DeSoto

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Installed.

Nice. Hide a gauge.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by BlackBike

So how much did the mechanical gauge cost?

Nice color too

I think it was under twenty bucks on fleabay.

[wheelbender6]

"Agreed. But he’s a she. Her Mom learned to wrench on a 1954 Nash."


Even better. The gals notice details the we would miss.

[Sport Rider]

you might not want to do the same with your DeSoto, but I solved the problem with my boat. I traded it for a new pontoon.

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

you might not want to do the same with your DeSoto, but I solved the problem with my boat. I traded it for a new pontoon.

I did that with my exwife. I trade her in for an older model that is way less used.

[cheesy]

Mentioned that I bought a water distribution tube for the beast in the What Did You Buy thread. It's been running cooler than it was but still too warm for my tastes.

I told my Dad about the tube today and he had no idea what I was talking about. I told him that the tube directed coolant around the exhaust ports of the block to help keep things cool. He was quiet for a few seconds and said that that explained a lot because the engine overheated so badly once that he had to replace the number 3 piston and there has been a history of the engine running hot ever since. Dad rarely took the car more than ten miles from home so it wasn't much of an issue. Stop and go traffic here is another story.

Anyway, there is a pretty good chance that the back half of the original tube has either collapsed or rusted out and plugged the ports in the block. I imagine that's going to be a not too fun job of getting that rusty old tube out of the block.

[cheesy]

Best local Motor Monday show ever for my little town. Over 100 cars and the DeSoto was the oldest car there. One guy had a fully restored 73 AMC Levi's Gremlin that was perfect. I told him that my Dad probably had his hands on it since he worked there from 1958 to 1988.


Had a good laugh while talking to a couple guys my age about how the Fluid Drive worked. A local high school kid interrupted to tell me something was hanging off the passenger side of the car. All of us walked over to that side and the kid pointed to curb feelers. I explained, between giggles, what they were for and that the awful sound they made kept you from scuffing up your white walls.

[Weldangrind]

I figured you were going to say there was a young lady with a child hanging off the side of your car.

[cheesy]

Whadayathink? New seat cover for the DeSoto?

[cheesy]

Got started on tackling the overheating problem. Pulled the radiator, water pump, cylinder head (heavy sucker), and the water distribution tube.

Well, I was right and wrong about water distribution tube. The tube wasn't collapsed or corroded but it was plugged, by a big black wad of RTV sealant in the number 6 cylinder port. Also, the tube was replaced, poorly, sometime before my Dad got the car. The port end at the water pump is supposed to be flared to match the block. It wasn't, so coolant was kinda just moseying along the outside of the tube instead of flowing quickly through it.

I reused the tube because, one, it was in decent shape after cleaning it up, and two, I bought the wrong tube. Anyway, I was able flare the end properly. Chased the threaded holes in the block and the head bolts. AAAnndd, I found black RTV on some of the bolts and in some of the threaded holes. Jeez, Dad.

Have the head back on with a new Fel-Pro gasket and, as every head bolt goes into some part of the water jacket, Loc-tite 565 thread sealer on the head bolts. Torqued bolts to 65 ft. lbs. I was getting ready to put the water pump back on when my neighbor wandered over to see how I was doing. While BSing, I suddenly felt really tired and decided this was a good place to quit for the night.

[cheesy]

Success!
Ten miles at 60mph and the temp never went above 180. Spent a little time in stop and go traffic and saw almost 190 but it dropped quickly to 180 as soon as I got moving. Gave her a bath and an oil change as a reward.

Two, maybe three car shows by Monday.

[cheesy]

Finally got Dropbox to upload the pics I took yesterday.
Here's the problem.

In that funky shaped hole on the left is the water distribution tube. It's supposed to be flared out to the edge of the hole, not like it is.


Before putting things back together, I chased all the threads in the block and cleaned both the head and block mating surface.



There's a lot of room in there without the radiator.



And that's a heck of a radiator for a 3.9L engine.



And I got rid of the 'Parade Fan'. Seemed like a storage area for dead bugs. May put it back on in the future but with a thermal switch on the radiator instead of a toggle switch under the dash.

[wheelbender6]

Well done. I remember pulling the head off a slant six to work on an overheating problem. Heavy sumbtch.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by wheelbender6

Well done. I remember pulling the head off a slant six to work on an overheating problem. Heavy sumbtch.

Agreed, tho never worked on the Slant. When I pulled the ohv head off my 52 Ford F2, I had to get creative to get it out of the hole between the fenders. Ended up stacking 2x4s under the head until I raised it enough not to destroy my back. I got my kids to assist in putting it back on.

[cheesy]

Nice show at the Illinois Railway Museum today. Like an idiot, I didn't take any pics of the DeSoto, but suffice it to say, it ran great.


I did find an old pal at the show, though.




I have a soft spot for Nashs'. My Dad worked there just about the time Nash and Hudson merged to form American Motors. We had both a 56 Nash wagon and 1946 Hudson pickup when I was a kid. So, here are some Nash pics.