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Projects Project 48 desoto...aka: Fernando

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by thrashingcows, Feb 1, 2010.

  1. Pic of the original manual 3 speed next to one of my 833OD trannies.

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    The guy also included a nice uncracked set of intake and exhaust manifolds.

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    He also found a set of gaskets for the old flathead as well.

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    So now I wait for Fernando to arrive home so I can get to work on him.
     
  2. pasadenahotrod
    Joined: Feb 13, 2007
    Posts: 11,775

    pasadenahotrod
    Member
    from Texas

    Just remember the Canadian DeSoto is a rebadged USA Plymouth so other than grille and special Canadian DeSoto ornamentation etc. parts and such it a 42-early 49 Plymouth. SO when ordering new rubber parts and mechanical parts you have a Plymouth not a DeSoto.
    The Coach, 2door sedan, is a body style not produced in anywhere near the numbers as the Coupes, 3 and 5 passenger, and the 4 door sedans in the 42-early 49 production from MOPAR and as such is rare but not necessarily more expensive.
     
  3. [​IMG]

    Here is a pic of one my buddy bought a year or so ago. I think it is a 50K mile car, and ran and drove although it needs the tank flushed and sealed, and brake work. He has been a real pansy-ass about doing the small bit of work it will take to make it road-worthy... I think it was a steal at $1500 he paid for it, EVERYTHING WORKS, including, radio, wipers, and the SUPER_COOL light-up flying chick hood (or whatever it was) ornament!!! If he doesnt do something with it soon I'm gonna go steal it myself and work on it!!!

    BTW, cool new car, I am jealous.

    James
     
  4. moparjack44
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 659

    moparjack44
    Member

    Cows, way cool. Keeps us posted (pictures) of progress on Fernado.
    Jack
     
  5. My Desoto is a US car. Sold new in San Fransisco. I have heard the 2dr sedan Dodge and Chrysler are the same as my Desoto, Plymouth was a shorter wheel base and a smaller track/width to the car.



    Your buddy has a cool car there. That hood ornament is super cool and rare!! Hope your able to get it, fix the little things, and get it on the road.
     
  6. lowbuckers
    Joined: Oct 4, 2008
    Posts: 108

    lowbuckers
    Member

    My desoto is hopefully going to be getting torn apart here soon hopefully after easter. Too many wife things to do to get the wife off my but. Doin the same thing here dropped spindles and shorter springs for the front, disc conversion kit, rack and pinion and then just blocks for the back hopefully gonna get that all done this year. The next year drivetrain hopefully 318 or a 360, 727 still debating then wide whites and flat paint just don't know what color yet. Want the same thing a cruiser to take on trips and the wife can drive to shows as well anyways keep us posted can't see any of the pics.
     
  7. Lowbuckers...sounds like we have about the same tastes. What year and model is you Desoto?

    Can't see any of the pics? Hmmmm...maybe hit the refresh on your browser?
     
  8. Came across a thread where someone was decoding the engine numbers on their flathead 6, well this made me wonder what the numbers were on my "new" motor.

    I found the numbers, D49 2 5977 C on the stamp pad. I did a little research and found that D49 makes this a 1954 Dodge motor, and the "C" at the end designates it a 25" Canadian motor.

    Only thing I can't find is the Cu.in of this motor. I think it's either a 218 or a 228.

    So since this was a stock rebuild I should be pushing around 110hp...and when I get the dual carb manifold and tri-split cast exhaust manifolds, and shave the head I should be doing OK for HP....maybe 125-130?
     
  9. hkestes
    Joined: May 19, 2007
    Posts: 585

    hkestes
    Member

    Cows,

    If you have the 25" version you may have a little more difficult time finding speed parts for it. I understand Earl Edgerton is doing a finned head for the 25" motor and I was told he is working on an intake. I don't know of anyone with cast headers for the 25" motor though.

    Good luck.
     
  10. Thanks for the info.

    I wondered about the cast headers, I know guys have them on their 23" blocks but I have not come across any information stating weather they work on the 25" blocks as well, if 25" ones are available.

    I know you can get intakes for the 25" block from Offy....from my understanding you can get any intake Offy has ever made, they just don't list them all. You will need to call and speak to someone in person to get these obscure intakes.

    Would love an Earl Edgerton head, but from what I've read I can ge the same performance from shaving the stock head about 70 thou.
     
  11. B-Watson over on the P15-D24 messgae board posted this as an answer to my engine ID question.

    Thanks for the information Bill!!:)
     
  12. B-Watson over on the P15-D24 messgae board posted this as an answer to my engine ID question.

    Thanks for the information Bill!!:)
     
  13. Well been working on getting Fernando cleaned up a bit. Got the trunk cleaned up some, popped open the gas tank, the sending unit is MIA, and I have about 2-3" of sand and rust in the tank.

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    Mostly all cleaned up...

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  14. I have to gut anything with fabric on it since there is mold everywhere and it smells bad. So pulled the pass. side door panel.

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    And found this inside the door....any idea what it is? Everything seems to work OK.

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    And the 5 lbs of dirt and crud from the bottom of the door!!:eek:

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    I assume that the rubber strip along the bottom of the door, under the door panel, was added by a previous owner?

    Sure I'll have more questions and gems as it comes apart further.
     
  15. Work on the Desoto will be slow for a while...wife got let go from the law firm she's been working at. So going from a comfortable 2 income household to a single income will mean less money to play with.

    But at least the car is home and I can do as much as I can on the cheap.;):)
     
  16. moparjack44
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 659

    moparjack44
    Member

    My '48 DeSoto, 392 Hemi/727TF Small Block tranny;

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  17. Been a long time since I upgraded this thread. Been moving along slowly but getting there. I'll post up dates I did stuff and pics and info.


    Why Fernando was abandoned...Feb 07/2011...

    I was taking a break from pulling the seats apart today and was hanging in the engine bay looking around when I noticed something that didn't look right.

    Now when I got Fernando it's motor was missing the pistons and rods, and no oil pan. I assumed that it had spun a rod and repairs were started and then the repairs got abandoned and the car pushed out in the field.

    Well I now know it was much worse then a spun bearing.....

    Notice the area below the generator mount, the oil pan rail area...something is missing....[​IMG]

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    And from underneath....

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    Looks like #1 rod took out the lower part of the block. I wonder what they were doing to cause this.[​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2012
  18. Master Cylinder rebuild...Feb 07/2011...

    After I got the removable floor pan section out last week I also pulled the MC for a clean up and rebuild.

    Here are a few before pics...

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    And 4 pounds of crud....

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    And those pinch clips (not sure if that's what they are called) Are a bit of a pain to remove....at least until you figure out an easy way to do it.

    I used the screw driver on the side opposite to the open pinch end, then hammered it down and out. Took a few whacks to get a bite, but once it bit it only took a couple more hits to get it off.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2012
  19. And today I cleaned up the parts on the wire wheel, and honed out the MC. Everything looks great, and should go back together nicely.

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    Will clean and paint everything before re-assembly. Should be the nicest pieces on the car so far.....[​IMG]
     
  20. But got everything painted and reassembled over the weekend.

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    And I used a couple 5/8 snap rings instead of the old pinch washer. I used two per side since they grove was quite thick. Not bad, but wish they had been a bit bigger in out side diameter, but they should still work fine.

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  21. And the MC and pedal assemblies reassembled...

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    And re-installed in ol' Fernando....nicest part on the whole car right now....[​IMG]

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  22. Well I've had a very frustrating evening.

    I decided after installing my nice new, rebuilt MC and pedal assemblies I would try and bleed the lines running out front. Well after much pumping I was not getting any pedal pressure and no fluid out of the MC to the lines.

    So reluctantly I pulled everything out again. I drained the fluid...there goes my nice paint job. And disassembled everything looking for something obvious. Thought I might have installed one of the cups backwards....nope everything looked good. So re-assembled and tried bleeding it on the bench....still no fluid coming out.

    So by now I'm very angry/frustrated/depressed...so decide to come to the board and search through the archives for an answer to my problem. After some time I finally came across this thread....

    [link]http://p15-d24.com/topic/18691-master-cylinder-rebuild/?hl=luckydevil#entry179086[/link]

    This picture posted by LuckyDevil is what helped me out....

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    Turns out I neglected to install item "G". After I did this everything started working properly!!

    I only have one thing to add about that picture. Everything is correct except for cup "C"...it actually goes between "D" and "E"....other then that the picture was a life saver.

    So now I have to strip and repaint all my parts I just finished repainting...since the brake fluid sure made a mess of things.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2014
  23. Back up lights...Feb 21/2011...

    For the last couple months I've been searching for the "right" back up light for ol' Fernando. I've scoured E-bay looking at different lights from all mopar cars and trucks. But nothing seemed "Right" to me. Most were round and with the square, boxy tail lights and brake light, they just didn't seem to work for me.

    Well one night a couple weeks ago I was rummaging through the archives here and came across a "Back up lights" thread from 2007. And Mr Tim Adams had posted a pic of his car with these rectangular back up lights.

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    As soon as I saw those I knew those were the ones for my car. A couple posts down he then said where he got them from....

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tim Adams
    ...these are Hella brand...the rear housing is that of the 356 Porsche, these were found mounted on a Renault R10 I understand...slightly different than the VW series. Due to their shape and size I found them more in line with the theme of the rear lights..
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2012
  24. So here are a couple pics. Mine are from a VW bus, but are still Hella glass lenses, which I like since all other lenses are glass, and the trim is stainless.

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    And mocked up on the car. Used a couple magnets to hold it in place.

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    I think they will work, and look great.[​IMG]
     
  25. Wheel Cylinder rebuilds...Mar 12/2011...

    Well the Saga continues. I haven't had a lot of time to work on things, been doing home reno's. But I did manage to get the wheel cylinders rebuilt on the front of the car.

    Here are some before pics...

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    Couldn't figure out how to get the pistons out of the bores. I soaked them for a couple days in PB Blaster and they moved "in" but wouldn't pop out. Then I had a thought...compressed air! That did the trick....[​IMG]

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    __________________
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2012
  26. I didn't initially realize that the pistons were a two piece unit. Once I discovered that it took a little bit of work to get them all apart. I used a 600 grit wet sand paper to clean the corrosion off, then heated them with the propane torch...and a couple pliers to hold them and twisted them apart.

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    All apart and ready for a good cleaning.


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    __________________
     
  27. So I cleaned all the parts on my wire wheel, then honed out the cylinders. They all cleaned up nicely.

    Cleaned and painted, ready for assembly....

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    10 minutes later I had these....

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  28. Little more brake work...Mar 22/2011...

    Well since my back is a mess right now, I decided to clean and repaint the brake parts for the pass side front.

    Here are a couple pics....

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    I have bled the brakes through to the front, since the lines were open. Nice clean fluid moving through now. Bearings cleaned up nicely and they have no pits or major wear that I can see. A good repacking and they will be good to go. Also does anyone have the seal # for the front drums?
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2012
  29. Rear axle removal..tech..May 03/2011...

    Well after I got the rear drums and brakes off and found the the axle seals were shot, I figured I pull the axles. Well after doing much reading through the archives I tried using my custom made slide hammer, machinist neighbor made it and gave it to me when he moved.

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    This did not work...other then to take many chunks out of my leather gloves. I learned to wear gloves after the first time I used the slide hammer....flesh hurts a lot more then glove leather....[​IMG]

    So I had to figure out another way to get those axles out. A couple people said they used a odd set-up with a pipe wrench and hammer to pop them loose. This got me to thinking and looking around the garage for something that might work. I finally came across an old class I trailer hitch.

    Here's what I did....

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    The hole for the ball was just the right size, and then the long flat hitch was stout enough to beat on with my big hammer....worked like a charm.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2012
    CombatMotors likes this.

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