I just brought home a 1940 Desoto Coupe I purchased a few months back and looking to get started on the project. The car is pretty much rust free and unmolested with pretty much all there. Engine turns freely but havent attempted to start. Ive been following some 40 PLymouth builds here on the HAMB but havent seen much 40 desotos I was wondering of the dimenstions an a plymouth as far as rear end width front end etc the same as the 40 PLymouths. Ive found SlmLrd's 40 plymouth build thread pretty inspirational but as I further examine the car Im surprised how straight, complete and rust free the car is for a 73 year old car. Not sure if there is a market for a completely original 40 desoto coupe. Now im thinking of selling it to someone interested in an original and getting my hands on another project 36-40 coupe. Had neighbor that says he knows some about Mopars and is begging me not to molest the car since they only made about 3,000 of this model and not many left unmolosted. Any recommendations as to where I can get more info on the car would be helpful. If I decide to keep it the first think I wanna tackle is the front and rear end. Would eventually like to get airbags on it a V8 and OD tranny. Any advise/help would be appreciated.
Rear axle width tends to be pretty much the same from 40 into the 70s on a lot of Mopars that are "normal" size vs the really big or compact sizes. think same track plym & deSoto
DeSoto is more of a junior Chrysler than a glorified Plymouth. In other words many parts are the same as Chrysler. But the Plymouth is a completely different car.
Yes. I would be inclined to do a mild custom, no chop, some speed goodies on the motor, and nice paint. Yeah ,yeah, I know speed goodies ain't exactly lying around for early Desotos, but if this was easy, everyone would do it right? It looks like a great car, and it ain't a Duesenberg, so have at 'er.
Ive been working on my front suspension on my 40 Desoto Coupe and so far all parts on the front end suspension have been identical to that of a 1940 Plymouth coupe. This is what Ive done so far; -Dropped Uprights from FatMan -Modified Upper shock mount from Fatman -Backing plate for disk brakes from Scarebird (with instruction sheet with part numbers -for Calipers, brakes, rotors) - 97 Ford Probe rotors - 90 Celebrity calipers -Stock drum hubs - changed from reverse threat bolts to 1/2 studs I also cut 1 full coil off of the Springs.
Chrysler/DeSoto were sister lines in the Mopar lineup. The DeSoto mimiced the 6cyl Chryslers. Dodge/Plymouth were sistered but Dodge was always the longer WB and larger CID engine.
Plymouth cars tend to be smaller than the Chrysler, Desoto, and Dodge brands. Most Plymouth brands were sold by dealers of the 3 other brands. I believe that the C, D, & D brands had parts that interchange, not sure about interchange with the smaller Plymouth. The famous Hemi engines of the '50 were unique to the Chrysler, Desoto and Dodge brands.
Not that it matters now but Plymouth dealers always dualled with the more expensive Chrysler Corp makes. In other words you had Dodge/Plymouth, DeSoto/Plymouth and Chrysler/Plymouth dealers but no exclusive Plymouth dealers. This is one reason Plymouth always trailed Ford and Chev in sales. Plymouth dealers preferred to upsell the more expensive car if they could.
64Kaddy..nice front end work there, btw did you know that 41-56 upper control arms will bolt on and have a slightly different but stronger outer pivot..........as for interchangability between 40 Mopars there are a LOT of parts that will interchange, your best bet is to actually find a few and compare.......I have had my Oz 1940 Dodge since 1971 and can tell you that there is quite a bit that swaps, both suspension and body parts......get hold of catalogs from Roberts Motors, Mitchells, Andy Berbaums and Steele Rubber and go thru and compare, you'll be surprised........here a pics of my 1940 Oz Dodge, well o/k 1940 Dodge grille and badges on a 1940 Plymouth body,fenders,hood, etc......that's how we got 'em here......regards, andyd
40/41 Plymouths/Dodge/Desoto/Chrysler basically had all of the same engineering. The only thing really different between all models in 1940 would be the sheet metal (mainly fenders, badging, and front sheet metal, dash, etc.). If I were to have a choice between a Desoto and my '40 Plymouth coupe I would probably pick the Desoto.... They are very rare, you don't see hardly any parts for them, and they are better looking IMHO. I wouldn't molest it too much, but then again it is not my car. Definitely save EVERYTHING you don't have on the car somewhere safe... you would be surprised on what you won't be able to find if you decide to revert back later and if you do how expensive it will be...
I'm glad to see you decided to keep this; look's like a really nice start. I also like the six with "speed goodies" suggestion. Edgy still makes some parts. Maybe this link will help sway you: http://www.edgyspeedshop.com/products.html
If you decide to lose the front bumper, contact me, as it would fit my Plymouth perfectly. Thanks. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
At first I liked the Plymouth more because I saw a lot more on the road to compare to.. but as Im learning more about it and the fact that they are not as common, Im started to love it alot more. I really scored on this one.. not a single item on this car was mising when I bought it.. Oops I forgot it was missing the rear splash guard (gravel deflector) 'Mo Thank you for the link 'AndyDoge Thank you for the recommendation. I had seem the 41 and looks like the upright will bolt right on. I will consider this. Im currently rebuilding the straight six, and plan on converting to a T5 5speed S10 Transmision (sorry but I couldnt get use to 3 on the tree). Im also swapping the rear end to a 1972 Satellite rear end that is only about 1/2 inch wider that the original
love the desoto,,,,,question ? when you did the dropped upright, how was it modifing the steering arms ?? shaving them thinner ?? and doing the redrill ?? i have the instructions from fat man,,,not the parts yet,,,getting ready soon,,,, wondering why the steering arms need to be drilled bigger ??? and what you ran in to rebending them after the dropped up right ?? thanks for any info,,
I havent modified the steering arms yet. I have a buddy that will do them with the instructions from fatman. There was also an old hot rod magazine that had a good write up on hoe to do them and why. You have to shave them thinner because it will not clear something.. I cant remember exactly what. They need to be drilled biger to get a countersunk bolt to be flush with the arm. I will forward you the write up that helps explain all as soon as I find it. The buddy that is doing mine recommends bending them while theyre in the car.
hey,,, thanks for the reply i do have the fat man instructions along with soem magazine write up,, i thought your frotn end was finished and was just asking how it went i still dont believe you have to drill out the mounting holes on the steering arms to a larger size,,,im sure counterr sunken alan heads are available in the stock size,,, i have a extra set of steering arms so when i get that far ill look in to it,,, yes i believe bending them on the car would be the most accurate way,unless you build some sort of jig,,,which i may do to advoid all that heat around the suspension,unless its summer and i do it out side,,,soon as i get a few other things squarded away ill be on to the dropped up rights,,,and new full size coils,,,good luck with your steering arms mods,,
hows that desoto comming along ?? ive relocated my upper shock mounts and added fat man dropped spindles, rides pretty good now looking to add a fatter front sway bar,,,
Such good looking cars. I got a buddy who's dad has his 40 DeSoto coupe parked behind their shop and it's been there about 30-35 years.....in the weather. I keep trying to get him to sell it to me but he says he dated his late wife in that car in the 50s-60s and won't let it go. Probably too far gone now.
Its interesting that Im not too crazy about the grill compared to that of a 40-41 Plymouth, but Ive noticed many people have stated they like it. Locally there is a 40 Plymouth with an implanted 40 desoto grill. To me the grill seems a little small and plain for the car.
Since you are that deep into the rebuild, can you now answer the question you posed in the first post about parts interchange? What's shared with Plymouth, what's shared with Chrysler and what's unique? Just paying it forward for the guy that searches for Desoto here...
Loving the hopped up Spitfire flat 6 engine, that's cool. This car has the potential to be really great when it's all done.
It seems pretty hit or miss but in my experience it seems like many parts are interchangeable. Engines on the US made plymouths and dodge are 23" in lenght while all Chrysler and Desotos are 25". I believe all Canadian dodge and plymouths have the 25" as well. frame dimensions seem to be the same except fir the front of the frame- the engine mounting holes are 2 inches further on the Desoto/Chryslers. rear end and front suspension seem to be surprisingly the same in dimensions I get a lot of information from the p14d25 site.
Thank You. It has an AOK racing, triple intake, split exhaust (original cast split) Langdons HEI distributor. Its a 265 engine out of a 1954 Chrysler Windsor. shaved head and mild cam. Not to sure on other specific dimensions of the engine. Here in So Cal not to many I see at car shows keep the flat six. Im excited to get this project on the road
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