Hey guys, been awhile since I've been on. I've been working 80-90 hr weeks!!! If possible I need some advice on my 1950 Desoto. I'm not as educated with these old Desoto's like I am with GM and Ford. I would really cherish the help! I've done a lot of research on the ol computer but just can't find any answers. If any of you guys are passing thru Niles IL. stop by for a couple of ales on me for your help 1. I'm running the stock straight 6cylinder in it. It was rebuilt, runs perfect and would be a waste to ditch it. My question is this. I wanna run a real manual transmission hopefully with a fourth gear instead of the tip toe shift thats in there now. Is the an affordable mopar manual tranny that I can run in it's place? I also want the shifter on the floor. 2. Does anyone know of a company that sells upgraded suspension for this car? 3. Anyone know where I can find skirts that will actually fit this car? 4. I also need a horn ring and a couple of pieces of trim. Does anyone know anybody that sells this stuff without having to give up your first born!!! Once again thank you for the help! I'm a 12 yr vet of the cook county Sheriff's Dept. So you would be helping out a hard working cop!!! Thanks All!!
It is possible to adapt a 4 speed or 5 speed. You already have the pedals for it. You need the flywheel, clutch and bellhousing out of a flathead Dodge or Plymouth manual trans model. Then adapt a transmission. Don Coatney did this and posted a photo journal on the web, do a search you will find it. Don't forget to change the rear axle, when you junk the original trans the handbrake goes with it. Don't know of upgraded suspension. One popular mod is to change the front shocks upper mounts to the frame instead of the upper control arm. There are mount brackets for this but don't know where to get them. The suspension itself is pretty good if it is in top shape. Go over it and repair or replace worn parts, put on some good shocks front and rear and get an alignment, it will be like a different car. Oh ya I think the steering box is mounted on rubber, if the old mounts are shot it will make the steering vague. And if the steering box is worn the play can be adjusted out. Be careful to follow the factory manual exactly on this, if you do it wrong your steering box can wear out in a few months. For skirts you could try the Fender Skirt King in Oshawa. He will have them if anybody does. Horn ring and trim, could try Roberts Motor Parts or Andy Bernbaum, or keep watching Ebay. You could also join the DeSotoland web site and ask there.
HAMB'er OldDaddy sells the stuff to change the front shocks upper mounts to the frame instead of the upper control arm. Also 4Woody did a tech on it.
These sites may be helpful. \http://www.wilcap.com/chryslerfh.html http://home.comcast.net/~tcbass/t5.html _Posies has dropped spindles http://www.posiesrodsandcustoms.com/images/pages3247.pdf
"73RR" here on the board, Quality Engineered Components, has adaptors for newer mopar trannys. Disc brake & shock relocation kits available. Lots of threads on 46-54 Mopar upgrades are relevant.
Almost, but not quite... The Plymouth 201-208-218 flywheel is different than all of the rest. The 'little guys' had a slightly different design on the crank and the flange did not project as far (1" vs 1.185") as the larger engines and since they all use similar designs for the bell then they had to change the flywheel. It can be difficult to spot the difference without a reference on hand. Yes, you can machine a pocket in the bell to move the starter aft if you use the Ply wheel but it is easier to just use the compatible parts to start with. As to floor shifts for the old transmissions...good luck finding one. If you want to look at modern 4-5-6 speeds then some sort of adapter will be required. .
I ended up putting a MII under my 50 so I have some brand new dropped uprights, shock relocates, king pin kit/fr.end rebuild kit and even a rack & pinion convert kit for sale cheap. Good luck.
Love that car officer! Get on the web side forwardlook.com, they have a cool link to e-bay, you will see a chart with all the MoPars and the years opposite. If you click on the DeSoto and your year it will give you all the items for sale on e-bay for that year and make. It will have a lot of junk also, like merch that fits a 50 DeSoto and would be a mirror or something of that nature. But a nice condensed list at any rate. Andy Bernbaum has already been mentioned and Scarebird makes disc brale kits that fit stock spindles etc. Really a beautiful car, good luck! ~sololobo~
I've got a '50 Soto as well and I was wondering if I could drop some questions here too since this topic is filled with knowledge. I just started to invest some time and money after a harsh year into the car and have a lot of things to fix (tip toe tranny doesn't engage well - gnashes teeth and freewheels at kickdown, starts rough, drive train is bad, leaks petrol when filled up full etc etc). I'm fixing one thing at a time to keep my mood up and the car driveable instead of an unfinished project kind of state. First thing: I have no backlight in the dashboard which is dangerous at night. How do I unscrew the dashboard? The shop manual does not go further than global body and glass.
Panel light switch is on the far left of the instrument panel, below the amp gauge/temp gauge. Panel light bulbs can be accessed from behind the instrument panel. There will be a wire to each socket, the socket pulls out. You can then replace the bulb. Be sure to use the same amp rating, they vary even though the bulbs are the same size. It is necessary to use the correct bulb to have even lighting. This site is very good on Chrysler and DeSoto. For transmission troubles scroll down to the Chrysler board and do a search for Fluid Drive. There were some very informative threads in 2008. AACA Forums
Olddaddy also makes a disc brake conversion kit which is fairly easy to work with. Of course there were never any "factory" skirts for that car......so all were aftermarket "overlay" type. Metal tends to be better than the fiberglass ones. Agape Auto Parts in Indiana has skirts also. Link to their site......... http://www.agapeautoparts.com/products/products.htm
The Jalopy Journal
