting on the shelf). The rears are tricky as you have to take an axle and mate it to the hub and then have that hub face lathed perfectly. Then they are a match forever. If you change the axle you have to do it again. You may also have to do it again if you pull the hub off the axle as the key and the final position is important. It is all about the tapper. That is why ECI and others do not like to do rear disc conversions as the disc cannot be mounted perfectly parallel without turning it all with the axle. On the '49 I used a remote power brake booster and a stock 1951 Chrysler Power Brake Master Cylinder with the power brake only pedal. The pedal looks the same on the top half but the bottom half has a different ratio and a different push rod for that ratio. Works too good. If I nail the brakes it would send me out the windshield like some late 1950's early 1960's cars ! My 2 cents worth. James

One thing about block cleaning...the shop tanks often do not get it all out. I use about 4 large cans of oven cleaner on the bare block with all the plugs out, both core plugs and ALL the oil gallery plugs including the front and the rear. I use long brushes to run the oil galleries. I scrub and scrum until it is clean. I then wire wheel it to bare metal. I then clean it with lot of Oxy Clean in solution. I then blow dry it and take to the machine shop. They then do the machine work on the block, then I have then hot tank it to get all the machine crud out of it. I then have them build the short block or do it myself. I also second the idea to make SURE your shop checks with clay the distance between the valves and the head to make sure that the block has not been decked or the head cut too many times....ask me how I know this.... James. By the way...where are you located?

That is a nasty event. I think the next engine...I will rebuild my old pumps, I have a few of them. A couple of things come to mind that I can do to improve them... 1. Bore the housing and press in some bronze bushings for the shaft to ride on. 2. Have the base of the gallery milled smooth and then take to my industrial hard chrome shop and have them plate that floor to bring it back and and it will also stay hard. 3. I could also have them harden gear, but I don't like the cam gear to be softer than the pump gear. One thing I am going to do is to drill the block at the oil pump mount and port it out to a spin off filter at the frame rail. I have seen this and I have talked about it with Tony (Montana) and I like this idea. I also will keep the partial flow filter and hunt for one that has a very fine filter. I had read were Fram has tried to convince Chrysler to go with two filters to increase the longevity of the engines. One a normal filtration and full flow and the other a partial flow that was very fine. They even had engine data tests they ad done to show them. The idea was nixed due to engine manufacturing unit cost. James

A photo would help. On my 1947 when I purchased it I could not get the nut off no matter what I tried. In the end, I made a "cup" that sealed over the nut and hub and filled it with penetrating fluid for a week. I them put on the wheel puller and hit with the impact wrench. It did nothing. I let it sit like like for several hours then"bang", Sounded like a bomb went off. It came off, flew about 2 feet. On my 1949, I have an axle with bad threads. I was lucky to find an NOS one. The other option was to weld the threads up, by a pro, turn it down on a lathe and cut new threads. Then it would have to go to the hardening shop to have the threads properly hardened. A NOS axle is a lot less expensive that the 2nd alternative. James

Hey Rich, Any chance you would draw up the C-594 tool so I could make one? James.

Are you sure it is play and not that the front end is way out on Caster? Check the actual play as in the PDF attached to see how much play is in each part. You will have to drop the springs to unload them to measure the play. I would take them all apart, have new parts handy if needed, clean them well to get most of the grease out and measure each shaft. If within spec, leave it alone. If out of spec or close then rebuild them. BE CAREFUL on the centering. I am fighting a problem on my 1949 Desoto that may be due to the shaft being off center on the control arms. I have the upper tool, but I do not have the lower tool. If you are off even one turn on those bushing you toss off the caster static geometry. James

WAIT! These bushings are SUPPOSED to be loose. Control_arm_bushing_clearnace.pdf

https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1947-DeSoto-Custom?id=111437 https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/1947/Desoto/Custom/4-Door-Sedan/Values Read the definitions for the condition, be honest with oneself as to the condition, then pick that condition and read the valuation. You can add about 15% if it is in California just because people here will pay more... James

Search is your friend on this website. See how I mounted mine.

I love those carbs with the dash-pot screw on top that can be adjusted. On both of my Desoto's (1947 and 1949) I took off the stock carb and used a version of the one you have. With the fluid couplings.... If you are at a stop sign and hit the gas and then pull out of the throttle quick reversion can kill the engine. The dash-pot is what takes care of this by lowering the butterfly valve slowly. With the mechanical as opposed to the electric dash-pot you can adjust it. It saved my butt when I went to a three speed with a fluid coupling versus the M5/M6 trans. One thing. Almost all of these carbs have emulsion tubes that have deteriorated. When I first got my '47 I fought for a couple of years to get the engine to run silky smooth. I did everything one could imagine. I rebuilt three different carbs to a high level of detail and it still was a little rough on idle. I found, and it cost, a NOS carburetor. I put it on and at idle the car was smooth as glass. After researching it I found out that the emulsion tubes get chewed up by the decades of leaded gas. The problem is that 99% of the rebuilt units out there never had those tubes replaced. It takes a special too to get it out and in. Not to mention finding the correct tubes. So, the lesson learned is that you can get a rebuilt carb or do it yourself and still not have a carb that is mixing the fuel and air correctly. James

San Francisco. 65 Degrees. Winter. Summer. Fall. Spring. First drive of the year? Taking Sondra to the Hospital for her shift in the ICU. She spent a good part of the day bagging the dead. Happy %*#!@*^ New Year. I will be glad when 2022 comes around. James.