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Hey, i just inharated my dads 59 desoto last month when he passed away. My great granmother baught the car off the lot in akron ohio in 1959. Ive been searching by vin and i think its a firesweep but its all a bit confusing. when i look at picturea on google every car has badging that mine does not. so then i dont know what engine it is. any help would be greatly appricated. im not sure how to pst pics here either
It sounds like you have a Firesweep
There is no Firesweep nameplate on the fenders; however, it should say Firesweep on the glove box door and on the dip of the upper rear seat
Look for the data plate by the passenger's side hood hinge
Top line would have your VIN M412 1xxxxx
Please advise the bottom line of the data plate
From there we can tell you a good deal about the car
Where are you located?
im in allen park mi im having trouble uploading pics but no words on glovebox or back seat.
ser no: m412105732
bottom line has some digits i cant quiet make out either up atrows or capital a's lol
m0109 41 702 413 ^^^1 301
could be. AAA1. I cant tell
Your car
M412 1959 (M) Desoto (4) Firesweep (1) made at Dodge Main Detroit (2)
0109 car made on January 9th
413 Desoto (4) Firesweep (1) 4 door sedan (3)
301 blue cloth and vinyl interior
Firesweep was the entry level model in 59
Do you have a radio? wheel covers? carpeting? one or two lines of chrome?
Engine is a 361 cc with a 2 bbl carb
Do you a standard transmission (rare) 4 button Powerflite or 5 button Torqueflite
There should be a FAQl ink to describe how to post pictures
5 button trans has radio and carpet not sure what you mean by wheel covers the back wheels have skirts all 4 have hub caps. even has the orignal bias ply tires i belive its one big line down the side
Thanks for the pictures
AAA is the exterior colors top/body/sweep with A being Black
Note the optional bumper guards and the aluminum insert between the chrome lines
Hub caps cover only the lug nuts while wheel covers cover the entire wheel-
Hey, how about that? Another '59 Firesweep 4 Door Sedan emerges. Nice!
Not all '59 Firesweeps had the nameplate on the glovebox door. Of all I have seen pictures of the real cars, more did not have than did - in fact I can only recall seeing one and it was not a 4 door sedan. Mine doesn't have it either and there is no indication there ever was one. No holes or marks of any kind and as many are aware, mine is all factory original except exterior paint.
Another thing, my identification tag under the hood shows that my car was all one color - Glacier Blue. Yet the top and color sweep are white. I guess only the main color got stamped in the plate. Others on the Forward Look forum have made mention of similar details with their cars. Also the interior trim code shows mine to be the standard blue cloth interior but it has the upgraded Firedome blue cloth/vinyl interior. Why? I have no idea but maybe at the Dodge plant where these Firesweeps were made, they didn't quite get everything on DeSoto ID tags. But, who cares? It is what it is.
And.............."It's delightful, it's delovely, it's DeSoto"
"It's delightful, it's delovely, it's DeSoto"
Fred -
Since your car is 57 years old, lots of modifications could have been done by previous owners over the years, such as the changed interior or the addition of a white roof and sweep. I would trust the data plate and build sheet from Chrysler (FCA).
Ron
Sorry Ron, I don't trust the accuracy of the ID plate. Others on the Forward Look forum have experienced the same as I have. My car is a 23,000 actual miles factory original from the ground up with the exception of maintenance items and one repaint in the factory original colors. The factory paint is visible on the door jambs, under hood area around the hood latch, etc., and trunk area around the factory original weatherstrip. There would be absolutely no reason for an interior change being that the entire car is like new including the carpeting, headliner, visors, arm rests, door panels, kick panels, and even the windlace. I had the factory original idler arm bushing replaced in the steering linkage and the rest is still like new and factory original. The DESOTO trunk mat and cardboard trunk liners are all factory original as well.
Like I said, I don't trust the accuracy of the plate under the hood which has never been touched and you will see in the pictures of it, it has all the factory original paint, etc.
"It's delightful, it's delovely, It's DeSoto"
"It's delightful, it's delovely, it's DeSoto"
Always check classiccardatabase.com for help