Moving Right Along on Our Project (Kind Of)

It's been quite a few months since I updated my blog about bringing Grandpa Home - The 1933 Desoto.  To date, the biggest obstacle was gathering parts to make a good water pump.  After running an ad with the National Desoto Club and running an ad in Hemmings, several good people helped us out and we did get what we needed and shipped everything off to New York, to Arthur Gould Rebuilders...I worked with Chris.  I would have no qualms recommending this shop to anyone who needs their water pump rebuilt.  Professional all the way.  I boxed everything up carefully and insured the package for $1,000.  Was told that when you put that kind of value on it, UPS will be likely to be more careful with handling it.  Not sure if that's true, but it did get there safely and back. 

My Pop worked diligently over the spring and summer, puttering here and there, going through engine parts, cleaning, priming, painting.  He rebuilt the generator, put in new brushes, but unfortunately, that had to be sent off to be rebuilt.  The '33 Desoto starter is one of a kind and complicated...I'd have to have him explain why.  I'm just the writer/owner of the car, documenting it's progress.  In October, we pulled the gas tank.  They don't call my Dad's generation the "Best Generation" for nothing.  His ingenuity amazes me.  And his patience also with thinking out his work.  Of course, he was an airline machinist by trade, so that certainly helps.  He has trouble understanding why we have such a throw away society, ie. when the computer craps out, why can't he go in there and fix it?  When I think that my Dad survived the great depression, Hitler and his troops occupying his homeland Denmark and all the other incredible things that happened in his lifetime, I am amazed and humbled.  We are lucky to have his sage advice and expertise in getting this car back on the road...very, very lucky indeed. 

All clean and ready to install

Here's how we drove it out of the garage so we could remove and install tank

So it was time to check out the gas tank and remove the 5 gallons of gas that was left in there since the early 1980's.  We knew it would be ugly in that tank, but NOT THAT UGLY.  For safety reasons, we had to pull the car out of the garage, since that's where the water heater and furnace are located for his home.  So he took an old metal gas can and rigged it up to feed gas directly to the carburator, while sitting on the running board.  It worked like a charm (see photos above).  The car was backed out far from the garage and he and my hubby attempted to syphon the old gas out.  I have never smelled anything so strong and lethal as that old leaded gas.  They siphoned out what they could, then opened up the drain and took out the remainder through a 1/4" plug at the bottom of the tank.  They then removed the float from the tank, and it was coated in layers on layers of black GUNK.  The inside of the tank was coated with the same.  The tank had to be boiled again and again at our local radiator shop to get all that out.  The owner said he had never seen so much crud in a tank before.  But, it came back clean as a whistle and was put back on with no problems several weeks later.  The gas tank float was cleaned and gone through, but was not working when placed back in the tank.  We then ran the car off the clean gas in the tank and it ran and sounded like a sewing machine.  I feel so fortunate that the engine didn't freeze up in the 30 years that it hadn't been run.  Hallelujah!  I am stilll looking for those hens teeth parts, such as a glove box lock or pull, hubcaps (we only have 2 Desoto ones), ashtrays (ours rusted through), clutch and brake pedal rubber pads, etc.  This is where the advent of Ebay and online ads really saved our hides, or I'd be on Social Security before I found most of the parts I have found already (which ain't much).

Here it is the day we hooked up the newly cleaned gas tank with fresh gasoline!  Runs like a top!