Finally removed 48 DeSoto body from chassis!

[MarcDeSoto]

At first, I thought I could remove the body from the chassis alone.  So, I'm glad a got a buddy to help me do it.  It's a two man job for sure.  We had to get the front of the body much higher than I thought for the rear frame to clear the bottom of the front 4X4 post. My buddy thought we could keep the wheels on the rear axle and just deflate the tires, but I didn't think that would work.  I thought about using my wheel dollies to ride under the rear wheel hubs, but that turned out to be a bad idea.  The leaf springs and shock absorber mounts got in the way.  So I used the floor jack under the differential instead and it worked fine.  I was able to clear the steering post without unbolting the steering box from the frame.  We carefully lowered the body to the body cart by going around the car and lowering each side a couple of inches at a time.  We had to put an 8 ft. 4X4 across the back of the cart to hold the body better.  After the body was on the cart, we found that there was no real need to screw the body to the cart.  The cart was super easy for one person to move the body to the other side of the garage.  

[casper50]

Nice.  Where there's a will there's a way.  I did mine by myself.  I'd get something better than the jackstands for support though.

 

[MarcDeSoto]

Did you finish your 47 Dodge yet?  I saw that you started the tear down in 2014.  By the way, the body is not on jack stands now.  It's on a sturdy body cart.  Also, my jack stands are good.  They were not on the recall list.    

[chrysler1941]

Oh Marc, you had me fooled ?

This is not a business coupe. this looks like a Deluxe Coupe. DeSoto never made business coupe, no salesman could afford them.

Please change your avatar immediately ? lol

 

Looks good, nice unmolsted frame and rustfree body.

If you think taking the frame off was hard and require 2 people, wait till you lower it and trying to fit all the holes in frame at once ?

[James_Douglas]

Marc, Please take a photo and document where exactly you find the back up serial number on the frame. On my 1949 Desoto Convertible it was about mid frame on the drivers side in the TOP of the frame. No way to see it with the body on. I am curious as to if the 1946 to 1948 Desoto's used the same location or not. Often people talk about them being on the real wheel well section in a place you can see with the body on.  I have not see that on a Desoto however.

 

Best, James

[Marcel Backs]

That de Soto will be a clean car when its completed. Lack of rust and a relatively clean frame will make your prepping for paint relatively easy avoiding any sandblasting. The engine can be easily removed and sent in for rebuild (if necessary). Your frame looks like it will clean up requiring a good de-greasing and thorough wire brushing of the frame and under-body. Make sure that you have laid down a plastic sheet to protect your floor and laneway during cleaning operations since some of the stuff coming off is unkind to cement. Because your car frame is mostly dust on the surface with minimal corrosion, you could look into having it steam cleaned by a mobile service. For any de greasing, I would go to NAPA and get some Aqua Clean degreaser by KBS Coatings and apply according to directions prior to pressure washing or steaming. The biggest part will be prepping the frame and under body for paint with a drill and wire brush which will consume many hours. The amount of time you spend here determines the appeal and durability of the paint on the frame and underneath. This will be the most laborious task in your restoration but once this is done it gets easier since parts start going on the car instead of coming off. If you require any more info  do not hesitate to ask. PS be careful stripping off original paint since it most surely contains lead. All the Best, M

Edited April 7, 2021 by Marcel Backs
Bad grammar

[casper50]

 

 

 

[Marcel Backs]

I think I will add a three window coupe to my list of cars I want to own. That green beauty is a work of art from the golden age of styling. M

[Marcel Backs]

Marc How were you planning to strip the paint on the body and panels? For this part, I stripped all of the paint off using straight blades on a long handle available at NAPA made to hold the blades at the right angle for paint stripping. This is by far the cleanest method for avoiding chemical stripper or dusty sanding leaving only many paint shavings to vacum up. You will find original primer which is loaded with lead a real chore to remove. The lead was used to enhance primer and paint adhesion back then making bare metal difficult to attain. This will become evident when stripping the firewall the door openings as well as all other surfaces which were factory primed. I would only bring sections of the body down to bare metal that will be body colour. Interior floors can be brush painted with black rust paint. Once you have the body stripped down to metal, prep it properly, do any required metal repairs and then epoxy prime it with a good quality product without delay since this seals the metal and is the base for any body work. At this point the body in primer with painted inner and outer floor pans can be installed onto the painted frame. Panel fit and prep follows. Panels that will eventually bolt to the body should all be pre fit prior to final prep and paint to ensure no hassles during re assembly. The body on your coupe is a lot straighter than mine was and you will gladly be spending a lot less time than I did on this process. This part of the restoration I can compare to a marathon! M

[chrysler1941]

Are we flashing rear ends now? Ok here his mine. ?

[MarcDeSoto]

I've always loved the 41 Chrysler styling!  The boat prow grille, the thin bold bumper guards, the art deco lines,  the sculptured tail lights!  Congrats of a beautiful car!  V. P. Harry Truman's choice in 1941!  He bought two of them, a Royal club coupe and a Windsor 4 door sedan.  As far as stripping the car down to bare metal, there is no reason to do that if I can believe restoration expert Matt Joseph in his On Restoration series in Skinned Knuckles back in the 80s and 90s.  Joseph said the only reason to take it down to bare metal is to say "I took it down to bare metal".  But he thought if the original paint has adhered to the body for sixty to seventy years, why strip it?  I'm just going to lightly sand it, apply some primer surfacer, and go from there.  Of course on some areas such as the roof and the top of the deck lid some of the original blue faded away leaving red primer.  I might go down to bare metal in those locations.  

[chrysler1941]

Thank  you. Love the Art deco style too. Both my cars has them.

Notice how the post war models rockers flared out and ballooned fender styling to make the car wider even they share same frame, driveline etc.

 

I've always considered DeSoto to be Chrysler's "bad boy" with daring design, grill, steering wheel etc compared to Chrysler's conservative design.   Nothing beats 1942 DeSoto 3W CPE? 

My friend has 49 Desoto and it's a completely different design than 48. 

Your car was light blue originally, so what's all the maroon on torpedo?

You can freshen up door handles with new spring available on eBay.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I do not like the post war as well as the earlier as the fender flowing into the door makes the car look shorter...the front fender staying forward of the cowl/door is IMO the cleaner look and one of the reasons I let a 47 business coupe leave the property.  That is bad when I let a two door car go...

[49D-24BusCpe]

    I've always liked 3-window coupes! The '41 thru '49 (1st series) Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge cars are all very stylish vehicles. Personally, I find the post-war units to be more 'flowing' and attractive.

 

[maddmaxx1949]

Marc, I am just about to do a similar thing with my crusty old 49. I was wondering if you could tell me if the mounts I have circled all sit flush with each other at the top.

The ones on my car are all rotted off or hanging by a thread so I am not sure. I will be making new ones but needed to know if they were supposed to be in line with each other. Thanks

[Marcel Backs]

If you will be priming over original finish (lacquer), make sure that your primer is compatible and will not attack the original paint causing a compromised base. I would use a superior quality primer like Glass Shield gloss black epoxy. The primer dries to a gloss black and makes identification of flaws a breeze. Epoxy primer resists shrinking has superior adhesion and is real easy to sand contributing to a far superior base for your paint. After using epoxy primer and working with it, you will never use anything else.  M

[Booger]

On 4/7/2021 at 12:35 AM, MarcDeSoto said:

At first, I thought I could remove the body from the chassis alone.  So, I'm glad a got a buddy to help me do it.  It's a two man job for sure.  We had to get the front of the body much higher than I thought for the rear frame to clear the bottom of the front 4X4 post. My buddy thought we could keep the wheels on the rear axle and just deflate the tires, but I didn't think that would work.  I thought about using my wheel dollies to ride under the rear wheel hubs, but that turned out to be a bad idea.  The leaf springs and shock absorber mounts got in the way.  So I used the floor jack under the differential instead and it worked fine.  I was able to clear the steering post without unbolting the steering box from the frame.  We carefully lowered the body to the body cart by going around the car and lowering each side a couple of inches at a time.  We had to put an 8 ft. 4X4 across the back of the cart to hold the body better.  After the body was on the cart, we found that there was no real need to screw the body to the cart.  The cart was super easy for one person to move the body to the other side of the garage.  

Man you got cool neighbors! Nice work!

[MarcDeSoto]

Look at the maroon paint on the cowl.  I painted it about 1983 right over the original paint and it hasn't aged a bit.  

 

MaddMax -  I measured the heights off the ground of those mounts.  The first one was about 19" off the ground, the second one was 18", and the third was about 20" off the floor.  

 

James -  I found the frame serial no. about mid way on top of the frame on the left side.  Would that be the same number as on the body? The flashlight shows where I found the serial number.

[MarcDeSoto]

As you can see on my left door, I do need new door handle springs.  Thanks Denmark for telling that these springs are available.  Are these the springs you mean? 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1941-1952-Dodge-Chrysler-Plymouth-Desoto-Door-Latch-Remote-Springs-Set-Repair/393133695229?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item5b889820fd:g:EKwAAOSwEN9bVNGT&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkyMJZWL%2BqFSgQ3TOOe%2FNr7j8MOQ%2BxAGuNFhyVrUQbTN0nJ6BpaEXuVoXLOQvKSbq0TXM6kHtzXA5TRK%2BGwwpvCxIMpA%2F8yREWDjeNgsLURLEotS6ioKy2lV3tM49f%2F5n%2BOZlzkxAHYjxHL9GZMFtzTP08gBksRA4TUKUvw1de90G6Y%2BkFvJ3lnWHh13zH%2B1aeTft4hUSwX373fWCkCAlHdffHYYjHShAjNRG6OkYUGG%2Fy9yIKnE3sM6T3p5Hkdq3UHcR9LwYc0NszdRDDgdJ2wjrJzg40fma%2FEESPdXnCCInSOFUImCHYxKfWavNGHHmQOBkQEROzjAJx%2FK93oAfkMJ2RwLs%2FmfN0ccNRXSCf6JF6jQv9C0a2iUJ2y7%2FmdekBLtE81jjBBUMSMavs4dScNw%2FP1pqDPHj5a55hMgFmpw6qLgSq5%2FAI4%2FyvBY6AOS%2F1ExvpPzpH1I9QeECdhrDTAIkSBpqME1jpMpynZQtfQhG%2BUDkinhJheu4U7Ya%2FXZpIq1GXu7GDzaeFUzEQG5XV94HqO6%2FqJvG62lSkFl97%2FLN9x8sxIXqynXYcgH9%2F5WuZJIpje5fL593ELKUd4ARaYkX3eQsfV%2FNp4zyYpaaJ5FBuHWPmOYiU4nD%2Fd7z5lfkpz%2FL0NWYgcAPvWPR2oscz0oxFIT%2FZ79F9ybo1IqRgdqUiamo%2FQhC3QQiRRwhnlkQpxlPVIYznb1LQF16jl2iHH2%2FMkWI1ZM6Tz7nLTzNGteMuVaGaJ1pc%2BPQwpq6pj4Lb5hlpOu1M0yXVRDBVGBGplsW4xh%2BzTcDJo7A%2BDFyIy0A%3D|cksum%3A39313369522906e291d24f0440e0bc1cb89d28468690|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

[chrysler1941]

7 hours ago, MarcDeSoto said:

As you can see on my left door, I do need new door handle springs.  Thanks Denmark for telling that these springs are available.  Are these the springs you mean? 

 

Denmark ? My name is Mo.

That is one scary long link. Was reluctant to click on it. But yes the spiral ones. But change all when you can.

Edited April 10, 2021 by chrysler1941

[MarcDeSoto]

On 4/8/2021 at 1:51 PM, 49D-24BusCpe said:

    I've always liked 3-window coupes! The '41 thru '49 (1st series) Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge cars are all very stylish vehicles. Personally, I find the post-war units to be more 'flowing' and attractive.

 

This may be the best looking 46-48 Dodge I've ever seen.  I would have loved this car in high school!  And I still want it, which is why I am working on the 48 DeSoto, a Palm Springs car.  

[Marcel Backs]

Paint on the firewall was never exposed to direct sunlight and baked until it powdered away like on your roof. The rest of the paint on the body has been reduced to a dry powdery broken down lacquer. I NEVER use modern primer/urethane based paint over old lacquer or even a newer lacquer base. With time  the new primer and paint will shrink into the old lacquer that remains. The key to a good paint job is finishing the metal to a high smooth gloss using the least amount of primer filler and paint on top of the metal. I have seen the results of modern paint systems applied over original finish and with time the finish deteriorates or will develop cracks and or dull spots. Just my observations from 40 or so years and seeing reams of good and bad paint jobs. I would not put too much credence in your restorer guy from the 80s statement that going to bare metal is just so you can say you did. He just didn’t like sanding too much. All top restorers strip the body before anything unlike what they do at Vagas Rat Rods. This is not a criticism but just a conveyance of observations. There is no easy way on body work to  obtain a stunning paint job, just lots of sweat sanding and repeating until your arms feel like they want to fall off. M

 

[MarcDeSoto]

You must not know Chrysler products very well.  I thought everyone knew that Chrysler bodies made by the Briggs body company used synthetic enamel or Dulux, which was cooked in ovens after being sprayed, just like Fords, which were also made by the Briggs Co.  GM cars used lacquer.  

[Marcel Backs]

Does not negate the fact that it is 80 year old finish even though it was Parkerized by Chrysler Corp. So yeah I am familiar with the differences between the finishes individual manufacturers used. Parkerization is the process of baking the finish to activate the lead in the primer and paint to enhance adheason. You will curse the good results of this process when you try to remove anything bonded in this way when sanding your car body. Be sure to use a really good respirator. M

[Plymouthy Adams]

21 minutes ago, Marcel Backs said:

Does not negate the fact that it is 80 year old finish even though it was Parkerized by Chrysler Corp. So yeah I am familiar with the differences between the finishes individual manufacturers used. Parkerization is the process of baking the finish to activate the lead in the primer and paint to enhance adheason. You will curse the good results of this process when you try to remove anything bonded in this way when sanding your car body. Be sure to use a really good respirator. M

 

 

sure a lot different Parkerizing than I have ever seen.......