1949 Desoto decision

Theres a 1949 Desoto Delux that came up for sale. All original 2 door. Perfect dash and steering wheel. Complete and about 95% rust free. 1500 buys it. Is it worth it. Are the motor and ****** hard to get parts for? Is this a good deal ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would do it. Shouldn't be hard to get stuff for as long as you know where to look, but thats a damn fine car.

 

I would most certainly get it, but then again I already have three old mopars. Great cars and not to hard to get parts for.

 

Does it have a ***le, does the engine turn, is the chrome nice? Price seems OK but these are not big $ cars so the details are important.

 

If you plan to keep it stock, original (or even if you don't) you could
come over to the P15-D24 forum for 40s and 50s Mopars. There are
some cars of both types there and a wealth of information. You might
lurk over there a bit to see what I mean. I'm BobT-47 P15 there.

 

All the chrome is good ,grill is amazing, and comes with a ton of parts still in the nos boxes. Doesnt run needs starter rebuilt and battery owner said.

 

those old flatheads are pretty easy to get going... if you need a starter send me a pm, I have an extra... you might be able to knock a little off the price, as said above, these are not big money cars, but deserve to be saved as much as any other piece of rolling history

 

I tried 1350 but he rolled his eyes . He has 3 bins of parts and extra bumper. One family car from PA. Tires are a little dry and seats need recovered.

 

Have you at least tried to turn the engine over? Hate to have "just needs a starter and a battery" turn into a full engine rebuild.

Super nice chrome is a plus, is the paint nice, is it stripped, or? Might be a good deal, more info needed, but to me it doesn't sound like a "steal" by any means, unless there's more to it than we're hearing.

 

Paint is original a little faded maybe some areas resprayed . Engine compartment looks super clean, no leaks anywhere.

 

i gave 2100 for a 55 desoto, bigger 291 hemi, 4 barrel factory power everything, and it ran with a clear ***le.

 

buy it not sure about that last post

 

Thanks to everyone who posted info I really appreciate it. The owner said he has alot of trim pieces including a hood ornament nos in the boxes.

 

Chop, shave, french, a hard topped 49 desoto could be pretty different and rad huh.

 

Price up some of the NOS parts and figure from that. $1500 isn't bad for the car but I'd at least want to see it turn over with a compression test if he can't get it to run. A starter for one of those ain't that hard to come by.

 

I'd do it, but I'm a ****er for those.
I would suggest that you drop the pan and clean it out before you try starting it.
These old cars used non-detergent oil back then, and all the junk settled to the bottom of the pan.
Clean it all out and start fresh with some good oil.
Run it off of a gas can to start too. My 47 Chrysler tank was pretty cruddy, and the pickup is right on the bottom of the tank. Good for getting the last drop, but not good if there is any junk in there!
Make sure there is a ***le so you aren't one of those that post asking how to get one after the fact!

 

If there was a ***le and it was within 500 miles of me I'd already have the trailer hooked up. Considering your description and the extra parts I think it is a bargain.

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Thanks for all the advice Hambers !