1930 DeSoto

[Cvans 1,009]

Cleaned the shop this after noon and pulled the DeSoto in for some much needed attention. The U-joints are binding and the E brake doesn't want to stay on. As dirty as the oil is I'm thinking it's still got Non-Detergent oil in it. If working on the creeper goes well I might pull the pan and clean it and check the rod tolerances. I'd like to get it on Detergent oil. Oil pressure is a good 45 lbs at idle so I don't think they are too loose. 

Here it is in the shop a little bit ago. 

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by Cvans

[ebinmaine 63,157]

Love it.

 

 

Looking forward to more....

[Pullstart 59,733]

So awesome!  Where’s Bonnie?

[953 nut 51,721]

My first car was a '30 Chrysler and as I remember it there was an oil filter so there shouldn't be any problem running detergent oil. This information from Hemmings is good to know.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2012/10/18/tech-101-zinc-in-oil-and-its-effects-on-older-engines/

[The Tuul Crib 7,332]

Sweet !!

[bc.gold 3,399]

Beautiful car, it certainly displayed the owners wealth.

 

Hungry 30's, base price for an inline 8 DeSoto $1000.00, gold was at $20.65 tr oz a thousand dollars would have purchased 48.42 troy ounces of gold that gold today is worth $70,015.32 US

 

Do you know where the car first sold and who purchased it.

 

Following this thread.

[ZXT 2,394]

Excellent looking car! Would love to see more of it. 

 

If it has 45 PSI oil pressure at hot idle with old worn out oil in it, I wouldn't bother pulling the pan. The bearing tolerances are just fine if it is able to sustain that pressure! It should just have a regular canister oil filter in it, so I agree with Richard that changing to detergent oil isn't really an issue.

 

Did Desoto have hydraulic brakes in '30? I figure it did since it was part of Chrysler. It's nuts that Ford didn't go to hydraulic brakes until '39.

 

There are numerous cars from the 30s that I'd love to own, but the one that sits at the top of the list is a '32 Plymouth Coupe. Don't know why, but I've always liked them.

Edited March 17, 2020 by ZXT

[Cvans 1,009]

2 hours ago, bcgold said:

Do you know where the car first sold and who purchased it.

No I don't know any history other than the previous owner. I've seen one of his photos and the car had Texas plates on it. I have to believe that the car did spend it's life in a dry environment. I spent quite a bit of time under it today and can find no signs of rust at all. I can't believe how clean it is underneath. Thankfully someone put in all new brake lines and fuel lines. 

 

1 hour ago, ZXT said:

Did Desoto have hydraulic brakes in '30? I figure it did since it was part of Chrysler. It's nuts that Ford didn't go to hydraulic brakes until '39.

 

There are numerous cars from the 30s that I'd love to own, but the one that sits at the top of the list is a '32 Plymouth Coupe. Don't know why, but I've always liked them.

 Yes it did originally come with hydraulic brakes and they seem to work just fine. I can't blame you about the 32 Plymouth, sharp looking car. 

Ford was trying to make an extremely competitive and easy to maintain vehicle. He was also set in his ways. If it wasn't for his Son they might still be making Model T's. 

I pulled the drive shaft today and found the rear universal joint is bad. I was hoping that was the source of the noise I was hearing. Unfortunately that was not the case. After removing the fill plug on the differential and inserting my little finger inside it was found that the oil level was very low. So I stuck my finger in as far as I could and found large pieces laying in the bottom. By turning the pinion it would seem the ring and pinion are fine so at this point I'm guessing that at least one of the spider gears is broken and parts of it are dragging on the bottom of the ring gear.

Tomorrow complete disassembly of the differential will be attempted but I may need a special puller to get the rear wheels off so the axles can be removed. 

Thanks for your interest.  If you have any experience with these vehicle I'd love to have you post here. 

 

[bc.gold 3,399]

If you contact Chrysler Corp with your vin they can probably let you know the name of the dealer and possibly the first owner. Not sure when warranty's were added to car sales.

 

The 1930 DeSoto CF production numbers begin at 6,000.001 ending at 6,000,714, I wonder how many of those have survived.

 

[Ed Kennell 35,799]

My first car was a 1930 Dodge 6   four door w/ 19" wooden spoke wheels, hydraulic brakes, flat head six and three on the floor.

I paid $100 for it in 1957 when I was 13 years.     It had 37K on the working odometer.      The exterior was good with the original paint, but I did reupholster the entire interior and added a heater and a radio.

The picture is from July 4, 1961.      One of my first dates with Mrs.K.

 

[Cvans 1,009]

That is really neat!!! Thanks for posting the photo. In some ways I wish this car had the 6 cylinder as parts would be easier to come by. On the other hand the 8 cylinder is actually kind of a peppy engine and runs nice. In 1961 I would have only been 11 years old. 

This car came with a heater thankfully but no radio which I wouldn't listen to anyway. 

I hope others will feel free to post stories like yours.

Thanks again. 

 

[Stormin 9,975]

14 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

My first car was a 1930 Dodge 6   four door w/ 19" wooden spoke wheels, hydraulic brakes, flat head six and three on the floor.

I paid $100 for it in 1957 when I was 13 years.     It had 37K on the working odometer.      The exterior was good with the original paint, but I did reupholster the entire interior and added a heater and a radio.

The picture is from July 4, 1961.      One of my first dates with Mrs.K.

 

 

You sure you got the date right?  1961?

[Stormin 9,975]

 Love the De Soto. More photo's PLEEEASE!

 

 

[Ed Kennell 35,799]

1 hour ago, Stormin said:

 

You sure you got the date right?  1961?

Afraid so Norm.      We were teenagers.    The 1930s costumes were for a parade.

[Oldskool 6,582]

Nice looking ride you have there. Really digging the color.  I love those 30's cars. I have a 30 Essex sedan waiting for me to do something with it. Maybe someday

[Cvans 1,009]

Don't wait too long. We don't know when we run out of days to come. 

 

 

[Cvans 1,009]

Here it is setting in the driveway. The damage to the rear fender is the reason I was able to acquire it. Hit and run driver. 

[Oldskool 6,582]

9 minutes ago, Cvans said:

Don't wait too long. We don't know when we run out of days to come. 

 

 

Been to busy working on tractors lol

 

[ebinmaine 63,157]

5 minutes ago, Oldskool said:

Been to busy working on tractors lol

 

Just you keep at it too.

 

[Oldskool 6,582]

3 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Just you keep at it too.

 

🤣 I'm trying

 

[squonk 38,937]

I always heard that if an engine had Babbitt bearings you needed to use non-detergent oil. Not sure if that's true.

[953 nut 51,721]

9 minutes ago, squonk said:

I always heard that if an engine had Babbitt bearings you needed to use non-detergent oil. Not sure if that's true.

Here is an article I copied and filed away a couple years back. Seems logical to me.  This would apply to our older engines on  too.

 

When early engines (prior to 1954) were new, oil filters were an accessory item and non-detergent oil was the type of oil used. Original, unrestored engines have most likely been run on non-detergent oil. If you are running an early unrestored engine that is not spotlessly clean internally, it is imperative to continue to run it on non-detergent oil. Otherwise there is the risk of damage to the engine.

Non-detergent oil was used before oil filters became standard equipment. This type of oil would "stick" contaminants to the sidewalls and valleys of the engine to prevent dirty oil from damaging bearing surfaces. Engines that have been run on non-detergent oil for many years will have a thick "sludge" buildup. Sludge will appear to be oil that has turned to gelatin except that it will be very black with contaminants.

Using detergent oil in an engine that had been running non-detergent oil would allow these contaminants to be released to flow through the engine. This could result in serious damage to the rod, main and cam bearings as well as other engine components such as lifters and plugging of oil lines.

After an engine has been rebuilt or thoroughly cleaned, use straight grade 30 WT or multi-grade 10-30 or 10-40 WT detergent oil to keep the engine clean. Early oil filters only filtered a small portion of the oil flowing through the engine. Unlike modern, full flow filters, these add-on filters are more of a decoration than real protection for the engine. Even if your engine does not have an oil filter, the number of miles a vintage car is driven is much less than when these cars were new. The simple solution is to change your oil more often. Every 500 miles or a minimum of once per year is a good rule of thumb.

[Cvans 1,009]

That's kind of what I remember hearing too. Thanks for posting it. Depending on what I find when I look the engine over I'll probably stay with non detergent for now. By the way this engine does not have an oil filter.

[Cvans 1,009]

 Had build a wheel puller that screws onto the wheel. Fine threads. 16 tpi so used a boring bar to cut the threads. 2.304" inside diameter. It's fabricated after one that I saw on the internet. The wheels and brake drums on these vehicles are one unit. They are held to the axle by a self-locking taper and a threaded nut on the end of the axle. Wheels and drums came off nicely but someone for some reason had pounded on the tapered part of the left axle. Going to have to clean that up. Brakes and drums look good. 

The thing that is amazing me about this project is everything is coming apart without a fight. I'm hoping it continues this way.

 

[Stormin 9,975]

That wheel is really something. Hydraulic brakes as well.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Stormin