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Hey folks,
This was weekend my wife and I made a trip to Hermitage, PA and picked up this Desoto. I drove it back 355 miles with no issues.
When we got the car home, it was after dark. i decided to take the wife for a quick ride, backed out of the driveway and noticed a puddle of oil, back into the driveway I went.
The next morning I checked it out. The gasket for the oil filter had slipped and been damaged. Easy fix and all was good.
Next the horn would not stop, had to pull the cover off and get to the wire and found the wire was missing the cloth covering, quick fix with black tape, will pull a new wire though later.
Gas gauge was not working, order new sending unit all is good. The new sending unit is shorter, will see how this plays out and get used to it.
Speedometer cable was broken off in the speedo, I found a new one on ebay and am waiting for it to show up.
many more small electrical issues, but I knew this when I got the car.
BTW, I had just finish stripping a black '50 club coupe and so I have some extra parts as I was going to bring it back to life. The frame and the body are gone, but I have many of the parts still in the garage. Good thing too, as I will need parts from it here and there.
Very sharp, Darin! It looks to be in great shape.
Love that hood ornament!
Be mindful that a twisted speedometer cable usually means that one end stopped spinning; typically the speedometer. It may be bound up. You run the risk of installing another cable and just snapping it off, too. Might consider using the speedo from your parts car, or having the one in your beautiful 2 door serviced.
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
Real nice looking car Darin. I especially like the look from the side. It has real nice lines.
Be mindful that a twisted speedometer cable usually means that one end stopped spinning; typically the speedometer. It may be bound up. You run the risk of installing another cable and just snapping it off, too. Might consider using the speedo from your parts car, or having the one in your beautiful 2 door serviced.
Well, the two do not match as the one is black and one gold. That being said, I do have a new speedo coming. I am a going to use the cable from the parts car. I just hope the new speedo is good. If not the original will go to be repaired.
Darin!
Why you tease us like this?? 
Very, very nice!
What is the color? It looks like teal. I like it very much!
Ralph
Most Sincerely,
Ralph M Bohm
'50 Desoto CarryAll
Darin!
Why you tease us like this??Very, very nice!
What is the color? It looks like teal. I like it very much!Ralph
LOL, it is a dark blue, to be honest with your it is not the orginal color and I having problem figuring out the color from inspecting the car. I will be looking at the cowl tag in a bit to see what the original color is.
I installed the Desoto reflector on the trunk handle and when I did the paint underneath was yellow. I see under the hood is black in the around the doors is black too.
Glad that you like it, I have yet to get it back on the road, several items need to be taken care of before I get my inspection. I will keep updating this thread.
Regards,
Darin
Nice car, I never knew you can have 2 different license plates on a car.
Jason
Yeah in PA we do not have a front plate. So you can use what you want up front.
Does PA allow the car to be registered on a plate that was issued the same year as the car?
In Kansas (and I think many other states) I can take a plate from the same year as the car along with me to the courthouse and register my car on that plate. It allows me to put a 1949 plate on my '49 DeSoto.
Kinda cool.....
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
In Michigan we can register the car with a plate of the same year. It is a lifetime registration for a one time fee of $35.What a deal!!! I don't remember how old the car has to be and the plate is restricted to car shows, parades, maintenance etc.. However, we have made many ice cream runs in the 52 without a problem. Figure if I get stopped I will tell the cop I just tuned it up and trying it out. Might work.
In Connecticut you can run year of manufacture plates on the car ONLY if you have the car registered with Early American plates. Those plates are kept in the car and the YOM plates have to be taken to the DMV to have them "attached" to the registration. It is a nice touch and I always get a laugh when someone comes up to me and asks the year of the car...."look at the plates"
Chris
I am not sure about using the plates from the year the car was made. I will have to investigate PA law.
OK, If I title it as an antique I can run a 1950 tag on the rear, we do not need a tag in the front.
Also, I installed the Speedo that i purchased off eBay and it works. I may still send the original out to have it repaired.
I installed a new fuel tank sensor and now i know how much fuel I have, only problem is the arm is a different length, it is shorter. It this a big deal, is there anything i can do to correct it?
