Unregistered users may browse the website, but in order to participate in the forums and view select pages (such as "Club Contacts" and "Classified Ads") a user account is required. Click HERE to email the webmaster and request a free account. The National DeSoto Club uses real names rather than pseudonyms. Notify the webmaster of your user name preference (Johnathon Doe vs. John Doe, etc.), preferred email address, and password request.
Looking for new or remanufactured rocker moldings for 1955 Fireflite 2 door hardtop.
Please feel free to call me at 908-482-1341 with any questions or if you can help me.
Bob Mayberry
if you mean the rocker moudings that are under the sills and are a part of the body, they are on ebay often..if you mean the stainless trim beneathe the door, I've never seen them on ebay or anywhere else. Maybe check desert valley auto parts in phoenix or freemans in Montana.
Bob,
Finding NOS rocker moldings will be a challenge. Nobody makes a repro set to my knowledge. The '55 molding was used in that year only, only on the Fireflite and not on the '56 at all so they are difficult to find. As you can imagine, many were lost over the years due to rusty rockers or broken molding clips or by scraping them on curbs. Your best bet would be to chase every ad you see for someone parting out a '55 Fireflite. Over time you'll get lucky enough to collect a set (right and left side are identical) and maybe even a spare.
This is a good search engine that gathers online ads from Craigslist, HMN, Jalopy Journal, etc. You can search for both cars and parts and will eventually see listings for people parting DeSotos: http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi
Mark
Upon further reflection, the '55 MoPar parts book says the same rocker molding (p/n 1548413) was also used on the '55 Chrysler New Yorker. See original press photo below. So, you have a lot more options now. There are quite a few '55 New Yorkers being parted these days as the hot rod folks are buying them for the Hemi and parting what they can of the carcass.
