[Sticky] What did you do with or to your DeSoto today?

Congratulations Rich! Good looking kids and a good looking DeSoto!

Congratulations!

Mine saw the light of day today after a garage door upgrade.

Yeah.... it needs a lot of work.

Tim,

That looks like a lot of fun! Sometimes color photography does a bad job of discerning tans and yellows.... Was that car originally code 345 "Desert Tan"?

It was, but you’re seeing several different primer coats here. The car was media blasted and the main body was primed in a neutral primer. The front fenders are NOS and still in their original primer. The bottom of the doors are in a wash primer after having the lower section of the skin fabricated and welded in.

The rockers are dark shadows because....well, there’s nothing there.

Choosing the color I’ll eventually paint the car is a dilemma. I’m not real excited with any of the colors on the ‘49 color sheet. Was headed towards the maroon, and even painted some of the interior metal door trim in that color, but I’ve lost my enthusiasm for that color, too.

I have some work to do before it’s urgent.

I replaced my 59 year old stop light switch on my '59 Firesweep today. I considered going to a mechanical switch by the brake pedal but figured if I could get another 59 years out of a hydraulic unit for under 15 bucks, it's worth the chance.

Ha! Funny you would mention that Fred. Rick Wresche and I replaced the brake light switch on his 1961 a couple of weeks ago. The correct switch had been obsoleted some time back, but we were able to find an NOS switch from a fellow in Georgia. We had to replace the connectors on his wires as well. From my parts books, it looks like 1955-1961 cars all used the same switch, an odd looking part with a recessed female terminal and an extended male terminal. Here is a photo of the completed install:

Long and hot car day today in Louisville. Drove the DeSoto to a local church to help an AACA Region friend with judging at his charity car show to raise funds for their youth mission work. Three other volunteers and myself spent three hours judging ~140 cars on an asphalt parking lot in mid 90 degree temps. The turnout of over 150 cars was a record for this show and they raised over $6,000 for the mission work, so it was worth the hard work.

After the show several of our region members and myself were invited to a local assisted living facility to display our cars for their Labor Day picnic. Nice relaxing end to the long weekend. Attached photos are from the picnic.

Mark

Attended a local show at a neighborhood festival a few miles from home. Huge turnout on a day when rain from Florence was threatening but never materialized.

For once, mine was not the only DeSoto at the show. There was a '37 taxi one used in the Roger Rabbit movie and a '46-'48 street rod. Mine was, however, the only DeSoto still utilizing MoPar power. The '37 was repowered with Ford 6-cylinder and Mustang II subframe and the S-11 had what appeared to be small block Chevy power.

Mark

Mark's 55 is always a pleasure to see on this page.

Yesterday was the Annual Orphan car show in Ypsilanti, Michigan. There were 15 DeSotos at the show this year:

1931 CA Rumbleseat Roadster
1932 4-door Sedan
1942 Coupe
2 1947's, a Suburban and a convertible
2 1952's, a Custom 4-door Sedan and a Firedome Sportsman
1953 2-door sedan
1954 Coronado 4 door Sedan
1955 sedan
1956 4-door hardtop
1957 Firesweep 2-door hardtop
1959 Firesweep 4-door Sedan
1960 Fireflite 4-door Sedan
1961 2-door Hardtop

A good time was had by all. There is a rumor that an upcoming issue of the DeSoto Adventures magazine will have more photos of the attendees and their cars, but here is a teaser:

I took my 1956 DeSoto Adventurer to a Car show today (Sept. 29, 2018) at the Condon & Skelly offices in Moorestown NJ. My DeSoto was the ONLY DeSoto there. I got 1 of 20 "Peoples Choice" trophies for my DeSoto. A 1957 Chevy won Best of Show. That is me standing between my two vehicles that I took to the show. The 1968 Dodge Adventurer (Yes, that is the model) truck is also mine. My Dodge pickup didn't win anything...

Our local AACA Region was invited to display some age-appropriate vehicles at an Aviation & Military Heritage Festival at Louisville's historic Bowman Field airport. It was a beautiful day and there were some great aircraft on display and in the air. For a mere $400 you could fly in a restored B-25 Mitchell bomber or for $75 catch a ride in a Ford Tri-Motor. There was also a P-51 Mustang in the air. No better sound than those old prop planes. As I watched the crowd, many age 35 and younger, I couldn't help but think many of those folks have never flown on a propeller driven aircraft. That's a shame....

In the attached photos I'm parked next to a 1936 Lockheed 12A Electra Jr. This is a smaller version of the plane Amelia Earhart used for her ill-fated last flight. Despite the aircraft and military vehicles being the stars, there were always attendees admiring the DeSoto and all of our member's cars. I had one young twenty-something man ask me if he could sit in the car, and I obliged. He could not get over the size of the steering wheel. I explained the reason for that was not all cars had power steering (even though mine does), but quickly realized I was speaking a foreign tongue. He had never driven a car without power steering so had no clue why a larger wheel makes it easier to turn without power assist. Oh well, another reminder how old I really am.

Mark

Yesterday, Oct. 20, attended one of the last shows of the season around here at the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, KY. A wet, misty start quickly cleared to bright sunshine, but kept the crowd somewhat smaller than last year's show. My buddy in his '41 Dodge and I traveled together the 50 miles each way.

For the second show in a row, another younger person had keen interest in the DeSoto and when I offered him the chance to sit in the driver's seat he jumped at the chance. Turns out he and his buddy were visiting the railway museum and car show from Illinois where they work at the Fiat-Chrysler Belvidere Jeep assembly plant. They spent several minutes soaking it all in while I explained a few of the unique features of a mid-fifties MoPar.

Attached photos include one of my wife Pat and I in front of the DeSoto as well as a reflection of my DeSoto in the side of my buddy Neil's '41 Dodge.

Mark

Looks like a great day for you Mark!! Nice pictures!

I was on a work trip to South Carolina this week and had the opportunity to meet up with Dean Mullinax and his wife Monday for dinner and then Hennie Jacobs Thursday before my flight departed out of Greenville. Hennie has Dean's '41, Les' '29, and I helped work on Hennie's "new" '58 Fireflite. It's great having friends from the club all over the country!