Vehicle Description
DeSoto was an American car manufacturer and a division of the
Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to 1961. Sharing parts and platforms
with Plymouth and Dodge over the years, they began as a more entry
level option to mid-luxury scale of cars to compete with Pontiac,
Studebaker, Oldsmobile, and Hudson. With World War II ending,
production began refocusing more once again on civilian
automobiles. The DeSoto had great success with its new Virgil Exner
"Forward Look" designs that incorporated massive fins and triple
taillights on their new sleek and modern body work.
The Firesweep model was introduced in 1957 during DeSoto's short
lived glory years that would end in 1959, as the company itself
would close its doors only 2 years later. Based largely on the
Dodge Coronet, with its iconic heavily chromed headlight housings,
the Firesweep would keep its famous DeSoto tailfins and front clip
and be featured in multiple body styles. The first year of the
Firesweep production would be its best with great sales figures
that showed its affordability, luxury appearance, and strong
performance were indeed in a wonderful balance of each other.
We are proud to offer this immaculately restored 1957 DeSoto
Firesweep Sportsman finished in an eye-catching exterior
combination of Dusty Orange and Black, with a Black vinyl and
Orange cloth accented bench seat interior. Power is brought to the
rear wheels by installation of a 345ci Hemi V8 engine with dual
quad carburetion that produces a stout 345 horsepower mated to a
3-speed column-shifted manual transmission making for a truly rare
and celebrated hemi engine and 3-pedal manual transmission
combination. This hemi engine was an available option for the
DeSoto Adventurer model Firesweep and was upfitted to this
Firesweep in period correct fashion during the restoration. Other
features include Torsion-Aire front suspension, chrome body
molding, Kelsey-Hayes chrome wire spoke wheels with BF Goodrich
Silvertown wide whitewall tires measuring 8.50-14, 4-wheel drum
brakes, radio and heater deletion, interior courtesy lights, and a
spare tire in trunk. It makes for an aggressive, no-nonsense muscle
car ready to sneak up on someone with some straight-line stoplight
action, then slip into the night with those gorgeous, luxury
looks!
This prized DeSoto has been treated to a full body-off,
nut-and-bolt rotisserie restoration by its previous owner Bob
Schmidt who was a post-war Chrysler restoration specialist. No inch
was left untouched as the exterior paint, under hood presentation,
and undercarriage remain in amazing condition ready to show off at
any car show or specialty Mopar event. Upon its arrival at our
museum, we have continued to care for this Firesweep to make sure
it drives as nice as it looks. This included flushing the gas tank
up to the carburetors with fresh fuel, changing the engine &
transmission fluids, along with an overall tune up. With
approximately 30 miles driven since the restoration was finished,
this Desoto remains a showstopper in presentation. It has been
showcased since 2013 at the esteemed Gateway Automobile Museum
Collection alongside 50+ hand-selected vehicles under owner John
Hendricks guidance. It is available for the first time once again,
ready for someone to celebrate the hard work that has gone into
this stunning classic. Thank you for your interest in this rare
1957 icon of American automobile history and please contact us with
any questions or to schedule a visit to our showroom!
