I think the 23 gallon tank was standard for most of the 57-59 Mopar's with the exception of the Desoto Firesweep. It fit in just fine and the filler tube lined up correctly. The only thing the supplier told me was that I would need longer straps which I got from them as well.
New member intro : '57 Desoto Firesweep
- Thread starter baker53
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cm23uoc
Old Man with a Hat
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Being based on the 57 Dodge models I'd guess the Firesweep had the smaller tank for this reaseon.
The radio in the Desoto Firesweep is AM only and I have been thinking about having it modified to AM/FM stereo. That will be a pretty big cost so I thought I would try one of the stereos listed on ebay first. The one I got was about $20 and I am very pleased on how well it works. It drives the two rear speakers very well and has a provision to play music from a memory stick as well as other inputs. I may end up buying an amplifier to use with it, but so far it does a nice job all by itself. I mounted it in the glove box and use a remote controller with it.
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Far, FAR more preferable solution to hacking up the I/P or cobbling up some sort of filler plate to fill the space. IIRC, there was/is someone who shows up at Carlisle regularly who does AM/FM conversions of OE AM radios and also can provide many if not all of them with inputs for ipods and other such goodies. As you point out, not cheap, but your solution is the one that fits the "business case" of maximum results for minimum cost.
Been following your thread all along and your car has turned out just GREAT !
kmccabe56: Thanks for the comments. I may end going the conversion route on the AM radio, but as of now the Kentiger HV502 is working great. The only thing that is problematic is having to keep the glove box open to allow the small remote keypad to change the various functions. Most of time, I just use the memory stick that has a bunch of music on it and I just let it run off of that with the glove box closed.
Six7-300
New Member
Love them dual antennas.
I spent this morning realigning them. Both of them were splaying outward rather than vertical. I guess when the factory installed them, they broke out a drill and shot a couple holes in the fins. After some tweaking of the mounting holes I got them both like they should be.
If you're the only driver of your car and don't move the seat back and forth, I've also seen people put a radio like yours under the seat, making it somewhat easier for the remote to communicate with the head unit. A glove box installation still beats hanging it off the bottom of the I/P.
With some help from Kyle, who has a great shop with a lift we installed the front anti-sway bar in the Firesweep. Not sure if it made much difference in the handling, but I think it did a little. I'll have to test drive the car some more on some curvy roads.
The angled mounting points of the upper control arms help greatly with brake dive and also with roll through a corner. The front anti-sway bar will certainly contribute some as well. If you're looking for more control, replacing the rubber bushings with polyurethane will certainly help as will more reinforcing of your frame brackets.
holle199
New Member
I remember my Father having one of those in I think it was 65 or 66, he paid $25.00 for it and got his first speeding ticket a week later, people in our town called it the Purple Streak, think the engine may have said something like Super Red Ram or something, I was about 15 or 16 then so don't remember for sure, after that car he bought a 59 Desoto wagon and I took my license test with that, it was monster to paraell park
$25 for a eleven or twelve year old car was quite a deal. I bought my first Firesweep while in high school in 1962 and had to give $700 for it. You are so right about parking those "land barges" My first one had manual steering, this one has power steering making it a bit easier to parallel park.
Dropped the Firesweep off at the upholstery shop this morning. Hopefully, in a few weeks, it will be done. I'll post pictures as the work progresses. The interior colors will be salmon & milkweed. The headliner is in great condition and will be left as is. The carpet will be black. The trunk will be upholstered and carpeted as well.
The whitewall tires arrived yesterday and I got them mounted, balanced and installed on the car this afternoon. I'll wait till I get the car home from the upholstery shop to wash the blue protective coating off the whitewalls.
The upholstery shop is moving along real well. They have the dynamat all installed and also the interior carpets are installed. I also mounted my old DIXCO tach that I had in my first Firesweep back in '62.
The upholstery shop is moving along real well. They have the dynamat all installed and also the interior carpets are installed. I also mounted my old DIXCO tach that I had in my first Firesweep back in '62.
It IS your car and you've done a fabulous job on it, but I think it would have looked REALLY cool if you'd been able to colour match the carpet to the rest of the interior, or the exterior body colour. I understand the merits of having black, but coral............... !!!!
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
Looks like it is being done right to me. My .02. Please keep us posted.
What a beautiful car!
Looking forward to all the updates!
Looking forward to all the updates!
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
Excellent restoration effort! Using the Dynamat is also a very good move IMO. The black carpet looks great to me. This will be a stunning car when done.
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