[Sticky] What did you do with or to your DeSoto today?

I started preparing my '59 Firesweep for the drive to Hutchinson to attend the National DeSoto Convention in July.  It'll be a 6 hour drive so I figure a good lube and inspection to all the joints, etc. should be done, a tire rotation, and an oil change.  For local cruising it's been fine but I don't think it will hurt to give it a once over for a distant run.  Cosmetically it's as good as it's going to get - might need a cleanup in Hutchinson though - I'll probably murder a few bugs along the way.

Hope to see many of you in Hutchinson!

I tried to put the prop shaft back in my 48 DeSoto business coupe, but I am missing the required C-clamps that the bolts and studs go through.  Unfortunately, C-clamps are not included in the U-joint rebuild kits.  Does anyone know where I can get the C-clamps?  Marc Capralis 951-331-1941  marcapra@msn.com

I put up my DeSoto Christmas tree.  

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today is 19 years after the September 11, 2001 tragedy.  The Ozark chapter of the Studebaker-Packard club held their 25th annual "Orphan" car show here in the beautiful Ozarks of southwest Missouri in Branson with remembrance of that event.  Any car or truck 1985 or older that is no longer produced is eligible to to enter.

There were a total of 59 cars/trucks of which were mostly Studebakers as would be expected.  The most notable cars on display were two 1930 Frankins which

have air cooled engines.  The only other MoPar besides my DeSoto was a 1973 Plymouth Satellite.  Fortunately the rain held off long enough for a full day of showtime and drive-time.

Our oldest grandson was married last evening and requested my DeSoto be used as their wedding car. I couldn't be more proud
of our new "granddaughter" and the fact that my DeSoto was part of the program.

As can be see in the pictures above, my DeSoto was displayed at a car show and then featured as the wedding car for our grandson's wedding just two weeks ago.  Yesterday when I started it up it died almost immediately not to start again until........................................a new fuel pump!

I guess the good Lord was with me as it conked out just outside the garage door.  A couple of hours later, with some skinned knuckles, and dirty hands, the pump was on and the car was back on the road.  It might be time for a booster electric fuel pump just in case.  Has anyone ever added one to their DeSoto for that purpose?  If so, would you recommend it or was it more hassle than it's worth? 

Thanks for your input.

The 10th Annual Louisville Veterans Day Parade was a little different this year thanks to Covid-19.  This year's parade was a "reverse parade", with the display units static and the parade audience driving through the parade ground.  It was a beautiful 80 degree day in early November and our local AACA Region gathered about 15 cars to display along the parade route.  It was an honor to participate along with several Region members who are veterans themselves.

I started putting the front suspension back together today on my 60 Fireflite. I know everythig else looks rough but it's all a work in progress. Installed passenger side upper and lower control arms. I had already put all new bushings, bumpers, and ball joints. Installed new steering centerlink, inner and outer tie rods, tie rod connectors, and a new bushing in the the idler arm last weekend.

I may annoy some due to the length of this post, but I'm excited to be in the community, so to hell with the haters. I have a number of items on my ToDo list(I KNOW THIS ISN'T ALL OF THEM) and I'll have fun and highlight a few in here.

So, yesterday was my first day with my DeSoto. My brother and I went to pick up the car. The address we were given was the parking lot of a Hilton in Glendale(Really boring place). We parked in the parking lot of a local restaurant and texted the "dealership's" owner who said that the car was on its way. It shows up and looks great. Guy hands us the keys and we start looking at it. Found the trunk release that the "Classic Car Inspector" couldn't find with 2 other guys in 20 minutes(my brother found it within seconds of looking if you count, "Hej, what does this button do?"), so I slide in and try starting the car.

The car will turn over but won't start. I see the fuel gauge says 1/2 full, and it didn't smell like fuel in the carb, so we pull the fuel line from the carb and see if it's pumping fuel while starting. Nothing. So we go across the street to buy a gas can(left mine at home, Doh!) and fill it with fuel. Come back, put it in the tank, still nothing. We start poking around and I find a switch under the dash, something about the height that someone exiting(Read guy who delivered the car to us) could have bumped it without knowing. I flick the switch and there is a humming(luckily I had the ignition on(more on that later)) It was an electric fuel pump. Well, that is nice, we try and it fires right up, runs rough, and sounds like a small exhaust leak, but we check everything out and we don't see any glaring issues except the original wiring coming to the junction block(ground?) on the backside of the radiator support whcih appear to be fabric wrapped wires, then wrapped in electrical tape. We hop in and drive across the street to fill er up.

So we get to the gas station and try pumping gas. It doesn't seem to want to pump after .5 gallon. Having had classic cars that don't like modern gas pumps, I try a few angles, then I smell gas and see some flowing out the filler. OK, so 1/2 tank on the gas gauge = full tank. Well, with that done, we jet so we don't have to clean up, kidding. But we start on the freeway. Door seems to not be fully closed, so while getting on an L.A. freeway in no traffic, I open it and use the wind for an extra push to close it. Looks like the door is sagging and needs to be adjusted. 

We get moving along and the 2 hour drive in traffic is uneventful, except for the water temp gauge(aftermarket as the gauge on dash doesn't work) kept at 200-210F the whole time. A few times when traffic dipped below 20 mph and the temp went up near 220, but not sustained.  The only other irritant on the drive was the summit after market Oil Pressure Gauge(Because the one on the dash doesn't work) which while seeming to rise and fall along with the engine RPMs, it was chattering to no end. And the Amperes gauge goes towards the discharging side when the RPMs rise(I suspect P/O didn't swap +/- wires when moving form 6v+ to 12v-, and not sure if there is a 12v-6v step down there.

We get to my street which has a few long flowing curves, on one I hear a crash and a constant loud chattering in the engine compartment. F$%^!, Less than a block from home. I open the hood and the battery wasn't strapped down and had fallen into the fan. Double F^%$! We go buy a yellow top because, I'm not going to do a budget resto on this car. We get a generic battery base and mounts, some carriage bolts and with minimal effort, we get a solid battery mounting and we are ready to roll again. At which time, my neighbor walks up, sees the pretty darn tooting job we did on the battery tray and says 'Hej, I have a few extra optima mounts, would you like one?', so this is a future project for when I do the battery relocation to the trunk.

So the ride of the car has it's eccentricities. The exhaust leak is one thing and then there is the shocks, it's a smooth ride, but this thing is a BOAT. I can feel the wake of other ships passing on the highway. There is the steering which has a little play in it and shakes a bit when I get above 75mph. The brakes are good old fashioned single master cylinder manual drum system which hits the floor the first time you step on it, then each progressive pedal stomp gives a bit more bite.

Well, that is what I did yesterday with my DeSoto. I got it home in one piece and took the wife for a cruise at lunch today. Yes, I got spousal approval today. You may cheer for me. Go ahead, I'll wait. 

Overall, I'm happy. But I need to go back out and do more cleanup of that battery acid that got under the hood. I did as much as I could last night, but more for tonight on the cross member, etc.

Picked up a Dome parts car for my Dome Coupe

During this cold, snowy, and blustery day, I decided to take pictures of my recently acquired (Christmas present from my son and wife) '59 1/24 promo scale model that matches the color of my real '59 Firedome 2HT. The colors actually match fairly well and I've never seen a model molded and painted in these colors before.

I was lucky enough to obtain a reproduction trunk mat and started to install it today.  It needs a little trimming but I'll wait till the temperatures are warmer so I don't split or tear the material.  This will probably be the last update I'll do to the car as I believe this will complete everything I need to do in order for the car to be restored to original as I need it to be.  I'm installing it over the carpeting that's in the car as I believe the extra insulation will make for a quieter ride.

Very nice, where did you get it? I need one as well ???? 

Bernie:

The above message is what I received from the seller.  I was very  fortunate to get the last one and the wrinkles he referred to will be hardly noticeable when trimmed to fit.

Fred