James_Douglas

Welcome to the Fluid Drive Club Don. I can tell you that over the last month with Achilles Tendonitis in my left foot, the fluid drive is much appreciated as I don't have to clutch it much. I just spent the last week tearing apart two M6 transmissions. The one in the '49 upshifts like a dream. It will not downshift however unless I push in the clutch and unload the torque. I put in a new input shaft, new clutch sleeve, and new blocker ring...we will see. I tore apart a core just in case I needed a part. I put it all back together and cleaned it up and it will go on the shelf. This is the 5th M6 I have had apart and gone through. I know more about them than I ever wanted to! I am very happy about your new ride and I hope you enjoy it. James

At some point I thought about a rack for the 1947 Desoto. But, I could not find one that had the ball socket in the correct place to make sure that I do not get bump steer. I called Flaming River and Uni about a custom rack, but none of them make a rack for a car over 3500 pounds. I did get an opportunity to drive '47 Desoto with a Cavalier rack and you could in fact feel a slight bump steer. With a power rack, the power part sort of masks it. We put a set of Bump Steer gauges on it as the owner said it was in my head. Sure enough, a fair amount of bump steer. He did mention that his front tires wore faster than he thought they should but at a 1000 miles a year... For a car I drive every day, if I ever do a rack, I will have to make it from scratch so as to not get bump steer. James.

The springs on my 1949 hood are shot and the master parts book does not show a part number for it. It only shows the entire hinge with the spring.... If I found the springs, I will hail Rich and see if I could barrow it to change them.. James

One of the problems we are seeing here in the San Francisco area is that all of the shops have nothing but modern computerized alignment systems. These systems require that the "rear heads" be on the car or the computer will not work. There is nothing in their software that allows the tech to turn off that part. Given the fact that the "rear heads" will not mount on many of the 1940's MOPARS due to the low rear fender sheet metal, this has become a problem for many around here. I have been keeping my eyes out for some original alignment equipment, without much luck.

I have a friend here in San Francisco that has been talking about getting an old car. I have emailed him about it. I wish Don nothing but the best. James.

One of these day when I get photos of all my tools, I will have to post some of them. We have had a slight up-tick in garage break-ins here in the Western side of San Francisco. I am in the process of "hardening" the garage. I also wanted to get some serious insurance on my tools in case of break in or an earthquake. My insurance people tell me that I have to get an appraisal of my tools. How the hell do you appraise antique tooling? Things like a fluid drive repair kit or a spindle ream that is used on the long wheelbase cars only with one busing and one bearing. Some of those tools took years to hunt down. I hate insurance companies!

Thanks. I wish these folks would sell on ebay and just use their company names... Anyone use one of the "new clutch sets" ? James

Hi All, My 85 year old clutch guy a few years back retired. I tried a new guy that does race clutch's. When I went to put in the fork rod into the '49 it was too short even with the adjuster all the way out. We lengthened it. It works, but the clutch chatters a bit and just does not feel correct like on my '47. Since the engine on the '49 is coming out in the next couple of weeks, I am thinking of swapping the clutch housing and disc. There is a guy on ebay called Mopar-Direct. He sells a set ebay Number # 182098361082 That sells a set for $375. Has anyone purchased and used one of his clutch sets? James

I know Tod will wrap my knuckles for this... But, I would like to take a trip down from San Francisco and take a look at this transmission. If it is what I think, I will buy it from you. You can email direct at JDD@8bells.com James. ************ EDIT ************** Never mind. Once I got to your hi-res photos, I see it has a clutch...I thought it may be an early powerflite. It is likely a fluid torque drive with a three speed stick. All in all not a bad set up. Be careful about one thing. If it is one of the fluid torque drives that Shared the oil with the engine, then there is a special hole that fed through to the trans. That hole has to be plugged. I think it is in the rear main housing and the block. James

It sounds a little like the vacuum advance is not working correctly. When they start to tear, you get behavior like that.

Well Jeff, On this issue we will have to disagree. I have tried new points, NOS Points, and NORS points and I have not found any real difference in the during the last 13 years of daily driving in the Desoto. Except that some of the NOS Bakelite points rubbing blocks go bad and grind off in a hurry. One thing that I think causes people to have an issue with points is the proper mating of the capacitor. Due to wire changes with age, resistance going up, the "match" of a particular capacitor to a set of points changes. I follow a very old 1930's Motor Manual section on watching the points in a particular car/dizzy for six months and note which way the deposits are going on the points. Then I adjust the capacitor up or down until I get the minimum. Once I get that for one dizzy in a car then the points last sometimes as long a 2 years of daily driving before I have any issue and need to replace them. But as stated, to each their own. I find over time to have seem more old cars stranded due to problems with conversion than the stock set up. But, my experience is hardly science, just observation. James.

I just do not get why people don't just run the stock distributor. I run mine for ages without any issues. If a set of points goes bad or a condenser goes bad it take about 15 minutes to swap. Even on the side of the road. A set of points costs $8. I have a spare dizzy all set up and in the trunk. I can swap that alone in about 5 minutes. I lost count of how many times a car at a meet or club drive had an issue with an electronic conversion. My car starts great and runs great. Like I said, I just don't get it. James.

I did this on the '49 since I have the thing off the frame. I am using a stock pump and have a boost pump by the tank. I used a "T" at the carb that we welded the return side up then drilled a small hole in it for the bleed back to the tank. James

You stated that: "OK, I need some help! I had my front suspension rebuilt about 6,000 miles ago. The parts (kingpins) were from a quality provider, but when the suspension was put back together the steering really takes a lot of effort." This sounds to me that the King Pins were not properly reamed or honed. Did the mechanic IN FACT line ream or line hone the bushings in the spindle? If all he did was press them in and did not ream-hone then that is the problem. I do not like reaming as most people do not do it correct and have reamers with warn blades. I actually purchased a Sanden Hone of the correct size and gave it to my machinist and had him use it on the bushings. When done there was zero detectible clearance but the pin would spin in the spindle like a fine bearing. Also, did he check the thrust washer/bearing and if so what was the final clearance? If he did not write it down, I doubt he did it. James.

Tod, You can always drive up for lunch and use mine...

One item I would add to this thread...and I am doing it from memory so my numbers may not be correct but you will get the idea... In my documents, Chrysler/Desoto service bulletins, I ran across one on the subject of the rear bearing shims that set the axle end play. The original information in the book says .003 to .008 (http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Lit/Master/022/page31.htm) , but the service bulletin in the early 1950's said that due to the increase speeds being driven (think about the post war highway boom) that the play should be increased to something like .010 to .015 or so. I would have to dig to find the actual numbers. But, if my memory is correct is was almost double. My guess as speeds went up the heat generated caused the axles to grow and bind the bearings. On my '47 Suburban the rear bearings are larger and hard to get. The race cost me $100 each! So, I wanted to make sure that they were loaded correct! FYI, James

What car? The convertibles and the wagons did NOT use any rubber.

There is a little pin hole in the cap, on e old ones it is on the side in a flat. On the subject of hoses... Some years ago I had a new rear hose on the '47. I had the car up on a lift doing the muffler and I did a walk around. I noticed that the new hose, from NAPA, had a large bulge in it. if I had not done the muffler I would never had seen it in the next 6 months with likely very bad results. After that, I purchased Earls adaptors to go from inverted flair to AN and then I purchased DOT approved Russell stainless braided hoses. Since I run a single master cylinder in all my cars, I did not want a hose to go. On a different subject on the shoes...if you can find someone with a shoe arc machine. I have one and it makes a big difference if the arc of the shoe match's the drum. James.

I run my '47 hard. Sometimes when it is hot out and I have run the car hard and then parked it... It will take an extra 10-15 seconds to start. But it always does. In my car I have a "racer" big Fram fuel filter. I run the line to the mechanical pump out to the front apron and have the filter on the right shield. I then run the line back into the mechanical pump. I also have a electric booster pump which I only turn on for a few seconds before I start the car in the morning when it is dead cold. I have the heat plate and I have the line from the pump to the carburetor cover with heat reflective cloth. It never stalls in traffic no matter how hot it gets out. My mechanical fuel pump's are rebuilt by Terrell Machine. I would say to do the following: 1. Make sure you have the heat shield. 2. Wrap the fuel line from the mechanical pump to the carb. 3. Check and re-check the float level. 4. Add a pass-through electric pump or near the tank. 5. Mount a large fuel filer ahead of the radiator as I did. I think it holds a reservoir of cooler fuel that does not heat soak like the fuel in the pump or the carb. A few cranks and it starts to work its way up and helps. James.

I am having fun here in Northern California with the garage thing. Here in San Francisco my garage space is very limited and there is nothing I can do about that. Even a parking spot in a garage in my hood costs $300 a month. In our little residential house, in a small town about an hour away, we managed to get a plan through the planning department to tear down the attached garage and rebuild it larger. The key item is that we got them to allow me to build a section of the garage 12 feet wide, 44 feet long, and 16 feet tall with a 14 foot by 9 foot garage door. Turns out they did not have anything in their planning design manual against tall garage doors. You could tell they were thinking about changing that in the future as they did not have a hook to hang their hat on and so approved it. I am now having all kinds of issues with the one man building department. Unfortunately, this guy like to play the part of the Bishop and everyone has to kiss his ring. It would not be so bad if the guy had a brain, but he is narrow thinking type of guy who cannot see the forest from the trees. If we don't get a permit in the next 2 weeks, we will loose out contractor slot for the year! I checked out several lifts and will go with a 4 post. The 1947 Desoto Suburban is just too big for me to fell safe with it on a two post for long periods of time. I did not include anything in the plans about the lift, that would open a Pandora's box. I will behind closed doors cut the slab if it is not thick enough. I will find out when we cut into it for the construction. I just hope I can do it this year! James

Hi Guys, 1. The distributor timing is dead on as I own a Sun Machine and the curves are correct. 2. The head was not shaved when it was off. 3. Item #2 assumes that the replacement gaskets (Best) is the same thickness as the one that came off, I did not check it. It could be thinner and thus raised the compression. I think that dpollo is onto the only explanation that I can come up with. Everything I have read about early detonation suggests that it happens before one hears it. Then it gets worse and you hear it. If the charge is igniting before top dead center then the piston has to "plow through" the flame front until it hits TDC. That power is then removed from the output of the crankshaft. I think this is what is happening. Given the weight of the car, a very small change in power output is noticeable at the margins like up a long hill at freeway speed. In my lighter convertible, I am sure one would never notice the difference as there is enough reserve power for such situations. I will just sue 91 octane going forward. James.

This is going to be a rather theoretical thread. Ever since last year when I had the head of my '47 Desoto I noted that at high RMP (direct drive) pulls up a hill with a high slope that I was getting a little bit of a ping. If I climbed up with the overdrive, at less RPM I did not notice it as much. So, a few weeks ago I decided to fill up the tank with 91 octane to see if the ping would stop. It did. I of course can roll out a little bit more timing and get the light ping to stop. I suspect that the gasket may be just enough thinner that the compression is up at the regular octane tipping point. What is interesting is that in the big Desoto, with it weight and relatively low horsepower, when climbing hills on the freeway is very sensitive to any change in horsepower. So, what I noted was that when I am climbing the same hills I do every week in and around San Francisco (freeway driving) and I have been able to climb those hills without kicking out the overdrive. Clearly the engine is generating more power. But How? I am well versed on the subject that an increase in octane, in and of itself, does nothing to increase engine power output. I have not changed a thing on the car. Yet, there is clearly something going on. I have even accounting for the air temperature as is has not floated more then 15 degree's over the last month while this is going on. I have also accounted for winter blend and summer blend as this phenomenon has been repeatable across both blends. I have racked my head trying to come up with a explanation. I do not think it is just my perception as the couple of places were the extra power really counts is a static run and the car is producing more power with the higher octane. I have one possible theoretical idea. But before I post it, I want to hear if anyone has any idea that could explain the power increase. Interesting issue for me to say the least. James

The fluid dive, unlike a torque converter, is a sealed item. If it has had a tear in it for 40 years then the superfine polish face on the carbon (graphite) seal no doubt has rust on it. Also, because it is sealed it develops a LOT of internal pressure when it is hot. One can get hurt with flying fluid if the plug is unscrewed when hot. Ask me how I know this! Fluid couplings are easy to get. Ask around on this forum as someone in the LA area will be doing a hot rod and junking their fluid coupling and trans. Just go find a solid one. James.

Do you know of a source of reading material that goes into the issues of 2 larger coils vs 4 smaller ones and the torque output? I would love to read up on the subject.

I am rebuilding a couple of starters. Remanufacturing may be a better term as I am making one with all new parts. One thing I have run across is that there are two different field coil arrangement's. One with two larger coils and one with four smaller ones. In theory I am told, the 4 coils generate more torque than the two larger coils. Anyone here an electrical engineer, as opposed to an electronics engineer :-), and can shed some light on this issue? Since we all shave our cylinder heads, more torque is not a bad idea on a starter rebuild if one can get it. The two coil field coils are actually still available.