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I have attached a picture of my 1939 Desoto that I have owned for 32 years. We have attended several NDC conventions with this car. The car retains the original S6 engine, trans, rear-end and all original suspension components. It still has the original mohari interior but the headline has been replaced. I have several options on the car which include original tubed radio, Glove box lid Clock, Heater and the rear gravel guard that mounts between the rear bumper and the body of the car. I have also installed the optional fender lamps that you do see on 1939 Dodge cars. I have turned these into my front turn signals.
The car still has the original full covered rubber matted running boards and the rubber gasket that is used in the rear swing out windows is still the original rubber gasket and they are sealing perfectly.
There are and early version of the 39 desoto that did not have the full covered running board and then they switch to a fully covered running board. Al Smith in Pa has the 39 desoto with the top only covered running boards.
Interesting fact about the car, when I purchased the car I noticed that the brake pedal would get very hard to push and would not return. When I pulled the MC I discovered that the back relief hole in the MC was only partially tapped therefore the MC could not let the pressure escape when releasing the brake pedal. I tapped the hole the rest of the way and cleaned and honed the bore and the brakes have worked just fine.
As a side line to my hobby I also collect the old original factory Miller tools to support the upkeep of this car along with a large collection of cross reference catalogs that list the various auto manufactures that supplied parts to Chrysler and this includes from 1926 - 1954. These catalogs are all on CD format so I am saving the paper catalogs and only use my computer to read the information
It current has 97000 miles and has been repainted close to the factory original color. The small green car version of my 39 is a real metal Kingsbury toy that has a windup mechanism to make the car go forward. This is still original color for the toy. You do not see many of these Kingsbury toys. They also made an orange colored one that had a sliding plastic roof opening that was to resemble the skyway cabs that were used in the major cities
Rich Hartung
Desoto1939@aol.com
Rich,
That is a beautiful car! Is that painted "Gem Green" code 301? That color was very popular before the war and is interesting- it looks medium green in subdued light, but almost turquoise in bright light. That car looks to have a remake of Goodyear "Airwheel" tires with their distinctive diamond-shaped tread pattern too. Those are a great period feature, and must have been hard to find.
I've always loved the 1939 model. The styling is different from the cars on either side, 1938 or 1940. The forward leaning prow nose looks almost, but not quite as severe as the "Sharknose" Graham. Ironic, because the Graham was built in a plant located just the other side of the railroad tracks on Warren and Wyoming from the DeSoto plant on Wyoming and McGraw in Detroit. Chrysler leased the Graham factory for war material production during the war, and bought the factory in 1946, adding it to the DeSoto facility. The body and engine of my 1952 were built in the old Graham factory.
I love that car!
Brent Jacobsen
Owner of a 1952 Desoto Firedome
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