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'59 Firedome 4dr questions


Lisa P

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Hi all, I am new to this site as well as the Desoto vehicles. I recently acquired a '59 Firedome with a 383. The good news is that the car is complete sans one piece of chrome trim. The bad news is that it has sat outside too long and not only needs floor pans from the firewall back, including the trunk, but the frame is rotten and broken just ahead of the rear spring perch.

I was able to get the motor turning over last night without the plugs in it but after putting the plugs back in and letting it down from the jackstand, it refused to turn over. I then removed all the plugs and put it back on the jackstand but it still refused to do anything.

Anyhow, the question is, should I mess with it at all, or should I look for a buyer for it as a parts car? I was thinking about using it as a learning car as I need to learn how to weld and fabricate floor pans and such but this beast doesn't even have rocker panels left...Any advice is apprectiated. Thanks!

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Jack that is a good point. Why is the Firedome not desirable? Like I said, I am new to these vehicles and personally love the looks and lines of the car. I am going to troubleshoot the electrical when I get time, the fellas I got the car from didn't even know if the engine would turn over so I was happy that it did.

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Jack that is a good point. Why is the Firedome not desirable? Like I said, I am new to these vehicles and personally love the looks and lines of the car. I am going to troubleshoot the electrical when I get time, the fellas I got the car from didn't even know if the engine would turn over so I was happy that it did.

I think what most in the old car hobby believe is this: the most "desirable" cars to collect are the touring (open four door) cars, roadsters (open two door) cars and convertibles and coupes. This is a fairly general statement and please do not attack me if you have a four door, but "generally speaking", the four door is the "family" car and not that sporty. There are some VERY sporty high class four doors to which I am not referring to. The 1959 DeSoto that you are referring to sounds to me like a family type car and pretty far gone to me due to the frame being partially rotted. In my eyes (without actually seeing the damage), it sounds like a parts car to me. Once again the term "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" comes to light and of course, if the car is what you desire and you want to spend the money/time to fix it, go for it. You just may not get out of it what you put into it (if that matters).

Edited by keiser31 (see edit history)
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Ah, thanks for the clarification. Yes it is a very undesirable 4 door family car then. But that's ok because I wanted something that I could afford and something that I could work on time and money permitting. I guess I achieved both of those goals! I was told it was pretty much a parts car but then again I am an optimist when it comes to old cars.

Yes, I know it will never be worth as much as I put into it but I could never afford a true collectors car anyhow.

I never give up without a fight so, where can I find a frame for this beast?

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Ah, thanks for the clarification. Yes it is a very undesirable 4 door family car then. But that's ok because I wanted something that I could afford and something that I could work on time and money permitting. I guess I achieved both of those goals! I was told it was pretty much a parts car but then again I am an optimist when it comes to old cars.

Yes, I know it will never be worth as much as I put into it but I could never afford a true collectors car anyhow.

I never give up without a fight so, where can I find a frame for this beast?

Try the WPC Club which is one of the best Chrysler products groups out there, in my opinion. There are members in that club who may very well have a frame for you.

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I did not mean anything negative about the desirability of your car. John put it just right.

Since this looks like you will be working on it would the frame be repairable. Pulling the body is quite an undertaking. But it would make it easier to do the floors and such, especially if you have a rotiserie to put the body on.

Whatever your route it is important that you are having fun with it. I dont look at the reciepts when I get into this kind of project.

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I've fixed up a few cars and worked in garages and body shops for 20 years. There was a time I would have tried to fix such a car but not anymore. Eventually I smartened up. Let me try and save you a 20 year learning curve.

The best suggestion I can make is to find a better one that does not need so much work. For one thing the car itself will be a monster to fix. Second it will never be much good with that amount of rust in it. In other words you could do $10,000 worth of repairs and still have a patched up old car. Or spend $5000 and buy the best 59 DeSoto sedan in the world and have a better car, not to mention saving yourself a lot of time and grief.

It depends what you want. If you love 59 DeSoto sedans I'm sure a better one will turn up on Ebay or Craigslist. If you can expand your search to other years and makes all the better. There are good buys turning up all the time.

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Guest Bob Call

I agree with Rusty. If the frame is rotted in two and the entire floor pan and rocker sills are gone, find another car and use this car for parts or sell it to someone who needs a parts car.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I appreciate the advice and take it to heart as I am new to the process of restoring rather than tinkering. I believe that this car is too far gone to even put on a rotisserie. The game plan now is to find one in better shape and use the best of both cars to make a daily driver.

This project is one for me to become experienced in welding and bodywork as well as upholstery. I have no misconceptions that this will end up being a showpiece or worth as much as I put into it, but I have to start somewhere.

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Dave, it has the frames around both front and rear windows as well as the pillar between the doors. Does that make it a sedan?

Yes. Yours would be the sedan. The 4-door hardtop has no door frame around the windows.

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  • 1 year later...

Just an update. Since last posting I have:

Repaired the floors by welding in new metal and seam sealing it.

Constructed a new sill/inner rocker out of 14ga rectangular tubing.

Repaired the front fender by sectioning a piece from Firesweep.

Patched some rust-outs in the doors with sheet metal.

Fabricated new dog legs.

Procured a new frame and treated it with rust converter before Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator.

Removed the body from the old frame by jacking it up via the new rockers .

Removed the engine from the old frame with a borrowed engine hoist.

Degreased the engine and painted it.

Changed the upper control arms for ones that had good ball joints.

Replaced upper control arm bushings.

Replaced strut rod bushings.

Put engine back in frame.

Mated new frame to body.

Rebuilt front wheel cylinders and put new ones in the back.

Replaced both rear axle seals.

Installed new leaf springs and rear shocks.

Hooked up new brake lines.

There has to be more but I can't remember. I have much more left to do, including make a rear quarter panel for the driver's side. Most of all I have been LEARNING :)

post-70345-143138714752_thumb.jpg

post-70345-143138714754_thumb.jpg

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You mention one piece of chrome is missing. I now know where there is a 59 DeSoto sedan available for parts. If you need anything, let me know and I will get it for you.

Thanks Rusty! Fortunately, I have located the piece of trim that I need. One other item I am looking for is a rear bumper that has all of its chrome left. The bumper is something that can wait as I've blown my budget for a while.

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That's very impressive, especially for the short amount of time it took. It's hard to believe that's the same car

Thank you! Lucky for me, the majority of the car was pretty solid. It was rotten from the sills down, including the floors from the sills to about the transmission tunnel in some places. The frame was rotted from the kick up back. I still need to replace the trunk floor, extensions and rear valence or roll pan behind the bumper...:)

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VERY IMPRESSIVE!!

For the metal parts you are still needing, it's very possible that similar Dodge or Chrysler parts would either fit or "be useable". There might be some '59 Chrysler parts available from metal patch panel vendors, too. But if you ask them for "DeSoto", you can guess the answser to that one.

There are a couple of vendors which specialize in Chrysler 300 Letter cars, which could be a good place to start looking. Len Dawson and Gary Goers are two names which seem to pop up, for example, plus a few websites/forums for similar Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth vehicles.

Keep us posted on your progress!

NTX5467

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  • 2 years later...

Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun! In case you all were still interested, the Desoto is running and on the road now. The tailpan was made and replaced by myself. It isn't perfect, but works well from 20'. The trunk floor and trunk extensions were not too bad to fabricate and replace. In fact, the worst part was trying to get the trunk latch catch welded up in the right place while sitting in the trunk with the lid closed! I ordered a headliner and installed it so the interior is coming along. The seats still need to be covered and a wheel or wheel cover needs to be picked but what a fun car to drive! I'll be installing a disc brake conversion in the front in a few weeks. Yes, I know that the factory brakes can work very well, but the adjusting cams on mine seem to move by themselves so that at times, the brakes are dragging so much they are smoking. In order to alleviate any tinker time that takes away from driving time, the front drums are outta herepost-70345-143142464627_thumb.jpg.

Edited by Lisa P (see edit history)
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I like to see a project get followed thru. Many of this type of project gets pushed out back in frustration.

You wont be sorry for going with a disc brake set up.

I am happy to see that you are having fun.

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