Well, it’s over. The search for an early 50’s station wagon to replace the wrecked ’51 Pontiac wagon ended with this ’52 DeSoto. A friend in Windsor sent me the link to an old CraigsList ad from Wisconsin for this car. Several fruitless attempts to get a responses finally ended up with a phone call from the owner. A deal was struck, and this weekend Kim and I are going to New Ulm, Minnesota (not exactly in the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from there) to pick it up.
We’ll decide what the mechanical upgrades will be for sure once it’s here, but at this time the (tentative) plan is for a late mode 5.7 or, if I can justify the extra money, a 6.4 Chrysler Hemi and transmission, disk front brake conversion, and modern rear axle, probably a Ford Explorer. That would give me disk brakes all around, the same 5 on 4 1/2 bolt pattern so we can keep it looking original on the outside, and all new under the skin. The little 276, while it’s nostalgic and very, very cool, would be great to display with the hood up at car shows and cruise nights, but now what we want to be traveling with towing our Spartan. Maybe a new roadster…
The car has its original 276 “Firedome” Hemi, which, according to the owner, hasn’t been started in the 10 years he’s had it, but was purported to be a “good runner” when he got it. (I dunno, I think I’d have gotten it running, but that’s just me) It does turn over and, he says, has compression. The brakes he said he had rebuilt and replaced all the lines, so it at least has brakes to help load it safely.
He has the missing headlight rings, the only missing bit is that right park lamp housing. The chrome is unknown, having been painted over with silver paint by the previous owner, but we can see original chrome under the paint on the grill teeth and bumper guards, so I’m throwing caution and common sense out the window and hoping for the best on the big heavy bumpers. The paint is also claimed to be original, with no body work evident aside from some uncomfortably vague reference to “some work” having been done to the pan under the tailgate, but it raises and lowers with out issue (he says) and the crank-down rear window works.
I guess I’ll go with all that for now.
I am not crazy about the dark mustard-brown color, but it’s supposed to be the original finish, and it looks intact and pretty good, at least in blurry photos. I do like the tu-tone treatment, the ivory roof and window frame panels both Kim and I like. She’d like it done in a Honduras Maroon, so that can be done as we’re going to hot-rod the car anyway.
These cars, and slightly fancier cousins the Chrysler wagons, have really lovely interiors with ribbon grain mahogany rear panels and floors, accented by polished stainless rub rails. We both really like that treatment, which I’d copied in our own Pontiac wagon. This is the car as it sets now, it’s worn and you can se the panels need replacement, but that’s simple. I think I’d like to do the door panels to match, with a vinyl insert for accent as opposed to all upholstered. The seats I vision in an alligator print vinyl, in a tobacco color, which is how the Chrysler wagons were done. Should be pretty.
I found this NOS “Car-Pac” wood and aluminum roof rack. They’re still made, and I’ve talked to the company that builds them. I can buy this one for half the cost of new, including the clamps and pads, but I have to get the car here to measure, because these are NOT universal fit, but a tailored to the specific car they will be used on. I’ll get dimensions of the roof when it’s here, contact the company, see if this one will fit, and if it does, buy it, if not, probably buy one new, as these guys have been so helpful with information. It’d look great on the car, and match the interior perfectly.
The Riviera project, which I was working every day on, suddenly became a chore. I put some feelers out, and the guy who bought the other Riviera I got with mine stepped up and is buying it as a project. He has a restored but wrecked one that needs a frame, so his plan is to pull that body, put on the chassis under mine with the Air Lift suspension and LS drivetrain, and probably the nice under dash A/C unit as well. I offered it at less than I had in those components. If I’d finished it, I’d still lose money, and more of it, so now is the time to let that go and clear the decks.
I also sold my ’76 GMC Dually pickup, to some friends from Finland who have a vacation home in the states. After I got the Ram done, there’s no need for it, and I don’t want to see it just set around. They’re happy, I’m happy. Everybody wins.
So, everything changes, retirement marches on. Winter is more than half over, we’re excited for the changes and new adventures. Stay tuned, there’s lots more to come!
Cool McCool's Garage 