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1952 Desoto Firedome - READ ONLY

16 messages,  Last post on Mar 04, 2002 at 8:33 PM

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Messages Page 2 of 2

#7 of 16 by dpwestlake

Dec 27, 2001 (12:12 pm)

I've heard of that transmission. It was in several early Mopars.

#8 of 16 Something I just found out... by andre1969

Dec 27, 2001 (12:31 pm)

Chrysler came out with Fluid Drive in 1939, but in '41 came out with something called a "Vacamatic". Here's a link to it...

http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/index_e.htm?/history/epoche5_c/history1941_c_e.htm

Turns out the Vacamatic was a 4-speed. I think over the years, most people probably just called them all "fluid drive", even if the proper name may have been "vacamatic" at one time.

But wait there's more. In 1942, there was something called a "Simplimatic", that the website just describes as "a semi-automatic transmission combined with a fluid coupling". I don't really know what the difference is between all these though.

I'd also guess that the Fluid Drive's last year was around 1954. The Powerflite 2-speed automatic had been introduced in 1953, but was only available on Imperials that year. It was optional across the board for '54. I know in DeSotos, it was still technically optional in 1955, but I read somewhere that something like 99.6% of them had Powerflites that year. I guess the other 0.4% just had a 3-on-the-treee manual shift.

#9 of 16 I remember by isellhondas

Dec 27, 2001 (6:39 pm)

A 52 De Soto that had a button on the end of the gearshift. It put the car into "passing gear".
 
I do think there are better choices for a daily driver!

#10 of 16 Isell... by andre1969

Dec 27, 2001 (8:08 pm)

...evidently, my Granddad thought the same way, about there being better choices in a daily driver. That's why he got rid of that '53 we had, because I had my eye set on it! I remember him saying that he didn't want me driving around in something that I'd be bringing back to him every time it broke down. So I ended up getting my Mom's old '80 Malibu, and I ended up bringing that one to him every time it broke down, so I don't know. Maybe I would've been better off with the DeSoto!

#11 of 16 One other thought by im_brentwood

Dec 27, 2001 (10:57 pm)

That's still a bit of a freeaky car to drive daily.. drum brakes.. old-ech suspension.. lack of modern safety features.
 
I mean, a wonderful old car and all.. but.. for a 16yr old? I mean, my Vauxhall recently got cut off on I-4, and it has a pretty darn good 4-wheel drum system for its era, and its been TOTALLY rebuilt.. but..
 
I got real scared. And no seatbelts..etc..
 
Am I being crazy? Seriously.. maybe as a project father/son deal.. Great! But for a daily driver maybe a cheap 1989 or so Mercury Grand Marquis or something might be a better "run to and from school" car?
 
Bill

#12 of 16 DeSoto brakes by andre1969

Dec 28, 2001 (8:36 am)

I don't know how similar the '52 DeSoto's brakes are to my '57, but I can tell you the '57's are a pain! First, you need a wheel puller just to get to the brakes up front! The drums are presed on. Then, the front ones are needlessly complicated. Most drum setups just have a cylinder that presses out from both ends, hitting both shoes at once, up towards the top. My '57 has TWO cylinders on each side. The upper one presses against one shoe, and the lower presses against the other.
 
I don't know if the two-cylinder setup really helps anything, but I never had any complaints with this car's stopping ability. They do need to be adjusted pretty regularly though, although I wonder if part of that is just because of the car sitting so much that the brakes get a little rust and glaze on 'em, and start to groan and screech.
 
I don't know if the '52 would have the two-cylinder setup, but it's probably a safe bet that you're still going to need a wheel puller to get to those front brakes! I don't know how common a tool like that would be anymore, either. My mechanic has one, so I just let him mess with the brakes!

#13 of 16 Bill...... by ghulet

Dec 28, 2001 (2:26 pm)

...I have to agree with you on this one. I remember my uncle buying an early '50s car as a 'driver', it ended up being a semi-permanent driveway decoration at my grandparents' house. This was almost thirty years ago, I can't imagine it's any easier now to keep a fifty year old car on the road. If the son wants an 'older' car as a driver, even something from the late 60s (power steering, likely disc brakes, seat belts) would be better! As a driver, I'd get something a bit more safe and fuel efficient (how about a Volvo 240?).

#14 of 16 by speedshift

Dec 28, 2001 (2:44 pm)

My advice would be to buy the car. Just don't pay five grand for it. The average teen-ager only learns from bitter experience and, who knows, maybe he'll like it. He probably won't, and you'll probably lose money, but he's only 16 once and it's a great bonding opportunity. Years later when he's your age he'll look back and be amazed you did it for him.

#15 of 16 Andre... by isellhondas

Dec 30, 2001 (11:01 am)

I think you meant to say you need a puller to get the REAR drums off and not the front.
 
Those can be a nightmare. The special puller has three arms that bolt to the studs. The center screw contacts the end of the axle stub. then you take a big hammer and hammer the crap out of the anvil on the puller. If you're lucky, it'll come off. Sometimes it takes a torch as a convincer.
 
And, yes, the fronts have a seperate wheel cylinder for each brake shoe. I think they called these "Center Plane".
 
And they are a lousy design. It also takes someone who knows what they are doing to adjust these.
 
If equipped with power brakes, the bellows for the booster sits right on top of the master cylinder. this makes checking the fluid a PITA as well.

#16 of 16 Chrysler Dual Cylinder brakes............ by dustyk

Mar 04, 2002 (8:33 pm)

were called "Full Contact" as I remember.
 
When I began doing auto repair work these were still plentiful. The first time I saw one was on a '49 Plymouth. I had replaced the front shoes and turned the drums. The customer was complaining about pulling, which I originally figured was the result of the poor condition of the brakes. After the new shoes and resurfaced drums were on, my road test verified the craziest pulling. It was inconsistent and changed in manner by the time I got back to the shop.
 
This design was clever in some respects. The use of two wheel cylinders allowed full shoe contact with the drum. An older guy that I worked with said "replace ALL of the front wheel cylinders." I did and that solved the problem. This design, while efficient, was highly dependent on everything working in precision, especially the wheel cylinder travel. If one cylinder moved ever so slightly less, you'd get uneven brake application.
 
Dusty

Messages Page 2 of 2

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