1947 DeSoto

fluid drive Sedan

6 - Cyl.

Unspecified

S1171598

Gasoline

Up for sale this time around is my involuntarily inherited 1947 DeSoto Custom with fluid drive !!!! I acquired this in lieu of money owed to me. The cost to get it here far exceeds the total value in my opinion. Now. After having a day to inspect the car, here is what I know; The good first;It starts, runs, and actually drives. The brakes do work. The car does not smoke. Head lights work, tail lights work, and the radio powers up. No brake lights. I think it has an original 6 CD changer ? NO, not really!!! (A little DeSoto humor)The car comes from Reno Nevada. It seems to be 98% complete. There are very few missing parts, and the majority of the glass in very good shape.The driver door wing windows are trash. The right (passenger) windshield has a very small crack (2" diagonal) in the very lower left. Please see the photos.The body is pretty good shape for a car that has been sitting for so long. Rust, none that I can see as far as rotten floors, trunk, etc etc. (keep in mind I did not go poking at every nook and cranny) The bad;Well, the obvious. Tires are done, paint is garbage and the car seems to have bashed in the driver rear MANY years back. The interior has seem better days. It is dust ! As far as interior part ? Awesome. The chrome has survived, and all seems to be there less the driver door panel. No missing knobs or handles as far as I can see. The car has no plates. Title ;I have a Nevada title that is dated / issued in 1983. So the odds are that the car is not in any system. Some numbers found under the hood ;Model 112Body 5 Trim 910Body # 33080 Conclusion;A very interesting car. I would imagine this would make a decent restoration. No show car, maybe a real nice weekend driver if you have connections and bucks. I like it, but have no interest in even starting any projects. I have a low reserve as I would like to recoop some of my money. No trades please. (unless you want to trade for a brand new Mercedes) Feel free to email cash offers as I need the driveway space. Well, take a look at the photos and feel free to send me an email with any questions you might have. ***I may end the auction early as the car is listed locally and in other places. Some one asked. "what is fluid drive"?Hope this helps;HistoryThe fluid coupling and torque converter was invented by the German engineer Foettinger in the early 1900’s. For non-marine applications he licensed the development of the fluid coupling to the British engineer Harold Sinclair and his Fluidrive Engineering Co Ltd (now part of Voith AG). Following the development of the fluid coupling, Sinclair in turn licensed the fluid coupling, now also known as ‘Fluidrive Coupling’ to many companies including the Chrysler Corporation. Many automobile historians confuse Chrysler’s Fluid Drive with the Corporation’s so-called semi-automatic M5/M6 transmissions, which were marketed under various names as “Simplimatic” (Chrysler), “Tip-Toe Shift” (DeSoto), and “Gyro-Matic” (Dodge). Unfortunately, Chrysler itself contributed to the confusion by referring to both the standard-shift fluid drive and M6 installations indiscriminately as "Fluid Drive" in much of their marketing and sales literature. General Motors also used a fluid coupling for the full-automatic Hydramatic transmission, introduced for 1940. ConfigurationThe standard Fluid Drive configuration consisted of the fluid coupling and a manual transmission and clutch in tandem. If the Fluid Drive was mated to a manual transmission, the driver still needed to use the clutch to shift between any of the gears. The presence of Fluid Drive, however, prevented the driver stalling when taking off from a dead stop. The driver could also come to a stop in third gear without using the clutch and proceed without downshifting. It must be emphasized that Fluid Drive was not a transmission, only a fluid coupling between the engine and clutch.Fluid Drive could also be mated to the semi-automatic transmission, which was not automatic in any way and should not be confused with Fluid Drive. With the semi-automatic transmissions, the driver shifted manually, selecting reverse or a low range and a high range. Each 'range' had two speeds. To shift between them, the driver accelerated then released pressure on the accelerator. In high range, this shift point was about 23 mph (37 kmh). The transmission shifted into high speed range, the driver then depressed the accelerator pedal, and continued accelerating. The solenoids on the transmission connected to the carburetor and ignition system and momentarily interrupted engine operation to allow trouble-free shifting.The driver could down-shift for passing by fully depressing the accelerator. The clutch was needed to change between low and high range. The fluid drive system allowed the driver to stop at a light or in traffic and remain in gear without depressing the clutch. The driver could, if not concerned with fast acceleration, drive the car all day long in high range, stopping and starting, without ever having to touch the clutch pedal or gearshift lever unless faster acceleration or reversing was required. For this reason, DeSotos and Dodges were favored by city cab companies from the mid Forties to early Fifties.The semi-automatic came under a variety of names - Vacamatic, Prestomatic, Fluidmatic (Chrysler), Simplimatic, Tip-toe Hydraulic Shift (DeSoto) and Gyromatic (Dodge).A Fluid Drive Dodge with Gyromatic was far cheaper than a Hydramatic-equipped Pontiac, and had the effect of making city taxi-driving far easier. In 1950, a Dodge Coronet, which had Fluid Drive standard, offered Gyromatic for $94.60, while Hydramatic was a $158.50 option on Pontiacs. (from wikipedia) On Jun-29-10 at 15:10:55 PDT, seller added the following information: Have no idea why the other video is shown two times. Here is the other. On Jul-02-10 at 21:28:17 PDT, seller added the following information: <