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'56 Firedome Coupe
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Powerflite
Posted 2024-03-25 11:08 AM (#634408)
Subject: '56 Firedome Coupe



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Another stray followed me home yesterday. It was local and too cheap to pass up. He advertised it as a Fireflite, and still thinks that it is, though it was obvious when I got there, that it's actually a Firedome. I think it's the Seville option, though I don't know what that means. The car has lived it's whole life in the North part of Los Angeles, and was built in Los Angeles too. The body is really clean except a little rust in the right side rocker and a couple of small dents in the hood & trunk lid. I believe it was originally Pearl Gray with Crimson Red roof & sweep, but I haven't decoded the body tag yet. The interior is that gunmetal gray with a white dash.

I'm thinking of painting it Pompano Peach (that's the Plymouth name, but it's called Emberglow by DeSoto) from 1955 with a charcoal roof & sweep. Lavendar poly with charcoal accents might be nice too, and keep it with '56 colors, but I really like the peach. I'm also going to try to make it look more like a Fireflite if I can find the parts. It's missing the bumpers and I have '56 New Yorker bumper parts so I might convert the back end to use the much better looking Chrysler tail lights & bumper. But I haven't decided for sure yet. The '56 Desoto rear looks nice too. I have the missing glass, but the windshield is broken, so I need to get a replacement for it. The drivetrain is missing, so I'll probably drop in a 392 temporarily, but I am thinking that a 354 marine engine would sit nice in there and look more like a DeSoto engine with it's wet intake. But I don't like the weight of the cast iron timing cover & intake, so I may do something else. If anyone has '56 Chrysler engine mounts, DeSoto trim or '56 Fireflite/NY headlight bezels for sale, please hit me up with a price.



(56Firedome LFs.jpg)



(56 Firedome Home.jpg)



(56 Firedome Body Tag.jpg)



(56 Firedome Body Tag2.jpg)



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Attachments 56Firedome LFs.jpg (122KB - 4 downloads)
Attachments 56 Firedome Home.jpg (239KB - 4 downloads)
Attachments 56 Firedome Body Tag.jpg (203KB - 4 downloads)
Attachments 56 Firedome Body Tag2.jpg (128KB - 4 downloads)
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22mafeja
Posted 2024-03-26 3:42 AM (#634418 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe


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It is good to see another stray get a new home and some attention..
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56D500boy
Posted 2024-03-26 11:22 AM (#634419 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe



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Nathan: Not sure if congrats or an intervention is in order. (You got a problem - not that there is anything wrong with that). Love me anything 56 Mopar.

I can't help you too much with the LA cowl data tag but I did find the paint code info:

416 = Crimson (sic) Red upper and Iridescent Gray Metallic Lower


Edited by 56D500boy 2024-03-26 5:49 PM




(56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_4.jpg)



(56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_1.jpg)



(56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_2.jpg)



(56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_3.jpg)



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Attachments 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_4.jpg (209KB - 2 downloads)
Attachments 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_1.jpg (253KB - 3 downloads)
Attachments 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_2.jpg (222KB - 4 downloads)
Attachments 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_3.jpg (259KB - 4 downloads)
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56D500boy
Posted 2024-03-26 1:12 PM (#634420 - in reply to #634419)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe



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Nathan: I have Canadian Colour and Trim Book for 56 Dodges and Desotos that I bought off eBay. I can't quite match your ideas perfectly but these are close(ish):

REFERENCE: http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=68046&...





(Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_OE.jpg)



(Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_1.jpg)



(Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_2.jpg)



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Attachments Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_OE.jpg (75KB - 4 downloads)
Attachments Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_1.jpg (67KB - 2 downloads)
Attachments Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_2.jpg (63KB - 4 downloads)
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frwl
Posted 2024-03-26 2:26 PM (#634423 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe


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SG – 4 – Accessory Group No. 4 – see attachment below
M3 – 1 – ?
M5 – 2 – ?
M6 – 2 – Sweep Moulding and Colour Insert
M8 – 4 – ?
M9 – 8 – Delivery Route




(Data Plate.jpg)



(Accessory Groups.jpg)



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Attachments Data Plate.jpg (128KB - 4 downloads)
Attachments Accessory Groups.jpg (64KB - 2 downloads)
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Powerflite
Posted 2024-03-26 3:07 PM (#634424 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: Re: '56 Firedome Coupe



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Thanks Dave & Ralf. Yeah, that pink/gray is a great looking combo. Much better than the red/gray that it came with and peach/gray is even better. The reason why this color topic is important for me is because the body on this car needs very little. So I plan to paint it before doing much else to it. Unfortunately, I found quite a bit of bondo on that small dent in the hood, and it ends up being a rather large dent. To fix it, I need to separate the spot welds to get to the complete underside, or I may try to just replace the hood. The dent in the trunk lid is smaller than I thought and should be easy with decent access to the backside. I also found about 1/2" of rust at the bottom of the left rear quarter that's filled with bondo, but everything else is very solid, including the entire floor & trunk pan. After fixing those minor areas, this thing is getting painted in my garage & on my driveway. Doin' it right!

I don't want to install the newly rebuilt 392 into my parade green New Yorker because the car is far from being drive-able. But I don't want to let it sit indefinitely in my garage either, so hopefully this car is a good place to put it in the mean time. And I have 2 newly rebuilt push button 727's that I can use for the trans. They just need new cables for them - all three expensive cables. The interior is also in surprisingly decent condition, considering. It should be usable as-is after a lot of cleaning, though the door panels & stainless trim are MIA. I didn't realize that the dash was padded. It's in decent shape too. The dash was originally white. The blue one was swapped in for better gauges, but I still have the original one in the trunk. Odd that the underside of the dash was painted red. I'm missing whatever panels go at the bottom of the dash.

Edited by Powerflite 2024-03-26 3:14 PM




(56 Firedome Dash.jpg)



(56 Firedome Seats.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments 56 Firedome Dash.jpg (123KB - 2 downloads)
Attachments 56 Firedome Seats.jpg (85KB - 4 downloads)
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Powerflite
Posted 2024-03-26 4:03 PM (#634425 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: Re: '56 Firedome Coupe



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Thanks for the info Igor. I didn't think this car had an outside mirror. But I looked again and found 2 holes that were filled with bondo. So it did, after-all. It does have solex glass as well, but I am unable to determine the rest of the options in its current state.
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56D500boy
Posted 2024-03-26 8:25 PM (#634429 - in reply to #634425)
Subject: Re: '56 Firedome Coupe



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S23 from the tag is obviously Firedome.

Here is some brochure images, including one with your car's original 416 paint scheme and another with reference to "Seville" which looks like a lower trim level, e.g. less C pillar stainless. (??)

Edited by 56D500boy 2024-03-26 9:21 PM




(56DesotoBrochurePage_1.jpg)



(56DesotoBrochurePage_2.jpg)



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Attachments 56DesotoBrochurePage_1.jpg (82KB - 2 downloads)
Attachments 56DesotoBrochurePage_2.jpg (106KB - 2 downloads)
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frwl
Posted 2024-03-27 12:49 PM (#634437 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe


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Nathan, tell me please: It looks like the right side drip rail moulding still on the car, and the left is missing. Am I right?
Does the car have an outer sun cap visor (windshield upper moulding)?

Thanks.

Also, according to the trim code 565, the car had originally all-vinyl upholstery - white bolsters and gray inserts...
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Powerflite
Posted 2024-03-27 1:50 PM (#634438 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: Re: '56 Firedome Coupe



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No Igor, it has both drip rail moldings still on the car. The picture of the left side is just hard to see it. The car also came with 2 extra drip rail moldings, though they would need some work before you could use them. The car does have the wide upper windsheild molding. I placed it on the car so you can see it. Unfortunately, I am missing the A-pillar moldings for it though, so I have to round those up, hopefully from BigM. That's weird, about the upholstery. It currently has all-vinyl in it, in a style that looks original. So maybe it's the original upholstery in there? But it's in great shape for being that old, if it is.

I have all the DESOTO letters for front and back, all except for one "O"; but I have an extra "T". I found my 3 speed Loadflite shifter that I will use in the car. I'll probably just use the Dodge bezel in it until I can fabricate one in the DeSoto style. If it doesn't work great, I may just keep the Dodge version in there.



(56 Firedome Frontend Parts.jpg)



(Loadflite Push Button Shifter.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments 56 Firedome Frontend Parts.jpg (210KB - 1 downloads)
Attachments Loadflite Push Button Shifter.jpg (113KB - 1 downloads)
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frwl
Posted 2024-03-27 2:41 PM (#634439 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe


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Factory Crimson over Iridescent Gray paint with BLUE upholstery, as on the pictures?
Hmmm…
I don’t think so. White / Gray upholstery would be most correct…

Could you show an “EXTRA” drip rail mouldings photos?
Thanks.
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frwl
Posted 2024-03-27 2:47 PM (#634440 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe


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Unfortunately I have not factory pictures of upholstery code 565;
Digging in my docs, I found a fragment of 1956 upholstery codes book;
The Trim Code 565 definitely GRAY…




(1.jpg)



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Attachments 1.jpg (68KB - 1 downloads)
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56D500boy
Posted 2024-03-27 4:52 PM (#634441 - in reply to #634439)
Subject: RE: '56 Firedome Coupe



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frwl - 2024-03-27 11:41 AM
Factory Crimson over Iridescent Gray paint with BLUE upholstery, as on the pictures?
Hmmm…
I don’t think so. White / Gray upholstery would be most correct…


Igor: I am guessing that when Nathan cleans up his Desoto seats, they will show up as grey and white. Remember that they might be 68 years old.

Everything can fade over 68 years.



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Powerflite
Posted 2024-03-27 10:37 PM (#634447 - in reply to #634408)
Subject: Re: '56 Firedome Coupe



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The fabric on the seats are gray, not blue. The camera just gives it a blue tint for some reason. Just like the car itself looks blue-ish, when in reality it isn't at all (first picture isn't from my camera). Everything is gray. The colors also perfectly match the rear door panel. I'm not sure if the pleats are sewn or molded like they are on the '58 DeSoto. You have to look at it very closely to figure it out. If they are sewn, that would likely mean that it has been replaced, but I don't know what is correct for a '56 DeSoto.
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