We all know that rarity is not always proportional to value, but it sure gives us something interesting to talk about. And how can you put a value on something that is one of 200 1953 DeSoto FireDome Eight-Passenger sedans? It’s not tagged as a limousine in DeSoto brochures, but you know that it is one. The seller has recently installed the Torq-Thrust mags seen above (which are certainly a love-it-or-hate-it choice on a ’50s DeSoto), but it will also come with more appropriate wide-whitewall tires and wheel covers. Maybe you could have a Jekyll and Hyde sort of collectible: mag wheels for the cruise-ins and wide whites for quadruple-date night. Whatever your reason for buying this FireDome, it’s an older restoration of an 82,000-mile car, and the third owner is selling it on Marketplace in Ionia, Michigan, with an asking price of $18,500.
The FireDome was the upscale DeSoto, powered by the 276-cubic-inch, 160-horsepower Hemi. Given their later powertrain consolidation schemes, it’s always a hoot to think that Chrysler Corporation designed and build Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler Hemis in the 1950s, and that there is little interchangeability among them. The DeSoto was the medium-sized Hemi and would eventually grow to 345 cubic inches in the 1957 DeSoto Adventurer. This Hemi appears to be backed by DeSoto’s $237 “Tip-Toe Shift with Fluid-Torque Drive,” a system whose explanation is best left to those who have some first-hand experience with it (here at the AACA forums). The Marketplace ad simply labels it as an automatic transmission, but that isn’t exactly right from what I can tell.
The seller claims that the car had been restored and the engine rebuilt in the 1980s, but the interior is mostly original aside from the carpet in the driver’s compartment. The bumpers were rechromed and the suspension “partially rebuilt” when the car was gone through, too. Judging by the picture of the trunk, the black paint is not original (it’s a nice, subdued gray), but that’s OK. A black limousine (ahem…eight-passenger sedan) is never a bad choice.
Here are the jump seats that make the 139.5-inch-wheelbase (up 14 inches from other models) FireDome an eight-passenger sedan. The Hemi up front probably has plenty of power to haul around a driver and seven friends, even in today’s traffic.
Ah, that’s better (to me, anyway). The seller says that he is “reluctantly selling to thin [his] collection,” and I think that many of us can relate, even if we don’t want to. The big FireDome “presents very nice, but is not perfect,” so it should be perfect for using it for cruising. Whether or not the price is reasonable or the “I’m trying to sell it, honey!” price, I could not say (it doesn’t seem ridiculously out of line to me, maybe a few thousand high). On the other hand, early ’50s Mopar sedans don’t exactly fly off shelves, no matter how interesting or rare they are, so it will be interesting to see if this one finds a new home with a deserving fourth owner.
My first thought looking the opening photo was, got to lose the alloy wheels. the later photos are withe the period correct caps and WW tires looks great.
Aaron, Very Good Rite-up.
Thank you, Charles!
When I see contemporary, rally-type wheels on a vintage vehicle, I suspect other modifications have been made. That association doesn’t appear to apply to this DeSoto, however, which seems entirely unmolested.
I like those “mag” wheels. But not on this car.
Hmmm. Could this be a trade up for Howard Cunningham? Fonzi would say, “It’s got the V8, Mr. C!”
LOL! Mr. Cunningham’s Desoto is the first thing I thought about when I saw this listing.
I like this car, alot. I like that its a DeSoto, I like the color, I like that it has a Hemi, and I even like the wheels. But if I bought it I would have to live in it. You don’t see many of these in any form (Chrysler had a version too). Most of time they are rough, and restoring one of these is a huge job. Glad this one has the hemi, earlier models had the flathead six. This would be a lot of car to pull around with one of those. If you look at old pictures or videos on you-tube you will see that some of these did taxi duty. Up until some time in the 50’s NYC cabs had to seat at least 5 passengers behind the driver. So DeSoto and Checker were some of the top cabs.
I really like this car too, and would really enjoy driving it around town. I’d bring the interior back to showroom condition – particularly the front seats. It appears the car originated in a dark grey, but the excellent black repaint serves it well, and I’d definitely put the original wheels, caps and wide WW tires back on it, which sets it off so much better. If the motor/trans needed any work, it would be well worth bringing it all back to everyday reliable condition.
Like others, I’m not sure how those jumper seats on the floor in front of the back seat would be of any use – other than making the back seat a great place for the kids to sleep with the back of the jumper seats keeping them from rolling off of it — and with the backs of those seats down – I guess they would make a tall foot stool for those in the back seat, which appears would be uncomfortable. So, they would have to come out and get stored for another 70-odd years.
If it runs well as is and isn’t hiding any undercarriage rust-through, the price is quite reasonable too. Someone is going to really enjoy this rare beauty of yesteryear.
Nice Desoto, 8 passengers? Once the jump seats are up, where do the rear seat passengers legs go? Those jump seat backs are right against the rear seat bottom
Yep – I can’t figure out how those jump seats are of any use at all the way they are in the photos. If they could be turned around facing back with the backs of the seats against the front seat back, then they may work for children to sit with the back seat seating four adults. I’d remove and store them so the back seat had the luxurious leg room this car was meant to provide. — With all that room in the back seat (without the jump seats) a shallow real-wood bar could be fashioned to fit the width of the car against the back of the front seat to provide a very luxurious setting for those in the back seat – and then it could be used as a true limo for proms and special occasions and with its perfect old-world vibe beauty, it would probably be booked solid, and the owner could easily pay for it that way – if he/she had the time to be a chauffeur. – I really like the car and some high bidder is really going to enjoy it for a long time to come.
When the jump seats are occupied, the rear seat would be useful for transporting the family dog or Roman Busts.
Slick unusual car. Like the wheels. If the owner goes to a show or C and C they can put the originals back on. Fun either way.
Note to ……. a lot of men ;
Wearing your ballcap backwards does not make you ” gangsta ” ,
This automobile DOES !
This is an exact duplicate of my Uncle George’s car that he used in his funeral home business In Evansville Indiana. The last time I saw it (and he was still using it) was about 1963. He loved the old girl and I know it was tough for him to let her go. .
In Israel, in 1967, most of the taxis were similar to this, though some had been converted to diesel power. Dodges, Plymouths, and Chryslers were what I saw everywhere. Stretched. I considered moving to Israel to become a foreign ( American) car mechanic, but stayed here and worked on Volvos and Volkswagens.
I also went to summer day camp in Pennsylvania in the early 60’s in cab like this with the jumper seats. It picked up 5 kids. Legs no problem, but longer legs may be, now.
Chrysler used grey paint on the underside of trunk lids no matter the body color in the early ’50’s. Back in the late ’60’s friend of mine had an original ’53 Plymouth Belvedere, factor pink, with a grey trunk compartment. I once read, and I am not certain it’s true, that the grey was the color that resulted from mixing unused paint from the paint line – nothing wasted, you know….
This is a nice car!
Well – that makes sense with the modes of production back then. The same grey paint color of the trunk is also the color of the dash, and so no matter what color the body of the car was painted, the dash would be the same color on all of them. I really like the grey/black combo – even if it wasn’t originally intended that way – and probably any exterior paint color available then would go well with it too.
Also; that same tone of grey paint is being used by Chrysler as an exterior paint color on their current vehicles – particularly their line of Jeeps – and it’s a very attractive exterior color IMO.
You arr absolutely correct. My original pastel grey 50 Dodge had the same dark grey green trunk and underbody paint. Go by the paint on the underhood firewall for original colors on these.
That’s good to know, RNR! I’ll file that fact away for next time…that’s a nugget that’s hard to find in research.
Great car! You sure wouldn’t have to worry about there being half a dozen more like it at the local car show. Get rid of the mags and put the original wheels and caps back on and head to the shows.
My dad bought a 1939 Dodge 8 passenger sedan sometime before I was born in 1947. It was black and had jump seats but not like these. The ones in his car were round and faced side to side and could be lowered into the floorboards. We lived in Provo, Utah when he bought the car but my mother died January 4, 1949 and he moved us to Stevenson, Washington. He had 10 children so the old Dodge served him well. He married my step mom shortly afterwards while he worked on the remaining construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. When work ran out he moved us to Redding, California to do finishing Carpentry work on Shasta Dam. That old Dodge just kept going until around 1953 when the engine finally breathed its last. The old car was parked in the back of the 120 (a nick name) acre farm he had purchased. Some of his older children had married by then and moved away. He no longer needed such a large car so he bought a 1948 Dodge 5 passenger sedan in forest green. Though problematic it was a beautiful car. I have fond memories of my childhood and life on the country farm.
God Bless America
NYC passed law that all taxis in ’48 couldn’t have pax in the front seat…since they Chrysler already made a limo, they came up with this arrangement, with a 6 cyl. I don’t know how long that requirement was in effect, but I DO know that DeSoto came up with an even rarer car…the 49 Suburban. Uphlostery was all leather, second row seat was part-number-identical to the front seat, except it had a 14 inch seat track. Fold up jump seats were in the rear. No partition between trunk and rear seat. Could slide second seat forward until it touched the front seat, fold down the jump seats and you almost had a station wagon. Door panels and all other interior was faux Mahogany. Came with a roof rack. Target audience was the upscale hotels in Upstate NY and Pennsylvania to take customers from train station to the hotel. Rich folks traveled with lots of luggage! Think they only built about 50 of ’em.
I had a 1953 Chrysler with fluid drive, when you took off and it came time for the trani to shift you let off the gas and it would shift with an with an elec solenoid and then you could continue, it would down shift to passing gear but you had to let off so it could shift. or you could shift it manually on the collum. Not a car for a young guy–I went thru 5 train’s. Mine was powered buy the 331 Hemi and it would put down 15 feet of rubber both wheels, now you know why I need 5 train’s. Could not kill that Hemi
How was this guy killing “trains”?? Seems he needs a dictionary AND an operators manual!!!
I am just an old fart that makes mistakes–so have a party on me.
I remember the song Friendly stranger in the black sedan wont you hop inside my car I’m your vehicle By the Ides of March and this car sure fits the picture
Well I’m the friendly stranger in the black sedan,
woncha hop inside my car?
I got candy, kisses I’m a lovable man and I can take
you to the nearest star.
I’m your vehicle baby. I’,ll take you anywhere you
you wanna go.
I’m your vehicle baby. By now I’m sure ya’ know
That I love ya’ need ya’ hot to have ya’ child.
Great God in heaven you know I love you.
And yes, that was the Ides Of March who recorded it in late
’69 or early ’70. Went to number 3 on the top 40 charts in March of 1970. Used to play that song at package shows
where they used the high school band to back up some of the performers there. Some of the bands nailed it, others not so much. But you can bet those kids had a great time playing behind us and it gave them something to talk about when they
got older. In fact, I rode in one of these on my very first tour on
the summer of 1970. Yeah, it was a real job setting up and testing down your stuff at those small town shows, but I had a lot of fun doing it. I toured until 1990 after nearly 23 years in
show business. And most all my momentos are gone now, but I still have the memories. And to me that’s the best part of the whole deal. And once they get that chat room thingy done, I’ll able to tell even more stories about life on the road.