Projects Sold the truck, bought a car ('53 Desoto)

Nosed the hood today.



I have no idea why my pics have been coming out so damn dark

 

Here are some progress pics of the fender. Most of the filler work is done, maybe needs one more coat.

The Portholes are in! The powermaster emblems are off. The antenna is out.

I also bought this '50 Olds visor. I don't know if i'll use it, because its not a perfect fit. It was never meant to fit. I could modify it to work, if i don't happen upon a mopar one.

 

Thanks for the update. I had an opportunity to get one of these but moved to slow and it was sold. I am interested in following your build to see what I missed out on.

 

I made up my mind about the visor. I decided to post it in the classifieds for one week, just to give a GM guy the opportunity to buy it. If it does not sell in that week I will keep it and make it work.

Im still doing the body work on the fender, its taking forever..... I still have to fix/make the grill surround on the fenders, but i'm having a hard time rolling the new steel to match the roll in the hood. The biggest hurdle is where the fender goes 90* with the roll. Kickin' my butt. I thought about finding some round tubing of the same radius as the hood, then having a muffler shop bend it to match the fender opening. This way, by cutting the tubing down the center i would have matching pieces for both fenders.

 

I guess that's the quickest way to lower the car to get an idea what it'll look like next to the ground, eh?

I like it. I've got a 56 New Yorker more door car, and you can't beat it for a family hauler. Enjoy!

 

I'll be interested to see what you do. There's enough 4 door Desotos around that chopping them up for customs doesn't hurt my feelings.

Here's some pics of mine
http://imgur.com/a/042tV

 

Vorhese, What ever happened with your skirts and visor? Do you still have em?

 

i have both, skirts are avail if desired. They are generic and don't fit perfect, but would work with some tweaking.

 

Well I brought her out of the black hole I work in. Here are some outside pics. As you see, the grill surround still needs loads of work.

 

the fender came out killer cant wait to see both sides done

 

I thinkd that 53 DeSotos are Cool!!! of corse I grew up riding in one when I was a kid. I just happen to still have it. Its been setting since 1970 though. Any how I like the photo shoped pic. I not much for the headlight treatment. But I think that it will be cool.
Keep posting I enjoy it.

 

Yeah, the thing with the headlight treatment is nobody will know unless they are familiar with these cars. Putting in a LOT of work for something few will notice.

I've been working on the brake system lately, its kicking my ass. Yesterday I couldn't get the rear hubs to pop, so I gave up on that for now. I have to pull the rear hub because the drum is riveted to it. Worst case scenario I get pissed off and cut the rivets.

Today I finally was able to get my master cylinder off, What a pain that was. The master cylinder is actually part of the pedal assembly. After I got it off I opened it up to start the rebuild, which has been my plan all along because i found a rebuild kit in the glove box. Unfortunately, when i went to put it all together I found that the rebuild kit doesn't go to this car! DOH!

 

Looks great buddy!

 

Well plym_46 was true to his word. He drove out to the shop this past Thursday with his car. I was blown away, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CAR! Its a real Goer too, talk about torque. I can only hope my car turns out as good as his.

For those of you who haven't met him yet, he's a great guy, and a wealth of knowledge.

 

bitchn ride bro

 

Thats gonna be a real nice family hauler.

 

subscribe! great work you are doing! cant wait to see the next update!

 

The fender looks great!

 

Great car, my pal Doug calls em "no Waiting" for the more door cars, more doors, more babes riding along. Go for it, I love the stock body lines. trim, etc. Hope you put back a new pair of the small fog lites on the front, very hip. Good luck. ~sololobo~

 

Thanks for the comments guys. I am trying to get this thing to driver status by mid May, there is a local show the end of May I have to attend.

I got my master cylinder assembled and installed today, while i was bleeding the brakes i found that i definitely need to rebuild the rear wheel cylinders. I don't know whats going to be easier, pulling the rear hubs OR swapping in a late model axle....

I dropped my head off at the engine shop yesterday, we decided to shave .050 off of it. George Asche told me .090 on these engines is fine. I would like to go that much, but I noticed when i pulled the head that it had an aftermarket head gasket. So not knowing the history of this car we decided to play it safe.

Tomorrow I plan on splitting the exhaust manifold IF i can get some "me time." The owner of the engine shop let me dig through his old pile of manifolds. I found one from a GM v6 that has a perfect dump tube for what I need. Then comes the joy of running the pipes. I decided to go with dual Porters because of that thread a few weeks ago.

I also have been researching white walls, and have called Coker numerous times. I keep getting different prices everytime i call. I think I have made up my mind and am going to run H78-15s, which are a little wider than the stock 7.60-15s. 3" white wall.

 

Pretty Part PORN!!!!! .050 off the top

 

My splitting of the manifold.
-I milled the hole using a 1 7/8" hole saw then trimmed a little more out with my cordless black & decker jig saw

The second dump tube i cut for a GM V6 manifold

Test fit

After MIG welding


After a trip to the local muffler shop. $20 for the custom bent pipe, a gasket, and 3 new studs.


I still need to block off the inside of the manifold to make it a true split. I also need to souce a GM 3bolt exhaust flange, I use to have them everywhere now that i need it i cant find a single one!!!

 

Good to see you got some inspiration. Did you get the brakes done???

We'll need to have a bit of a low and slow drag race one of these days.

 

I like the Olds headlight treatment your doing and the Buick port holes. Nice job.

 

The show on May 21st is gonna be on the tarmac of the 2mile airstrip at Griffiss. Just shy of Bonneville by 3 miles. Im game!

 

PROGRESS! I finally got those rear hubs to pop! Its amazing what you can do with the right tools. I called around looking for old hub pullers, I got lucky on the second call. The guy let me borrow his for the weekend, its the type with a hammer bar and mounts to the wheel studs. 4-5 hits per side with an 8lb. sledge and they came right off. (I drenched them in PB Blaster with the key way facing up for about an hour before even attempting)

The shoes are perfect, and the wheel cylinders really aren't all that bad. They were just full of shit. The rubber caps that hold the push rods are perfect. A quick honing, and some replacement seals and i'll be on my way. These were the weirdest wheel cylinders i've seen yet. The pistons are two pieces with a rubber seal between them. I'll take pictures tomorrow.

Baby steps.

 

I just bought a RUST free 53 4 door with a flat six. Let me know if you need anything. Chad

 

Well, i had hoped to have the car back off the lift and outside to get a better look at things. Unfortunatly, I found out yesterday that i need my rear shoes re-lined, stuck in the air till Tuesday at the earliest.....damn it all. I have to get the re-lined because I can't get the shoes, all part #s i found are obsolete

 

Nice!

Like your plans, will be watching.

 

I finally got some time to work on the car.

Here is a view of the exhaust from underneath the car. Everything clears nicely.