DeSoto

[cheesy]

Those are nice sentiments. I lost my Mom July 31st of last year. The annual family get together, always held the first weekend in August, going to be very different this year.

The DeSoto is far from mint but a good looker. My Dad dragged it home as pretty much a hulk in 1978, so it has been in the family for 40 of its 70 years. I recently found a photo of the car taken the day it came home and I can imagine the look on my Moms face when it showed up.

[Hawk 229cc]

yes losing loved ones are hard but i choose to remember just all the good things,very nice to see a car thats been in the family for a long time ,tomorrow with me an my friend going to cruise night with my 1995 camaro,i am selling my car , its been fun but it needs a full time mechanic,an i am the amature ,10 years with it 2 front ends 2 engines

my friend is the real mechanic an hes getting up there in age a bit,i want to see it go to a guy who does all his own work ,that knows he is geting a special interest car ,or a monster car some call it ,it had the lt1 346ci efi in it ,an now has the carbed 406,its a beast,i got 2002 z28 with ls1 is the new project an the hawk ,but staying with ls parts an nothing big for now

[cheesy]

Here is what the car looked like when my Dad brought it home. Best I can do with a slightly wrinkled and laminated photo.



And here is something my Dad wrote up that sits in the backseat at car shows.




Found both of these in a suitcase my folks kept in the trunk, aka, the back bedroom. Although, my sentence construction and punctuation OCD meter pegs when I read the above, I will not change it.

[cheesy]

So, been having overheating problems with the old girl. Found several things, each in itself not a big deal, but taken as a whole, problems.

After speaking with my Dad to see what he’d done, I put in a new thermostat. Still running hot. Tested the old one, and it was good. I put in a new, not rebuilt, water pump. Before installing the pump, I back flushed the block from the drain and the pump side until I got clear water. There was some crud, but not as much as I’ve seen in other engines. There was a good bit of crud in the old pump. Took the car for a ride. Better, but still too hot.

Yesterday, I decided to acid back flush the entire system. Got some more crud out, but not much. Surprisingly, several bug carcasses. Put in new coolant. Went for a ride. Even better, but still too hot for a 160 t-stat. So, in frustration, I broke out my laser temp gun, which I should have done in the first place. Checked the top of the radiator and found the temp twenty degrees cooler than the gauge. Checked at the upper radiator hose and found the temp still lower. So, the temp gauge is also failing. Checked out an NOS gauge. Um, $150 for a seventy year old gauge that might still be NFG. I don’t think so.

Instead, I bought an aftermarket mechanical gauge and will tee it in with the original. We will see how that works out.

[Weldangrind]

Glad to hear the gauge is lying to you. That beats overheating.

[ben2go]

There are places that can rebuild those gauges to new or better. Not sure what that would cost these days. Back when I was wrenching, we sent ours out to a company, SW, in CA, and it was roughly $250 back in the early 90's for our Jeep CJ gauges completely rebuilt with new needles, faces, glass, and chrome trim ring. Those where the ones with the speedo and four gauges inset behind the speedo.





I've had overheat issues and finally figured it out to be the lower 1/4 to 1/3 of the rad full of crap. I know it's not your case but just wanted to share my story.

[cheesy]

Success. I think. Got the new gauge in and the temp never got to 190F. This was idling for thirty minutes. Didn't get out on the road because grandpa duties flared up. Again. And again. And again. Maybe Friday.

[cheesy]

Installed.

[Sport Rider]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Success. I think. Got the new gauge in and the temp never got to 190F. This was idling for thirty minutes. Didn't get out on the road because grandpa duties flared up. Again. And again. And again. Maybe Friday.

got up to 190 with a 160 thermostat in it? to me that would mean the thermostat is running open all the time. I suspect when you put the car engine under load you're going to see higher temps. I have a similar problem with my boat.

[cheesy]

According to my seventy year old shop manual, the 160 t-stat begins to open at 160 and is fully open at 183. Hence the not quite 190 reading. The coolant appears to be free flowing through the entire system now. If I still have issues, all that’s left to mess with is the water distribution tube in the block. I don’t really want to go there.

[cheesy]

This kid plans on being the next owner of the DeSoto. Might happen.

[wheelbender6]

Looks like the Desoto will remain in great hands. He will be a great steward.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by wheelbender6

Looks like the Desoto will remain in great hands. He will be a great steward.

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

[BlackBike]

So how much did the mechanical gauge cost?

Nice color too

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by wheelbender6

Looks like the Desoto will remain in great hands. He will be a great steward.

I can recommend a good eye doctor, if you ever visit SC.




Doh, my glasses haven't even came in yet.