During its tenure at Chrysler Corp., the DeSoto was sandwiched between Dodge and Chrysler in terms of styling and amenities. 1949 would reflect the first new design since World War II, but they were detailed in getting to market due to a strike at the tooling plants Chrysler used.  Two versions of the 1949 DeSoto were offered: the Deluxe and Custom, of which the seller’s car is the latter. The Custom was largely a decked-out version of the Deluxe. This generally nice survivor runs great and looks good and is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds. The car is located in Quincy, Illinois and the price is $10,500.

The 1949 DeSoto’s had an all-new bodyshell and were marketed as “the car designed with you in mind.” Styling was characterized by sheet metal panels with shorter overhangs front and rear than before and the roof structure was taller, so the cars looked smaller. The Custom models were Deluxes with upgraded trim and interior appointments for those buyers who had a little more money to spend. Because of the delay in getting the ‘49s assembled, overall DeSoto production dropped a bit the first year for the new models. Out of more than 94,000 cars built for that model year, almost half were the Custom 4-door sedan like the seller’s car.

This car looks like a nice survivor will no reported rust or issues with the body. The two-tone blue paint looks nice but faded in places on the roof. The interior also presents very well and suggests a car that was little used, although there is no reference to an odometer reading. The car is being offered by a dealer who has more photos posted of the car on their website.

A 237 cubic inch inline-six is under the hood, the only engine available to buyers. The horsepower rating was 112 as the compression ratio was low at 7.0:1. A fluid drive transmission was standard on the Custom and that’s what’s paired up in the seller’s car. We’re told the car runs and drives great, so perhaps this can be considered a turnkey car you could show right away even though not perfect. These were great cars in their day and good for piling your friends into (including the trunk) for a Friday night spin over to the drive-in movies (and even watch the submarine races)!