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1942 Dessoto Club Coupe Project


Floydflathead

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One of several projects I have going.  This was a car a never thought I would find in my backyard, but here it is.  It is originally from just north of my area, and spent about 40 years on jackstands in a local home garage.  The owner starter to repaint the car, took off the front fenders, and clearly didn't know what he was doing.  Unfortunately for him, he developed Alzheimers, and his wife finally sold the car to me.  We had to look around this filled to the gills garage for parts.  He had put some items up in the garage rafters.  Much of the stainless headlights, and parking lights were thrown into a little junky trailer outside and sat there for 20-30 years.  It is amazing I found as much as I did.  I have found most items for this car, but are missing a few, and have started my inventory.  Any details that folks  can provide me will be appreciated. 

 

My car has the following options:

Simplimatic Drive

Sportsman Package with leather Bolsters on the seats.  This is supposedly quite rare.  An August 2000 issue of SIA has a restoration article on this exact car and the owner stated it was the only known one then with the Sportsman package.

 

 

Missing items: 

rear ashtray door covers that go below quarter windows,

 

buttons for the 42 radio that I purchased for the car (it came originally I'm sure with a 41 radio -- the dealer out here in eastern WA at the time probably only had that radio is my explanation)

 

Horn ring.  the original was broken off on the top half maybe it was due to an emergency honk!  those are pot metal, so don't think I can replace it,

 

New speedometer dial face.  The original is so yellowed you can't read the odomter.  I may have some new ones made if there is interest by others in these.  Can't find that anybody sells them.

 

My car has the Lucite Lady hood ornament; don't know if that was an option only (chrome standard).  Some of the stainless trim is not great on the front fenders.  Bent up fairly well.  I think 42 is a one off year for that.  I've got the dash torn down, have the carb mostly rebuilt (special car for 42 and has kickdown switch on it), I have a new wiring harness for the Simplimatic drive.  I need a new water distribution tube for the engine, and have to finish tearing it down and rebuilding it.  Not sure what I'll have to do to the transmission.  The fluid drive needs to be flushed.  Most people say not to try to take these apart for service.  Just flush with fresh oil or add fresh oil.  Otherwise, no serious rust issues with this car.  And thankfully it's pretty straight.  The previous owner started putting some light blue mud on the rear fender.  Gone that will soon be!

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Parts for 42 DeSoto's are tough to come by. Especially the 5th Ave package. Luckily you don't need that stuff! A picture of the rear quarter panel conv. ash tray with bad plastic. Impossible to find good ones.

The titty lady in lucite is another extremely tough item to find as they got broken when slamming the hood.

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1946-8 DeSoto club coupe will fit but no plastic as the original. Maybe Dodge and Chrysler too.

Edited by Dodgeb4ya
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A 42 DeSoto coupe with the hideaway headlights that is almost complete and in good condition is a major score.

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Is this a Custom or DeLuxe coupe? Should say so on the cowl panel and the radio medallion.

 

Can you post the numbers? The VIN on passenger door post (or is it the driver side?), on the firewall there are two plates, one is the DeSoto Motors number the other is Briggs number - coupes (or coupe bodies) were apparently build in the Briggs facility as this plate doesn't appear on any other body type.

 

Where are you located and who was the gentleman who started the project? Did you get any other history of the car like previous owners, etc.

 

Here are some responses to your questions

 

My car has the following options:

Simplimatic Drive

 

Sportsman Package with leather Bolsters on the seats.  This is supposedly quite rare.  Yes it is.

This option was offered first on the 41 DeSoto coupes. There is a seperate sales brochure covering the car. it comes up on EBay from time to time and may be of interest to you. From what I can garner in 1942 i was offered on all body styles. 

 

An August 2000 issue of SIA has a restoration article on this exact car and the owner stated it was the only known one then with the Sportsman package. I have only seen one in my 42 hunts. If I remember it is the one in the SIA article. The owner at the time I saw the car was Francis O'Connell or Connell, if I remember correctly. He had two, a Custom and a De Luxe for parts.

 

 

Missing items: 

rear ashtray door covers that go below quarter windows,

 

buttons for the 42 radio that I purchased for the car (it came originally I'm sure with a 41 radio -- the dealer out here in eastern WA at the time probably only had that radio is my explanation)

May or may not be the case. I suggest you get the build sheet from Crysler Historical and it will tell you is the car came with the radio or if the dealer installed it. My 42 Fifth Avenue came from the dealerhip in Bellingham, WA and 10 years ago or so the building was still standing!

The correct radio for the 42 is either an 801 or 601. The 802/602 are for 46-48 but will fit.

 

Horn ring.  the original was broken off on the top half maybe it was due to an emergency honk!  those are pot metal, so don't think I can replace it,

Can you post a picture of the steering wheel. The same wheels, both the standard and the 5th Avenue cigarette dispenser,  were used on the 46-48 as were the horn rings, etc. The only difference was the colors of the wheels - 42's were ivory - and the paint trim in the horn ring and the cross piece - on the 42 all these, as well as on other chrome trim, were painted red.

 

New speedometer dial face.  The original is so yellowed you can't read the odomter.  I may have some new ones made if there is interest by others in these.  Can't find that anybody sells them. There was/is a guy in San Rafael, CA who does produce some 40s MoPar speedo screens, but I am not sure if he does the 42.

 

My car has the Lucite Lady hood ornament; don't know if that was an option only (chrome standard).  Yes, it seems to have been optional except it was standard on the 5th Avenue. BUT, with the Fed regs on the use of chrome (Blackout Models) DeSoto may have substituted the lucite Lady for the standard chrome one as production got closer to the 12.15.41 regulations

 

Some of the stainless trim is not great on the front fenders.  Bent up fairly well.  I think 42 is a one off year for that. 

That is correct for the fender trim with the groove in it. The belt moldings and the two-tone paint chrome were shared with 41 and 42 Dodge and Chryslers.

 

I've got the dash torn down, have the carb mostly rebuilt (special car for 42 and has kickdown switch on it),

Similar carb was used on the 41 DeSotos and Chryslers and the 42 was used on the 42 Chryslers

 

I have a new wiring harness for the Simplimatic drive.  I need a new water distribution tube for the engine, and have to finish tearing it down and rebuilding it. 

 

Not sure what I'll have to do to the transmission. 

That is the question for the 41/42s. It is a tricky set up which is why Chrysler went to the M-5 in 1946. Some parts are still out there on EBay and from the usual MoPar suppliers for the Simplimatic.

I've contempleted for my 5th Avenue a couple of options. One would be to tinker with what's on the car and hope it will run. If not another option is to transplant an M-5. I've seen at least one 42 where this was done - the only change the owner told me he needed to do was use the floorboard from a 46-48. Another option if I wanted to keep the Fluid Drive is look for the parts needed to attach a standard MoPar 3speed. This is what Dodge had after the war. If I could find one I would probably opt for a standard with overdrive from a early 50s MoPar. I'm guessing I could use the Simplimatic lockout cable in place of the OD cable.

 

The fluid drive needs to be flushed.  Most people say not to try to take these apart for service.  Just flush with fresh oil or add fresh oil.  Otherwise, no serious rust issues with this car.  And thankfully it's pretty straight.  The previous owner started putting some light blue mud on the rear fender.  Gone that will soon be!

 

 

Keep us posted on your progress and keep the pictures coming!

 

Ed K

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There is an early and late Simplimatic transmission for 1942 DeSoto's. The two range transmission is the same but the automatic shifting control unit was improved and updated.The early type shifting unit used a vacuum type shift unit. The diaphram could leak and prevent upshifts. The later improved piston type shift was less prone to give trouble.

Get your money out to buy a plastic hood ornament if you can find a nice one!

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Ed,

 

Thanks for responding so much and I will get some more pictures for you.  Let me try and respond to a few items. 

 

1.  I already have all the literature you suggest.  As a matter of fact the SIA article that I read 13 years ago made me keep my eyes open for one of these.  I saw one other club coupe around Eugene, OR come up on Ebay about 5 years ago, and it was a no sale at $25K.

 

2.  I've done other posts about the radio situation.  I'm sure the car had this very radio in it originally.  But it is a 41 style radio.  Have looked it up elsewhere based on the serial numbers inside the radio.  I just doesn't look quite right, but worked perfectly fine -- you could see some of the screws and paint in the dash face.  The 1942 radio that would be correct for the car has the ivory buttons.  Also, from what I found on the web, Chryslers and DeSotos only got the 8 tube radios in 42.  Plymouth and Dodge got 6 or 8 tube radios depending on what the customer wanted to pay for.  Many of those 42 radios ended up in furniture tables because production was ended and the radio manufacturers didn't want to get stuck with unsold stock.  So they built the radios into and end table type radio/speaker piece of furniture.  I have a 1941 dash that I purchased and I'm restoring, and eventually it will have all the right parts with it.  Clock and Radio.  It also has some woodgraining on it.

 

3.  Yes, the Steering wheel is Ivory (needs repair) and the steering wheen and all the badging is a Custom.  The dash had all the red lines on the chrome.  One question for you is that my car did not have the clock, but I have obtained one that is appropriate.  It is a 46-48 clock.  The question is should the face of the clock be the burnished magenta color of the instrument panel/glovebox door?  Also all the pull cables and electric switches on the unit under the dash were on a plain chrome horizontal box, but literature suggest that those has the patterned burnished magenta color panel as on the glovebox.  Any clues there?

 

4.  My car has the Lucite Lady.  Good observation about limitations on chrome.  I think my car must have been built in early December 1941.  It had chrome bumpers and everything else.  However, it had the Lucite Lady hood ornament which was, as I understood it, only available with the Fifth Avenue option.  Bit of a mystery.

 

If it can be built, it can be fixed.  I don't know what shape the tranny is in, but will find out soon.  I'm pretty hopeful that with some cleaning and maintenance, it will run properly again.  I plan to make the original materials work for the car.

 

Now some history on this car.  It sat in a home garage in Kennewick, WA for about 40 years.  The car was bought by the father of the woman I bought it from and he gave her the car in 1975.  She had it over near Vancouver, WA at that time (remembers driving over Stevens Pass), but immediately after getting the car, she and her husband moved to Kennewick.  That was 38 years ago and the car never moved from that garage until I got it.  The car was owned by a school teacher from Cashmere, WA.  That is near Wenatchee and Leavenworth, WA.  Her husband passed away in 1964 after an roofing accidental fall; and her son passed away not that many years after that (I looked up their history).  Their names were on some documents in the glovebox.  The woman I bought the car from -- her father probably bought it from the school teacher in the early 70s after she quit driving all together.  At any rate, pretty sure this car was always an eastern Washington car.  The original owners manual was still in the glovebox as well as some "I like Ike" stickers. 

 

I will get the numbers off the firewall for you but you have to promise to help decode some of them for me!  Also, can you post pictures of you car?  That would be very helpful!

 

Tim

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Here are the numbers off the car:

 

Desoto Motor Corp Body Number (Firewall):  101-2-2759

Briggs Mfg Co Number (Firewall):                    432-4117

Engine Number:                                               S10-19909

VIN (serial Number on Pass Door post):          5781785

 

Looks like the fluid drive housing has a number near where it bolts to the engine block:  K11 and 868751-3

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Hi Floyd

 

>>>Here are the numbers off the car:

 

Desoto Motor Corp Body Number (Firewall):  101-2-2759

 

Briggs Mfg Co Number (Firewall):                    432-4117

 

Engine Number:                                               S10-19909

 

The engine number on my 5th Avenue, which was built 10.27.1941, is S10 12169,   the number on the last Custom built, 5 783 503, is either S10 22830 or S10 23 830 - both are stamped on the "Final Assembly Record", it looks to have been built on Jan 28 1942. It was a 7 PASS SEDAN special order # 8200. An export RHD built also on Jan 28 1942 has an engine number  S10 22 451 

 

VIN (serial Number on Pass Door post):          5 781 785.

 

It will be interesting to see what your build date ends up being. You car is only 1718 from the end of production. At one time I thought I had an idea on how many cars were produced on an average day. But I've misplaced it.

 

Here's my research on these numbers:

 

 

 

 

1942 De Sotos carry three and in some cases, four identification numbers. I’ve compiled this info from on car inspections. I’ve only inspected 1 Custom 3 passenger coupe and convertible both belonging to Ray Reiss in Seattle. There were no firewall tags on the convertible.

 

 

 

VIN or SERIAL NUMBER

 

The VIN number is located on a plate attached to the front pillar of the right front door (passenger side).

 

ENGINE NUMBER

This number is stamped on the left side of the engine block, below the cylinder head. It is located on the left (driver’s side) upper front corner of the block. If you look above and behind the generator you should be able to see it. The correct engine number begins with S-10 followed by a number between 1001 and 24 551.

 

BODY NUMBER PLATES

Located on the firewall in the engine compartment there are at least one, and perhaps two, data plates. They are about 1” by 11/2” stamped plates.

 

All 42s have a ‘DeSOTO DIVISION” Body Number Plate.  This number is a series: XXX-y-ZZZZ.

    XXX -                   For the S-10S & S-10 it will be 100.

                                For the S-10C it will be 101

                                For the S-10C Custom with a factory installed “Fifth Avenue Ensemble” it will be 102.

 

          Y -            This will be a single digit, between 1 and 8, that designates body style.

                                1....................(3 pass. coupe?)                             5....................4 Door Sedan

                                2....................5 passenger Club coupe               6....................4 Door Town Sedan

                                3....................(Convertible coupe?)                    7...................,(7 pass. Sedan?)

                                4....................2 Door Sedan (Brougham)           8....................(7 pass. Limo?)

 

   ZZZZ -             This is the ‘Body Number’ referred to in the 1942 Parts List. I don't know if this is sequential  or not.

 

Coupes have a ‘BRIGGSMFN’ Body Number Plate. This number is a series: vvv-wwww.      

vvv-                      432........5 passenger Club Coupe. 

                                 Codes for the convertible and 3-passenger coupe not yet identified.

 

 wwww  -                This may be a Briggs Manufacturing ‘Body Number’ refered to in the Parts List

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Ok, I will start a project blog.  I'm already buried deep in other projects, but my approach work till I get to a stopping point, then work on something else, while thinking all the while how to resolve the various resto projects.  Desoto is slowed a little, but I want to get right back on this.  Really body work isn't bad and the engine/trans just take the tie it takes.

 

Thanks for all the info on the serial numbers:  Very helpful!

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  • 4 years later...

Hi  Floyd.

 

Your last post on this car was five years ago.  What have you done to it in the meantime?  Recent (or even old) photos?

 

I have four of these beauties.  A completely restored '42 Custom Club Coupe, a running but needs restoration '42 Deluxe 2-dr sedan, all of the parts from another '42 CCC--restoration already begun (S-11 engine already professionally rebuilt), and a '46 Custom 4-door that is getting converted back to a a '42 (I already have the '42 front clip and the '42 front doors).

 

I'll see if I have a few photos....

 

Jon

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