|
 '56 Firedome CoupeJump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 1 [50 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Forward Look NON-Technical Discussions -> Members Rides | Message format |
Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391    Location: So. Cal | 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) Attachments ----------------  56Firedome LFs.jpg (122KB - 304 downloads) 56 Firedome Home.jpg (239KB - 305 downloads) 56 Firedome Body Tag.jpg (203KB - 310 downloads) 56 Firedome Body Tag2.jpg (128KB - 299 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 22mafeja |
| ||
Elite Veteran Posts: 745  Location: Finland | |||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | . 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) Attachments ---------------- 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_4.jpg (209KB - 333 downloads) 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_1.jpg (253KB - 327 downloads) 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_2.jpg (222KB - 331 downloads) 56DesotoPaintCodesDupont_3.jpg (259KB - 317 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | . 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) Attachments ---------------- Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_OE.jpg (75KB - 312 downloads) Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_1.jpg (67KB - 322 downloads) Nathans56Desoto_ColourOption_2.jpg (63KB - 309 downloads) | ||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227  | . 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) Attachments ---------------- Data Plate.jpg (128KB - 307 downloads) Accessory Groups.jpg (64KB - 310 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | 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 ---------------- 56 Firedome Dash.jpg (123KB - 291 downloads) 56 Firedome Seats.jpg (85KB - 288 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | |||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | . 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) Attachments ---------------- 56DesotoBrochurePage_1.jpg (82KB - 299 downloads) 56DesotoBrochurePage_2.jpg (106KB - 288 downloads) | ||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | |||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | 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 ---------------- 56 Firedome Frontend Parts.jpg (210KB - 302 downloads) Loadflite Push Button Shifter.jpg (113KB - 311 downloads) | ||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | |||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | . 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) Attachments ---------------- 1.jpg (68KB - 294 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | 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. | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | |||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I was very happy to find the '55-'56 Chrysler engine mounts in my stash of hemi parts. I didn't think I would ever use these, but kept them around in case I wanted them for some custom mount application. I'm glad I kept them. Does anyone know what the difference is between '55 and '56 mounts? I have no idea which one I have here. There is also a difference between left and right in the part numbers, but I don't really see a difference between these two mounts. One mount had the studs cut off so I welded blobs to them and extracted them to replace. The trunk latch had one lobe of the star wheel broken off and wasn't screwed down tight, making it useless to try to latch it. But I lubed it up and was able to rotate the broken lobe upward. The screws were jammed or rusted stuck, but was missing the upper screw. So I installed anther screw to tighten it enough that it now works OK and latches. I'll work on it more when it's on my driveway with access to a torch to remove those screws without stripping or breaking them. (56 Firedome Engine Mounts.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 Firedome Engine Mounts.jpg (164KB - 281 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | . Nathan: I don't know the difference between the motor mounts (aka "Insulators") but you could use the two or three PNs below (1611011 and 1630685 and maybe 1630684) to search the internet. If the 55/56 Desoto/Chrysler motor mounts are like the 56 Dodge/Plymouth V8 mounts, the PN will be stamped on the mount in at least one or two places. That might help you confirm what you have (or not) Edited by 56D500boy 2024-03-30 11:31 AM (55-56V8MotorMountPNs_1637610DodgePlymouth.jpg) (56DodgePlymouthMotorMounts1637610.jpg) (1637610MotorMount_2ndPNStampingLocation.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 55-56V8MotorMountPNs_1637610DodgePlymouth.jpg (193KB - 309 downloads) 56DodgePlymouthMotorMounts1637610.jpg (137KB - 316 downloads) 1637610MotorMount_2ndPNStampingLocation.jpg (172KB - 299 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | |||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | |||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | Here they are. I found that if you cut a bit from the front edge and bend it slightly at the rear, they could be used on '57-'59 2dr cars, which makes them potentially more useful to me. (56 DCI Coupe Drip Rail Moldings.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 DCI Coupe Drip Rail Moldings.jpg (154KB - 307 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I'm in the process of building Firedome wire covers for my 392 Chrysler engine. First, I sourced a set of plain Chrysler truck valve covers and I am cleaning them up. I haven't yet decided if I am going to paint them dual quad gold or single 4bbl silver. Next, I have to extend the Firedome wire covers 1" total length to make them fit well on the longer Chrysler valve covers. At first I was going to just insert a 1/2" section at each end so I only had to cut up one Chrysler cover, but I quickly found out that the extension part at the rear of the Firedome covers isn't long enough to allow the wires to exit properly with the Chrysler valve cover underneath it. I assume that DeSoto put the mounts closer to the edge of the cover to make it work out. I don't want to move the cover mounts so that means that I have to weld the entire Chrysler end to the DeSoto wire cover and I have to destroy one Chrysler cover for each DeSoto cover I want to make. There are other possible solutions, but I figure this one is probably the easiest. Most people don't realize that there is a left and right version of the DeSoto wire cover due to the direction of writing on it. I checked through my stash, and I have 5 rights and 2 lefts (all Firedome, no Fireflite). So I am cutting up 2 rights since it doesn't matter in this case, as long as I weld it with the proper orientation. I guess two wrongs don't make a right, but two rights can make a proper pair with welding skills. (Chrysler Firedome Cover Differences.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Chrysler Firedome Cover Differences.jpg (138KB - 308 downloads) | ||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | |||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | Yes, these are extra moldings from a different car, in addition to what is already on this car. This car also came with extra rear window trim from another car. This is my welding jig for the right side wire cover. I decided that I don't have to waste the rest of the chrysler cover. I'm going to convert the remainders into a Dodge hemi wire cover, which are harder to find. So I should be able to use all the pieces that I cut apart. (Chrysler Firedome Cover Jig.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Chrysler Firedome Cover Jig.jpg (91KB - 338 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 57burb |
| ||
Expert Posts: 3976  Location: DFW, TX | |||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | Thanks, I was wondering why some have Sportsman and some Seville. The wire cover came out pretty well. All the effort goes in the cleanup process. I had to get out a small grind stone on a dremel to get some of the inner ledge done. I've decided that an all silver engine with red letters is too boring. At least the Chrysler painted the wire covers black to break up the monotony. So I am going to paint these wire covers black with red letters, and the valve covers gold, just like the Adventurer engine. That means I'm on the lookout for a batwing air cleaner without the ribs, like the Adventurer used. I believe the DeSoto used the same carb spacing as the Packard and Chevy, but the Chrysler uses the Cadillac carb spacing. So a Cadillac air cleaner should work perfectly with its rib-less top. I was thinking I got really lucky with these truck valve covers as they didn't seem to need any body work on them. Most of the truck covers I get are heavily abused. But as I was cleaning them up, I noticed one had 2 areas that had been rubbed by something pretty hard and wore away most of the metal, leaving it really thin in those two spots. So I had to weld them up and rework it back to the proper thickness there. Edit: I just found out that the '55-'56 Chrysler batwing air cleaner was indeed on a 9" carb spacing, along with the Cadillac & Packard, but that the '57-'58 Chrysler dual quad is on 7.5" centers, just like on the Chevy & DeSoto. I don't have a '55-'56 Chrysler dual quad intake, so it looks like I'm going to purchase a Chevy batwing instead. The originals were likely the most rare of all, but they have been reproduced for a while, so that makes it a lot easier. Edited by Powerflite 2024-04-05 4:54 PM (Chrysler Firedome Cover Primed.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Chrysler Firedome Cover Primed.jpg (152KB - 292 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | . Nathan: Great job on the "392" extended Desoto wire covers. When you shorten the actual Chrysler 392 covers for the baby (Dodge) hemis, remember that the 56 315 and the 57 325 wire covers had cut-outs for the lifter adjustment bumps. And there were left and right covers as a result. REFERENCE: http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=79122&... Edited by 56D500boy 2024-04-05 4:25 PM | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | Thanks for the diagram Dave. Are those cutouts round or are they "roof-top" shaped? Unfortunately, I only have one valve cover with the bumps in it, and it was quite mangled; but I was able to weld and straighten it out quite well. All the rest of my covers are flat, so I would need another one to go with it. (Mangled Dodge Hemi Valve Cover.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Mangled Dodge Hemi Valve Cover.jpg (221KB - 292 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | This is the color scheme & look I am considering for this car. (1956_DeSoto_Firedome_2_door_Hardtop2.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 1956_DeSoto_Firedome_2_door_Hardtop2.jpg (170KB - 297 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I attempted to make a Dodge wire cover, but ultimately failed because quality control for the early "Red Ram" valve covers is quite poor. This wire cover that I tacked in place, won't work well on any other valve cover. I tried my untouched wire covers on four different valve covers (all Red Ram embossed) and they were all a little different. One valve cover had the lug mount bent over quite a bit, so I straightened it, only to find that it's necessary to bend it in order to get the wire cover on because of where they welded the lug to the valve cover! Also, putting the wire covers on the left side of the car gives you good room for your wires to exit, but putting them on the right side gives you very little room. Very unimpressive to say the least!  So I give up on these and will just leave them tacked in place, so I don't lose the parts, until I actually need to use one; and make it custom fit that particular valve cover. I'll make both of these hacked up covers fit well on the passenger side of the car by either moving the hole or adding material after it, so I won't crimp my spark plug wires. I'm also going to have to remove a couple of the lugs on the covers and weld them in different positions to make them work. I hope the later valve covers are better designed & made than these are. (Dodge Wire Cover Tacked.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Dodge Wire Cover Tacked.jpg (178KB - 335 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | My new batwing air cleaner came in the mail today and actually fits on the engine well. It's beginning to look more like 1956. This was made as a reproduction for a rare '57 Chevy air cleaner, but is an exact replica of the '56 DeSoto air cleaner because they share the same carb spacing, and neither of them have ribs in the top of it. The '56 Chrysler air cleaner used a larger carb spacing with ribs on the top of it, but it turns out that the '57 dual quad has the smaller carb spacing like the DeSoto. I purchased one that can swivel the right side element on an offset to avoid hitting the heater, as it looks like that's what DeSoto used. They were supposed to have included a "V" emblem with it, but didn't include it. Fortunately, they didn't drill holes in the top for it. I would rather not run oil as an air filter, but I don't know what can be done with these without cutting them apart. Does anyone know of a paper filter alternative for them? (56 Firedome 392 Batwing Air Cleaner.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 Firedome 392 Batwing Air Cleaner.jpg (222KB - 290 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I met a couple guys at Spring Fling who brought '56 DeSoto parts to sell to me. I picked up a front bumper, park lights, one painted headlight bezel, upper grill bezel, and the lower dash parts I was missing. He promised me that he would sell me the second painted headlight bezel and the trim rings for them. Hopefully he follows through on it. That front bumper fits really tight in there. It's like a jigsaw puzzle the way it all fits together. I also found the fender ornaments for it on Ebay. I still haven't' decided if I'm going to go with a Chrysler rear bumper & tail lights or not. (56 Firedome Bumper Park Lights Trim Added.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 Firedome Bumper Park Lights Trim Added.jpg (253KB - 294 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | . Nathan: I too am a fan of the 56 Chrysler taillights. That said, the 56 Desoto taillights are not terrible. And you could make both top and bottom red taillights function as running, stop and signal, or add that to the middle "reverse" location and provide an alternative reverse light, e.g. license plate surround. As for the headlight "doors", I think the painted ones for the FireFlites are better than the chrome FireDome ones. Provided your seller comes through with the fragile chromed pot metal headlight door trim. In the past, I have hunted for good trims for my 56 Dodge Custom Royal headllight doors. Hard to find good ones *OR* pay for rechroming less than good ones. Just an opinion (or two) (56ChryslerTaillights.jpg) (56DesotoHeadlightsAndTaillights.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56ChryslerTaillights.jpg (51KB - 305 downloads) 56DesotoHeadlightsAndTaillights.jpg (103KB - 291 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I think it's the rear bumper ends on the DeSoto that I really don't care for. I'm also considering trying to adapt a '55 Desoto rear bumper on there. We'll see how it goes. I just realized that I have to swap the oil pan to a rear sump in order to use the 392 engine in this car. That stinks, I didn't want to have to open it up again. That may incentivize me to just build a 354 for this car instead. | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I purchased this rear fan control knob, which I believe is for the rear defroster. According to the part number 1648981, it is used on Plymouth, Dodge, & DeSoto for 1955-1956. But I can't figure out where it would be mounted on the dash. Does anyone have a picture of where it would mount on any of these cars? (1648981 Rear Fan Switch Knob.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 1648981 Rear Fan Switch Knob.jpg (41KB - 261 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I found this picture of a '55 DeSoto dash with A/C. That knob has BLOWER on it, so this rear fan knob wasn't used for the rear A/C system. But maybe it was located in the same place as the A/C switch? It seems that you wouldn't have a rear A/C setup with a rear window defroster at the same time, so that might be a possibility. (55 DeSoto Dash w-AC.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 55 DeSoto Dash w-AC.jpg (133KB - 285 downloads) | ||
| |||
| wheelcover |
| ||
Veteran Posts: 156 Location: Wyoming | In case you are interested in seeing a 56 DeSoto that sounds like it was pretty similar to yours for paint, I thought I’d post mine. I really like the color combination. I apologize that the pictures are not viewable. Hoping someone can help. The posting process is not intuitive to me and I’ve not taken the time to investigate further. Edited by wheelcover 2024-09-15 7:02 PM Attachments ---------------- IMG_0605.jpeg (110KB - 275 downloads) IMG_7180.jpeg (97KB - 273 downloads) IMG_0606.jpeg (94KB - 277 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | Thanks for the pictures! You have them saved as .jpeg. You can access them in that format, but it won't show them. I put them here with a .jpg extension instead. Mine had the same red color on the body, but with silver on the sweep & roof. (IMG_0605.jpg) (IMG_0606.jpg) (IMG_7180.jpg) Attachments ---------------- IMG_0605.jpg (79KB - 270 downloads) IMG_0606.jpg (68KB - 267 downloads) IMG_7180.jpg (52KB - 283 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I received the new Fireflite headlight bezels that I purchased. I wouldn't really consider owning a '56 Chrysler, DeSoto or Dodge without these bezels. So much better looking than the chrome versions. I was also able to get a radio in really nice condition. Unfortunately, it's from 1955 with a black background and runs on 6volts. I wasn't planning on running it anyway, but I'll have to take it apart and paint the background off-white & the numbers black to match the rest of the dash. (56 Fireflite Headlight Bezels.jpg) (55 DeSoto Radio.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 Fireflite Headlight Bezels.jpg (167KB - 256 downloads) 55 DeSoto Radio.jpg (102KB - 246 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I purchased a reproduction plastic hood emblem for the car. I was told this was purchased from Emblemagic by the DeSoto club. They bought in bulk to get a better deal. It looks really nice. Does anyone know how it is mounted to the bezel from the inside? There doesn't seem to be anything there to hold it in place. Or is there supposed to be just some foam pads that push on it from the hood? If so, it seems like it would be very difficult to keep everything in place as you install it. (56 Firedome New Hood Emblem.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 Firedome New Hood Emblem.jpg (151KB - 256 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I purchased a rear bumper from a '56 Imperial from John at BigM. My plan is to put '56 New Yorker tail lights & bumper on this car as I like the look much better than the DeSoto. Since I don't have a DeSoto bumper, why not? I just got around to removing all the parts from the bumper and straightening it. It had 2 large, deep dents in it that required a press to remove. My press is in a location that would make maneuvering a large bumper around it impossible. So I used my vice with a large 1/2" thick backing plate instead. This is a really nice vice from the 40's, made by the early Starrett company in Massachusetts. I had to apply a considerable amount of force to get it to work. I used a long bar on the handle to make it easier. Don't try that on a Crapsman or other Chinese vice! Afterward, I placed the bumper on a flat surface and hammered it to get the final shape. The Imperial parts aren't what I need so I mounted '56 New Yorker ends onto it instead. Unfortunately, the bumper bracket was about 2 1/2" too short to mount it! What the? I looked it up and found that 4 dr bumper brackets are different from 2dr bumper brackets! Why, oh why would Chrysler do that? Oh well, the hunt begins. I'm hoping that I don't have to modify the tail light section to get the Chrysler tail lights to mount up. The '56 DeSoto tail light bezels mount on both sides of it, whereas the Chrysler tail light mounts in the middle. It looks like I just need to drill 3 holes in the center to mount it, and make a large access hole for the reverse light. The tail light itself lines up with the DeSoto upper light quite well. I also purchased the V8 & roof emblems for the car and mounted them just for fun. I also mounted the one quarter panel trim that I have just to get it out of the trunk and prevent it from getting bent. I need the other side, as well as the lower quarter trim on both sides. Edited by Powerflite 2024-10-27 12:48 PM (Straightening 56 Imperial Rear Bumper.jpg) (56 Firedome Rear Bumper - Wrong Brackets 2.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Straightening 56 Imperial Rear Bumper.jpg (214KB - 239 downloads) 56 Firedome Rear Bumper - Wrong Brackets 2.jpg (170KB - 269 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | A big thank you to Dave for selling me his AAJ disc brake conversion for this car. Brakes (and steering, if needed) are the first thing I work on when I start a project, so it's good to have it squared away when I am ready to get going on it. (56 Chrysler AAJ Front Disc Conversion.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 Chrysler AAJ Front Disc Conversion.jpg (155KB - 203 downloads) | ||
| |||
| 56D500boy |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10787 Location: Lower Mainland BC | . Good to know that the kit finally arrived. I've been tracking the parcel since last week. For a moment, I thought that it would have been delivered Saturday or Monday but it seemed to get hung up in BELL GARDENS and/or the CITY OF INDUSTRY CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER for longer than I would have imagined. At one point, I sent you a copy of my Rock Auto receipt for the 77 Cordoba 11.75" rotors, bearings and seals. Let me know if you need me to send that again. Good luck on the install. If you happen to take photos, I would appreciate one that shows where the spacers get involved. | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | |||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | Benny Buckner has a '56 DeSoto with dual rear antennae on it. I'm not sure if it's an Adventurer or a Fireflite, but he measured the position from the end of the fin for me. The antenna is located 9 3/4" from the end of the fin body, not including the tail light bezel. My new bezels should be here in a week or so, and when they arrive, I will put a set of them on this car - and many others too. The shape of the '56 DeSoto/Chrysler fin is very similar to the '57 up fin and they mount the antennae at the same angle as the newer cars. For that reason, the bezels are interchangeable. The only difference between the original '56 DeSoto bezel is that it was a little bigger around at the base end, but not enough to make a noticeable difference. It's interesting that none of the '56 Chryslers came with these dual rear antennae. At least, that's what the parts book says. It was exclusive to the DeSoto for some reason. (56 DeSoto Dual Rear Antenna Position.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 DeSoto Dual Rear Antenna Position.jpg (158KB - 152 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I purchased a new hood for this car from Ryan in San Diego to replace the heavily dented one that was on it. It was repairable, but you would have to remove the inner structure first to get to the back side, and then spend many hours on it. This one was from a '56 Imperial and just needs repair to an enlarged hole at the peak of it, which isn't covered by the inner structure. Ryan helped me mount it on there, but I didn't spend any time to align it properly. I need to find my spare hood catch so I can latch it on now. Other than this, the only body work this car requires is an easy to fix, small dent in the trunk lid and a small amount of rust in the lower rear quarter on one side. Not much before it can be painted for real. (56 Firedome Replacement Hood.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56 Firedome Replacement Hood.jpg (241KB - 64 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Powerflite |
| ||
Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 10391 Location: So. Cal | I pulled the rear axle from this car to swap in an 8 3/4 from a '67 C-body. Why, you may ask? It's not because it has bad brakes, because it doesn't. The 11" brakes likely work fine. It's not because it isn't strong enough, because that's not true either. It's not because it's too much of a pain to remove the hubs, because if you use the right tool, it's never hard to do. It's not because it uses a non-existent u-joint because I can just swap out the yolk. It's because I like to run good highway gears like 2.76 or 2.93 and I am unable to get those for these '55-'56 rears. So I swap them all out so I can get the gearing I want. All the other "benefits" are just a bonus. But I don't swap out '57-up rears because there's no reason to do so. I can just shorten the axles by 1/8" on those to run the newer gear sets in them. Either that or find an older spec 2.93 gear set and run that in them. The original rear is an 8 3/4 size, but not the same as the '57-up version. It uses 11 nuts to hold the 3rd member in place, instead of 10 like the later ones. It measures 60.625" from drum to drum and 46" perch to perch. '57-up rears have a 45.5" perch to perch measurement. Not sure why they changed it slightly like that. But the drum to drum measurement is exactly the same as '57-'61. The C-body rear is 1 1/8" wider than this, so I *might* need to add 1/2" of backspacing if I want to use really wide wheels in the future. I was surprised to find that this axle had vibration dampeners installed on the leaf spring. Should I put them back in? I am thinking not to. I think I would prefer to have a more solid attachment to the spring. But I don't have experience using these things on there to know what the difference would be. (56Firedome Original Rear End.jpg) (56Firedome Spring Pads.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 56Firedome Original Rear End.jpg (239KB - 53 downloads) 56Firedome Spring Pads.jpg (236KB - 59 downloads) | ||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | frwl - 2024-03-26 2:26 PM 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 SG – 4 – Accessory Group No. 4 – see attachment below M3 – 1 – Sun Cap Visor (Windshield Upper Moulding) and Drip Rail Mouldings M5 – 2 – ? M6 – 2 – Sweep Moulding and Colour Insert M8 – 4 – ? M9 – 8 – Delivery Route Does your car have a Windshield Washer? While a Rear Air Foam Seat Cushion? (Data Plate.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Data Plate.jpg (128KB - 45 downloads) | ||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | . The foam rubber in the seats was standard on Fireflites and optional on Firedomes… The sun cap visor was standard on both Firedome and Fireflite Sportsmans and optional on Firedome Sevilles, Wagons and both FD and FF Sedans… The windshield washer was optional for all… Here the ’56 DeSoto body codes (yours has code 22): FIREDOME: 25 – 4-Door Sedan 22 – Seville 2-Door Hardtop 24 – Seville 4-Door Hardtop 26 – Sportsman 2-Door Hardtop 21 – Sportsman 4-Door Hardtop 23 – Convertible 20 – 4-Door Station Wagon, 6P FIREFLITE: 35 – 4-Door Sedan 36 – Sportsman 2-Door Hardtop 31 – Sportsman 4-Door Hardtop 33 – Convertible 43 – Pacesetter Convertible ADVENTURER: 40 – Sportsman 2-Door Hardtop (airfoam.jpg) (sun cap visor.jpg) (windshield washer.jpg) Attachments ---------------- airfoam.jpg (19KB - 44 downloads) sun cap visor.jpg (40KB - 57 downloads) windshield washer.jpg (41KB - 54 downloads) | ||
| |||
| frwl |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2227 | . (1.JPG) Attachments ---------------- 1.JPG (58KB - 53 downloads) | ||
| |||
| Burnemup |
| ||
Veteran Posts: 156 Location: Simi Valley, CA | |||
| |||
| ronbo97 |
| ||
Expert Posts: 4187 Location: Connecticut | |||
| |||
| Jump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 1 [50 messages per page] |
| Search this forum Printer friendly version E-mail a link to this thread |
| (Delete all cookies set by this site) | |
