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Happy New Year, everyone!
I need some assumptions cleared up.
Was the tu-tone color sweep on the '55 model lineup an option choice that had to be "picked"? I see quite a few images online of cars (especially sedans like the one we currently have in the shop) that do not have a color sweep on the side of the body, but might be tu-tone on the roof.
On '56 models, an image search shows nearly 100% of the cars across all trim levels as being trimmed with the stainless for tu-tone, although you do see the occasional car that only has one color on it.
The only '56 Models that I find that don't have the stainless trim for a tu-tone are '56 station wagons, which were all Firedomes, and retained much of the '55 styles. And, I see images of wagons with the tu-tone and the single tone trim.
So in all that, I guess the question is..... did a person have to choose between the sweep trim and the single tone trim in '55, and did that choice go away in '56?
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
Tim,
As several posts here indicate, there always seems to be exceptions to every rule. However, several Club members and I posess documentation that suggests the following to be true 99.9% of the time:
When introduced in 1955, the color sweep two-tone treatment was available only on the Fireflite hardtop and convertible. Soon after the model year introduction, customer and dealer demand expanded the color sweep option to most other models including Firedome hardtops and sedans. However, wagons (all Firedomes) and the Firedome convertible were still not available with the color sweep.
Many Firedome models were available with what might be considered "standard" two-toning, i.e., one color on the roof and another on the rest of the car. These are shown in the '55 color and upholstery album to illustrate the 55 two-tone combinations available for 1955. It is likely that many of the '55 sedans still around today were produced early in the model year before the color sweep was available. The car s/n will determine if this is true or not. Regardless, a customer or dealer ordering a car could still decline the color sweep or "standard" two-tone treatment if they wanted to save money or were ordering a car for fleet duty, so long as it wasn't a Fireflite hardtop or convertible.
By the time the '56 model year came along, the color sweep was such a proven styling hit that it was available on every model and style, including Firedome wagons and convertibles. There are, however, many surviving examples of both Firedome and Fireflite models with no color sweep and either monotone color or "standard" two-toning. Greg Walters owns one such Firedome sedan with dark grey top and light grey body and only the single sweep of chrome on the side. Years ago there was a striking all black '56 Fireflite that appeared at several conventions. It was all black with the single, thicker Fireflite chrome strip on the side. The car's owner had much history on the car; it had been special ordered by a business owner in South Carolina. Besides the single color paint it had tinted glass and factory air. The new owner added Chrysler wire wheels and the car stood out from all the two-toned '56 models.
Let the debate begin...
Mark
My '55 Firedome convertible has the color sweep as do many 55 wagons.
http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forum ... hp?t=25275
I scanned these from an old DeSoto brochure I have, it looks like the Fireflites are shown with and without the sweep, the Firedomes shown only without. Having said that, my '55 Firedome has the sweep.
Tim,
From the dealer order code information for the 1956 DeSotos, there were codes that were used to determine the configuration of the stainless trim on two tone cars ordered. The paint code number would indicate if the car was monotone or two tone and the colors and where the colors were located. For all 56 Desoto Firedomes and the Fireflite 4 door sedans, the color sweep was an option. On these cars ordered with a two tone paint code, the dealer would use a code 2 to get a color sweep. If a code 1 was used the car would have the color sweep molding only. I assume that in order to get a two tone car with a single stainless strip, no code would be entered in this box. The color sweep was standard on the Fireflite two and four door Sportsman and convertible models.
I agree with Mark that the color sweep was not universally available on all 55 Desoto models initially but was made available sometime after the introduction date. I would assume that a similar coding system as used with the 56 models would have been used for the 55 models, but I have no proof of this.
Mac
As usual Steve is correct. I fired off my earlier response during lunch at work without having documentation at hand. Going from memory at my age can be embarassing... 
Attached...hopefully...are the following three documents:
1) From October 1954 - before the '55 models were officially announced - is a dealer letter confirming that the color sweep was standard on the Fireflite Sportsman and Convertible and optional on all other models except station wagons.
2) Another dealer letter, this one from late February '55, making the color sweep available on station wagons.
3) A MoPar Parts merchandising bulletin from March '55 making color sweep trim kits available for dealer installation of the color sweep on any '55 DeSoto model not already equipped with color sweep.
Hopefully this clears things up a little bit on this topic.
Mark
