60 DeSoto Adventurer

FK3 Sport Fury

Hoser in a toque
Joined
Nov 29, 2017
Messages
414
Reaction score
575
Location
British Columbia
I’ve been thinking that one day down the road I’d like to have a forward look era Mopar but really didn’t have anything in particular in mind. There were several that I liked...pretty much anything 57/58, a 60 Chrysler or Imperial,
or even something oddball like a 61 Plymouth.
Long story short, this car popped up on Kijjii not far from my mountain retreat that I was planning on visiting so the timing and location would work out well.
I made the call, got more info and pics, and pulled the trigger.

The car is a pretty decent survivor that looks to have had one repaint many decades ago and has acquired a couple bruises and scrapes along the way but is amazingly solid for a Canadian vehicle. It had a long term owner who had the car as far back as the 70’s and maybe earlier and kept it until his passing around 2005. He did some mild customizing and chroming under the hood apparently in the late 70’s and possibly added the vinyl roof around the same time but everything else appears to be all stock.
The engine is kind of a blue/turquoise color which might not be correct for a Windsor built car in that year but I’m trying to get more info on that.

Apparently that same owner would drive the car down to Arizona for the winter back in the 80’s so maybe it will look familiar to any members down there.

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That is a very clean car. Congrats!

First year for a turquoise BB mopar was 1962. Read the pad below the distributor in front of cyl head to see what engine it is. Might have been swapped?
 
That is a very nice find and a very desirable vehicle in my view. As a lover of Forward Look cars, I believe you did really well! Congratulate yourself!

It is also a relatively easy one to work on without all the ram induction, a/c or other stuff to complicate just working on it once in awhile and driving it often. Very good balance.

I personally like the styling of the 1960 version compared to the last one in 1961 since the grille on this version is more simple and beautiful in my eyes.

Enjoy!
 
Nice looking 60 Desoto !!

To answer some of your questions. The vinyl roof is definitely added. There were NO factory installed vinyl roofs on Desotos.
Instead it could’ve been painted. This and the body paint color can be confirmed by checking the codes on the fender tag. There will be a 3 digit code under PNT. In addition the fender tag will have the other options original to the car.
One other thing to note on Canadian built 1960 Desotos the interiors are not the same as the US models.
 
Love it! 361?

383 2bbl, unless it’s been swapped.


Nice score! Congrats, interior pics please!

Somehow I forgot to take any interior pics and I’m no longer in the area where the car is. I’ll get some next month when I’m back there again.
Supposedly the Canadian built cars used many interior parts from a Chrysler Saratoga.

That is a very clean car. Congrats!

First year for a turquoise BB mopar was 1962. Read the pad below the distributor in front of cyl head to see what engine it is. Might have been swapped?

Does that apply to Windsor built cars? I’ll check the pad next chance I get.

way to go Greg ! will you be bringing it to the island ?

My current plan is to drive one car out there then drive the DeSoto back, probably next summer.
 
That is a very nice find and a very desirable vehicle in my view. As a lover of Forward Look cars, I believe you did really well! Congratulate yourself!

It is also a relatively easy one to work on without all the ram induction, a/c or other stuff to complicate just working on it once in awhile and driving it often. Very good balance.

I personally like the styling of the 1960 version compared to the last one in 1961 since the grille on this version is more simple and beautiful in my eyes.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the kind words. The funny part of all this was that I’ve been a big fan of the 60 Chryslers but I don’t think I’d ever seen a 60 DeSoto in person and had no idea exactly what it would look like. When I saw the ad for this car, though, I knew it was a great design.

I also found out that 1960 was the last year of DeSoto production and sales in Canada so Chrysler Canada likely didn’t miss out on many sales by pulling the plug a year early on the odd looking 1961 models. They also only made Adventurer models here in 1960, in two and four door models, so no Fireflites as they had in the US.



Nice looking 60 Desoto !!

To answer some of your questions. The vinyl roof is definitely added. There were NO factory installed vinyl roofs on Desotos.
Instead it could’ve been painted. This and the body paint color can be confirmed by checking the codes on the fender tag. There will be a 3 digit code under PNT. In addition the fender tag will have the other options original to the car.
One other thing to note on Canadian built 1960 Desotos the interiors are not the same as the US models.

Thanks for that info.
The paint code on the tag is NN which seems to indicate Terra Cotta Metallic top and bottom which would confirm that the white roof was added.
It seems that Windsor used a different tag as well as some different colours and codes
than the US built 60 DeSotos from what I’ve seen and read.The colour choices in Canada were the same as the other 1960 Plymouth/Dodge/Chrysler vehicles manufactured there except for the Valiants which had a reduced list.

The upholstery and door panels are definitely different than the US cars I’ve seen online, apparently they’re the same as a Canadian Chrysler Saratoga.

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I’m also looking for a few bits and pieces in case anyone has a source.
Front turn signal bezels, the chrome bands on the taillights, and a couple pieces of the rocker/ wheel well trim that are damaged. Driver quality is ideal.
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Extra bonus pic from a local cruise-in.
 
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