Event Coverage Setting & rotting estate auction.

well I been busy. I went out and removed all the power steering air cond and alternator and brackets. Radiator ect. and front engine mounts. Now I gotta get under it and remove the driveshaft rear trans mount& crossme mber and cut the exhaust pipes. and it will be ready to pull the engine and trans.

 

The DeSoto most definitely is a '58 Firesweep, which is based on the Dodge platform as opposed to every other model which is based on Chrysler body and frame architecture. Drivetrain parts are all Dodge-derived.

 

Engine should be a 350 B-block, a one year only oddity.

 

Thank for the info. When you trying to sell something it pays to be as knowledgeable as possible. my wife says to go fetch it home. She even offered to come with me but it will cost me for her (help) Which would consist of her laughing at me and making funny comments. Sometimes it hard to tell if she is joking or if she means it?

 

Sounds like a good road trip to me. My wife always rolls her eyes up when I drag something home! I got an Early Bronco spotted and bargained for, just have to wait for it to dry up a little to get in to get it!






Bones

 

Ok I got to thinking since ive removed the alt and brackets I could use the camera and get a picture of the block casting number. looks like a C6ME-A that makes me happy! 1967 was a long time ago. Ya never know if someone blew up the 428 and installed a 390 or 352 short block. However some other engines used the same casting number. So until I get it pulled and taken apart I cant be 100% certain its the original 428.

 

Debbie and a couple of her girl friends are going to Florida for a few days next week. I think I will just go when she is gone. Give her a surprise when she gets home!

 

Ok I got the engine pulled from the auction T bird. I has balance weights on the flywheel and torque conveter. and cast in the water jacket visible after removing the center core plug is 428. the oil pan and bottom end is very clean no metal in the oil or pan. So far everything checks out OK. there was antifreeze in the block, the oil was black no water present. C6 transmission. I suppose I lucked out.

 

I gave the Desoto Away. A old friend JD Haygood who is 83 is a Mo Par addict. and used to race a Hemi powered rail Dragster in the 1960,s. He is still actively messing with a hoard of vehicles. I offered him the Desoto and offered to go help him get it. And he is kinda excited about the adventure. He wants to bring hubs and wheels ect to make it a roller where it is setting and then winch it out and up on to his trailer.

 

Please take pics of the rescue mission.

 

Did the WW2 Willys jeep sell?
The rear in 1967 TBird might be 9 3/8", not 9"

 

Yes everything sold. That jeep brought over a $1000. My eldest son bought the power wagon that had the winch on the front. He paid $475. He wanted the winch linkage and exhaust manifold for a WWII dodge WC that he owns.

 

Ok I got the FE torn down to the bare short block. That dist was a chore to get out . I did manage to get it out without breaking it. Had to heat with the fire wrench! Im happy with the overall engine cond. Very clean inside only a bit of sludge in the oil pan. Not enough ring ridge to catch a finger nail. all pistons tight and just a normal amount of carbon. Crank has the desired number. can see 428 cast into the water jackets from both center core plugs and the slot at the rear of the block. both heads look great valves not stuck or burnt. Timing chain wasn't very loose. I oiled the cyls before I attempted to rotate it. Now I will get it on a stand in the shop. and pull the pistons and clean and inspect everything. Im thinking new rings & rod and possibly main bearings oil pump and timing set and lap the valves. That intake is heavier than I remember them being! Now there was a reason why the car was parked? Im certain it wasn't the engine. There is a trailer hitch on the back. That's hilly country with steep grades. I am suspecting the trans is bad.

 

She probably means it, but has finally given up!

 

Hey Old Wolf,
You sure ended up with some great stuff. You're one hard working guy...I admire that

 

All this car stuff is great, but in the background of this shot is the money machine.

 

I actually bought one of those aluminum trailers at that sale. Paid $25 I intend to take my generator and sawsall and cut it up. Now that I get to looking the one typo41 pictured is the one that I bought.

 

If you're only cutting it up for scrap value you can get more by selling it to the Spartan group on Facebook. Most likely they'd come get it. Save you the hassle AND turn a profit. I know if I were closer I'd be wanting to bring it home.

 

I just thought those aluminum panels would be handy. Possibly for the inside of a gasser or sumthin. The guy has filled it up with rough sawn lumber. That's mostly rotten and bug infested. No axles under it. Be very difficult to move. I just figured I would cut it um into as big of pieces that I can handle and load it on my trailer and strap it down and bring most of it home. Its about a 1/16th of a inch thick. better than a poke in the eye and not as illegal as stealing road signs LOL I have no idea of its actual value for restoring would be.

 

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/az19/arizona/lots/r0052-1951-spartan-royal-mansion/726436
Trailer coaches[edit]
After the ebb of personal aviation and the increased competition in the aircraft business following World War II, owner J. Paul Getty and Spartan upper-management redirected production to focus on the demand for housing and leisure.[2] Using the same internally braced and space-saving monocoque design of the Spartan Executive 7W, the company produced its first all-metal travel trailer. The company followed previous design strategies, offering lavish and full-featured trailers. Through the 1940s and 1950s, Spartan produced what some referred to as the "Cadillac" of trailers, commanding prices higher than $4000.[5] Spartan produced over 40,000 trailer homes before ending production in 1961. Given an average home cost in the United States at the time of $8000,[citation needed] Spartan trailers were a discretionary purchase for the wealthy.[6]
From Wiki

I think I'd figure a way to drag it out of there. You just found A 250 GTO, albeit a ROUGH one. Good eye on Anthony's part...

 

They a really cool looking trailers.

 

That gives a new appreciation for what goes into restoring one of these, Thanks for sharing!
I watched the 5 parts...

 

The trailer is down in under a hill. no axle and packed full of rotting lumber. looks very snakey. It would be a tremendious job to just remove that lumber. now back when I was 40 and had teenage sons we might have moved it. We certainly could & would have if we wanted to. Its 150 miles away. supposed to be dry and in the 40,s early next week. I think that is my best option to go and cut it up. if there are any copperheads or rattlesnakes they will be cold and sluggish and not be a great danger. There are snakes there. I found a shedded snake skin in the T bird. I think I can cut it apart from the outside without having to get inside it. The picture makes it look better than it is. That's the best side. Its has a large tear right below the left front window . Looks like it was speared by a fork lift. likely was. there was a sawmill there. the guy likely sawed that lumber carried it there on a forklift and unloaded it thru the front windows. no glass and the uphill side has collected debris against the outside and the aluminum at the bottom has been eaten away. I do understand to many its on a par value as a 55 chevy 2 dr is to me. The area is within smelling distance of bull shoals lake. I think that's why there where so many trailers boats and pontoon boats at the auction. most of the cars had trailer hitches. My T bird has one. most of those caddys had hitches on the back. Big cars with big engines to drag stuff up and down those steep grades. I think I will post a picture of the trailer over in the Antiquated forum?

 

better picture

 

I someone wanted the trailer. I would trade it for a aluminum 4 bbl intake for a FE Ford! I watch a guy on U tube Jonathan W. now he could take a cast iron FE intake cut it apart and make a mold and melt that trailer and make a hundred intakes!

 

You're killing me!!!!
And too far away,, I wont say what that would go for in SoCal.
Hopefully it is a bit of sarcasm,,,,

 

Ok I found this one for sale for $1200. And its much better than mine. If mine has a 1000 pounds of aluminum? it sells for 40 cents a pound if clean at the recycler. So its not worth any real great amount.

 

I agree that the camper probably isn't worth trying to get it out in one piece. However I'm sure someone would love to have the door with the porthole in it (can see it's still there through the missing windows) and I'd also bet someone would buy the front few feet if you could cut the nose off in one big chunk (that's what always gets damaged and is the hardest to fix, way more complex than just replacing a flat side panel) and anything else that isn't just flat aluminum would also be sale-able, windows, emblems, hardware, and the like. If there's anything left of the tail, might be worth getting another big chunk.

I feel like you could make a nice scrap pile, a nice pile of sheet aluminum, and a hefty profit on resale parts all at the same time, without having to try to move it in one piece. And you've got to cut it up anyway.

 

You lost me at “snakey”......it would be a “ leave-a-rite” trailer for me, as in LEAVE IT RIGHT THERE

 

What a shame that Spartan house trailer cant be salvaged, but I get it, the logistics just don't pencil out as far as saving it as a project to be restored. I did this drawing based upon an old spartan that was down at the Toledo skydive drop zone in Toledo Washington, it was used as a sort of club house, for the drop zone, it was there for years untouched, then one summer, some kids broke every piece of glass out of it, and it had to be hauled off of the property for scrap. What a bummer that was!