|
|
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
  
Location: .Norfolk..Mafia.. ,England UK | IN...Walnut Cove, North Carolina
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=13028...
Description..
Up for auction is my Dads 57 desoto firedome 341 hemi car. Whens the last time you found a true 57 desoto firedome with the fire flight option for sale on ebay. Just last week a 57 desoto fire flight sold at Barret Jackson for $65,000. Read this auction carefully, this is a special, rare and hard to find car. It has less than 1000 miles since total restoration.He worked a slow and steady 8 years on this car. I know he hates to sell it but it has to go. I am listing it for him. The car is a true numbers matching 1957 Desoto fire dome with the 4 head light, and dual rear antenna option in paint code LEL, Tamarack Green poly and White. He bought the car 100 percent complete about 10 years ago. It was totally complete not an old junker from a boneyard that had to had everything replaced it had never been restored or tampered with. It has the original non bored 341 hemi motor, it was stuck when he bought it but a complete tear down and some liquid wrench did the trick. He did a complete rebuild and valve job, the motor runs like a sewing machine.It is an original 341 hemi 2bbl, we upgraded it ti a 1 year 1 model rare 341 4 bbl intake and AFB carb and rare 4 BBL breather. The original carb, intake and breather will be included in the auction.The intake package alone id worth ell over $1,000. The trans has been gone through with new seals and is also numbers matching right down to the air cooled torque converter, it shifts firm and quick. The body has all original sheet metal, the only repairs were the floors and trunk, thats the only metal that has been replaced.This is a true North Carolina car.All of the glass is original including the windsheild which has just one rock chip, it is very presentble for its age.I cannot stress how original this car is, the brakes are original and have been religned, the starter and generator are original and have been rebuilt, and even the wheels are original to the 1957 body. The front end components have all been replaced, ball joints, tie rod ends, and control arm bushings etc. The fuel tank was removed and cleaned and is in perfect working order. The fuel and brake lines were replaced with new. The roof rail seals are still the originals, the door seals and trunk seal have been replaced. The cloth in the seats was re-sewn with nos seat material, the vynal in the seats remained original.The headliner is original and is pretty nice, it has a couple small imperfections but at the time of restoration a new headliner was not available, so we kept the original. Dad also custom installed a pioneer AM FM CD player in the glove box with a 4 speaker system in the kick panels and package tray. The car has an estimated $5,000 in recrome work and close to $2,000 in PPG paint supplies. The restoration has less than 1000 miles since completed.One of the last things that need attention is the fuel sender as it does not register, the headliner could be replaced, but is very presentable, and the car could use a new set of wide whites. The car runs and drives great, the hemi has great power and does not leak, brakes are great, exhaust is great, basically it needs a good home and the last few things taken care of for a lifetime of enjoyment. Dads cell # is 336-408-2134 feel free to call him with any questions he enjoys talking about his car. The car is for sale locally he rerserves the right to end the auction early, I feel he should let it run its course. Good luck and good bidding, I will add more details this week.
|
|
| |
|
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Location: .Norfolk..Mafia.. ,England UK | PICs
 (80.jpg)
 (81.jpg)
 (82.jpg)
 (83.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 80.jpg (66KB - 435 downloads)
81.jpg (59KB - 167 downloads)
82.jpg (58KB - 156 downloads)
83.jpg (48KB - 178 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Location: .Norfolk..Mafia.. ,England UK | .
 (84.jpg)
 (85.jpg)
 (86.jpg)
 (87.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
84.jpg (41KB - 215 downloads)
85.jpg (46KB - 173 downloads)
86.jpg (39KB - 157 downloads)
87.jpg (62KB - 171 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Location: .Norfolk..Mafia.. ,England UK | .
 (88.jpg)
 (89.jpg)
 (90.jpg)
 (91.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
88.jpg (50KB - 1362 downloads)
89.jpg (58KB - 246 downloads)
90.jpg (52KB - 151 downloads)
91.jpg (37KB - 158 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Location: .Norfolk..Mafia.. ,England UK | .
 (92.jpg)
 (93.jpg)
 (94.jpg)
 (95.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
92.jpg (27KB - 186 downloads)
93.jpg (31KB - 151 downloads)
94.jpg (29KB - 168 downloads)
95.jpg (27KB - 154 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Location: .Norfolk..Mafia.. ,England UK | The Description says, Only had Welding to Trunk and Floors.. I HOPE the Floors were Welded Better for a Top Quality Restoration...
 (96.jpg)
 (97.jpg)
 (98.jpg)
 (99.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
96.jpg (29KB - 131 downloads)
97.jpg (30KB - 170 downloads)
98.jpg (22KB - 156 downloads)
99.jpg (29KB - 137 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 1488
  
Location: New Castle PA | Overall, it's a nice car. However, the seller says many things which aren't quite right. He says the car has the "fire flight option". First of all, it's Fireflite, and second, there is no option like that. I think he simply means 4 headlights, but both 2 and 4 headlight versions of both series were available. He says "I cannot stress how original this car is" but it has fender skirts (not available even as options), and he says it has the "dual rear antenna option ". Well, it DOES have dual rear antennas, but they are the wrong antennas and in the wrong place on the car. I won't go into the stereo, wrong engine paint, wiring, horn location, changed intake/carb etc. It's easy to pick apart any car (even my own), and I don't mean to go overboard here. It's a nice looking car and will make someone a nice hobby -- I only want to point out some of the inconsistencies if it helps a potential buyer decide on a bid price... |
|
| |
|
Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Where did the seller's kid get the "Fireflite" ? Oh, you're saying, from the 4 headlights.
I'd like to see how the exhaust pipes are routed.
Is there supposed to be a sort of 'tongue', or liner, inside the bumper exhaust ports?
The seat padding looks a little soft, but, this is a $17.5 car, even in this economy?
|
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 1488
Location: New Castle PA | There should be steel "venturi" inside the bumper ports. They look sort of like the nozzles for a vacuum cleaner, and the exhaust plumbs up to them from underneath. They are missing on this car, but that's pretty common. Usually they rust away, and the plater doing the bumper pieces tosses them out. |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 1488
Location: New Castle PA | Here's a pic of what those mising venturi look like. They should be black, or natural steel, and not gold, though.
 (venturi.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
venturi.jpg (32KB - 146 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Expert 5K+
Posts: 7207
Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | Ed, how long did those exhaust outlets in the bumper last when the cars were relatively new, before the venturi and the surrounding bumper material and chrome was badly discolored or rusted out? |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 1488
Location: New Castle PA | Sorry, but I don't have any real idea about that! I've seen tons of 1957 DeSotos. Only a few guys were lucky enough to find replacement venturis. Most cars have venturis that are barely a shell of their original condition. Most owners today have routed the exhaust down instead of through the bumper ends because, as you said, the chrome became discolored. The heat also warped the lowest taillight lens. If you just use them for show you can repair them with filler and re-install them, but I'd certainly not put exhaust through them. I did have a guy custom make some for me out of stainless steel, but they don't quite fit properly, nor do they look exactly right. When those cars "were relatively new", as you ask, I was still in diapers! |
|
| |
|
Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | See, Dodge was smart-enuf to use stainless steel 'tongues' in the middle areas of their exhaust deflectors.
The deflectors were also, kind-of, designed to shed water from their lower sections, but, that design wasn't very
effective, given the corrosive nature of sulfuric-leaded exhaust fumes, and condensation, and street-crud that
would get throw-up onto/into the deflectors, continuously, in the winter time.
|
|
| |
1957 DESOTO FIREDOME 341 HEMI NUMBERS MATCHING
