De Soto Frank

Congrats ! LOVE the '58's ...

I have just received '59 Villager 6-pass wagon # 2, to replace the one I sold eight years ago, and regretted doing so. Present Wagon runs and moves, but has no brakes - the master cylinder is gone. The push-rod is hanging in the firewall opening, but that's all that's left. The seller included a Bendix Treadle-Vac unit from another '59, but I really don't want to embark on a rebuild of that just now. ( I have read good and bad about the T-V, and may look for another, later unit to use... plans are to rebuild the car as a mostly stock driver / pull a vintage camper. ) Will the stock non-power brake MC bolt-onto the firewall and function as a temporary make-do, so I can move the car around w/o crashing into things ? Thanks for your help ! Frank McM.

I am looking at a 1938 De Soto Touring sedan for sale locally, basically complete and solid, but interior was pulled-out due to rodent infestation. Seats, door panels, and rear side trim panels are still there, and intact enough to use as patterns... Looking for other S-5 owners to chat with before committing to this one... Thanks, De Soto Frank

Does anybody know who made these heaters ? They are a dead-ringer for the "recirculating" heaters used in Chrysler Products in the late 1930's through 1948.

Does anyone know if Studebaker switched to using insert bearings on the 245 Commander Six, or did they stick with poured rods to the end of this engine in the late 1950's ? Thanks, De Soto Frank

"Don't go until you call and make arrangements." This is an understatement. Mr. Rapp is a very pleasant and affable gentleman once he gets to know you and feels comfortable with you. He is a retired Metro NY Policeman, and doesn't take ___ from anyone. He also has a "real-world" sense of what stuff is worth. I accompanied a friend up there a couple years ago, and it is quite the trip, to say the least. Every vehicle up there has a story behind it. I wound-up coming home with a set of of 21" Model A wheels with 5.25-21 ACME tires on them... wasn't expecting to, but he "made me an offer I couldn't walk away from"...

Don't know if this is possible with Chevy Stovebolt sixes, but if there is too much endplay in the camshaft, it can "walk" fore anb aft in the block, causing a knocking sound that sounds very much like a rod knock... This is common with Model A Fords, which use a spring-loaded plunger to control cam end-play; the Chevrolet six uses shims under the cam retainer plate, behind thew cam gear... With regard to the oil-pan gauges, I wonder if using the photos as a guide, you could reverse-engineer a template then make one up out of sheetmetal or even thin plywood or laminate ? Would also think one of the VCCA guys with a set of original gauges would've created plans for a "build your own" and posted them to the site ? Good luck with your '36 - keep us posted. De Soto Frank

Hi, Am trying to help a friend out with his first Packard, a '51 Patrician. 327 straight-eight, Auto-Lite electrics. Somewhere along the way, someone has bodged a different set of points into the original AutoLite distributor. We are looking for correct points, condensor, etc. Does anyone have Part numbers, preferably Standard Ignition / Blue Streak ? Thanks ! De Soto Frank

If it's newer than me, or I can remember it being a new car on the road, it can never be an "antique" or "collectible" in my mind... I have always been fascinated by Brass & Nickel-era cars, and have grown to like most cars of the 1930's and '40s... My interest starts to fade after about 1955 or so. I was born in 1967; when I started driving, my first car was a tired 1962 Falcon (23 years old at the time), and I kept working at getting older and older iron for daily drivers... Have worked my way back to a '28 Ford thus far... would like to get into a Brass or Nickel car while we still have gasoline to run them with... I have never had much interest in cars of "my" lifetime... VERY few ( if any) have tickled my fancy.

Ersatz, Are you presently experiencing driveability issues with your Mercer ? Looks like you've got a Carter BB-1 updraft carb, which is about as good and "modern" an updraft as you can get, so it's not like you're fighting a primitive "air-valve carb" or other pre-historic "mixer"... Regards, Frank McMullen

You might get away with it... depends on how warm your Mercer engine gets... does it have a thermostat ? By the late 1930's, vehicles with exhaust heat risers had them automatically controlled by a thermostatic spring, which allowed exhaust pressure to force the flapper open as the things heated-up and the spring relaxed. I have a 1941 De Soto with a flathead six and down-draft carb with automatic choke and an automatic heat riser that presently does not function (spring is broken). In cool to cold weather, there is a period between "cold-start" and "fully warmed-up to operating temperature (180*f)" where the choke has opened as it normally would, but the non-functioning heat riser is wide-open (no heat), and the result is a tremendous flat-spot in acceleration... I tied the heat riser closed as an experiment, and the flat-spot went away... My point is, while the fuels may have improved, your Mercer engine might still be on the cold-blooded side, and need the help of the heated intake. You certainly could experiment; if you find yourself having to use the choke more / longer during warm-up, that suggests the preheater is necessary, especially if the car sees a lot of short operating cycles where the engine doesn't get hot & stay hot long enough to "burn" / boil condensation / unburnt fuel blow-by out of the crankcase... Let us know your results...

You're right, they are not the same car. The car on the right appears to be an Overland, judging by the shape of the radiator and the badge on same.

BTT - Anybody ?

This is also a GM wheel; probably 1939-46. This is a three-piece rim, with a locking ring, side flange, and rim section. The later rims with the 6+ " center hole may fit older trucks, but these rims with the 5" center hole generally do not fit the later trucks, as the center hole is too small to go over the hub. For what it's worth, 1938 -33 Chevy truck wheels are generally flatter in the center disc and have more triangular vent holes, and can accomodate only 6.00 / 6.50 x 20 tires (you'll often see 32 x 6 tires on these older wheels).

Not 1930's. It is probably GM; Looks to me like a 1947 - later two-piece wheel: splits in the middle of the center-channel; these are often referred to as "widow-makers".