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Gold '58 Firedome Coupe
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Powerflite
Posted 2022-11-30 12:12 AM (#625976)
Subject: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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I bought this car from Kurt in 2019 but didn't create a new thread on it because, of all my cars, this one is in the worst shape - even worse than my red Fireflite, if you can believe that. Not only are the floors almost completely missing, but the entire firewall is rusted out. It surprisingly didn't look that bad from the outside. Looks can be deceiving though, as the hood, trunk lid and both doors were also too rusted to bother saving. There's no way anyone could fix everything on this car by patching it. So I parked it in my lot and planned to purchase a clean 4dr sedan to use that as a base to replace the majority of the rust issues in one shot.

http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=65448

I had already replaced the trunk lid and hood from the Windsors I parted out, and I picked up a couple of doors that I can use on it as well. It was originally painted Spanish Gold and White, but I think I am going to paint it Adventurer Gold and Black and run blackwalls with original DeSoto dog dish caps when it finally reaches a drive-able state. The Ford Galaxie above it on the multi-car trailer had dumped a huge amount of oil and 90 weight from it's differential onto the roof & hood, so it arrived here well oiled.

Edited by Powerflite 2022-11-30 12:17 AM




(yeller.jpg)



(Firedome_Arrives.jpg)



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22mafeja
Posted 2022-11-30 12:23 AM (#625977 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: RE: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe


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Dog dishs and blackwalls...that sounds perfect..
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Powerflite
Posted 2022-11-30 12:27 AM (#625978 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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I also replaced the broken windshield with a cracked one, which was a big improvement in how it looked, and replaced the severely rusted out front bumper guard. This is what it looks like today while it waits to be worked on.



(Gold 58 Firedome Sits.jpg)



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ToMopar
Posted 2022-11-30 3:08 AM (#625981 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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Nathan,- you are one of the craziest guys I know. I am proud to know you in person.
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22mafeja
Posted 2022-11-30 3:21 AM (#625982 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: RE: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe


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Nathan, you should send an application to the Big Man Above for a couple of decades extra life time due to your many FWL projects!
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Powerflite
Posted 2022-11-30 10:36 AM (#625989 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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I can't disagree with you. But this one should be fun for me because I will get to try swapping roofs & quarters to fix it, instead of the more time consuming patch job. Of course there is a major dent in the right rear quarter & rust in the C-pillars that I will need to address before I can do that.



(Gold 58 Firedome RRQuarter Damage.jpg)



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Powerflite
Posted 2022-11-30 10:50 AM (#625991 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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John at BigM kept an eye out for a good donor for this car, and yesterday, he delivered this Copper Glow/Desert Beige '57 New Yorker sedan to rescue the Firedome from it's otherwise bleak fate. The wheel lips on this car aren't overly impressive, but the floors & trunk are in amazing shape with the only visible rust being at the rear-most seam in the trunk.

I won't need any of the outer body panels from this car to use on the Firedome - just the floors, rockers & firewall, so I am planning to use the left rear quarter & wheel tub from this car on my red '58 Fireflite to give it back most of the parts it needs. I'll need to fix the damage & rust on the wheel lip before I do. Unfortunately, I can't use the rear frame section from this car on it, because of the differences in leaf spring lengths from '57 to '58. I could just swap the whole frame over, but not sure I want to mix & match between them that much.

Edited by Powerflite 2022-11-30 3:19 PM




(Copper 57NY Sedan Parts Car.jpg)



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Powerflite
Posted 2022-11-30 11:31 AM (#625992 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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This is the body tag from this NY parts car, revealing that it was built in Los Angeles. It's neat to see a Chrysler trim 17 car in person. I'll post pictures of it later.



(Copper 57NY Sedan Body Plate.jpg)



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Powerflite
Posted 2022-12-24 5:44 PM (#626531 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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The top section from the left rear door on the Windsor sedan parts car I had should come in handy to repair this part of the quarter panel. I'm not sure how much of it I will end up using vs. straightening what is already there, but I doubt I will be able to straighten that panel without cutting that section out first because of how heavily dented it is. This door panel gives me better options to replace the rusted area as well. But I am using it with caution because the fins are longer and more narrow on the sedan, so I will need to pay attention to put it exactly where it fits, and use as much of the original fin as possible - especially at the front-most section.



(Gold 58 Firedome LR Door panel.jpg)



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frwl
Posted 2022-12-25 1:22 PM (#626543 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: RE: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe


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The car has a solex glass, but SG slot on the cowl tag is empty.
Does the car have tinted windshield only or all-around tinted glass? What about power equipment?
Looks like the M1 thru M9 slots are empty. Nathan, the pictures of engine bay and inside the car would be appreciated!




(1.jpg)



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Powerflite
Posted 2022-12-25 8:16 PM (#626548 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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Yes, surprising to see all the option slots completely empty. The engine bay is mostly empty so not much to show. The inside is a mess, but I will post pictures when I get to tear down. But these are the options I can see on it:
1. Solex glass all around
2. Power brakes
3. Power steering
4. 705 Heater
5. 5 button radio
6. Rear defogger
7. Rear speaker? It might have been added later. But it's there, just moved to the wrong spot.
8. Windshield washer

Manual windows, manual seat, clock & padded dash like all New Yorkers, standard painted rear view mirror. It also has pop-out little rear windows.

Edited by Powerflite 2022-12-25 8:32 PM
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frwl
Posted 2022-12-26 11:20 AM (#626564 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: RE: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe


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Thanks for reply, Nathan.
I will be waiting the cabin pictures.
And could you post the Firedome data plate, please?
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Powerflite
Posted 2023-01-12 3:41 PM (#626903 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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I don't have the Firedome data plate. Kurt may have never given it to me, but too long ago to remember now. I'll have to get the IBM card on it to tell anything about it.

The '57 New Yorker parts car didn't come with a trunk lid, and I don't have a spare to put onto it. With all the rain we have been receiving here, I didn't want it to get soggy in there or to fill up with tree debri so I put the trunk lid skin from my '58 Fireflite that I cut up onto there. Works pretty well to keep it clean & dry.



(57NY Parts Car Trunk Cover.jpg)



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58DeSoDodge59
Posted 2023-01-12 10:02 PM (#626907 - in reply to #626903)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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IBM
Data Plate



(goldibm.jpg)



(58goldwhite.jpg)



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frwl
Posted 2023-01-13 6:15 AM (#626915 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: RE: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe


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Thanks a lot for the pictures, Kurt!
According to the serial number printed on the IBM card 2-10065 (I think LS2-10065 would be correct), this is 65th 1958 Firedome built while the schedule is 053 (that means December 18, 1957). Are they built 65 cars for 53 labor days? Overall 1958 Firedome production is 17479 cars. It is too little for almost two months…

The five digits 24140 (LS2-4140) printed below sounds more plausible…
So, what serial number is correct?
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Powerflite
Posted 2023-01-13 10:56 AM (#626918 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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Yes, thanks Kurt. Could you email me a large picture of the IBM for my records? I am guessing that you figured out that dealer code 38271 was Bush Motor Co. , Guntersville, AL from the sheet that was included from Chrysler historical?

The correct VIN is LS2-*10065, which is the 9065th Firedome built. The first Firedome was **1001.

Edited by Powerflite 2023-01-13 2:39 PM
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58DeSoDodge59
Posted 2023-01-13 11:17 PM (#626928 - in reply to #626918)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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I sent you an email, but you should have the Title, Data Plate & IBM card original copy. I sent them with the
extra front bumper guard, (and probably a couple other things).
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Powerflite
Posted 2023-08-25 1:10 AM (#631547 - in reply to #625976)
Subject: Re: Gold '58 Firedome Coupe



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It's going to be a while before I get into this one, so I put some tail lights and a rear bumper on the parts car to make it look more complete while it is sitting there. The left lens was smashed in many pieces so I used 90 sec epoxy to glue it back together.



(57NY Parts Car w-Bumper.jpg)



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