Los_Control

There is a older thread here on the model 36 and shows the defroster duct.

I would go out on a limb and suggest your son in law is correct. The only reason why I say this is my wife youngest brother who lives in WA, I helped him install the TPMS on his wheels. He lives with father, I will say they both dabble in flipping cars. Father is pretty sharp on mechanics .... He will buy a pristine car that needs major engine work at a bargain price ... then fix it. Then sell it for a profit. So little brother had one of these vehicles, it had new tires on it but the previous owner installed regular valve stems instead of the proper TPMS. He was explaining to me why he was installing the proper stems ... I really did not pay attention .... I knew how to work Uncles tire machine, he did not. He really did not have the money for the stems, he had to save up for them .... If he did not feel he needed them and his Father told him he did need them ... He would not have bothered to install them. So no actual experience with them myself .... I hate new vehicles for the reason they are overly complicated. My Father inlaw is a real arsehole ... we never did get along ..... He likes to get drunk and then make fun of people. He got beat up a lot when he was younger ... middle age he learned to stay out of taverns .... He is in his 80's now and has not changed a bit. 🤣🤣🤣 I have A lot of respect for him, when he was young and built his first house, He saved his paychecks and lived in a bumper pull trailer with the wife & kids. When it was time to pour the foundation, he would have 8 or 10 paychecks saved up .... he needed 3 to pay for the foundation he would cash them and paid cash for everything his whole life. He started as a union laborer setting up scaffolding for Berkshire construction in Seattle when he was in his 20's, retired in his 60's doing the same job. After the house was built, he did the same thing. Time for a new car, he would go down and find one slightly used and pay cash .... pull out however many paychecks he needed and cash them. While he does have a bank account today and direct deposit, a very nice retirement pension, 401k, SS, over 1/2 million in real estate he paid cash for ... this guy is so tight, he squeaks if he pulls a nickle out of his pocket. If he says you need TPMS for the car to function properly, and spends his money to get it fixed .... I will take his word for it.

Not really sure what scale would help. I do have a model 61 heater and is different then a model 36, This is how the 61 looks. currently the flap is closed blocking heat to the defrost hoses .... so air blows to the floor. Here is the flap open, it allows air to go through the ducts and blocks air from going to the floor. Real simple operation. ..... close all the doors and open the defrost ducts .... or close defrost and open the doors for heat. As far as size goes, you want to measure your hose size in the photo you posted. Mine measure 1-5/8" od. Searching for defroster duct hose, I see 1-1/2" available? I'm hoping it will stretch over the 1-5/8" connections I have. I figure if the model 36 did not come with the defroster option, you will need to fabricate from scratch. first figure out the pipe for the duct hose .... match what you have under the dash. Then you will need to modify your case .... my Y is located in the upper left hand corner of the case pointing to the vents under the dash. You need to figure out how much room you have and make it according to the size available. .... Then figure out your flapper for the door. Why the only dimensions I'm including is for the hose, you just need to match what you already have then make something work .... while my flapper is fancy cable operated, a simple lever on the flap would work just as good. But I will gladly provide measurements of anything you think you need.

The only ducting would be to the defrosters if your model 36 has a defrost option? Other then that it just sits under the dash and you have doors to open or close to direct the flow of air. The heater was never installed at the factory, if you wanted a heater you either chose a model at the dealer and had them install it ... or you bought a heater yourself and installed it. A really poor picture, I just painted it 15 minute ago and letting it dry. and it is hanging upside down. My model 61 heater has a Y adapter on the side that has a cable operated flap on it. I can connect two 1.5" defrost ducts to it and route them to the defrost vents under the windshield. .... that is the only duct work these old trucks would have. ...... My truck never had a heater in it so it never got the tin adapters under the dash to connect the hoses to the vents .... I will need to fab something up.

I think your plans sound fine. Last Meadobrook at the plant??? I dunno, sounds interesting though .... I say fix it the way you want it. I have a 1949 Dodge 1/2 ton truck that identify as a 1950. What I mean is that at the end of 1949 they made about 2k trucks that had all the 1950 upgrades ... moving the 3 spd floor shifter to the column is the big one. Then they shipped them out to the dealers to put on the show room floor in 1949 to advertise the 1950 trucks. You can identify these trucks with a X on the end of the serial number. I think it is interesting, but I do not think the value is increased any. Is basically a 1950 truck with a 1949 title ... I will repair and modify as I see fit to make the truck work for me.

It is my experience they get hot ..... possible it could still be bad and not get hot? I dunno. If you still have your old one lying around you might try hooking it up and see if things change. While your coil is new, with the quality of some parts today it would not surprise me to see it go bad

Kind of a long thread so unsure if anyone has mentioned the coil? As it warms up a bad coil will get very hot to the touch and get sporadic ignition going in and out.

I certainly hope your new tires will be of current age. While I might expect Coker to have maybe 6 month - 1 year .... that would not bother me as they sell to a specialty crowd. I think Keith misread .... it is your existing used tires that were born in 2006. .... My point of my long winded post, maybe your existing tires do look fine .... do not feel bad about replacing them. They will not perform well when you need them. I have been doing a lot of driving the last couple weeks, have a BIL in a hospital 75 miles away in critical condition .... wife has been given full responsibility for his medical/estate decisions. ..... Lots of highway miles this month. Last week a semi truck treated a intersection as a 4 way stop while I had a flashing yellow caution light .... I was 40 mph with no intention of stopping when he pulled out in front of me. I needed every bit of braking power I could get. I stopped in the middle of the intersection about 2-3 feet away from his rear axle ..... I almost spilled my beer! I'm just saying it could have just as easily happened to you at 40 mph, if your old 2006 tires did not grab the road and went into a skid .... you would have hit the truck & spilled your beer Be happy you are replacing your tires .... keep the old ones around for spares or for rollers for another project .... just do not use them on something you drive.

One thing I've noticed over the years .... bias ply tires often were used for trailer tires long after radials were the norm. They just seem to hold up longer to age when you have a small trailer that gets used a few times a year .... Takes longer for them to get the dry rotted sidewalls, even when they do start cracking on the sidewalls, they still good for a few more years for the occasional trip to the dump. Another thing Ive noticed is the rubber gets hard as it ages. Performance tires have a speed rating on the sidewall ... they have a softer rubber compound that will really flex and grab the road. ... softer rubber wears out faster and you get less miles out of the tire for your $$ The average tire has a average rubber compound that is adequate for todays roads and driving/weather conditions. .... as they age though, the rubber gets harder. They will not grip or grab the road like they use to ..... go into a panic stop and they may break into a slide losing braking power. Go around a corner when it is raining, they may lose traction and send you into a spin. They just do not perform as well as they did when new. I had a old 1960 Dodge 1/2 ton I use to drive to work. I was retreading Semi truck tires, we had a retail shop connected to our shop. I would just run free used tires on the truck. Someone would come in and buy a new set, send the old set to the junk pile ..... They were old but no cracking on the sidewall, legal tread .... I would run them. There was a tricky double s curve near my house, every time it rained I got 1/2 way through the curves & I would go into a 180 spin. The tires while they looked good, they simply could no longer perform like originally designed. After 3 times spinning out on the corner, I put a different set of used tires on it and never spun out again. Just my opinion, older tires may look fine, they may or may not explode on you .... they will not perform for you as you might expect or need.

I'm just smart enough to know I'm not smart enough to figure out transmission conversions on my own. I can buy a kit and follow directions, figuring out pilot bearing dimensions, shaft lengths & diameters ..... throw out conversions .... way out of my league. Seems to me, you almost need to have all the pieces at your disposal just to measure & mock up ... just to see if you can make that trans work with your bell housing. Just tossing out my opinion, I love the idea of keeping a truck original and using it as it was designed to be used. I feel I can keep mine original because 90% of my driving is in a small town with population of 2500 people and speed limits up to 50 mph. I can drive to neighboring towns using side roads ..... I can use the stock truck as it was designed to be used. If I were to do all the fabrication to convert it to a 4x4, I think I would want the jeep 4.0 motor to go with the total package. To me it makes it complete. I would probably want to run some mild 31 x 10.50 - 15 tires ... a little taller, wider then stock .... While I would not want to beat it out on the trails, I would like to be able to use 4x4 when I thought I needed it. I'm not saying the flatty will not do the job of turning both axles with taller tires ..... boy it sure will be working hard .... and wearing out twice as fast. The flatty would be a serious weak link if it was left in place. I'm just suggesting in my opinion, the 4.0 needs to go in with the rest of the package. .... It would really change the abilities of the truck and allow you to use your new drive train as it was designed to be used. Freeway driving, trailer towing, lite off road or winter driving in ice & snow .... many trips to the ice cream shop. I will not say you are improving or harming the value of your truck ..... IMHO if you had 2 exact same trucks with the same 4x4 mods and your excellent fabrication skills to build them ..... The truck with the 4.0 would sell faster for more money then the truck with the flatty. If you are going in, go all the way not 1/2 way. Just my opinion.

@ggdad1951 story is just about like mine, I waited my turn in the right lane, when a opening in the left lane came available I moved over. That pissed off the semi truck driver .... they rode my arse flashing their high beams all the way. I suppose the big difference in my case, we were in a construction zone where traffic fines double and we were doing about 45-50 mph. There was no option to change lanes again til after the road construction ended. I wonder what the ticket for the semi truck driver for aggressive driving in a construction zone would be? Last week was coming coming home on HWY 208 going through the outskirts of a small town. At a intersection I had a yellow caution light, opposing traffic had a flashing red light. Speed limit was 40 mph in this area. A dang semi treated the intersection as a 4 way stop and pulled out right in front of me ..... I just barely got stopped and avoided running into his rear axle on the tractor. If I reacted a 1/2 a second slower I would have nailed him and it was 100% the semi drivers fault. ...... Yeah I was laying on the horn watching the kid look out the drivers window as he crawled away. I have the upmost respect for truck drivers and the job they perform that we all need. ..... starting to wonder about the younger generation on the road.

You are 100% correct @Bob Riding and I suspect the Desoto also use the same wheels .... I'm just not sure if all of them use that bolt pattern or just some? @Bingster could easily check by measuring the bolt pattern on one of their wheels. Or somebody else already knows. Really kind of sorta getting off topic here though, Bingster looking for cheap tires, I'm suggesting a different option to just replace the tires & wheels with something used. No idea if they are even open to the suggestion .... it does have other advantages though .... saves on labor cost to mount/dismount new tires. If I wanted to find a used set of tires & wheels. There is 8-10 wrecking yards within a few miles of each other in Abilene TX. I would call them and tell them what I was looking for. A few might be very well organized and have no time for such shenanigans. There will be one though that picked up a car last month that they never got around to taking the wheels/bald tires off of. They will work for you. If you want them for rollers, give me $50 cash and you can have them. ...... Cheaper then the mount/dismount fee of new tires. You just need to know what you are looking for, the counter person can then use that information to tell you all the different vehicles and also used sets they have sitting in inventory. Or just buy a new set of tires .....

I realize this, I know some Chrysler uses the 5 on 5" bolt pattern ..... In this case the wheels from my 1991 chebby would fit. I'm sure other makes would also. I just do not know what the bolt pattern is on any Desoto. Most modern wheels are made from magnesium and have larger center holes for larger hubs on modern vehicles ..... so it is the bolt pattern and the tire height to be concerned with. ....... Naturally width but a stock wheel should not be a issue. I do know of a guy that installed Cadillac wheels on his 3/4 ton B1C pickup with the 5 on 5" bolt pattern.

I think that would be true with some shops, but not all. At the same time, finding used 15" is almost impossible ... certainly rare. All newer vehicles have gone to taller wheels for larger brakes. Even small cars have 17" wheels or larger on them. What would be easier to find, a set of used tires & wheels that share the same bolt pattern as yours. I'm not sure what bolt pattern your Desoto uses. If it was the same 5 on 4.5" like the dodges, plymouths .... then some wheels off of a Ford explorer, Jeep cherokee .... Dodge Dakota ..... many choices. Possibly a wrecking yard would have a set cheap .... If a wrecking yard had a stock set of wheels for a jeep cherokee that has so so tires on it .... low tread & hold air .... they would sell them cheap. They have little chance of selling the wheels, basically scrap metal prices ..... the tires they have to pay a disposal fee to get rid of. Just saying, if you called a wrecking yard and told them you need some rollers while you restore your car, they could probably hook you up. This also leaves your original wheels free so you can restore and paint the wheels, then add new tires to them as you see the need. ..... Just another option.

I have given a little bit of thought to trailer tires ..... Is a good used set local pretty cheap. What I believe is they may be a heavier ply rating for heavier loads, I think they also have a speed rating meaning lower speeds. Trailers drive down the road all the time at 70-75 mph .... how fast will you drive? The heavier ply rating would make them ride rougher. Because they are a cheaper trailer tire ..... I do not think you will get many miles out of them. I think they would be fine to use for awhile .... If I bought a set really cheap used. I think I would rather spend my money on better tires if buying new. My daily driver chebby truck uses the same size tires as my 49 dodge truck. 235-R-75-15. So the Dodge gets the hand me downs from the chebby .... Dodge is currently sitting on dry rotted tires I took off of the chebby when I bought it. I need to put new tires on the Dodge before I can drive it ... The new tires on the chebby are now 5 years old with low miles on them. I'm thinking about putting new tires on the chebby and then put the gently used tires on the dodge. Just an idea if you have another vehicle that uses the same size.