Thanks everyone for the kind words, I am doing what I can with what I have. My little ones are pretty psyched and have told me that I must fix the holes in the floor, lol. El Scotto-that '50 Dodge you guys built is right up my alley! I love it! Steve-the car was that solid. There is some rust in the front floorboards and a little over the headlights aside from the rockers. It appears to have been painted once before a while ago and was undercoated twice. Beneath the undecoating, the paint is in great shape. Luckily it is waaaayyy nicer than my '59 Desoto was!
Just brought home this all original '50 Special Deluxe. Floors are shot. Inner rockers don't exist but oddly enough the body is fairly solid otherwise. Car was bought new in Kankakee, Ill. I'll be watching your progress with extreme interest as I dig further into mine.
Awesome choice for a car! I just got my wife's "Mom-Mobile" running just a couple of weeks ago and she loves it! Oh, by the way, it's a 56 DeSoto 4 door. Sorry I havn't got any pics loaded yet, but I will try to get some posted.
I am still thrashing on my mom rod and wanted to share. The headlight buckets were toast so after searching around my shop, I found some spares from my OT '79 Jeep. Ironically, the mounting holes lined up with the existing ones on the sheet metal! I also installed the chrome bezels from the Jeep. Being that they are not tapered to match the body lines at the top of the fender, they look pretty sharp. Then, finding more spare parts, I mounted a 15gal. gas tank by lengthening the tank straps by about 4". The real issue was that the filler hole was not near the factory location. This was solved by using a piece of steel pipe in addition to the flexible fuel line. Of course a new exhaust had to be fabbed. I don't own a torch or a tubing bender so the angles were cut and welded. The front brakes were in need of rebuilding (wheel cylinders, shoes, hardware, and hoses) so why not get a Scarebird conversion Yes, I do have the stock wheels and it does rub but I am going to use a 5/16" wheel spacer until I can get new disc-friendly wheels. The master cylinder is a dual pot which is located under (but not entirely ) the floor and is mounted behind the factory unit. I gutted the factory unit so I can run an extended pushrod through it. Yes, when I get tired of the lump in the floor, I'll get one that fits under it. And the inner and outer rockers have been replaced/rebuilt in addition to some of the bracing. The welding looks awful, I know. The wire wasn't feeding through the gun consistently. Changing the spool fixed that. Has anyone ever experienced this? Phew, that's all that I can think of. Next will be installing wheel studs for the front disc setup and working on the wiring harness for the dash.
Steve, compared to a non-undercoated car like the'48 Kaiser I have, it looks like the stuff did its job. The only other bad spot is the lip at the end of the hood.
I love it. Go Phinney! It's always really neat to see a father and his son(s) work on a project together. But the idea that you girls are a team, and that all 3 of you will reap the reward of all your hard work and have such fun as you bomb down the road in your Desoto, just tickles me no end. All the best to you guys. The car's lookin' great.
This is AWESOME! I built a 4 door Desoto to, and for the same reason. F%&^'in C****at! I think most DeSotos are cool, they don't get the respect they deserve. Mine
Thanks guys! The best part is that the girls (ages 4-5) already want flames and a flyin' eyeball somewhere on it! Hillbilly, your Desoto looks great-and man is it easier to get the kids in and out of the c****ats with the extra set of doors. What bezels did you use? They really set it off.
My buddy Doug in Schreveport calls em, "no waitin" just open the back door and jump on in. I like that, tu-doors are the preffered ones, but four-doors are super sweet also. my 2 cents, you go girl!! ~sololobo~
The desoto is looking killer. I had the same problem with my welder a few weeks ago... New spool fixed it right up.
Your Desoto is looking great! I have a '55 Firedome 4door that I'm working on too. Hooray for mom cars, and hooray for DeSotos!
Just read the thread and all I can say is "great job" and what a feel good story on the car and your daughters. It is really nice to see a Mom and her kids that know their way around a garage and tools. I'd say good luck but from I have seen from your posts you don't need it. And it sounds like you already have your own car club going there too!
Phinney, those are '56 Olds bezels. I grafted the whole front of the fender on. Here is a full build on the car. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=516827 I'll stop now, I don't want to taint your thread.
Great progress Phinney ! Ive had the same issue with my old welder in the past too. You are well on your way should be cruising this summer eh
Gman, quit being a wuss and just ask her. I'm sure she'd be all for moving out to Possums Crotch with you. haha...
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. The only child that still wants to build a roadster is the big sister, lol. The other two just can't wait to paint the Desoto and yes, we hope to make a cruise this summer to the local ice cream shop. We just found a new one not more than 2 miles away! Glad to hear that my welder isn't the only one feeding inconsistently. It sure makes for a mess of a weld though! Gman, no sisters, no brothers. And Hillbilly, as for moving to Possums Crotch, the name has such a romantic ring to it, there are probably lots of other ladies moving there-don't you think? Seriously I really appreciate the comments, many times when I tell someone I'm working on a Desoto, they just laugh...In my book, it's still a MOPAR!!!
Well, two steps forward and one step back. I had the Desoto out for a very, very short drive last week when it sputtered and died. My mechanic mentor came over and helped me time it. We had her running like a champ so I shut her off. I shored up the wire from the electric choke and shrunk down a piece of tubing on one of the wires leading to the generator and "click" was the gra***ude I received when I next turned the key Rather than trying to troubleshoot, I have removed the small section of the dash that houses the gauges and the wiring harness from the front to the back. Every wire has been labeled in order to replace it and a cheat sheet made listing which wire goes to which terminal. It needed to be done as the insulation was falling off in chunks in the engine bay as well as behind the dash. I really don't want or need the drama of a fire when we are cruising down the road All the grounds will be shiny and clean. I sure hope that the new wires will help since the girls really, really want to take it to get some ice cream! In the meantime, here is a "group" photo. It always amazes me to see the styling differences between the '50 and the '59.
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