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Howdy All! I am new to this forum, but an "old timer" so to speak in the old car hobby. I recently acquired a '49 Custom, my first DeSoto. The car is an excellent survivor. It was garaged its entire life and was owned by the proverbial little old lady. She bought it new, and drove it till '86 when she gave it to her daughter. The daughter also garaged it, with the exception of the the last couple years, when unfortunately for the paint, it was parked outside under a tree. It is about 99% complete with the exception of a missing horn ring. It is absolutely rust free, and the glass has no delamination of any kind. The car runs but I have yet to drive it. My plans are to color sand out the paint, (looks like a late '50's repaint) smooth out and polish a few pieces of dented stainless, get it mechanically sound, new master cylinder, brake cylinders, etc. and drive it and enjoy the heck out of it! 
Here's where I am in color sanding and the stainless so far. 
I was wondering.... being new to DeSoto's, how hard will the missing horn ring be to find? Will a '50 also have the identical ring? Thanks!
Welcome Tim. You have a nice DeSoto. The parts book indicates the horn control rings were the same for 1949 & 1950. These cars had either a two spoke or a three spoke steering wheel. The part # for the two spoke ring is 1140132. The ring for the 3 spoke wheel is 1142641. partsvoice.com shows the two spoke ring available.
Mac
Thanks for the lead, It is much appreciated. It has the three spoke wheel that is in good condition with the exception of the missing ring. 
Tim,
What is the button on the spoke of your steering wheel for? It does not appear that a new horn ring would fit on your steering wheel with this in place. It appears that the ring may have been removed to install this button. The original horn switch and operating mechanism was located in the hub of the steering wheel.
I noticed your car has Fluid Drive which was a popular option. Are you familar with how the fluid drive transmission operates?
Mac
Howdy Mac! The button on the steering wheel is an aftermarket push button for the horn, which I would guess looking at its style, was put on in the early '60's. The car originally came out of Oklahoma and must have needed a working horn to pass inspection. I have pulled the center cap and they wired it to where it can be put back easily enough with the original ring. The contact plate,springs, etc., are still there, and they even used one of the chrome spoke plate screws to hold the button in place on the spoke, (didn't drill any holes) so all I have to do is remove the screw to remove the button and put the screw back in place! This makeshift horn button led me to believe that perhaps that horn ring, might have been a hard to find item, or perhaps was just a weak point that had a tendency to break, since it wasn't replaced. I am familiar with the Tip-Toe transmission, (or clunk-o-matic if you werent a fan of them in the day 
) they are a solid and well built transmission, as time has proven. Thanks!
Can somebody speak to the two shades of woodgrain on the dash? As a garaged survivor, I would expect that fade might be minimal on Tim's car? I'd be surprised to learn that DeSoto used two shades of base under the grain.
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
Welcome, Tim. What a wonderful DeSoto! It's impressive what you are doing to make that old paint shine. Please keep posting photos of your progress.
Thanks for the welcomes, leads, and help all. I will keep posting my progress as I go, and share the fun of starting and driving it for the first time also! Tim, I was asking myself the same thing about the photos, this photo also shows different toning between the top, sides, and glovebox! The grain lines are all consistent though, and it is much more even in tone to the eye, than in the photos. 
Found on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-DeSoto-Hor ... 2568abd1b1
Good luck! Mark
