Like all other U.S automakers, DeSoto car production stopped from 1942 to 1946 to shift resources to the war effort (WWII). When it resumed, the 1946-48 products were warmed-over pre-war offerings. DeSoto’s first post-war redesign was in 1949, so the 1950 models weren’t changed much. The Deluxe and Custom models were sold in 1950, and the trim level here suggests the seller’s car is a Custom. Up on jacks in a spacious barn/hangar, this sedan is said to have just 24,000 miles and is available in Brighton, Colorado, and here on craigslist. The asking price is $7,000. And we thank Rocco B. for yet another tip.
If your budget had been tighter, the 1950 DeSoto Deluxe might have been your choice. If you had a few more bucks to spend, you could have stepped up to the Custom. The level of trim was the difference, as both series had just one engine, a 237 cubic inch “L-head” inline-6 rated at 109 hp. A “3-on-the-tree” manual transmission was still the way to go. Most of the Customs sold were 4-door sedans like this one, though you could have also opted for DeSoto’s first hardtop coupe.
The seller may have hit upon the right strategy for selling the car. Rather than providing a bunch of details, he/she says that serious buyers can inquire for more details. At first that seems like a lazy approach, but in reality, it will keep away all the time-wasting looky-loos. So, whatever inquiries the seller may receive could be legitimate prospects.
What we know: The seller has a car that has just 24,000 miles, and the interior will attest to that if it hasn’t been redone. The blue paint is faded, but rust doesn’t seem to be an issue. And the car probably hasn’t gone anywhere in a while since it’s up on jacks. But the garage is a mystery in that it’s not cluttered with a bunch of junk like we usually see. It’s squeaky clean with nothing more than the DeSoto in there (as far as we can tell).
Ok, so I get the idea of not wanting to deal with the eejits, but how much extra would it have cost to add “car runs” or “engine turns over”?
Had one identical to this only without the visor and in a factory light blue. Gray interior. 1956-7. Great highway cruiser. Sedate, quiet and no one’s hotrod!
Found fastest accel was starting in lo-lo (2nd gear position), wind it out, depress clutch to get it quickly into lo-hi, wind it out again and manually shift to hi-hi (3rd position). Nicely spaced cogs and not quite the slug it could have been starting out in hi-lo and then waiting for that long crank to wind down to engage hi-hi.
Very confusing, no? Worked, tho’.
Oh, loved the “black light” instruments! Extremely cool!
What are those circular things on the doors?
Do you mean the handle and window crank escusions? (Spelling?)
I think they are very cool!
My uncle the funeral director/undertaker had a ’50 or ’51 DeSoto Limo for a family car to be used in funerals. It was purchased new by his father-in-law for the funeral home. It was black and very cool. The last time I saw it, it was still used occasionally when a family wanted a touch of nostalgia. That was about 1968 or ’69.
The circular things on all the doors’ inside are medallions, depicting Hernando de Soto (c. 1496–1542), who was a Spanish explorer and conquistador best known for helping conquer the Inca Empire in Peru and for leading the first European expedition to reach the Mississippi River. Hernando de Soto was chosen as the namesake for the new mid-priced car brand announced by Walter P. Chrysler on May 6, 1928. The brand “DeSoto” itself was officially founded on August 4, 1928.
Hernando deSoto had a drinking problem… every time the outer lighting was turned on, ol’ Hernando got “lit!”
Bad pun… the acrylic bust on the hood was hooked into the dash lights circuit and was, therefore, dim-able. One more cool thing ’bout the ol’ tub.
Nobody nowadays knows how to work that type of transmission anymore, & the ones who do are thinning out. GLWTS.
Since this DeSoto is the Custom model, it came with the M-6 “Tip-Toe” hydraulic shift semi-automatic transmission and Fluid Drive as standard equipment straight from the factory. It paired a fluid coupling with a 4-speed semi-automatic gearbox and overdrive, letting drivers stop and go without constantly using the clutch. The Tip-Toe Shift with Fluid Drive was built right into every Custom model, as opposed to the lower-trim Deluxe which came standard with a regular 3-speed manual and offered the Tip-Toe as an option.
I agree with RoadDog. Find a specialist neat you before consider buying it!
A high school buddy had a ’48 Chrysler Windsor Club Coupe with the same transmission. IIRC, Lo/Hi and Hi/Lo gearing were pretty close. The Lo/Lo was good for pulling stumps. My ’49 Dodge Coronet had the base 3 speed with fluid coupling (aka: Fluid Drive). As with the DeSoto and Chrysler 4 speeds, once under way there was no need to shift in normal traffic. You could drive it like a two pedal car. The 4 speed, however, had a “kick down” feature that served as a passing gear and downshifted to the next lower gear. Releasing pressure on the accelerator would allow the transmission to “click” and upshift to Hi/Hi.
I drove this car to/from H.S. in 1968 when the cool guys were driving Mustangs and Camaros. But mine had a cello in the back seat, so it was clearly a chick magnet.
Mine had that funky “Tip-Toe Shift” transmission tho this is described in the text above as a three on the tree. The ad text doesn’t specify on which tranny it has, or on anything else.
IMO his price is at least $2k high even if the mileage is genuine. A ’50 DeSoto has almost no cache in any market segment except guys like me.
…Or me. I.like what I see here. My Mom drove a ’50 Chrysler sedan when I was very young and
whether you had a DeSoto or a Chrysler, these cars were huge inside with seats so cushy that they might swallow a small boy.
Lots of room to pick up your friends and take them to church
on Sundays. I still remember picking up Mr. and Mrs Doer every Sunday for services. And
yeah, a guy could get into one of
these with his hat on. Mr. Doer
did it every Sunday. My Mom
showed me pictures of myself standing next to one of those hardtops Russ was talking about.
There I was, standing next to the
DeSoto, holding what looked like
a ’57 Ford toy car. Mom said that
I might’ve been four years old when the photo was taken. Anyhoo, I really like this car.
Call it “stodgy,” as people are wont to do with this generation of Chrysler products, but these were well-built cars. If it’s capable of running & driving with a little effort, I think the asking price is reasonable – it doesn’t appear to be a rust bucket from what little we can see.
Like finding King Tut’s tomb!
I looking at all the extra empty space he has in that garage, I wouldn’t know what that is like, mine has always been packed with stuff. lol!
Where I first saw it I had to think of the little old lady trying to sell her car saying it had been up on blocks since almost new, she was quite the Schister 😜
I’m surprised the Chrysler didn’t go bankrupt after making all these cars from that era. They were ugly. General Motors Studebaker Nash Hudson had modern looking cars. Automatic transmissions were also making the rounds between the companies. Everything that Chrysler built during this era looked old. I wouldn’t have one. Chrysler didn’t look nice again until 1955. I can’t imagine driving one of Chrysler corporations tall, ugly cars during that era. Customer loyalty must’ve been tremendous at that time. There were so many other much more modern looking vehicles. The 53 Studebaker looked like a spaceship compared to these blocky Chryslers. Currently, customer loyalty to Chrysler products is near rock-bottom.
You were not there in 1950, I guess. Whatever you can say about 1950 Chrysler products, they seemed to run practically for ever — even when bought 20+ years old for $25 as “beaters” by those who could not afford anything newer or better. These cars took punishment and neglect, the way that a Labrador Retriever allows a toddler to poke at him or sit on him. The 1949s were actually quite different to the 1950 models, even though built upon the same body shell. 1951 brought Exner’s new front ends to these cars — a great improvement! Those stayed mostly unchanged through 1953, but the ’53s saw Exner fix-up the rears — and the 1953 Chrysler cars were by far the nicest-looking of that entire decade. For 1954, they added bulbousness to tail-lights, and altered the grilles enough to degrade the handsome ’53s a bit. Then it was all downhill with Chrysler’s styling after that!! The “55 Dodge wasn’t too bad, but from then on, FORGET it!!! That “Forward Look” was the most hideous thing on wheels! (well, there might be a few other contenders for pure UGLY — the 1959 Chevrolet, for one)
‘Loved these old Mopars. You didn’t buy these for speed or sportiness – not then, not now. You bought them for cruising comfort, and maybe some respect from your neighbors. Maybe you hadn’t “arrived” yet but you weren’t limited to Plymouths and Chevys anymore. If you were a Chrysler guy, you bought a DeSoto instead of a Buick.
In today’s collector market, as long as there are bargain hunters like Will, Craig, Ken, Todd, and me lurking, these wonderful cars will find buyers. Most of us did not grow up with exotics. We grew up with four-door family sedans with names like Dodge, DeSoto, Ford, Pontiac (“Silver Streak”, right?), Nash, and Studebaker. If nostalgia is part of the game, it’s there, it’s cheap, and it’s satisfying.
I live at the bottom end of the collector-car food chain and I doubt if anyone has more fun than I do.
My first car was a 1951 DeSoto. $75 in 1961. Looked very similar to this one.
The roomy interior accommodated date-night very well.
The fluid drive transmission took some getting used to.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say. I owned a 1950 DeSoto just like this one for nearly ten years. My nephew who was about eight years old at the time used to call it Uncle Bob’s beautiful black car.
Do you mean the handle and window crank escusions? (Spelling?)
I think they are very cool!
My uncle the funeral director/undertaker had a ’50 or ’51 DeSoto Limo for a family car to be used in funerals. It was purchased new by his father-in-law for the funeral home. It was black and very cool. The last time I saw it, it was still used occasionally when a family wanted a touch of nostalgia. That was about 1968 or ’69.
Probably change the soft stuff like fuel lines and do the brakes , couple drops of MARVEL mystery oil [ or diesel] in the spark plug holes and you might just have a ride like hardly anybody elses ! It probbly won’t like modern day gasoline but it will run I bet ! I like it and not a ton of money for not too much work . Pull up to costco in that plush baby ! and a little hard shell turtle wax might do wonders !!