It’s now time to return to the account of my recent road trip to visit my father in Central Georgia. When we last left the story, I was being Passed On The Left by a really nice ’73 Trans Am ‘trailer queen,’ and storm clouds appeared to be brewing on the horizon.
Sure enough, it got more and more overcast as the day wore on, and as I’ve experienced before, the bottom literally dropped out once I crossed the mountain ridges Northwest of Chattanooga, TN.
Traffic came to a virtual standstill as we picked our way around trees down across the interstate and flash flooding across parts of the highway.
As we were creeping along, I caught a glimpse of something interesting up ahead. It took a good 15-20 minutes of careful lane changing in the creeping traffic to sneak my way close enough to identify a semi trailer loaded with 1957 Derelict! Dilapidated! DeSotos!
As I pulled in closer, there was an added bonus: a 1962 Chrysler 300H riding up in front. The two DeSotos on top are FireFlite models riding on the longer 126″ Chrysler chassis. The four-door sedan in front appears to be painted in Frost White and Capri Blue, and the FireFlite Sportsman two-door sedan in back looks to be dressed in Charcoal Gray and Frost White. There were fourteen different colors available for the FireFlite trim, which could be mixed and matched pretty much any way you wanted. FireFlites received a four-barrel carb’ed 341 c.i.d. (5.6l) V8 engine making 295 hp, which sent power through a pushbutton-controlled TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission.
The two cars riding on bottom are FireSweep models (riding on the 122″ Dodge chassis), with a Light Aqua (or Mist Green, hard to tell) two-door Sportsman in back and an all-black FireSweep four-door up front. Power came from the same 341 c.i.d. engine, but with a two-barrel carb, sending its 270 hp through the same pushbutton TorqueFlite transmission as on the FireFlite.
The Chrysler was of less interest to me, but I’ll include the best shot I have of it, which reveals the slant-eyed headlights introduced in 1961.
One could make a strong argument that the 1957 DeSotos represented the very apogee of the brand (at least at the beginning of the model year). The ’57 Adventurer with its “one horsepower per cubic inch” 345 c.i.d (5.7l)/345 hp engine was perhaps second in performance only to its Chrysler 300C contemporary. But even with much going for the brand, it was being squeezed by offerings from above by Chrysler and from below by Dodge—both of which were beginning to creep into the middle-price market at which DeSoto was aimed. It didn’t help that the ’57s had severe quality problems (DeSoto had in part built its reputation on high quality), fast rusting and leaky door seals being just two of the self-inflicted woulds that would contribute to the brand’s death a mere five years later.
We’ve got plenty more CC coverage of the DeSoto and its stormy final years, including Laurence Jones’ pieces on the ’56 FireDome and ’58 FireFlite as well as coverage of a ’57 FireSweep in much better condition than these by Jason Shafer. Not to mention a “guest writer” piece on the 1960 DeSoto Adventurer.
The DeSotos and I eventually made it through the storm and speeds picked back up when we parted company at I-75 with me headed South. I can always tell I’m getting near to Atlanta, because the traffic pace increases significantly. I bet the average speed must hit at least 88 mph—I can even provide photographic evidence in the next episode…
With all those fins, it’s amazing the whole trailer didn’t just lift off in the storm, ha ha ha.
Quite the amazing sight.
“amazing the whole trailer didn’t just lift off in the storm, ha ha ha.”
Quite the opposite – that trailer must have been incredibly stable at speed, what with four full sets of “stabilizer fins”. Probably why the finless 62 was parked right up behind the semi tractor. 🙂
Even a Ford & GM fan has to admit those 57 Mopars are so stylish compared to the opposition,I actually prefer the 55 & 56 Desotos as they’re not as flashy.I hope we can see some after pictures of these cars
Given the obvious care and consideration in how the two on top were loaded, one can only speculate where these were headed. I won’t think about that.
However, great find! Or would that be finds? It’s hard to tell about the underneath sides, but these really look pretty decent. Let’s hope for the best.
That occurred to me, looking at the pics. But if they were crusher-bound, they’d have been “processed” before transport. Hauling pancaked hulks is a commonplace thing, and enables the truck to haul more product with a lower clearance.
I think the guy is under contract to someone who wants to part them out or constructively process them. He, he doesn’t give a rat’s rearend how the cars are loaded; it’s the end buyer who’ll be shocked and dismayed at new damage.
At least the upper 2 are not loaded directly on top of the lower 2.
Wow. Could this be the first sighting of four Forward Look DeSotos on a semi trailer since 1959? And you were there!
I think that the DeSoto is my favorite of the Forward Look 57-58 models. The proportions and the trim details, particularly on the upper-level models, were just right. And who wouldn’t want to drive a car called a Fireflite?
Not only were the cars tremendous lookers, but they were fabulous drivers as well. In the 1957-59 era, nothing else could touch them for their roadability. I still remember the way my 59 Plymouth (which I owned in the late 70s) drove like a car five to ten years newer than it was. It is such a shame that they were rushed through the oven the way they were.
Double wow. I couldn’t agree more Jim, these have always been my favorite Forward Look cars, which have always been my favorite fifties cars. Just look at the clean lines on those last two photos. They always knock me out.
Good thing you had your photographer along, Ed. I might have lost control.
Ad from The Ultimate 1957 DeSoto Site.
Headed to the Desoto retirement village I hope.
Hopefully DeSoto doesn’t rediscover the Mississippi again (as shredded metal on a barge headed to China)…
I don’t know when this was taken, but a major Chrysler junkyard recently closed out west and their stock has been sold off. Perhaps it is part of that stock.
I was thinking that, also – an eccentric collector/hoarder with a field full of used DeSotos rotting in the weeds. Family wants to sell his estate, which involves clearing the trash off it.
Loading, and moving, these old Mopars,is niether easy, or cheap. Somebody has a plan. If they were destined for the crusher,I really can’t see them transporting them,this way.
We can hope for the best.
I agree. My guess is that someone with deep pockets bought the 4 best DeSotos in some all-Mopar wrecking yard to make one or two good cars out of.
I’ll remain the optimist: I can see getting two restored De Soto’s out of those four.
Truckers tell tales of the ghost of a carrier that went off the road back in late Summer 57, they say he still haunts the road with his load of DeSotos, drivng and driving, looking for a dealership thats doesnt exist anymore……
+1 (c:
Ah yes – The Ghostly Adventurer. Isn’t that a show on one of the cable channels?
Large Marge?
Tell ’em Large Marge sentcha!!!!
I think that the Honda Crosstour in the first pic is found in the wild less often than the DeSotos.
Those are actually not too uncommon here in the Middle West…
There are a fair number out here near the coast – I saw two yesterday. Not that it gave me pleasure to do so…
I hope at least one of the 4 door models is saved. In most instances, the 4 doors are the donors for the coupes, and while I do like coupes, I also love seeing regular 4 door models as well.
+1
Sad to think that DeSoto was heading for death row and no appeal a few years after these cars were made.
This reminiscence will cause c to cluck her tongue.
One idyllic summer evening in 1970, when Roger and I were working on our Bultacos at his father’s Dodge store (next to my uncle’s tire store) in Aledo, Illinois, Roger came up with a brilliant suggestion-why don’t we buy a sixer? I supported Roger’s brilliant plan for the evening’s further entertainment, and coughed up the 75 cents that would make this plan a reality. Roger went to the key board inside the dealership, chose appropriate keys, and soon was in front of the Dodge agency with a beautiful 1959 DeSoto 4dr hardtop, white over (I don’t know) Carolina blue? I don’t know what engine was in the thing, probably a 361, but Roger power-braked it, and slowly moved down the street, almost silently, in one the densest clouds of tire smoke that I had ever seen (common NASCAR victory displays today). I was totally knocked out. I went out to the street and was actually able to pick up wads of burnt rubber. A fine evening that would turn out to be.
A neighbor had a red and white one when I was in grade school. I drooled over that thing every day walking home from school.
Sorry i didn’t click on this earlier Ed, fun piece.
I wonder what the story is on the truck with all those DeSotos… where are they from, where are they going… Did you ever find out?
I like how you said, almost as an afterthought, oh yeah there was a Chrysler 300 on the truck somewhere too. I can tell you really like DeSotos!
The ’62 Chrysler 300H is one of my favorites, right up there with the 55-56 Letter Cars.
I’d love to know the story on them, too. Especially how it resolves!
Well thats not something you see everyday.
These aren’t bound for the crusher, that’s for sure. Something tells me that these are probably ‘donor’ cars. Also, if I’m not mistaken, I thought the ’57 Firesweeps used the smaller Dodge 326 2-bbl V-8, not the “big” DeSoto hemi . . . .
I have to call on Laurence Jones being in Oakland/San Francisco to go over to that one junkyard (a small neighborhood fenced in one); just off the Park Street bridge where Alameda goes into Oakland. It’s on a side street off to the side, and as of May 2009, there will still a bunch of old ’50’s cars (with straight bodies) stacked up high; mostly DeSotos. The black plate Cal. tags show most of them stopped being registered (from what I could see through the fence) between 1967 and 1973. Sadly, this yard is just down the road from Schneider Metals on the Oakland Esturary, where many metals are crushed up/busted up and loaded onto bulk carriers bound for China. I pray these cars weren’t bound for Schneider’s yard (sadly, you can’t save ’em all).
Sad for DeSoto. In retrospect, it was Chrysler’s bleeding over the demarcation lines that killed DeSoto more than the ’57-’58 Eisenhower recession. Dodge upmarket; Chrylser downmarket. DeSoto became irrelevant real quick.
When I look at these pictures, I hear “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”