50Traveler

Thank you both so much for your assurance and information. I look forward to getting into this but will do a lot of study first. I do have assorted Chiltons and Motor manuals and between them and the shop manual I hope to get it done. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving, Justin

Can someone out there give me a few pointers for approaching some brake work on my 1950 Traveler? I have done limited brake work like replacing lines, rebuilding/replacing master cylinders and adjusting the mechanical brakes on an even older (1928)car, but I think it is time to investigate the the squeal that was once only heard on the first time I used the brakes but now is heard on every stop. I have the shop manual, but am scared that I'll get just so far and discover that I can't go any further without some magical Mopar tool that was last seen in a Cities Service station outside of South Jabib in 1957. Any info is appreciated. I have some time as this is a winter project. I lost a lot of the season this past year when I didn't discover until Spring that my DeSoto had no brakes at all and decided to rebuild the master cylinder and replace the hard and soft lines. I hope to be better prepared for a new year with the Chrysler.

Is anyone aware of a good method of adjusting the cowl vent so that it seals securely and does not chip the paint on the either the vent or the area around it? I removed mine to clean it up a bit and replace the rubber, but now I want to do a better job or installing it since it has chipped the paint at the rear corners. Every time I think I have it aligned something goes awry. There is an up-down adj that afixes the vent to the hinges, an inclined front and back adj on the hinge brackets, and the latching adjustment. I have checked the service manual for my 47 DeSoto and my '50 Chrysler but it is not covered. Thanks for any hints, Justin

Is anyone aware of a good method of adjusting the cowl vent so that it seals securely and does not chip the paint on the either the vent or the area around it? I removed mine to clean it up a bit and replace the rubber, but now I want to do a better job or installing it since it has chipped the paint at the rear corners. Every time I think I have it aligned something goes awry. There is an up-down adj that afixes the vent to the hinges, an inclined front and back adj on the hinge brackets, and the latching adjustment. I have checked the service manual for my 47 DeSoto and my '50 Chrysler but it is not covered. Thanks for any hints, Justin

Could this be like "Hy-Drive"? The instructions I have are to drain the oil from the oil pan and the drain plug you have discovered through the access plate. To refill tighten the drain plugs, the one near the ring gear to 45-50 lbs. ft. Add 10 quarts of oil to the crankcase and then idle the engine for a minute or two. Then add another quart. At this point the dipstick should indicate that the whole system is full. Now this Hy-Drive is what they called it on the 6 cylinder Plymouth, but if you can't find any other way to check the level then maybe the Chrysler was similar. Good Luck, Justin Schiess

Thanks for your input. I took the starter out this morning, loosening one splash panel so I could let gravity help me get it out. There is a lot of metal dust in there and the gear is a bit chewed. I think part of the problem could be the skinny screw used to connect the solenoid to the starter drive. Anyhow, it is gonna get some attention now and I don't think the flywheel is too bad. Thanks again, Justin

Occasionally, far more often than I am comfortable with, the starter grinds on the DeSoto. I can never get my finger off the button fast enough when it happens and usually on the next try all is fine. Since the second try is OK I figure that I am not stuck on a flat spot on the flywheel but that the starter isn't all the way engaged at times. Is this a weak battery problem? A solenoid problem? A starter problem? An alignment problem? The biggest question, before I waste time in awkward contortions, what is the easiest way to remove it? I just gave it a new set of brake lines and rebuilt the master cylinder, and my back hasn't quite recovered from that. I have a stock '50 Traveler and this '47 DeSoto coupe and I have to say that there is nothing sweeter than driving my flathead sixes with the luxury of Fluid Drive and Prestomatic/Tip-Toe shift. Stock is good. All input is appreciated, Justin

Thanks for the info. When I had my first chemistry set and used Denatured alcohol in the alcohol lamp, my Father advised me to never taste it because I'd go blind. Of course I had to taste it anyhow and was grateful that my drop of alcohol didn't so the trick. These days my vision is at that awkward stage where everything is either too close or too far away to see clearly. Must be that drop that did it and not the 40 years that have passed since. Thanks again, Justin

In so many references I read about cleaning and flushing brake parts and lines with alcohol. What kind is best? Isopropyl from the drug store has a lot of water in it, but denatured seems so harsh. DeSoto has no brakes so I am going to try and rebuild the master cylinder. It looks to be leaking from around that back fitting where the lines attach. I am removing the cylinder now and will replace the brake lines while I am at it. Traveler started fine after a long winter, as did the DeSoto, but luckily I knew from the start that I had no brakes at all. Thank you for any info, Justin

I will try the self tapping plug and grease it up good. I want to do this from the bottom to have gravity on my side and then I will flush it out as well. I am hoping to find out the secret of removing the bottom housing so I can move ahead on this. Thank you for the help, Justin

I have the piece loosed after removing the six side screws, the brackets on each side, and the nuts that hold the studs to the tranmission. It still needs to drop a bit in the front to get past a piece of sheet metal between the oil pan and the housing. It looks as if this piece of metal is held in place with 4 bolts into the upper half of the bell housing. I am leery of removing, or even loosening these because they must have a purpose other than holding that piece of sheet metal in place and I don't want to blindly undo whatever this is. I am doing this to repair the stripped hole for the drain plug from underneath. Thanks for any info and help, Justin

Does anyone out there have suggestions for the best way to rethread and get a strong seal on the fluid drive drain plug. At some time the plug was strong-armed into place and all would have been fine had I not decided to drain and refill. It is in a difficult place to work and beyond the plug there is very little clearance. I would like to retap it but worry about metal debris getting lost beyond the plug. Is there a tapered, hardened drain plug that could make its own path and do the job? Any advice is appreciated. I am going to think long and hard on this before I take any action so I don't make it worse. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and info. Justin

I brought my '47 DeSoto back to 6 volts this past weekend and so I have an extra 8 volt battery and the voltage regulator that was used with it. I am not a big believer in switching to 8 or 12 volts since I think a car in decent shape will do fine on the original 6 volts and if it doesn't then something needs attention. Please don't let my limited experience or judgement discourage you if you have decided to go this route. The battery looks nice and seems to have a lot of life but I have no idea how old it is. Therefor, rather than ask for the zillions of dollars that I know it is worth I have decided to offer it up for free here on the WPC forum where I have gotten some good advice for free as well. I can't ship it so you have to be able to pick it up in Rochester, NY. If you are not too far away, say 50 miles or so, I'll deliver it for gas money. I don't know how universal the voltage regulator is as far as applications, so remember that this was all working well in an otherwise stock 6 cylinder 1947 DeSoto. Please e-mail me if interested. Justin Schiess jfssch2@frontiernet.net

within the next week I will be picking up my dream car, a 1947 DeSoto. I am looking forward to the drive home but wonder if I need to be wary of the eight volt battery that is in the car. If I am driving a greater distance than it is used to do I risk damaging any components by over charging? Would I be better off bringing a 6 volt battery and switching it in for the trip or could I trust that whatever modifications that should have been made at the time of the initial change to an eight volt would be adequate and appropriate for the trip. In the past I have avoided changing the electrics in my cars and never believed that a car in good condition needed anything but what was original. For instance, my '50 Chrysler may turn over sluggishly, but still starts on the second turn of the motor. Any advice is appreciated, Justin Schiess Rochester, NY

I recently went through the many postings trying to get the best info on what to use in the Fluid Drive coupling and pasted the best info onto one document to evalute carefully. I decided to go for the tractor fluid / hydraulic fluid #32. At the Kendall distributor I explained as best as I could what I needed and thought I was getting #32. When I got home and looked over what I got (I also picked up some 20w for the trans and regular motor oil that was on sale for $1 a qt.) I saw that I had come home with Kendall's Hyken 052 which was described as follows by a Kendall rep: "The Hyken 052 is a combination hydraulic transmission fluid that is a multivis product. The viscosity at 40C is about 59 cSt compared to what you asked for as a 32 cSt at 40 C. It is a very good hydraulic with more AW than a standard hydraulic oil. I would need to know what your application is to make a judgment about the suitability of the product for you." When it comes to Fluid Drive I trust this group moreso than anyone, and I am wary of going through the change exercise with a product so different. Kendall does make a #32 and the info sheet for this is here: http://www.kendallmotoroil.com/NR/rdonly...yK_Gold_Hyd.pdf I am likely to exchange the 052 for the #32, but wonder if there could be any advantage to the 052. Thank you for your time and experience, Justin Schiess PS regardless of what I came home with, Deckman Oil in Honeoye Falls NY could not have been nicer to deal with, and it was the perfect day for Prestomatic motoring.

I finally gave my Traveler a taste of the sun today. Tomorrow she gets a NYS inspection. I have been bumping the starter trying to get the fill plug to line up with the opening in the floor and while I have come close I haven't been able to get it lined up so I can open it up. Is there a better way to try while I recharge the battery? Thank you all, Justin

I took a chance and applied some even steady leverage and got the weight and spring off. It really does look like it was on backwards and I will try it the other way around. Thanks to all who looked at the posting. Justin

The spring on the heat riser is wound the opposite way than what is pictured in the shop manual. Could the manual be wrong? It pivots freely though and I wonder if it now works the opposite of the way it should. I did get out the screw that I thought would let the weight slide off of the shaft, but it won't move out. I am afraid to force it because I don't want to damage the valve in the manifold. Any ideas, or should I just tie it into position and let the car warm up without it. Thanks for any info, Justin

Here is part two of the article

So many times I hear of old car radios needing a new vibrator. I found this article and thought I'd pass it along. I am a natural tinkerer and believe that if the old vibrator is shot then you have nothing to lose by trying the method described in the article. It is in 2 scans so there will be 2 postings for this. Hope it can help someone. Justin

Thanks for having a look. That dark spot is a tab that passes clear through the padding and rubber on the firewall. I assume it holds the padding in place. My latest idea for the impression is that it was left there by an aftermarket automatic lap blanket that retracted like a window shade. It was removed after a horrible mishap when that last person to use it got his shirt tail caught in the mechanism and was never seen again. Justin

Has anyone had a problem opening the attached picture file on my previous post in this thread? Justin

I feel a bit sheepish about this, but I was able to get into the garage this morning and discovered that the impression doesn't have rounded ends at all. It also has 6 screw holes. Thanks once again for having a look. Justin

I tried to get out there for a picture but somehow I managed to break the lock to the garage door and since it is about 12 degrees I gave up and will see about it tomorrow. The impression isn't for the radio which is close to the driver and all in one unit except for the speaker. The heater temp valve is mounted above and to the left of the impression and everything else is under the hood. The mystery impression is only about 2 inches above the edge of the rubber before it meets the carpet. Everything works without whatever is missing, I just want to know what was there. Thanks for your insight, Justin

I recently had a lot of work to do back there behind the instruments. After removing the 3 screws and disconnecting the speedometer cable I was able to pull it out a bit, but you should make some effort to protect the paint on the surround. It isn't impossible to do this from the back either, but the contorting of body and arms to get there isn't easy. At least the fuel gauge isn't blocked by the radio, switches, or circuit breakers. Good luck, Justin