Projects 1956 Desoto Fireflite Sportsman... Custom?

I pulled a valve cover and found this


Once I get it running I’m going to do frequent oil changes to get it cleaned up. The rebuild kits alone for these are ~$2000 minus the cam, I’ll be saving towards that. It runs really well, no noises, no smoke. The carburetor was rebuilt and tuned by the PO who works at a restoration shop. Power steering pump was also rebuilt by him.
Aside from changing a head gasket and doing basic tuneups I don’t have any engine experience, so its good that I’m starting with one that has so many available parts and resources!
I have checked out HoTHeads for hemi parts. Do you guys have any other resources for these?

On a side note, I have a knack for getting into low production engines. My 58 Fairlane had a 332


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I do have the service manual, just got it in a couple days ago.
Is there a particular type of gasket material I should get? I make gaskets for flanges at work but we use 1/8 rubber material.


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I’m not implying that I would use rubber gasket material. Only that I can make gaskets


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Go over to forwardlook.com Lots of knowledge about these cars there, I’m dying to have a desoto


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Glad to see the Hemi is a runner, because they get pretty steep to rebuild. There are a few vendors out there making Hemi stuff, but Bob at Hot Heads is an excellent resource. @73RR is a Hamber and owns QEC: https://www.qualityengineeredcomponents.com/ There are a few others as well, and for used stock parts, eBay usually has what you need.

Any parts store will have small rolls of gasket material. Look for Fel-Pro 3157 and 3075, they're probably what you're looking for.

 

Photo looks typical, from nondetergent oil & a puke tube instead of the PCV vales found on later engines. Put "Hemi Tech Index" in search & start reading. Most is about Chr & Dodge Hemis but will inform you. Gary (73RR) is a great guy..

 

Be carefull though, if you loosen a big chunk of glop ir could clog the oil pump intake. Might be worth dropping the pan & cleaning it out.

 

[mention]Gotgas [/mention] - I’m going to grab that gasket material on the way home and get this beast fired up. I need some new battery cables as well anyway. Is 2AWG sufficient? I had thought about going 1/0
[mention]George [/mention] I planned on doing oil changes with some diesel type oil and a new filters frequently until it cleaned up. I had gotten advice on one of my other posts to change the oil every time pressure dropped until it cleared up after a week or so of regular driving. I was going to drop the pan after that. Maybe I should drop the pan first though.


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The DeSoto hemi is an orphan, Chrysler built three hemis (Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge) in the '50s and they share very few parts. The DeSoto version only lasted for 6 years ('52-57), the '52-55 are low deck, the '56-57 high deck so there's limited interchange even between these. No new camshafts are available (although there's been rumors Hot Heads may make some), you have to have a good core for a re-grind. Egge makes stock replacement bits, Hot Heads is the sole source for new non-stock stuff AFAIK. There's a very limited amount of 'vintage' hipo stuff out there but the prices are astronomical. They're known for cracked heads for some reason.

I was looking at a B/RB swap into mine before I decided to move on....

 

...have never seen a cracked DeSoto head....plenty of freeze damaged blocks out there though.
My suggestion is to simply get the engine buttoned up and keep up the usual maintenance since it is a runner.
Yes, drop the pan and run it through the hot tank. You can also remove the oil pump and cautiously clean it.
Do not remove any bearing caps. Since it runs as-is you don't want to know any more details.
As for engine parts, shop around and then shop around again. Prices can vary alot for the same part.
Good luck. It looks like a huge project.

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Got the water pump, pulleys and fan all back on. Made some new battery cables. Starter sounds a lot better with the new cables.

The original wiring is pretty rough. That just got moved up the priority list. Lots of exposed wire through the brittle cloth. I hooked the battery up and crawled around looking for smoke, but only found 2 dead mice, so that’s nice.



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Sent you a PM....

 

Here’s the original wheel. Not sure what the one installed came off of



Here’s the door handle removal tool I made


Works perfect and it was free .99


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Started checking out the trunk, pulling up some loose chunks of a tar undercoating type stuff that covers the whole interior and underside of the car. Not surprisingly I found more rust. cleaned out the channels around the trunk lid and found some more. Not a huge deal. I’ll just add it to the list




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Also forgot to throw this up the other day.



It shows an oil change at 8896 mi, and the odometer currently show 12278. From the looks of the brake pedal I think that mileage is accurate.


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I love those unexpected finds.

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These guys do absolutely stunning work on steering wheels, always saw them at GNRS. https://qualityrestorations.com/desoto/

 

The installed wheel is off the lower-priced FireDome which used 'conventional' material for the rim. That's pretty typical for a FireFlite wheel...

 

Their prices will stun you too....

 

I got the front seat out. It’s a power front that goes forward, back, up, and down. I love this car.


Do you guys have any tips for removing this tar undercoating stuff fast? Some chunks come up easy but the majority of it is really on there. I was going to drive it to work and hit it with the angle grinder and a wire wheel. Right now I’m using my wood chisels and it’s painfully slow


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You might try a needle scaler if the tar is a bit brittle. You may be surprised!

 

I will try that. There is quite a bit that is still almost tacky but I think that would work real fast on the looser stuff. Thanks


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A Benzomatic torch and a gasket scraper will take off anything the other methods don't. Obviously, pull all the carpet and anything else flammable and keep an extinguisher handy.

 

Had an original paint 300B. Stored it in a dry barn and it disintegrated! Terrible metal in these cars. Beautiful roofline on these '55-6's. Replace the 1/4's if you can find some, drop it 2" take off the gaudy ornamentation and drive it. The 56 300B is a cleaned up example of the body with no unnecessary add ons.

 

To me, the DeSoto's 'gaudiness' is its attraction. If the Imperial, Chrysler and DeSoto (same basic body shell) were women, the Imperial would be the Dowager Empress, the Chrysler the sophisticated daughter, and the DeSoto the loud brassy aunt with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other who is fun at parties...

 

Seems like you could change the look quite dramatically by making a cruiser skirt, maybe with a scoop at the front edge. It could be a way to thin down the two tone paint, depending on how you painted it. 4
I like these cars. I´m surprised more don´t get modified.

 

Got the seat frames all cleaned up and painted.



I only had to repair one spring and straighten some of the wire frame out. Still not sure what colors I’m going with but I’m going to get the foam ordered pretty soon. Hopefully I can get the floors patched up and painted in a couple of weeks so I can get the interior back together. Driving it around sitting on a cooler is pretty sketchy!


I have a pretty good crew helping me out. They love wire brushing rust and I’m not going complain!


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Bernzo torch and a gasket scraper is also what I use on that undercoat stuff, works great. Also gotta say I love the James D renderings with the full length skirt. Glad to see progress is being made.

 

I’m thinking about replacing the quarters with stock but dropping the wheel openings down a couple inches. That plus a suspension drop would be pretty rad. Then it would look just off enough for people to wonder what’s off about it. I could keep all the factory angles intact that way.
I love fender skirts on 40’s cars but I just never got into them on anything later


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If it were me I wouldn't be making wholesale changes to the fenders to change it. Fix the rust and spend the time getting the floors repaired. It is different so it doesn't need changes to make it different. I'd shave the emblems, leave the side trim and paint the lower area a contrasting color to the body and roof and call it a day after it was lowered.