whats wrong with a 55 desoto

GreatBallsofir wrote: 4dr HT's are all Fireflites. Yea all the badges are still on.

OK, this got me off my dead ass and finally FORCED me to go back to the original DeSoto sales lit. TURNS out the '56 "Designed for the Super Highway Age!" color piece shows the 4-door hardtop as DeSoto:

Firedome Sportsman
Firedome SeVille
Fireflite Sportsman
(no pic or reference to a Fireflite 4-door SeVille version)

The same color promo material depicts the 2-door-hardtop as DeSoto:

Firedome SeVille
Firedome Sportsman
Fireflite Sportsman
(again, no pic or reference to a Fireflite 2-door SeVille)

My read on this is that DeSoto was REALLY trying hard to offer for '56 as many body styles -- with as many spiffed-up interiors/decor packages -- as possible. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

Oh, I should add that this sales piece only shows the Fireflites with the fancy headlight rims (bezels), while the Firedomes all show as having the plain (all-chrome) rings.

And again, this is only the base models, NOT including the Adventurer or the PaceSetter convertible.

 

Interesting. I've only seen a couple of 4 door HT's and they were all Fireflites. I believe "Sportsman" is the trim or interior package as mine has different seat backs (the rolled instead of square) than the others I've seen. Notice the "gunsights" of my headlights.

The Headlight bezels are the quickest way to tell the difference between 'dome and 'flite.

 

Who says something's wrong with 55 DeSotos? Like most have said, they're lower production than most, so didn;t catch on with early enthusiasts. Jaxed has a great search engine if you're looking....
http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.c...oc=&fil=&ys=&ye=&ps=&pe=&pgs=50&submit=++++go++++

I kick myself for not buying a 57 2 dr ht for $1500 a half a year ago, those big fins are so cool.

 

55 Chevy, thanks for that link. All the stuff I've seen on the HAMB will keep me busy when the Ohio weather turns too cold to do anything OUTSIDE!

Yeah, the '57 may have been a missed opp., BUT we've all missed some stuff, buddy.

 

I went over to look at the car expecting the '55 he was telling me about. Pulled up behind it and identified it on the spot. Kept my mouth shut. The car's pretty rough but mostly there. Gonna put an LA engine in it, patch it, roll on some paint and drive the wheels off of it.

As far as my girl, yes. I am very fortunate. She's got a fairly nice '59 Ford Country Sedan and the wrecked '62 Star Chief right now. We just pulled the 389 and trans out of the Pontiac and we're going to start on a smaller car to put it in. I'm the one wanting shit gone (her '84 Cutlass).

 

not much to report, just got back into the desoto, motors bored and ready to assemble, half the front end is rebuilt, need to get it running and then move onto finishing panel and paint

 

Personally i like all Chrysler producys of that era, being them De Soto, Plymouth, Chrysler or Dodge.
I know Chrysler and De Soto shared the same body lines as Dodge and
Plymouth did as well, just like GM produts did in the same years.
Now im not such an expert to recognize a Chrysler from a De Soto most of the times,
but i know there are quite a few very neat Chrysler and De Soto kustoms around.
Like these here. I'd love to see more of the one in front of Mastersons shop as its jawdropping!

 

The neighbor had a 56 De Soto wagon when I was growing up. I bounced off that tank with my sting ray one day and it didnt move. Later It was given away.
I want it now. And a wagon to boot.

 

All DeSoto 2dr and 4dr hardtops were called Sportsmans from '50-59.

It doesn't matter what model the car was, except in the case of the Adventurer. Adventurer coupes were all 2dr hardtops, but they did not have the Sportsman identifier on the quarter panels (1956 and 1959) or above the medallions on the front fender (1957-58).

 

not all Gotgas,55 2dr hardtop firedomes were not sportsmans as well as base model 55 2dr hardtop fireflights, sportsmans had the electric options amongst other things.

 

RUSTY...there isn't 1 damned thing wrong with a desoto, except you asking every other day! man you don't need anyone's approval. for my part you can post every day, HELL GRIT'S doe's O' that's right he has a coupe. so maby you should pull your HEMI and put a s.b. chevy mill, pull all of your finders off and call it a traditional hotrod.! it's worth a try...POP.

 

Thats ok holeshot, I not asking for aprovall, I was just wondered why there werent many out there, I assumed no one liked them, now I know, its because theres hardly any left, I didnt think this thread would still be going after all this time, haha .I didnt think 10 posts over a year and a half was considered asking every other day?

 

Well, one of the things I have learned about 1950s Mopars is "never say always."

The Sportsman was originally introduced in 1950 to denote the hardtop bodystyle, and yes it also had high-end option content. As for the following years, I'm just going off of what I've seen, and that is that every DeSoto hardtop I've seen has been badged with Sportsman scripts, even base Firesweeps from '57-58. Your results may vary!

I'll defer to your assertion that Sportsman is an option package since I don't have anything that rebutes it. But here is an example of a 1955 Firedome Sportsman from this site.

 

RUSTY...it is and it is. i'am just saying don't worry about what any of US SAY! can you dig it my brother of car lovers?...POP.

 

Gotgas, My Firedome has never had sportsman scripts and it most certainly is a hardtop, from my limited knowledge most all Fireflites were sportsmans but not all,
but I stand corrected on no Firedome Sportsmans, cant say I had seen one until now, I bet its got electrics option though.mine must be one of the de trimmed models in this article http://auto.howstuffworks.com/desoto-cars3.htm
like you said never say never, ya learn somethin new every day

 

i love 55 desoto's. gotta say its my #1 dream car.

 

desotos are the shit .

 

It doesn't matter how ugly a car is anymore. People are doing things with them now because they're running out of options. I would say you can't polish a turd, but...to each his own.

 

I think that Desotos are awesome. Here's mine, good cool highway cruiser:

 

ouch!!

 

Says the guy with a '41 International truck.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150623

How ironic...

 

Rooney00 wrote: It doesn't matter how ugly a car is anymore. People are doing things with them now because they're running out of options. I would say you can't polish a turd, but...to each his own.

Jimi'sHemi291writes: No offense, dude, but taste is an individual thing. Your condemnation of '55 DeSotos smacks of a comment from somebody too young ever to have exterienced driving one. You might ask RatBastad for his opinion on this.

So, brings me to my point. What do you drive?
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Likewise. I bought a 55 this summer for the hemi. I sold the grille, but I can hardly give away anything else. I parted out a few 50's cars over the years and I don't think I've ever found anything quite as worthless as the Desoto. That should say something about the interest in them

 

GotGas, I appreciate your interest and enthusiam for 55-57 DeSotos. They were DAMN cool for a make that was, a ONCE, at its sales peak and (unbeknown) starting on the way down to extinction.

The '55 was such an important transitional year for Exner's adventurous new designs. Most people don't even try to grasp all the models & variations for '55, but you are brave and wise enough to try. Again, I appreciate that! Ya still had a 4-door called the Coronado. But there were 2DH versions of the popular Firedome and Fireflite models (2B & 4B, respectively).

What I BELIEVE happened was that EARLY in the model season, DeSoto badged the Firdome 2DH as a "SeVille," while the Fireflite was badged "Sportsman." One account I have read indicates that DeSoto was legally assailed by Caddy which had rights to the SeVille nomenclature, so they gave in and called the 2DH Firedomes Sportsman, too, thereafter. DeSoto didn't even offer a four-door hartop for 1955, BUT that changed for '56. THANKS, GotGas! You're one of the annointed mid-'50s DeSoto guys in the HAMB. God bless you for caring. -- Jimi

 

BTW, somebody tossed off that there just weren't many DeSotos made, so who cares? Well, in fact, 55-57 was the BEST 3-year run of the DeS make with nearly 350,000 cars manufactued -- MOST with Hemis.

With the cancellation of the DeS Hemi, coupled with the recession of '58 and Dodge & Chrysler going into the DeS prices niches, all DeSoto sales together from 58-61 could barely equal ANY ONE year from 1955 through 1957.

 

Ha, he did say to each his own! Somebody has to love those "classic" International's.
I'd take a 55 Desoto all day long. I like the 56's better, and that's what I owned, but a 55 will do nicely...

 

Jimi, I also agree that DeSoto Sevilles were hardtop models, but available as both 2dr and 4dr hardtops, according to the ad below. I thought they were a 1956-only model, but that may not be the case. According to this post on the Forward Look mailing list, the only non-Sportsman DeSoto hardtops were the (aforementioned) 1955 Firedome Specials, which apparently our man rusty55desoto has one of.

Chrysler Corp released the 4dr hardtop bodystyle in 1956 across all lines.

 

Not all cars are popular.. including mine.. but if there accented right.. they can fit in really nice to any crowd of cars.. besides if you like what you have and thats what you can afford, that speaks for its self..

 

You've got a great car to start with. Here are some pics of one built by a guy near me. He started with a rust bucket and he drives it everywhere. He brings it to the Saturday nite cruise at the local shopping center.