(first posted 10/4/2012) Quite recently, the wife and I went to our weekend house for the city-wide garage sale.
I got our items arranged bright and early Saturday morning. Shortly after the Mrs. came outside, I happened to look up at the street. My jaw dropped. Grabbing my camera, I told the Mrs. that I’d be back. I walked up the street thinking it was a Dodge, but then I realized there were too many letters on the hood: This was a DeSoto!
I cover a lot of ground in my day job. During my travels to some very obscure locations, I’ve found some amazing automobiles, including quite a few that I’ve captured but not yet shared. Still, I have never seen a DeSoto in the wild—let alone just a few hundred feet from my front door!
As I started snapping pictures, the owner came over to chat (that’s him closest to the DeSoto’s left rear fender). He was happy about my picture-taking, and I told him about Curbside Classic. Later, I realized I hadn’t asked his name, so I’ll call him Steve, since he reminds me of someone I once worked with.
“Steve” had just taken his DeSoto to the car wash, hence the moisture around the perimeter of the car. He had found the car in a barn, about eight years ago. At the time he acquired it, the rear quarter panels were a little rusty and the floor pans had some crispy areas, but it ran. He has since repaired the corrosion and repainted the DeSoto in its original colors. He said the car isn’t perfect: The chrome around the tail lights is pitted, and he also painted the rear bumper to stave off deterioration.
Nothing has been done to the DeSoto’s 325 cu in (5.3-liter), 245 gross hp engine other than rebuilding its two- barrel carb. The car’s odometer reads 93,000 miles.
DeSotos were products of Chrysler’s company-wide Forward Look, and the 1957 models featured the marque’s second restyling in three years. In an effort to gain market share, DeSoto offered the entry-level Firesweep, built on Dodge’s 122″ wheelbase, at a base price of $2,777; 1957 Firedome, Fireflight, and Adventurer models rode a 126″ wheelbase.
Steve said he likes having a four-door sedan. Evidently, other DeSoto buyers agreed: With 17,300 units produced, the four-door Firesweep was the second most-popular 1957 DeSoto model, outsold only by the Firedome four-door sedan.
Just how big is this 122-inch-wheelbase DeSoto? Next to a new Chrysler minivan, it has an obvious and wonderful presence about it. Indeed, this DeSoto adds a new dimension to the “longer” and “wider” part of the old “longer, lower, and wider” advertising slogan.
I know which of these two I’d rather have parked in front of my house….oh, did I mention that later, it was?
While talking to Steve, I learned that he also has a ’66 Ford F-100 with a three-speed (doesn’t somebody else around here have one?) bolted to a 352 cu in (5.8-liter) V8. When he said he was thinking of upgrading it with overdrive, I told him that my ’63 Ford Galaxie, with a three-speed and overdrive, was just down the street if he wanted to see the setup.
Steve went to get his 17-year-old son, and they arrived soon after. Here’s where he parked in front of my house.
We looked the Galaxie over for a while before once again inspecting the DeSoto.
Among the ’57 DeSotos, the base-model Firesweep had a unique front appearance. The car in this ad lacks the chrome strip along the lip of the hood, and the headlights appear to be set more in their own pod.
Although Chrysler introduced the awesome TorqueFlite transmission in ’57, our featured car has the two-speed PowerFlite transmission, which Steve says has performed flawlessly. According to my research, a comparable ’57 Dodge with the same transmission and 325 cu in V8 could do 0-60 mph in 9.5 seconds—not too shabby for a 3,675 lb. (1,670 kg) vehicle!
The ad seen above touted the DeSoto’s comfortable ride, which was as expected. But was the DeSoto itself a comfortable car? Let’s take a look inside…
Steve told me he loves driving his DeSoto, and that it is indeed quite comfortable.
Here’s a view from the driver’s side. Note the assortment of gauges, something that was pretty scarce in many American cars of the ’60’s and ’70’s.
Steve told me he doesn’t seek to own a show car. What he does seek is to have a presentable-looking driver in fairly original condition. He stated that he feels quite fortunate in that regard since so much about this DeSoto is original, including the jack and the spare-tire cover. In instances where he’s had to deviate from original parts, he has sought out material that is reasonably close to the original, as in the case of the trunk mat.
Overall, I say, “Job well done!”
In the pieces submitted both under my own name and my former “Jack Lord” pen name, I have been excited about many of my finds, and certainly this one ranks in the top two or three. One reason why is that I was really enamored with what this car was. What also helps is the way I found it; a bit like deer hunting from my patio. But more than anything, this is one of the few times I have been able to relate the story of the car itself. As the banner on this web site states, “Every car has a story”.
One final thought: As Steve drove by to pick up his son, he encountered–directly in front of my house–a red ’65 Corvette convertible. Guess which one my eye followed?
Nice find!
Love it, love it, love it! But then my avatar is a Forward Look Mopar too.
The Firesweep was an oddball, because it was really more Dodge than DeSoto. It was on the Dodge wheelbase, used the Dodge front sheetmetal (the real Dodge is below) and the Dodge 325 Poly V8 rather than the DeSoto’s 341 Hemi. I also believe that these were built in the Dodge plant instead of with the other DeSotos. But the side and rear trim was all DeSoto, which I find the most attractive of any of the Forward Look cars. Why did Chrysler feel the need to make this model? There could not have been much room between the upper level Dodge and the basic DeSoto Firedome (the next model up on the chart), but Chrysler made some strange decisions in those years.
I am not normally a fan of yellow cars, but I really like this one. As much as I enjoyed my 59 Plymouth Fury (and I did), I always secretly wished that it could have been a DeSoto. The styling from the side is virtually perfect. Was there ever a better two-tone treatment on a car? If only Chrysler could have built them properly.
The red one in the ad is a 126″ Fireflite. I remember in October, 2008 at the Park Street car show was a clean, presentable ’57 Firesweep. This one was dark green over yellow with a green body sweep. White vinyl seats with the charcoal jacquard cloth inserts; TorqueFlite and the Dodge 325 Polyhead.
Not really sure why DeSoto chose to introduce this Dodge based car as the Eisenhower recession didn’t really kick in hard until new car introduction time for the ’58’s (Sept/Oct ’57). I do remember Groucho Marx introducing the Firesweep on a “You Bet Your Life” episode.
This featured Show-Me Firesweep brings back memories of most of my (now deceased) relatives in N.E. Missouri. They were, for many years, Mopar people and when visiting as a small child (and in the home movies I have inherited), Uncles, Grandfolks had many pastel colored Mopars in the stable and as the ’50’s segued into the ’60’s, more Mopars – usually in dark browns/blacks and golds. Usually Dodges and Plymouths, but Granny ordered a gold over gold ’60 Chrysler New Yorker . . . 440 Police (twin snorkel and dual exhuast) wind up windows (didn’t believe in power windows until her last car, ’86 Grand Marquis).
One of my earliest memories was Granny’s ’58 Plymouth Belvedere and my Great Uncle’s salmon pink ’57 Plymouth Plaza.
I think the reason DeSoto added the Firesweep was the same reason Chrysler would add the Newport in 1961, as DeSoto was fadiing. In DeSoto’s case, it was to bridge the price gap between the most expensive Plymouth and the cheapest DeSoto in what were then DeSoto-Plymouth franchises; it was the same for Chrysler after they were paired exclusively with Plymouth after 1960. Since Dodge was a different sales organization, they didn’t care.
Have to say, I’ve always appreciated the sedans and Plymouth/Dodge 2 door hardtops in this generation of Mopars over the 4 door hardtops, and the 2 door Chryslers and DeSotos. The former were light and airy; the later suffered from Vigil Exner’s inherent heaviness.
I sure wish CC had a Like button. Because there are just times I have nothing to say but want to register how much I, well, liked the pictured car. This is one of those times!
Here you go!
Great to see a beauty like this being maintained and enjoyed. “Presentable-looking and fairly original” is a worthy goal for us non-millionaire old car owners.
“Note the assortment of gauges, something that was pretty scarce in many American cars of the ’60′s and ’70′s.”
Mopars had a set of ancillary guages at least through the last c-bodies in ’78. Oil pressure, coolant temp, and “alternator,” which swings from Drain to Charge depending on load, alternator strength and the state of the battery. Useful info but a weak spot as the car ages, as power to all electrical components runs through that little bottleneck of resistance. A common fix is bypass it with added wires to starter and headlights. The gauge is then no longer accurate, but much less of a fire hazard…and still presentable-looking and fairly original.
1965-66 Chryslers don’t have oil pressure or coolant temp gauges, just idiot lights.
The 64-66 Imperial had fuel, ammeter, oil pressure and temp gauges. On regular 67-68 Chryslers, I am trying to remember if the temp gauge came back. If not, at least you got a “cold” light that would turn off as the engine warmed up.
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing… 🙂
It hadn’t occurred to me that they would give up on these things and then go back to them. Even the ’40-something T&C had the four gauges, so I guess I assumed there was an unbroken line from there to my car. I wave the white flag trying to make sense of the Old Chrysler Corporation.
We had a Desoto when I was young. Is this a 1957 Desoto? I can’t find exactly the same car with the same windows and antenna. This is the car…
Thanks
It is indeed a 57 DeSoto. This one is the relatively rare 4 door hardtop. The sedans, which were the most common 4 door models by far, employed a completely different roof and window arrangement.
That car was (in a tie with the ’56 for) DeSoto’s high water mark: The single headlights, the simpler grille, the smooth lines matched only by the same year Chrysler. Definitely a big improvement over the ’57 Dodge which was always the ugliest of the Forward Look cars, no matter what year. That entire Forward Look design school just thrived on simplicity. The more convoluted you got, the worse it looked.
The ’58’s were nice, but an obvious example of “restyling is mandatory, even if we don’t know how to improve on the design” school.
Although, I have to admit, of all the 50’s Chrysler products, the ’56 Chrysler (not 300B) is still the prettiest of all.
Concur, Syke. I do not care for the ’58 Chrysler’s “shrunken” tail light lenses; the odd “pinched” exhuast outlet of the ’58 DeSotos . . . and the cheapened ’58 Plymouth tailights . . . . .simple round affairs with chrome spears running up into the fin nacelle . . . instead of an actual plastic lens like on the ’57.
Also, ’58 Windsors in the Chrysler line were shrunken to Dodge dimensions with a Dodge body from the C-pillar back and a Dodge 122″ wheelbase.
Personally, I thought the ’58 Dodge was an improvement over the ’57’s . . . .
Syke . . . you must mean the ’56 Windsor. Clean . . . . elegant and athletic all at the same time. I prefer the clean horizontal bar-grille of the ’56 Chrysler Windsor over all it’s stable mates, even the 300B.
I actually think quad front headlights would improve the look just a touch but overall I love it. Just a little flash, not over chromed, and full instrumentation. Just the way a full size sedan should be.
The front end was designed for quad headlights, but there weren’t legal for use before the 1958 model year. Everything else was just about right.
Quad lights were legalized state by state. Some legislatures met biennially, so they didn’t legalize in all states in 1956 or 1955 in time for the 1957 model year. All states legalized in time for the 1958 model year.
Quads were optional, where legal, on 1957 Imperials and 126 wb Chryslers and DeSotos. Chrysler didn’t provide the option on its smaller cars for 1957; quads were standard in the same fenders for 1958.
Awesome writeup for an awesome car!
Long Live the DeSoto name!
“DeSoto Discovers The Mississippi”, from “Zany Afternoons” by Bruce McCall.
The front end is a bit challenging, eh? I’ve been trying to figure out that “grille” ever since I first saw one in 1960. Exner’s crew running out of ideas? Maybe the forward look started at the rear and ended at the front?
What a catch, and a great read. Thanks. I like to see cars being kept up in decent shape like this without having the big bucks spent on them. A genuine CC.
I like this grille a lot, always have. It’s totally Googie. That wide thin oval echoes the tailfin-bumper-tailfin shape, without the bends. Exner’s crew was just getting going with these ’57s.
Consider Chrysler’s 1956 Dart concept car. It’s got the big Forward Look fins, and a wide oval up front, thicker with headlights inside. That was too radical for a ’57 production car, so it got thin with headlights upstairs.
Wonderful catch indeed. I’ve always loved the Forward Look DeSotos best. Nicely done Jason, thanks!
Nice car! My first car was a forward look 57 Dodge. Sort of. My neighbor gave me the ownership of one after he took his to the scrapper.
Presentable and fairly original driver is exactly what I’m shooting for with the famous VW project.
The tail of this car is nothing but a masterpiece !
Nice find! The modification of the Dodge front clip to DeSoto styling makes it quite unusual, and totally different looking from the mid- and high-line DeSotos.
I saw a 1957 Firesweep 2-door hardtop in Bend, Oregon quite a few years ago, wish I’d taken pictures of it. It even had a 3-speed manual transmission, and iirc a green interior. I don’t remember the exterior color.
I’ve had some close calls with DeSotos. I bought a ’57 Firedome 4-door in pink and metallic gray that had the engine apart. I stored it at a friend’s place for a while, and when another Mopar guy saw it and made me a good offer I let it go again.
About 10 years ago I saw another Firedome sedan a couple of miles from here, talked to the owner, gave him my name and phone number in case he thought about selling it. Two years ago it turned up at a transmission shop near here, in much worse condition than when I’d first seen it. Both bumpers were still perfect, the car had never had any body damage, but there was rust out in all four quarters, both rocker panels, and the front fender tops; and the interior was a shambles. Walked away shaking my head in sadness….
What a beautiful automobile. I loved it back then. I was 10 that year. And I still loved it. The termination of the DeSoto brand was a sad moment.
For S and G’s, I’d love a Canadian Plodge . . . .
Gorgeous car, save for the front end. The Plymouths and the Chrysler 300 were the only Forward Look cars with a front ends that I find attractive. The bumper on this DeSoto is just bizarre and the single headlights are blatant compromise, as the car was clearly designed for the quad headlights that got 50 state approval the following year.
Still, those fins are some of the best ever. It’s so refreshing to see any Chrysler product of this era amongst the glut of Tri-Five Chevies and such.
Not really of fan of the single headlamps here – makes the car look unfinished.
I rather like it, gives the car a wide-eyed face.
I think just about all the cars from 55-56-57 era were great looking. Desoto had one of the few TV shows mom would let us watch and I still remember it’s Delightful, it’s Delovely, its Desoto. Just for giggles does anyone else remember that. I might not be able to much longer.
Great find.
I remember the Desoto jingle from the old “You Bet Your Life” show with Groucho Marx and George Feniman (sp?). What I didn’t know until years later was that it came from the Cole Porter song “Delovely.” The great thing about being a kid is that you think that everything you see or hear is brand new. I’m sure a lot of youngsters right now who hear commercials with rock music playing in the background don’t realize that those are genuine old music recordings, not something created for the commercial itself. About this car: it looks like a time capsule. The photos look like they could have been taken in 1962 or so (save for the Mopar minivan!). It’s a great example of a survivor. I hope it’s still around in that condition today.
this DeSoto is stunning I know its the entry level model with the Dodge body but to me the forward look never looked better than at DeSoto with that smooth well – integrated one piece grille and bumper and the distinctive long gun trigger two toned panel on the sides.I love the colour and the way the proud owner has kept this car so stock looking-no stupid mag wheels or oversized truck tyres just a beautiful car in unspoilt original condition . I want it !!
I’ve always loved this particular DeSoto. My Dad bought one back in 57 but didn’t keep it long. My memory is fuzzy but I think the block cracked under warranty, which was only 4000 miles, 90 days back then. Once he had a problem with a car that was it, time to move on. Anyway, its one of the best looking of the Forward Look era and one of my favorites.
Sweet Jesus! This is the car I learned to drive with! Ours was powder blue, and I believe a 4-door. I loved this car—I used to lay down in the back window deck on our rides home to Portland, Oregon from my aunt’s farm in Amity. I could dreamily watch the canopy of stars. The last time I drove it (with my learner’s permit at age 15!) the gear-shift button-panel fell into the dash…luckily I had shifted into Drive and I made it home without needing Reverse! I had been granted (illegal) permission to drive several blocks by myself to buy some 45 rpms at the local music store. The car we eventually replaced it with was a ’69 Thunderbird…Midnight Orchid with Ivory interior…and suicide doors! I never lost a race with that 429 4-barrel. Thank you for leaving this up so I could come along and reminisce.
Great article, lovely read. I am the fortunate man that will be collecting my “57 Firedome from the docks tomorrow. What a peice of automotive history and art ,never to be repeated,
I live in England and feel guilty taking this wonderful car from the USA.
I have had a variety of “yanks” but nothing to compare to Virgils” masterpeice.
All the best Colin
There’s a Fireflite 4-door near us with a two-tone cream and coral paint job. It’s out on the streets during the summer and is in daily-driver condition. There’s a nice patina on the paint, with a few rust spots and some chrome peeling off the front bumper. It has quad headlights – likely a ’58, but otherwise very similar to the ’57. I always look forward to seeing it – I have some photos I’ll have to send in sometime.
Nice “find,” Jason–any chance you’ve seen the car since then?
From my “archives,” the 1957 DeSoto line at the Coliseum in Montgomery, AL–four-door sedans and all:
Sure haven’t; this was very much a one-shot deal. These were also taken by my last house which is just over 100 miles away from where I now live. The first line about my “weekend house” was a sarcastic remark about it taking so long to get that house sold – 20 months.
My dad still owns this car to this day. I remember coming over to check out your galaxie if u have any pictures of it id love to see it as well thx.
Click the link below for a picture of a De Soto magazine ad and a personal story of mine about a ’57 De Soto:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/147108383@N02/25844007907/in/album-72157694224899525/
Definite fan of late 50s Chrysler products here, We only got the Plodge, De ploto versions here locally assembled but the odd real one snuck through and of course since then used imports arrived, That car is gorgeous just like it is in tidy driver condition.
Geeze, what a pretty car. From any and every angle these work well for me, though I concur that the ’58 quad headlamps go better visually. It’s a real pity the ’57-’59 Mopars were so shoddily built; they were just beautifully designed and the basic running gear was very soundly engineered.
Great photos! I liked the 57s in comparison to the 1956s, they moved the design concepts forward to foretell what was to come in the 60s. Not that I dislike the 56s or the 55s, they are some of my favourite Mopars. I am quite sure I will only ever see DeSotos at a car show.
I always appreciate it when writers post hi-res photos to CC, it makes them more attractive to save. Thanks!
Trying again with the promised 1957 show photo:
One more of that Montgomery, AL show (16 October 1956):
One more (factory composite):
The ’57 De Soto was a great car with fairly poor build quality, an issue that tanked sales for the following year. Mechanically, it was fine, however, and it was reliable. Body-wise, it was somewhat of a disaster as with all of the ’57 Chrysler products (possibly with the exception of the Imperial, which received more attention from the factory).
My dad bought a beautiful ’57 Fireflite convertible, white with red trim and beige convertible top. It brought raves from everyone who saw it! I had great fun with that car, having just received my driver license, and I particularly enjoyed that car when our family was on vacation down on the coast of North Carolina. In particular, Highway 17, a narrow 2-lane highway between North and South Carolina, was a great spot to race wide open. After a couple of attempts, all four barrels would open properly and the Fire Dome V8 would “bury the needle.” With a wink and a nod, Dad would sometimes comment on how much “peppier” the car seemed after I’d had driven it (he knew full-well what I had been doing with the car).
However, one night I was badly humiliated by a 1958 J2 Tri-Power Oldsmobile 88 (a lightweight 2-door sedan, no less), and at that point I wish I had lobbied my dad more forcefully to buy a Chrysler New Yorker, or better yet a Chrysler 300C! It would have easily handled the Tri-Power wide open. I couldn’t give a rational explanation for buying the more expensive New Yorker or 300C over the Fireflite, certainly not a “well dad, the New Yorker is much faster.”
At any rate, the 1957 De Soto carried on nicely until the following winter, at which point the windshield-washer knob fell off in the floor while my dad was rushing to the hospital (he was an OB/GYN) for a delivery. It was snowing heavily, forcing him to use his left hand to brush off the snow on the windshield as he made his way to the hospital. This dampened his affection for the De Soto.
A better picture of the 1957 De Soto Fireflite convertible.