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Expert
Posts: 2612
  
Location: Parts Unknown |
Looks a little rough, but man this would be a cool car (my opinion)
sounds like it was built on last day of production - ? That could make it "cooler" !!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1961-Desoto-2-door-/180662586294?pt=...
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1155
 
Location: somerville mass | 3-4 miles from my house! in chelsea |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1155
Location: somerville mass | sold! |
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Expert
Posts: 2612
Location: Parts Unknown | moparsteve - 2011-05-09 11:39 AM
sold!
To you!?!?
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1155
Location: somerville mass | naw - some guy in texas. had a solid parts car sedan went someplace else. it orig. came from texas. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | The "Last DeSoto" has been something of a "Holy Grail" amongst finned DeSoto enthusiasts
for as long as I have been into them, going back some 30 years. Many surveys and polls
have been circulated for data tag info to see who has the car with the numbers closest to the
end. I guess it would carry certain "bragging rights", but any 61 DeSoto is pretty dammed
cool in my book. 
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Location: The Mile High City | $610.50 plus shipping might be a really sweet deal for what could be the last De Soto to roll off the line!
 (last de soto 1.jpg)
 (last de soto 2.jpg)
Attachments
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 last de soto 1.jpg (47KB - 196 downloads)
last de soto 2.jpg (53KB - 549 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2612
Location: Parts Unknown |
Seems like a great deal - Love the '61 DeSotos . . .
I Hope it turns up here someday 
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Wise Old Village Idiot
Posts: 3591
Location: Dellslow, West ("By God") Virginia ! | moparsteve - 2011-05-09 12:18 AM
naw - some guy in texas. had a solid parts car sedan went someplace else. it orig. came from texas.
mmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,.
Clay Wood on here, several years ago, HAD, (acording to the DeS Club records) the last '61 DeS off the line. A loaded up 4 HT.
When his multipal back surguries caused a $$$ hard ship, he sold everything except for a fully loaded '58 Belvy 4 HT. Guess what? Clay Wood lives in Texas! Wonder if he bought it? |
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Location: Under the X in Texas | According to Chrysler Historical, the last '61 DeSoto off the production line was VIN 6113135102 and was a white roof, turquoise body two door hardtop. It was shipped out of the plant December 29th.
Now, understand that this production line had other cars on it and VINs are not consecutive from one DeSoto to the next. A significant number of two doors were run at the end of production to finish off the inventory on hand.
The car that just sold on eBay was also built on the last day of DeSoto production, Nov. 30, 1960. It had been built SEVEN cars prior to last. Seven years ago the DeSoto club through Dean Mullinax and with the help of Kit Foster and myself worked on a '61 DeSoto roster and clarification of production.
What is perhaps most interesting about this car is that it is the highest KNOWN serial number to exist and that according to Historical, it was shipped from the plant on December 30. Very likely this is the last DeSoto to leave the plant, but not the last unit built.
Texas connection. With a car buddy, Geoff Howard, we found this DeSoto sitting outside in Center Point, TX, a little over ten years ago. Coincidentally, the selling dealer tag on the tail of the car was "Howard Motors". Owned by a divorced couple, he eventually got the car and sold it to a resident of Kerrville, TX, who immediately put it on eBay. It went to New England. Apparently it is now coming home to Texas. I am NOT the buyer. |
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Location: Under the X in Texas | Just scanned one of my print photos from when we found the car. That is Geoff Howard, the Golden retriever that lived at the house, and the DeSoto. Side story. A daughter living there told us the car had been her grandmother's when new and this was gram's Golden. When we opened the car door to get the info on the data tag, that retriever was into the car in a flash and WOULD NOT come out. The dog apparently remembered Grandma and wanted to go for ONE MORE RIDE. If dogs and old cars could talk.............. \ Dang. I can't get my scan small enough to attach here. Sorry
Edited by StillOutThere 2011-05-10 11:09 AM
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Expert
Posts: 2612
Location: Parts Unknown |
Now THAT'S a good story ! Man, figure out those pics ! ! ! I can't wait ! ! !
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Location: Under the X in Texas | Took a new stab at the pics and just got them done. Original print photos were processed December of 2000. That was our second trip over to the car which was about 15 miles from my house. I went back to verify the build date on the data tag and the VIN and had pen and paper this time.
Geoff and the Golden retriever with the car. My Dodge van parked out on the street.
Howard Motors was in New Orleans. The chrome thing says "901 St. Charles St."
If you looked at the auction pictures you noticed the hit that the car had received across from above the rear license into the right back up light. That is obvious in one of these pics. The TX license plate has changed over the ten years and I don't know why, when, how.
 (DeSotoGeoffGoldenCP_sml.jpg)
 (DeSotoCPHowardMotors_sml.jpg)
 (DeSotoCPRtRrB_sml.jpg)
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DeSotoGeoffGoldenCP_sml.jpg (212KB - 174 downloads)
DeSotoCPHowardMotors_sml.jpg (120KB - 197 downloads)
DeSotoCPRtRrB_sml.jpg (240KB - 204 downloads)
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Location: Under the X in Texas | Let me add this: I had been out of town for a week when the car showed up on eBay when it was being sold out of Kerrville some 5 years or so ago, so I saw it on the last day of the auction. I contacted the seller and told him the car had historical significance and we should talk about it. He did NOT care. Okay mister. When that auction was over I contacted the New England buyer TWICE that the car had historical significance and gave him my name, address, phone. He never contacted me. Okay mister #2. History disappears because car owners won't do their homework. Every car should be documented through Chrysler Historical. You just may learn something VERY IMPORTANT.
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Well done, W.
Somebody please post up all of this car's Evilpay images on this thread!
W., how is it believed that this car may have been the last car to be shipped from the factory?
Last day of shipping; sure, and last-known survivor to be shipped out; ok, but the very-last car
to be out the door?
I wonder how many of the 61 DeSotos remained at the plant, during that last month 11/30 - 12/30,
waiting to be shipped out, after the production ceased, on 11/30/60?
Edited by d500neil 2011-05-10 6:33 PM
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Location: Under the X in Texas | Chrys. Hist. sent me the IBM print outs on this car, and the last car. This car left Dec. 30 Last car built left Dec. 29. Sure, maybe the 4th-to-last left first week of January, but I'm betting they had a deadline to have them all gone by Dec. 31 and the union truck drivers wanted to start drinking early on New Years Eve. We have no way of knowing about the rest of the cars that had been built 30 and more days earlier unless some of y'all want to spend $45 per car and start inquiring at Chrys Hist. Problem with that is they now require proof of ownership to process the inquiries. Ten years ago they did not which is how I got that inquiry done.
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Expert
Posts: 2612
Location: Parts Unknown |
WOW - not much has changed at all since you snapped those pics - crazy
I REALLY hope this one ends up here at some point - I wonder if the new owner
has a clue of what they have . . . ? ? ?
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | W., just trying to understand, here; you're theorizing that the last car to leave the factory ("shipped") may have left
after 12/30/60 ("first week on JAN")?
This was not the last car to get shipped out?
But, it was the 7th from the last DeSoto that was built, on 11/30/60?
It was a rhetorical question about the number of cars that remained at the factory after the last one was built, on 11/30/60,
but, that would be an interesting 'number' to know!
Yeah; 10 years ago real research of the Historical Society's records was possible.
BTW, is that an optional trim piece, on its roof????
You'd think that the last 100-ish DeSotos would have been HEAVILY optioned!
Edited by d500neil 2011-05-10 8:11 PM
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Location: Under the X in Texas | Neil, Perhaps your experience with Dodge research has been similar to my research in Chrysler in the FL era: the typical length of time between production date and shipping date is about 2-3 days. The cars were done and needed to get to dealers that had ordered them either for customer order or for store inventory. The only cars that had longer time between build date and ship date had special considerations of some kind in the way of race car preparations or some other custom work of some sort.
Now with DeSoto ending production, I think it is reasonable to expect that the dealers were not asking for more cars. A copy of a telegram I have from EC Quinn, Gen'l Mgr., Sales Division, Chrysler Corp. to a dealer announced "Chrysler Corporation is discontinuing production of the 1961 De Soto" and was dated 11-18-60, just 12 days prior to end of production. If I'm a dealer, I know the handwriting has been on the wall and now this proves it. ANY inventory will be hard to sell; the public doesn't want a new orphan car. So I do expect that production after that date was hard to move out of the factory. I'm also sure there were cost incentives to get the cars the heck out of Detroit.
There were 47 total production days for the '61 DeSoto cars. 2,123 4-dr hardtops were built and 911 2-dr hardtops according to a photo copy record Chrys Hist. sent to me. So the average pace of production was 65 cars per day; incredibly low number for Detroit! They probably started faster with the year's new model, then tapered to the end. If it took a whole month to clean out the cars built, it makes sense to me that they would be all done and all gone on Dec. 30. which was a Friday, the last work day of the year.
Granted part of this is hypothetical. It will be proven wrong when some owner of a '61 DeSoto applies to Chrysler Historical and hears back with proof that his car was shipped out during calendar year 1961. But for now, I'm sticking to a scenario that says they slammed the gate at the DeSoto plant on Dec. 30, 1960 and that VIN 6113134667 had the last tail lights to leave. And yes, it is certainly possible that was a two or four or six car carrier going out. But was it FULL? There are some things we can never know from that snowing, blowing Detroit winter day unless someone did photography.
We do know this, 11/30/60 (last production of DeSoto) and 12/30/60 (perhaps last car leaves DeSoto plant) were very sad days for a once-proud marque. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 988
Location: Kansas City, Kansas |
Sold for $610! That's it? Sure..it is a bit rusty, but it is a 2drHT. $610 for the last built (known) DeSoto?
Will the new owner please stand up? |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Yeah, ... I am shocked how cheap this sold for. I'd buy 60-61 2HT's all day long for
that kind of money !
I am glad DeSoto got to die with their boots (fins) on. A post-fin DeSoto ? No thanks.
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Veteran
Posts: 118
Location: Nawth Kerolinuh |
" I am glad DeSoto got to die with their boots (fins) on. A post-fin DeSoto ? No thanks."
Doc - you're right - I never thought of it that way, but it's the truth.
Edited by BSoto 2011-05-11 3:36 AM
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Location: Parts Unknown | Hehehe! Yeah, ... I've heard guys "lamenting" the killing off of DeSoto with the obligitory
comment "If only ..... "
But really ? Can you picture any of the Chrysler cars through the 60's with a DeSoto twist ?
Nah, ... it was perfect timing.
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Location: Under the X in Texas | I've always been rather fond of the '62 DeSoto proposal. If it could have been produced, the great name would have lived on, however there is no question that the market niche have dried up. Edsel had been in that same spot and died a year earlier. The business case to sustain DeSoto absolutely was not there. Nevertheless it would have been a pretty car in my opinion:
 (62DESOTO10x72.jpg)
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62DESOTO10x72.jpg (166KB - 255 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1155
Location: somerville mass | ebay seller only had it 6 months maybe lessgot it from someone in new england i think he found it inabarn..
ok - due to its historical significannce - one of the last desotos and afinned hardtop - if your a bonafide 1960-61 nut maybe - it will cost a small fortune to
restore it. whatever it will cost it's only a 30k car at auction.... i see 70 80k in restoration here.. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1155
Location: somerville mass | in was sitting in the ground in 2000. one of the last desotos but its not a dusenberg! or charlie chaplin's 29 pierce arrow on ebay - it wont start!!!! |
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Location: Parts Unknown | With all you said above about DeSoto's market niche, I am just glad they chose to chop it
off when they did. No DeSoto Valiant, not plucked chicken DeSoto. Just a noble last stand
as a finned car that left the public with a dinosaur image when they thought "DeSoto".
However, a Hemi-powered B-body DeSoto from around 1968 sounds REAL interesting !
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Location: The Mile High City | I thought I would revive this thread to see if there was any more information either on this car or on VIN 6113135102. You never know what might turn up! |
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'61 DeSoto 2dr - one of the last made ???
