We’ve gotten used to seeing pickup trucks, sports utility vehicles and “crossovers” filling the roads today when our ancestors thought of a truck as a work vehicle and not something everyday families would own. Yes, there were station wagons but not everyone wanted to be seen in one. What to do? DeSoto had an option with their DeSoto Carry-All that offered sedan seating or a fold down the rear seat for a long load floor through the trunk. A 1949 DeSoto Carry-All is for sale here on Craigslist in Ayer, Massachusetts for $4,500. Barn Finds reader Peter R provided the tip – Thanks!
The DeSoto Carry-All Sedan was based on their Custom Four Door Sedan and on the outside they were nearly identical. But the secret was in the fold down rear seat- not unlike a station wagon, but in 1949 a wagon was not part of the DeSoto lineup. With the rear seat down, a flush load floor was created and 62 cubic feet of load space opened up. The Carry-All fit right in with the rest of the DeSoto line which included a stretch sedan with three row seating and a stretch limousine.
This ’49 Carry-All is said to have been a running car “a couple of years ago,” by the seller, but like a lot projects, he doesn’t have time to put into it. I feel your pain. The photos provided show a car that has rust issues on the door bottoms and some of the chrome may have had silver paint applied to it at some point in the past. The chrome section above the grille is missing, but a replacement might be an easy find.
We aren’t given any photos of the engine bay, but if the original engine is present it will be the 237 cubic inch flat head straight six cylinder. Power output was adequate for the day at 112 horsepower and the drive went to the rear wheels through either a three speed manual with column shifter or DeSoto’s “Tip-Toe” automatic shift. This car has the three speed manual, which in my mind is a better option.
The seller has a couple of shots of the interior and I cannot be sure if the upholstery is the original, but I think the factory seating was covered in cloth. The seat covering looks a lot like the stuff that was in school buses – tough as nails but not the most comfortable. There is one picture of the rear seat folded flat and the load area looks to be in good shape, too. Does this old Carry-All make you want to see the world in it or will you Carry-On without it?
Just the thing for the traveling salesman in all of us. It could also be a cool way to take stuff to and from swapmeets.
Hope it finds a good home.
Could you imagine buying this car, and then traversing the country in it by finding a campground each night, folding the rear seat down, and rolling out your sleeping bag in the back?!?!? How cool would that be!!!!
At this time of year, pretty warm I would say.
That thing has been on CL for at least a couple of years.
Could it be Kaiser-Frazer beat them to this idea a few model years before?
Kaiser introduced their Traveler (Special series) and Vagabond (DeLuxe series) models also for the 1949 model year. The Kaiser models had the rear hatch entry in two pieces – the upper included the rear window, the lower opened down, like a normal wagon tailgate.
The DeSoto DeLuxe (not Custom) Carry-All, introduced in mid-1949, used the regular trunk opening. DeSoto built 2,690 Carry-All sedans for 1949. Seat upholstery choices included all vinyl or broadcloth and vinyl. Chrysler would introduce its version of the Carry-All, the Traveler, in 1950.
In July, 1949 DeSoto started production of the DeLuxe woody wagon – a 3-seat, 9 passenger affair with the third seat in the rear area of the wagon. 850 were built.
I have always liked DeSotos. Never owned one, but missed out on a few buys. I did have a 1951 Chevy Bel Air with a Desoto hemi, but that was as close as I got. Desotos were almost a Chrysler, but a little upscale from a Dodge. I wish Chrysler had continued the line.