I have a 1958 De Soto Firesweep 2-door Spring Special which I have owned since 1981. The car when I bought it was painted Haze Blue metallic which was listed on the Diezler color chip chart as a Spring Special color for Firesweeps. I think it was probably a repaint however. It has the chromed vertical bars on the trunk deck as well as the anodized spear insert and chrome rocker mouldings. It does not, however, have the gravel guards and shows no sign that it ever had any.

This car is mine and I would be interested in knowing how you obtained this image as it's a very old photo and I don't remember ever posting this picture on line.In fact, I'm not sure I even know where the original of this picture is located now.This photo was taken not long after I bought the car from a collector in Roswell, NM in April 1981. It is parked in the driveway of my parents house in Appleton, WI. My parents passed away at least ten years ago and the house that they lived in in that city was torn down years ago when my father sold the property to move to Ohio.(1998)

The collector I bought the car from had had the Torqueflite rebuilt before he sold it to me, but I had to have the engine rebuilt after I had had it in service for a few seasons. The engine was not original to the car but had come from a 1960 Plymouth and it is a standard 383 V-8 with a two-barrel Carter BBD carburetor.

The interior is not correct but was a cheap tuck and roll abonimation that a previous owner had had installed. It is black so you may be sure that it is very hot in the car in the summer because of it.

The front end was restored professionally by a fellow who used to have a restoration shop in Brown Deer, WI. I believe he has closed his shop now though. Upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends were obtained from Kantner Products as were strut rod bushings.The rear springs need to be arched though as they cause the car to sit lower than I would like. 

The car has power brakes, power steering, and power windows. It also has a power seat and electric clock (which I had converted to a quartz movement in 1983.) 

I added an alternator and a Direct Connection electronic ignition distributor in the 1990s to make the car a daily driver but I haven't used it lately.

I had the car rustproofed with the Ziebart brand of undercoating in 1981 when I first got it and it has very solid metal. There is the usual weak areas in the rear quarters and I don't doubt that there is some bondo in there but the flanks seem to be pretty straight.

I used to be in the military, hence the bumper sticker about joining the Army that you see in the old picture. 

Thanks for the chance to expound upon my De Soto. 

(Steve_1958 De Soto Firesweep SS.jpg)

Steve_1958 De Soto Firesweep SS.jpg (156KB - 232 downloads)

It was blue underneath the Spring Special sweep inserts, but I am reasonably confident that the car was repainted before I owned it. I suspect the original color was light green as that is the color in the footwell underneath the dashnoard where the carpet has come away.I don't know who may have repainted it but it could have been the man I bought the car from as he was a car collector and was pretty handy. I admired a 1950 Dodge roadster he was working on in his garage. I don't have ready access to the build plate right now as the car is in storage in Wisconsin but I can check it in the spring the next time I go there. 

Well, I probably put that picture up a long time ago and forgot I'd done so. I'm only puzzled, not annoyed to see it again.

I noted the lip just above the rear bumper in the photo too. I had started to do some sanding to get some fresh paint on the car and I noticed that underneath the Haze Blue metallic the original color seemed to be willow green. I don't have a picture of the build plate from inside the engine compartment but I would be interested in seeing if the paint code on the plate is for Willow Green. I will have to remember to take a camera and shoot some pictures the next time I'm up in Wisconsin. That probably will not be until May or June though. 

Here's a few shots of her in process. 

(detail of speedo 1958 DeSoto Firesweep.jpg)

(Front 1958 DeSoto Firesweep.jpg)

detail of speedo 1958 DeSoto Firesweep.jpg (173KB - 239 downloads)

Front 1958 DeSoto Firesweep.jpg (142KB - 296 downloads)