James_Douglas

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves" JC(I, ii, 140-141). Gas prices are the fault of each and every American. We have collectively allowed ourselves for 50 years since WWII to build an America that is one large collection of low density sprawl. Given that reality, the only way to move goods and people is to use portable energy in personal transportation devices (read gasoline & cars). The results of that collective decision are that we now have global warming, more and more land paved over, and a myriad of other affects that are not healthy for any living thing. In addition, we have jeopardized the safety and security of the ourselves, our children, and coming generations of Americans. The entire financial order of this country is wrapped up in the sprawl and if we needed to roll it back we could not without a lot of pain and a level of courage that no longer exists in this country. If at any pint in the last 30 years we had acted on what was happening; stopped all the sprawl and ordered in-fill higher density development. We would have been in a position to service the country's needs for moving goods and people with mass transit and heavy rail. All this could have been powered by things we have right here in the USA. Nuclear, Coal, ethanol, Wind, Solar, bio-mass,Hydro. In essence we would not need but a fraction of the gasoline we now use. Yes, the rest of you, like Sondra and I, would have walk or take transit to work, the local corner store, the post office, and the like. We only drive 3000 miles a year combined. Americans have made their choice to drive, drive, drive. That has and will lead to higher gas prices, box stores that can only be accessed by cars, and the tertiary affects of jobs and cash going over seas to support that lifestyle. As many of you know, I love Automobiles. However, the way I can justify being a small hypocrite is to live in such a way that I don't NEED a car. If we all were in that situation then we would have the power to tell the oil interests around the world to Go to Hell. For now, Americans are nothing but slaves to their sprawl lifestyle. Certainly they are not even close to "the land of the free and the home of the brave" or they would change it. Best,James

In CA any legitimate auto wrecker would have given you a salvage title not a bill of sale. From that you can get the DMV paper work to get a new VIN attached. If you purchased the car from someone with just a bill of sale and the title is not clear then you have have purchased a can of worms and you will have to run it down. I hate to be such a downer, but that is why they say "Let the Buyer Beware" James

Tod, Thats what I was thinking. I may just get a spare one and a spare 6VPG kit just to have around... See you in the AM , James

I will be there if the new trans does its thing and the alternator does not totally die on the way... James

Over the last couple of months, I have noticed that my 6 volt POS GRD alternator has been taking more RPM to self energize. Since I did the trans work last week which necessitated a lot of wiring work and the fact that I added a #8 wire from the case of the alternator to the metal dash, I have noted some strange things going on with my AMP gauge. It has been reading almost no charge even when everything is on. The lights are dim and come up when I rev the engine, but again it is taking a lot of RPM to do it. If I pull the battery cable while running I need to run up the RPM a lot to get the lights and heater up on full. If I run all the big electrical users, head lights, radio, heater, and radiator fan, and come to a stop, I can kill the engine as the voltage at idle is below what the coil needs. Has anyone seen this kind of subtle partial failure of an alternator before ? I am driving south from SF tomorrow for a car show and I am wondering if I am setting myself up for trouble if it completely goes on that drive. I am charging my spare Optima 6V and taking it along just in case. Best, James

I have a set of cowl mirrors and they are next to worthless on my big body. The Pax side you can not even see. If you look at these links, you can see a mirror that was optional for the Deosto. Longer arm and larger mirror. Better photo here: http://ads.seriouswheels.com/listing/263/1948_Desoto_Suburban_Station_WagonBrown.html

Pete, I pulled the pump from my old engine. Once I got the bulk of the grime off the pump, I made the measurements except the one with the body rotating as I don't have a good way to hold the tip of the shaft. The pump is an original MOPAR part number 1314-611. I don't have anything to tell me which year as my 46-48 Desoto book lists a 1124-735. The inside of the tip showed about 3 to 4 thousands. The outside of the trip showed about 3 to 4 thousands. The outside near the lower end of the gear showed about 2.5 to 3 thousands. The main shaft, through the body hole, showed about 2.5 thousands. I put it into some chemtool to soak over night to get it good an clean. By the way, the lower shaft has several thousands of movement, no doubt due to the lower busing being worn. Best, James

Ed, Thanks, I found a photo-copy that I got from Chrysler Historical that shows the position. Attached is the factory photo. Best, James

Pete, You know my engine has less than 1000 miles on it and is less than 6 months old. With new oil, or old, at road speed I have 40 PSI. At idle with new oil I have 25 PSI and with oil nearing change time it is 20PSI at idle. I have a pump that was working fine on my old engine. Next week I have a couple of days free. If you want to, give me call and tell me EXACTLY how you are meassuring the pump body and I will see if that one is within spec. If so, I can take a few hours and tear it down and go through the re-build process as outlined in the books. I can then send it over night to you when done. You would owe me a beer sometime... James

If you guys want to learn everything you ever wanted about corn, production, and subsidies... Read "The Omnivore's Dilemma", by Michael Pollan. A long and somewhat tedious but very very good book. James

I can move my XKE as far as I can push the bare body...about 10 feet at this point...

David, I am very interested in hearing your impressions about the tires. I have a friend here in San Francisco who put a set of Coker WW on one of his cars. Over a year he had to send 5 tires back for various quality reasons until he got a set that was as they should be. The Diamond folks told me that they can supply me with a set of higher pressure tires, so I can have a little more load capacity, with wide white walls. The Desoto Suburban is a heavy car, heavier than most, and with 225's the load capacity of the Coker Radials is not much more than the cars weight. I would like a little cushion so to speak... So, please do give us an evaluation of your tires after you drive them for a while. When you mount them, also ask the person mounting them to tell you how much weight was needed to get each one balanced. Best, James

A number of us have complained about outside rear view mirrors. So, here is a thought. What if we collectively came up with a arm length and mirror that would work on all of our cars. I mean arm length and mirror size and style. Something that would fit the vintage of our cars. Then we make up a few sets of cowl parts, one to fit each body style. We build the arms and bases to that they screw into the base. Then we have a bunch of sets made up. Anyone interested ? James

Ed, I have to drill the holes as I am putting this on my Desoto, which did not have one from the factory. The body below the tail light on mine is such that I can mount it with the screw up or down and the thing points slight in or our accordingly. Thank is why I am looking for a photo of a Desoto or Chrysler to see which way it was pointing.... Best, James

Thanks Tim, But it is placed different.... James

Norm, The thing is not symmetrical. Does it point to the left, toward the drivers side curb or to the right to the center line of the car ? Also, is the screw to take the lens off on top or on the bottom... James

Today I went to drill the holes for the stock backup light on the drivers side rear. I have a set of measurements that someone on the list here gave me. The problem is that I think they were from a Dodge or Plymouth as if I follow it the light is hitting the bottom of the tail light. Anyone out there have a 46-48 Chrysler or Desoto with the stock back up light ? If so, would you send me an email with a set of photos of the light. Thanks, James

Rodney, What are they charging you for chrome work ? I may have to get some stuff done around here and I want to know if I can save a little or a lot if I take it out of CA. Thanks, James

The Viscosity Index (VI) is the measure of how a fluid holds its published viscosity over a particular heat range. The higher the VI the more temperature it can be exposed to and maintain its viscosity. As heat goes up the viscosity of an oil tends to go down. In organic oils, most of what we use in our fluid couplings, the manufacturer adds a chemical supplement to raise and stabilize the fluids VI. After much research, I found out that those chemicals break down after about 5 to 7 years of life. Even if standing on a shelf. So, unless you are using some kind of synthetic fluid that has a high VI in and of itself. I would recommend that all fluid drive cars drain and re-fill their couplings every 5 years. If you do not, then you are in fact tossing out power. Best, James

Don, A very hearty congratulations. Sondra and I were just talking about the fact that it only seems like 5 or 10 years ago we shacked up together. In fact on April 1st we have been under the same roof for 25 years. Time does fly when you are having fun. All the best, James

Just a re-buildable one. I will send it in for a new cone. My dash as a lot of stuff under it and the permenant magnet speaker has a much larger depth to it and I would like to avoid that so I can get to things. Just let me know Lou how much and where to send the money. Thanks, James

Norm, I have the powered speaker with the original radio....

I am giving it a little thought. I wish I had more time to test and run the new transmission and a few other things. If I did it is a long trip. Almost 4000 miles round trip. With my car which gets @ 17 MPG I am looking at something like 240 gallons of fuel. At $4.00/gal that will run me close to $1000 just in fuel. So, I will ponder the thought. Best, James

Hi All, Anyone have a spare radio (802) speaker they would part with. I assume that the 1946 to 1948 speakers are all the same sizer for the 802 radio. It does not matter if it is ripped up in the cone as I will send it out to have it re-coned. Thanks, James

Thanks, James