That's a '57, might still have a Powerflite in it. The '60 Plymouth parts car I just picked up has a Powerflite in it still. I wouldn't shun a stick DeSoto if it was replacing a Powerflite. Typewriter tranny's need to have 5 buttons, damnit! And none of them are Park.
A mighty cool score that 57, rode in one when my buddy was pickin corn with it when he missed the curve
I love -57 DeSotos. And it has less rust than my old Volvo. Go ahead with your plans. It sounds nice, and as my brother-in-law recently said: Its not like they will be making any more of them. –Right.
He better or I'll hit a guy with glasses!! I LOVE that car..........I think LOVE is an UNDER statement. If you don't want to love her, then I will.
Uh, Christine was a '58 Plymouth... Check out the Despatch on Desotoland.com for Make/model specific info/help... Welcome to the family...
It's your dream car man. Build it. Even though its kind of like my car. Looks a lot better in pictures than in person.
CONGRATS on finally getting her home! They ALL need the quarters, rockers, trunk, floors replaced....its just the way they get you attached to them.. I just found a guy selling on eB__ that has started repopping the quarter panels trunk floor and inside floor panels... You can find rockers are all over the place but these others were like hens teeth. I ordered a drivers quarter and its not bad. It is sure better than the lace. Keep her alive! Viva DeSoto!
Hey man! Seen em all out there. About to break out the card and get em all, too... Eric, yours is a lot better in most ways, but mine has one thing going for it - it ain't a 4dr sedan.
If it has all that rot, watch the rear 1/3 of the frame. But as long as that's good, I'd fix it. I know a guy who's a 57-8-9 DeSoto nut if you need anything hard to find. And I have a few pieces I sawed off one that was headed to the crusher, too. (why do I have a rear bumper? It didn't take much sawing to take the whole rear frame section off the car, and the exhaust ports in it were good). for you's guys who don't know, a DeSoto is more or less a Chrysler with a Dodge dash... and until '58, it's own motor.
Frame looks good from the bottom. From the top, the area just ahead and behind the rear hangars looks fine too. I know that cause I don't have a trunk pan in the way. I need a good decklid and all the metal around the trunk opening.. hahahaaa
You know that, I know that, and Gotgas knows that. But EVERYBODY you meet at the gas station or the grocery store will assume that any Exner-era fin mobile is "just like the one from Christine!" I heard it with my all-black '60 Fury all the time. Do '57 Chrysler trunklids interchange? I think they do. I know where there is a good one, I could look into it. I could probably cut out the surrounding sheetmetal too, but that'd be a huge pain in the ass out in a yard.
I think I actually have most of the surrounding metal for the deck, when I cut up that '57 I took the entire rear quarters from the door opening back, the panel under the deck, and I have a '57 Plymouth valence panel that might work. Have to check if the bottom piece is any good though. If the bottom of that yard car is rotty, a good 18V cordless Sawzall and a spare battery aught to be enough to cut the whole back body off the car.
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