4dr orphan
Well-known member
A neighbor of ours pleaded with us for months to take a 48 DeSoto 4dr
off her hands. Her grandfather had purchased it new. Twenty-two thousand mile original & solid as a rock. This thing is uglier than six layers of sewage! The flathead six & fluid drive had given up the ghost years ago from storage, they would fire it up dry, then shut it off for a few years. It hadn't been legally driven in the last 29 years. It smoked profusely under load and de-celeration when it last ran
Our plan is for a Jim Weimer sub frame, 350 horse 440 MoPar, 727 & 8 3/4 rear. While the subframe will be the largest expenditure, virtually everything else will be used, or fabricated. Our intent is to leave the outside original. My wife wants it repainted, but I love the patina. It took 60 years to perfect! Our (temporary) compromise is that IF the car is repainted, it will only be a 48 OEM color, but with a flattening agent. The stock hub caps will stay as will the Fulton windshield visor. I've told a friend of mine who owns a local Tuffy Muffler shop, "I want the quietest exhaust system available." When someone stands next to it, they'll think the flatmotor is still in it.
We copped an attitude that d___ few people enjoy their cars anymore, stock, restored, or modified. It seems that to many (so-called) gearheads, their vehicles have become 4 wheeled pieces of equity. "We can't drive it because it looks like rain." Give me a brake. I don't think they put wipers on a car so you could rack up points in some car show for a $5. trophy!
Our disapointment with the hobby (?) didn't stop with just the "trophy hounds. The (so-called) purists didn't want this car either. When my neighbor tried to sell it, she sought assistance (from a regional club that will go without mention). They told her "Lady, you'd be better off parting this car out than trying to sell it outright. It's not worth anything the way it is. No one wants these things." A more subtle statement could have been made, I think. Morons!
She was so offended, she offered it to me for 75% less than what the purists were offered, knowing full well that we would modify it, enjoy the process of building it & the drive!
My gut instinct is that when we get this on the road, it will generate more comments & memories from strangers than one would think. When I was growing up (never finished that either) some 60+ yrs ago, no one had a 55-7 Chevy. Our High School parking lot was full of shoebox Fords, GMs, & MoPars. Every kid I knew had parents who owned 2 or 4 door sedans, or (heaven forbid) a station wagon. Hardtops & converts were things SOME of the rich kid's parents had. Five, six, & seven Chevies never caught on until the mid 60's. That's when they became affordable. Where the media got the idea of the tri-five Chevy being the signature car of the 50's, I'll never figure out. I think that there is a late 40's MoPars in everyone's (my age) background. If your great grandfather didn't have one, then some one in the neighborhood did. They were everywhere. Still as ugly as I remember it, but my (on going) childhood was/is fun and so this car will be. We plan on loading the grandkids & our 126 lb Golden Retriever into it & taking off! Unfortunately, we won't be able to collect trophy's because we'll be too busy collecting stone chips!
Screw the purists. Screw the trophy hounds. We're to busy having fun to join their ranks...................
Primer is what you put on a car when you're too busy having fun with it.
Paint is what you put on your car when you want to go to work on it!
JMO
off her hands. Her grandfather had purchased it new. Twenty-two thousand mile original & solid as a rock. This thing is uglier than six layers of sewage! The flathead six & fluid drive had given up the ghost years ago from storage, they would fire it up dry, then shut it off for a few years. It hadn't been legally driven in the last 29 years. It smoked profusely under load and de-celeration when it last ran
Our plan is for a Jim Weimer sub frame, 350 horse 440 MoPar, 727 & 8 3/4 rear. While the subframe will be the largest expenditure, virtually everything else will be used, or fabricated. Our intent is to leave the outside original. My wife wants it repainted, but I love the patina. It took 60 years to perfect! Our (temporary) compromise is that IF the car is repainted, it will only be a 48 OEM color, but with a flattening agent. The stock hub caps will stay as will the Fulton windshield visor. I've told a friend of mine who owns a local Tuffy Muffler shop, "I want the quietest exhaust system available." When someone stands next to it, they'll think the flatmotor is still in it.
We copped an attitude that d___ few people enjoy their cars anymore, stock, restored, or modified. It seems that to many (so-called) gearheads, their vehicles have become 4 wheeled pieces of equity. "We can't drive it because it looks like rain." Give me a brake. I don't think they put wipers on a car so you could rack up points in some car show for a $5. trophy!
Our disapointment with the hobby (?) didn't stop with just the "trophy hounds. The (so-called) purists didn't want this car either. When my neighbor tried to sell it, she sought assistance (from a regional club that will go without mention). They told her "Lady, you'd be better off parting this car out than trying to sell it outright. It's not worth anything the way it is. No one wants these things." A more subtle statement could have been made, I think. Morons!
She was so offended, she offered it to me for 75% less than what the purists were offered, knowing full well that we would modify it, enjoy the process of building it & the drive!
My gut instinct is that when we get this on the road, it will generate more comments & memories from strangers than one would think. When I was growing up (never finished that either) some 60+ yrs ago, no one had a 55-7 Chevy. Our High School parking lot was full of shoebox Fords, GMs, & MoPars. Every kid I knew had parents who owned 2 or 4 door sedans, or (heaven forbid) a station wagon. Hardtops & converts were things SOME of the rich kid's parents had. Five, six, & seven Chevies never caught on until the mid 60's. That's when they became affordable. Where the media got the idea of the tri-five Chevy being the signature car of the 50's, I'll never figure out. I think that there is a late 40's MoPars in everyone's (my age) background. If your great grandfather didn't have one, then some one in the neighborhood did. They were everywhere. Still as ugly as I remember it, but my (on going) childhood was/is fun and so this car will be. We plan on loading the grandkids & our 126 lb Golden Retriever into it & taking off! Unfortunately, we won't be able to collect trophy's because we'll be too busy collecting stone chips!
Screw the purists. Screw the trophy hounds. We're to busy having fun to join their ranks...................
Primer is what you put on a car when you're too busy having fun with it.
Paint is what you put on your car when you want to go to work on it!
JMO
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