National Desoto Convention & Show in Kalamazoo Mich 7-15 to 7-19

[desoto1939]

The National Desoto Club will be holding this years National meet in Kalamazoo. 

 

The location is Four Points  By Sheraton 3600 E cork St Kalamazoo Mich

the phone number is 269-385-3922

 

The meet starts on Wed and runs to Sunday 7-15 to 7-19

 

The official car show will be held on the grounds of the Gilmore Car Museum on Saturday 7/18/15

 

GilmoreCarMuseum.org

 

I will be driving out on Wednesday and be there until Sunday.

 

I f you can make it to the meet please stop by and say hello.

 

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

[JD luxury liner]

I wish I was there. That would be very cool, please post pictures.

[JohnS48plm]

If I get back from our trip to see the grandkids I'll be at the show on Saturday. JohnS

[DonaldSmith]

Look for my Big Brown Car.

 

[JohnS48plm]

It doesn't look like I'll make the Desoto show. We are staying Friday night in Charlevoix and there is a car show there Saturday morning. I probably won't get on the road before 10am for the 4 hour drive home. JohnS

[mattimuss]

My Grandad was a member of the National Desoto Club for years.  I remember hearing the stories of him loading up one of his Desotos and driving cross country with my grams as navigator to the convetions.

 

My wife, daughter and I attended the one in Ohio in '92.  Great adventure!

 

He loved his Desotos!  At one time he had five or six, with a few other Mopars mixed in...

 

On a chance that there may be some National Desoto Club members here, his name was C. Gordon Matthews, he went by Gordon, and my grams was Lila Matthews.

Edited July 17, 2015 by mattimuss

[Don Coatney]

I awoke early and drove to Kalamazoo. Arrived at the show location at about 10:55 AM. Discovered it was not possible to park near the show field and it was a long walk to the field that my knees are not really up to. But I was going to be a trooper and give it a shot. Parked, got out of my truck, walked about 10 steps, and the rain started falling. Returned to my truck and the rain storm got worse. I thought I was parked underneath Niagara falls. Then the lightning and wind started. I sat there for a few minutes and elected to return home. It rained really hard for the first 130 miles of the trip home then I drove out of it. Drove the 10 miles home just as the storm hit here. Sure hope I don't lose power again. Anyway I tried to make the show but it did not work out. Hope those who attended found a dry spot to sit out the storm. Sorry but I did not even take one photo.

[Plymouthy Adams]

no pics...it has been so long since I have seen rain, I would have enjoyed a shot of a Niagara downpour...

[Niel Hoback]

That's the storm that came through here also. One short power outage and 2 1/8" of rain in 45 minutes.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Niel Hoback

[Don Coatney]

Aftermath

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

that is some rain.....I have sweated just today more water than seems to have fallen on my property in the past month or better

[Don Coatney]

Only rained once here in June and that lasted 45 days. So far in July it has rained once lasting 37 days. Glad it is not snow.

 

[Niel Hoback]

LOOK OUT, DON, HERE IT COMES AGAIN!!!!! 

[desoto1939]

^{Don Sorry that you left so soon. The rain stopped around 12 noonish.  We had a real nice turnout for the show on the Gilmkore grounds.  I was the tema lead for jusding the 1929 to 1940 Desotos.}

 

^{In our group we had two prior Grand NAtion winner, one with a 36 Coupe Airflow and the other was 34 Airflow that was a Grand NAtion Winner for 2012.  We even had a 29 roadster.  I will post pictues when I get home of the early cars.  I did not get much time to look at the upper classes since I went intot he main museum and was takinging picture of the cars in the museum.  I will post picture of these also.}

 

^{I did meet up with the Smiths at the show.}

 

^{HAd a great time.}

 

^{Rich HArtung}

[DonaldSmith]

Rich Hartung showed off his special service tools at the membership meeting Friday Night.  The usual deal:  a refundable deposit to ensure return of these rare tools.  Where you gonna find tools like these? 

 

At the hotel parking lot and at the show on the Gilmore grounds I showed off my power steering setup to some interested attendees. 

 

Saturday's rain passed through and forced us off the field and inside the Gilmore exhibit buildings, only more opportunity for friendly chats among the NDC members.  (I was going to say "members and wives", but the wives are members too.  A crew of guys and gals of the Great Lakes Chapter worked very hard to make the Convention a success.)  

 

I attended with my wife, daughter, son-in-law, and almost-15-year-old, 6-ft 2-inch wrestler grandson.  The father and son are car nuts.  (Speaking of car nuts, Car Crazy Meguiar was filming an episode at the car show.  We tried to stay out of his background.)  

 

The big brown car sputtered on start-up but got us to the convention Thursday.  We had the foresight to bring a chase car, for the women folk.  

 

On the way back, we got the old car a few miles to church, but the car would not start after the services.  Kalamazoo member Jerry Turben responded to our call for help. and showed up with truck, car hauler, and parts.  He replaced the coil.  That helped.  We took a shakedown cruise down a country road for home, and waived Jerry off.  

 

But some forty miles later we stopped at a Micky D's for the usual.  Then the car would not start.  Jerry responded again.  Being five years older than my car, and thoroughly whipped, I took him up on an earlier offer to trailer my car home.  There's no place like home; there's no place like home!

 

Jerry would take no money for his help.  He confirmed our previous arrangement for him and his wife to park in our driveway during the Woodward DreamCruise.  We won't be there, but he can plug his camper into our house, and I pointed out the secret hiding place for the house key.  A few years ago I gave him a van full of DeSoto parts for his Suburban.   Considering the value of the parts and the the DreamCruise  parking spot, versus his technical help and car hauling, I feel that I came out ahead. 

 

On Jerry's recommendation, I'm going to get a new coil and condenser, check the point gap, and and clean out the fuel pump.  Fuel pump because of trouble I had trying to pass a small U-Haul trailer that I had been sifting behind at 60-some mph.  The car stuttered, and I fell back in line.  The ball valves in the mechanical pump can gum up and compromise the effectiveness of the pump.  (In my frazzled condition, I completely forgot about flipping on my electric fuel pump.)  

 

So I'm not giving up on the car yet. 

[greg g]

check the lower chamber of the fuel pump.  Mine had a brass screen in it that was rust fouled.  It caused some problems with passing and hill climbing.  I also has a piece of debris ( a chunk of rubber from the inside of a fuel hose probably ) that acted like a regulator valve.  It was lodged in th hollow bolt that passes fuel to the upper chamber.  Was  fine when under moderate flow, but when demand increased it would change position restricting flow.

[DonaldSmith]

Thanks for the fuel pump tip, greg g.  

 

Jerry, who rescued me yesterday, stated that with these cars, several things can be a little off, which was the case with me trying to get the Big Brown Car home.

 

I forgot to mention that we only got a few blocks from the initial repairs at the church parking lot, when the car bucked off the line and started smelling hot.  Maybe the smell was the anti-freeze boiling off from me over-filling the radiator.  (I should have known by now.)  Apparently the Interrupter circuit for the trans was interrupting too much.  Jerry disconnected it, and we found that the car would upshift without that circuit. 

 

As Rosanne Rosannadanna said, "If it isn't one thing it's another."  Or something like that.  

[fstfish66]

sounds like a  kool event, ive  been to that  location several  years ago for a barracuda  owners  meet,,,first time  i ever seen a tucker in  person,,, would  like to see some  desoto pics,