Girl, SOUNDS as though you may have latched onto a local, low-rust car! Hoo-lolly-lolly! We wanna see more pix when you ease up and grab yer camera-phone-thingie. BTW, do keep everything you pull out; you will find it MUCH easier to have new carpets stiched up, etc. HELL! Since it's a 4-door, I may be interested in anything you wanna throw away, anywho! Pls tell me what you find missing; I've helped a bunch of DeSoto-anadoes (is that a word?) with extra parts I salvaged in the '60s and '70s. And, NO: NOS steering wheels are not available. So, a parts-store leatherette grip could get you through until you find what makes you happy. A restored wheel costs (last count) about $300 to $400, and that's filled in and painted, not really original. Me, I like the original horn ring, etc., as opposed to relacing the whole wheel. As for the pain-in-ass engine picking, PLEASE relax. Gary and numerous others have pointed out that the originals are like hen's teeth, and you have plenty of options in the MOPAR family.
Probably why I mentioned a high deck Desoto, an extra 40-50 cubes could come in handy if she went that way. LA is more practicle.
My hopes are for the Original "3 on the tree" set up. I have a friend that has a '60 or '61 Chrysler with a factory "3 on the FLOOR". Its a parts car.
George, a big AMEN! on the hi-deck DeS mills. Easily potential of over 300 hp and torque out the butt. Having driven both many miles, I love both; they are similar in respects BUT definitely different animals. I'd kill for a 330/341/345. But they're scarce anymore and almost ridiculous to build up. Affordable runners do happen though! One could hope, right? The only reason I was leaning toward the 360 is the combination of ready parts availability and hp potential -- a nice balance. She'd said right off she isn't rich, so I figured going all-out was out of the question. Also, being a 4D, I thought the route of a cruiser -- with some guts -- might be the most realistic.
oooh...be careful Jim, they're listening....and I've got a short-list of some folks that need a 'tune-up'... Actually, I have some 330 pieces that need to move if you're up to the challenge. .
LOL. No, I MEANT except for pro rebuilds, which are a great bargain! Actually, THIS is not a joke. If a Hemi lover tries to do it without experience, they can make critical mistakes that kill the motor in a couple thousand miles -- or less. But, the early ones aren't cheap, unless you just want an old greasy Hemi sitting in the corner of your garage, right? A few hundred bucks. But for those with a passion for one of the early ones in their rod or custom -- plus the budget to support the passion -- well, I'd rather have a pro-built Hemi I can drive to a somewhat distant meet or show without having to worry about poor internal lube, etc., etc. BTW, I've been looking for YEARS for a stock 4B intake for the 330. So, I'll surely keep your comments in mind!
Hi, Lizzie. HAMBer JaranSont3 over on the "Photoshop" thread played with some combos. I think this one's pretty awesome, though I'm guessing you were thinking even WIDER whites? Of course, you'd have to imagine another grille in there. Buick would be nice, maybe?
Good luck. Looks like a solid start. Definitely stay with mopar power! I picked this one up a few months ago, and was lucky enough to have all the running gear intact - and even drove it home: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7836549#post7836549 It was originally black with a white roof - haven't decided what direction I'm going to take with it, but the two-tone green will be going. I've not had the time to dedicate to it that I wanted thus far due to finishing up the car in my avatar, building a storage barn, etc - but it will be ready for cruising (if not finished) by spring. A thought on the tires - I had a set of bias ply wide whites on this when I brought it home and it was a handful. I got a good buy on a set of wide white radials (about the same size whitewall as in the pics) and it handles MUCH better. Your experience may vary! I saw you mention the original "3 on the tree" - was this actually on the column, or was the shifter on the dash like the autos?
Any idea what years actually have the same splines shaft size? My wheel suffers from the 100's of little pieces syndrome - I picked up a 1960-ish Chrysler wheel with a little smaller diameter that I assumed would work - but the shaft on the newer wheel was much smaller. I can't seem to find any adapters to use an aftermarket either.
Hopefully lizzie won't mind a slight detour on her thread. Appologies in advance lizzie... Many years ago I needed to make wheel A fit in/on shaft B but with a similar issue to yours. (I actually still have the finished wheel, it was left behind when the car was sold and a stock wheel was needed) I took the original B wheel and cut away most everything surounding the center core which ended up about 3" in dia. I chucked this part in a lathe and turned it down to a point that gave me a decent wall thickness. Next, I bored out the center of the 'new' wheel A so that the new center could be pressed in. A set screw on the parting line or a small weld will secure it. This works well as long as the depth of both centers is similar, if there is a major difference then you will need to put on your thinking cap... Gary
Gary, somehow, I don't think Lizzie will mind. This is great info-sharing; can anybody imagine when this would ever get shared again?
Lizzie, my apologies. I thought since there were comments about the steering wheel, asking if anyone knew what other Mopar wheels would fit would be on-topic and be beneficial to us both. 73RR - thanks for the reminder that it is her thread and I was remiss, as well as the suggestion. I've actually considered what you suggested, but the condition of the 2nd steering wheel isn't good enough to warrant putting that kind of work into it so I was hoping to find another option. I'll get off the internet now and head back to the garage where I'm putting new rockers on my '55 Desoto.
No worries at all guys, I'm enjoying the read, and the info sharing is fantastic. I'm out of town until tomorrow, I'll catch up on replies and pictures then.
Back in town now, so here goes. I was super happy about the floor, until the next night before I left town I went to sweep out the dirt and found a pice of carpeting that I forgot ( I wanted to try and keep the carpeting as good as I could but it was so old and brittle it just fell apart in my hands ) and as I yanked up the last bit that I forgot I found a few small holes right along the edge of the backseat..meh. So once I take the seat out we'll see how bad it is under there, kinda sucks that I was all happy and then blammo..stupid holes. I was sad for a few minutes and then got excited because now I have a reason to learn how to patch those suckers up, or if need be patch a big section once we get under that seat. so yay! That was so nice of you to do! That looks super pretty. I love how she looks lowered! Thanks for posting it on there! I'm going with the widest whites I can find for her, I love them. My plan is doing a dark pink on her roof with flake and a satin black on her body, I have photoshop I just haven't gotten around to doing a mockup on her yet. Yours is GORGEOUS. It's actually on the column, I love the placement of the shifter on the automatics too though, These ol' gals had some cool placement for things. I love that the rear view mirror is dash mounted. makes for fantastic pictures and hooray for not having to look up to see behind ya. Okay, so update on how things are going, I found up a '75 charger with a 400 in it this weekend on the cheap to steal the drivetrain out of, it needs a carb, but not bad for $400 for (almost) everything. This actually puts me way ahead of schedule on when I planned on dropping an engine in her ( it wasn't going to be until December or January from my written out plan) So I've got a few things I need to do yet before I do the change over, but I'm really excited that I found one so soon. I tell you what though, some of these people get really damned upset when they find out they're emailing a girl about selling their parts. One guy on craigslist flat out refused to sell me an engine he had for sale because "girls usually just give up on these old cars and they end up sitting and rotting and he wouldn't be any part of that"...I'm tempted to hunt him down and run his foot over after she's on the road, but eh, to hell with him. I gotta better deal in the end. I just found my camera last night on the way home from MO, so now I'll be able to get some good pictures instead of crappy cell phone ones, so I'll be snapping them here in a little bit. Thank you guys SO SO much for all the suggestions and help on the drivetrain, I'm even more motivated now than I was last week. I'll get you guys some pictures up here shortly once I find those damn batteries I put somewhere.
Great score on the donor! Keep it around as long as you can...lots of little stuff can be re-purposed. I expect that the 400 will fit OK, with the 'usual' issues. The overall width of the 400, out to out of the widest part is the exhaust manifolds, and is very similar to the outside edge corners of the 330 valve covers. Yes, the Hemi exhaust is in a better position but if one of the many variations of the driver side exhaust clears the steering then all should be good. Most likely, the 400 will require a rear sump pan. Lizzie, can you tell us what facilities you have at your disposal for the install? .
Okay so here's some more pictures, I spent most of the day in bed with a shitty cold, but I did make a junk yard run on the way back from picking up medicine this morning, found a 65 coronet with a 318, waiting on a call back in the morning from the junk yard to see what they want for it, so I might just get that instead if the price is decent.
Overall for getting her completely fixed up I've got minimal stuff at home, (I'm buying stuff as I need it, easier for me to keep track of things that way) pretty much a driveway a very small garage, and some basic tools. I do however have access to a couple shops in the area that friends own, I can bring her in there as long as I do the work (they're willing to point me in the right direction and help when I need it) they're alright with me taking up a little space to do it. as far as the install I've got access to just about anything I really need, as well as a few willing folks. I've lucked out that I have some handy pals that really want to see me get her on the road.
You are wide open to put any custom steering wheel swap in there that will fit, as the current wheel is from a pre-'55 DeSoto. Just FYI, the dash-mount mirror also isn't stock. But if you like it there, great, since you're going custom, Lizzie. (The clock OR delete plate would have gone where the mirror is now.)
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