Folks Of Interest A Sad story about Stout Auto Clubs Desoto Firedome....

I went to tech school right after I got out of High School for Auto Body... It was pretty Rad... I learned a basic skill the help me fix and repair cars. Its funny how hard it was to actually do that to your own cars... and after working 10hr days at a body shop I decided I should go back to college and learn skills that would help me live a healthier lifestyle...

So I went to the University of Wisconsin Stout for Industrial Design.

The first semester I was at Stout I met this group of guys that were part of "Stout Auto Club".... and some of those guys I'm still good friends with today. We share a lot of memories... like a FRAT almost.

Most of these memories revolve around a Club car... a 1954 Desoto Firedome 2dr Hardtop. A rare lil car... The club had been working on and fixing up this car since 1970 something... long before I was born- it was just as much a part of Stout as the Bell Tower to most of us.



We took that car shows... The Cheaters show in Milwaukee, BTTF's in St. Paul, We put on our own Show, you name it. I'm sure plenty of hambers have seen it or remember it from back in the day...

For a lot of kids this was their FIRST introduction to an old car... and they just joined up because they wanted to learn.

This is where the story turns kinda SAD....

A year or so after I left Stout. One of the Alumni, Ross Johnson (
http://kroozngold.com/) took the car and put it in storage. He somehow acquired the title and decided he wasn't going to give it back. He had told me in the past that he had always wanted the car...

Now the club.... low on funds... started to do this the legal way but couldn't afford it... and for the last 5plus years none of the kids that have gone to Stout have been able to share what we did with that car. I can't imagine my life at Stout if it hadn't been there... I'm sure others here on the hamb can't either...

They've been negotiating with Ross to get the car back... with phone calls etc... and he finally agreed to give up the car. So today... was the day... and I finally got a text that "we have the desoto"....

I was totally overjoyed!!! But.... a couple things were missing.
The rebuilt 330 HEMI
and the chrome grill...


The two most expensive parts of the car to replace.... neither of them belonged to Ross so this straight up THEFT. The club has documented everything... so they have grounds to go after him for $$ in court.

I have no idea how someone can do something like this... and live with themselves...

Ross says the Hemi threw a rod and he scraped the block... and really didnt have an explanation regarding the chrome grill teeth...

I'm writing this thread to raise AWARENESS that this happened... Ross Johnson used to be on the board. I'd prefer we dont mother-&#!*& Ross here in this thread... thats not the intent...

I'm hoping that maybe there are some people here on the Hamb that can help this club get the Firedome back in one piece... if they know of where the club can locate the right HEMI and grill etc...

The club has a Facebook page dedicated to bringing the dome home:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bring-Home-the-Dome/158355690853301

You can contact the club president or post there on the wall if you have any leads as to where we can find a Hemi etc...

I'm an optimist... and I'm looking forward to seeing this car back on the Stout Campus cruising around being an advocate for Antique and Classic cars... I'm excited we got the car back... I'm more than a little bummed it wasnt in one piece...

 

That guy probably sold those parts. I think you should consult an attorney or file a small claims court action against him. Total bs.

 

legally if he had the title in his name it's his car. Sad though.

 

Actually he tranfered a copy of the title.. the club had found the original... so technically it wasnt...

 

nice car, cool story, well, except for the obvious part about the missing parts. but this being the hamb, i'm sure people will step up to the plate and make sure this story has a happy ending. good luck.

 

Thanks for making us aware of this predicament Tuck.

I'll check some of my sources for parts.

 

WOW, nice to hear it's back in the right hands! What an ordeal. I hope they can find a HEMI and a grill, so it can LIVE on!

 

Tuck.

Thats a shitty story that has a great end! Stoked the club got the car back! Engine and grille are minor compared to gettin it back!

This is a big ol place.. the HAMB. whos up for findin a engine????

J

 

Sue him... i remember seeing it at the cheaters, and a few posts over the years about it. Is there a law section of Stout? Get some students involved, make up some good BS to tell the law students and tell them they will be famous buy representing there school

 

I'd be careful what you're posting about the guy here on an open forum. If he screwed you out of a car without a care I would suspect he wouldn't hesitate to take legal action to file a case of slander against you. If you wanted to vent and seek help I would have not have used the guy's name or business web site. Sad as the story may have been some times the bad guys win. Good luck on finding your missing parts.

 

Super lame. Glad it's back, and hope he gets his.

 

On his discription of the Olds in the Texaco car of the decade it states. "A 1954 Desoto grill was added."

 

This person is a piece of shit.

 

Just to be clear...his olds had the desoto grill in it while the current desoto still had its grill...so I am sure it isn't the same grill..

BTW..i drove the car from menomonie to the cheaters show, it is a nice car and hopefully we can find the right parts to get it complete..

either way I look at it...Ross screwed up...

What kind of a "restoration shop" throws out a vintage v8 engine, worth alot of money, simply for a thrown rod?

Nads...you RULE!

tok

 

Was it bargained for that the car would be bought back with or without the grill and engine? If you negotiated and paid for the car back with the expectation that the car would be complete, but he delivered the car without them, then you can try to sue in small claims for a breach of contract by delivery of a non-conforming good. The nice part about a small claims suit is that you don't need to hire an attorney to represent you. However, depending on the dollar limits, you may be exceeding the limits for small claims. I know in NJ small claims goes up to $3K, then for claims of $3K-$15K, claims get filed in the Special Civil part. Larger claims go to the Superior Court Law Division. A rebuilt Hemi and grill for that car are definitely worth $3000 or more. You may want to consult an attorney in the area to help out. I wish you guys were closer, I'd love to at least lend a hand. I hate seeing this stuff

Glad you at least have the car back

 

I agree. Looks to me to be a match and same number of teeth too.

Corners are not there, but probably could be 'found'.

What about the hood? Is that gone too?

 

Tuck, and all the other alumni I vaguely remember, I'm glad you're still in this. Good to see the car is back in the right hands.

As far as the grille and Hemi go; well, I wish it would've turned out better. Obviously nobody in their right mind would trash a complete Hemi, thrown rod or not.

Now begins the daunting task of finding a grille and a replacement engine.

 

Sad..........

 

Yeah that grill in his Olds is his... thats not the same one- Lets keep this as clean as possible. The main focus here is helping the club get the car back on the road! I know everyones excited we got it back... it just sucks they can't drive it and celebrate.

I'm sure a new grill in good condition would run a few grand... and a rebuilt desoto hemi is another 4-6 grand... the club could rebuild it as a project... but first they need to find one-

It would be nice if he just gave the parts back. I'm sure he still has them... but at this point in the game... what do you do? The club has plenty of options... and trust me they'll pursue them.

But in the mean time... be happy we have the car back!

 

It would be too bad if his car got scratched when it was parked somewhere ...I'm just saying pay backs are a BITCH.

 

Great that you guys got the car back. Now to find the missing pieces!

 

sorry Tuck, but put me down for an X2 on Nads comment.

Tok, you're a ruler dude!

 

Just wanted to add, the '52-54 DeSoto used a 276ci Hemi, not a 330. The '55 was still low deck at 291. The 330 was tall deck and a 1-yr only deal for '56. The 341 was '56 Adventurer and '57 non-Adventurer, and 345 was '57 Adventurer.

Fortunately for this project, the 276ers seem to be fairly common and not quite as expensive as the later engines.

Good luck to you guys. That DeSoto is absolutely beautiful. FYI, I did a craigslist nationwide search the other day and I could swear there was a '54 DeSoto grille for sale somewhere. I might try another search tonight to see if I can come up with it.

 

The orig 276 Hemi was replaced with the 56 330.. (-:

 

Some people have no conscious!!!!! Hope the club is able to get every thing back and more!

 

hmm, giving that, sounds like it might be time for a 331 or 354 then - a 392 might be a bit overkill.

 

dont worry karma has a way of dealing with assholes like this. he will gets whats coming to him.

 

Or find a block that needs some TLC, that would be a sound replacement for a rebuild.
Must be a worn Hemisphere round heah somewheres.

 

Povertyflats comes to mind.
Paul, any early hemis lurking about?