1960 DeSoto Fireflite

361 V8

Clear

Please take a look at my original and unrestored 1960 DeSoto Fireflite that I have owned and cared for since 1996.  I have loved it a long time, its time for someone else to have a chance to. The car is basically original and unrestored all the way around with 65,700 original miles.  Its is really a great, awesome crowd pleaser. If you are a finned "Forward Look" Mopar fan, this is a pretty rare opportunity....catch me before I change my mind!  This DeSoto is equipped with some nice options including the Fireflite's standard 361 V8 with 2 barrel carb, power steering, power brakes, 3 speed Torqueflite automatic transmission with pushbutton controls, dual antennae, bumper guards front and rear, fender ornaments and swivel seats.  The swivel seats for 1960 were changed from prior years and became "automatic" in that they swivel out automatically when the door is opened, and swivel back when its closed.  You will rarely find a '60 Mopar with swivel seats, and even rarer to find a set that actually work - I had these gone through to make sure they work properly.  Check out the videos that are included in the photos of the interior below that show them operating.  Really a cool option - I have included photos from the original 1960 DeSoto accessories pamphlet to show how they describe them (this pamphlet goes with the car) . The term "survivor" is pretty over used these days in my opinion, however this is one.  It is not a restored car and nor should it be.  It was featured in the book "It's Only Original Once" by Rich Lentinello, the editor of Hemmings Motor News  I have attached some photos of the story in the book below.  I think one would be very hard pressed to find a nicer original 1960 DeSoto of any variety.  Not a show car as it is, but you can be proud to pull up to any cruise in or car show and get your share of ooohhs and ahhhs with this car. Let me describe my opinions of the car by category below to keep this as short as possible. PAINT: The "Jamaica Blue" and "Shell White" paint looks to me that its about 70% factory original, hard to tell for sure.  The right front fender appears to have been repainted many years ago.  It also looks like the quarters have had some paintwork fogged in.  Not down low for patchwork, it was likely from the looks of it for scratches or dings.  It looks to me that the hood, left front fender, roof, some of the sides and most of the trunk are original paint, but it is hard to tell, this is my best guess. The paint has good shine and good depth. One must remember that even the factory paint was not that great during the time this car was made by Chrysler, they were suffering from quality control problems.   The car has some chips here and there as can be seen in the photos.  It is a little hard to tell where the original paint starts and stops, so the 70% is an approximation, you need to be your own judge. One thing that's for sure is that no paintwork has been done to this car for a very, very long time. Overall the paint is certainly presentable as a survivor to me, it looks great from 10 feet and I think it would be a shame (and also very unlikely) that someone painted the car after purchasing it. BODY: The body is as solid as you will find in a 1960 DeSoto.  The car "grew up" in Minnesota and does not look like it saw winters to any big degree.  Does not look like anything anywhere has ever been repaired for any rust.  The typical problem areas for a '60 Chrysler or DeSoto like the trunk floor and trunk lip areas are excellent.  Rockers, fenders, floors all in super shape.  There is one spot on the driver's rocker underneath right in front of the wheel well (you need to be under to see it) has a spot about the size of a quarter where just a touch of rust is.  looks like its been there many years, and since you cannot see it unless you get down low, I left it alone.  There is also a trace amount just started in the front fenders, on the inner lip of the fender near the hood hinges.  Again, a small area that I do not think anyone does anything about if they buy this car and only can be seen with the hood open of course.  I have never had any paintwork done in my nearly 17 years of ownership. So overall, a super solid car. INTERIOR: The interior really throws off a nice appearance.  No rips or tears.  It looks to me to be all original with the following repairs or improvements that I did.  I installed a new carpet in 1996.  I also took the dashboard out of the car, repalced the padded dash with a new one from just dashes.  I disassembled the dash, sanded it down and repainted it before installing the new dash pad.  Lubed and cleaned the speedometer assembly, and installed a concealed sound system tucked away in the glove box with speakers in stock locations, one front and one rear (I upgraded this a few years ago to a CD player, it was cassette you know in 1996!  Headliner is very nice, door panels are excellent (I also had just dashes make four new armrest pads and dye to match all at a cost of $690. There are a couple of cracks in the raised plastic ribs on the door panels, but they are small.  These cars are impossible to find with no cracking in those ribs.  These are as nice as I have seen.  When I took the seats out to install the carpet, I had a couple of seams restitched that had let go, had all new foam installed in the front seat cushions, and had seat belts installed front and rear.  This is also when the swivel mechanisms were repaired.  Overall, the interior is really nice and very "Jet age". CHROME: All original.  Nice all the way around.  Many years ago I installed a NOS rear bumper center section as the original had a dent in it.  Overall it is good original chrome. Front bumper is very nice, Rear bumper "wings" have some spots of a little haziness or graying here and there, but certainly not worthy of any replating in my opinion.  Most everything is straight, and bright.  Pot metal is all quite nice. The tailights have all three plastic "chevrons" on each side - a real rarity on a '60 DeSoto.  They typically fell off and are as a result, hard to find.  These are very nice. MECHANICAL: I have spent a lot of time and money over the years doing what needed to be done to make sure that I could hop in and go wherever I wanted to and not think twice about it.  So here is what I have done over the years: - Rebuilt transmission due to a heavy leak that developed many years ago - Rebuild of brake system, all wheel cylinders, shoes, hoses, master cylinder and some lines - Carb rebuild as well as more than one full tune up, last one a year ago - Radiator re core and all new hoses and belts - Set of four Coker wide whitewall radials - Car comes with a reproduction shop manual The car runs and drives great, I have taken it on several long trips including to Hershey this past fall (135 miles each way).  Only mechanical thing I can think of is that I notice a humming noise coming from the rear, has been that way for a very long time and it never concerned nor bothered me much.  In order to drive it, everything works (see video below) the lights, directionals, horn, wipers all good.  it shifts nicely, stops straight, idles smooth. The car had about 56,000 miles when I bought it in 1996.  There is an oil change sticker in the door jamb showing 49,000 miles in 1965, so I am confident that the mileage of 65,700 are the actual miles I have decided to pare down my collection a little, so that's the only reason its for sale.  I have had it and loved it for a lot of years and its just time for me to pass the torch to the next "caretaker". Please feel free to make an offer as I reserve the right to, and may elect to end the auction early if the right offer is made from a real and qualified buyer.  It is also listed for sale elsewhere with an asking price of $26,900. You may feel free to contact me at 201-406-4423 to ask any questions.  I am a long time classic car enthusiast and love this stuff. Please take a look at my 100% positive feedback on Ebay for 10 years.  I encourage you to come and look at it prior to the end of the auction. A deposit of $750 via Paypal is due within 24 hours of the end of the auction, full payment within three business days of the end of the auction via wire transfer or cash in person.  I can work with your shipping company within reason, and can keep the car here for 14 days indoors.  Please be aware that the car is being sold on an AS IS WHERE IS BASIS with all faults, and comes with no warranties or guarantees express, written or implied including the contents of this description.  Thanks and wait for the 80+ photos and three videos to load so you can see lots of detail. Here it is featured in the "It's Only Original Once" Book described above Check out the swivel seats in action.... Here is a short video showing how things work.... On Jan-04-13 at 16:27:50 PST, seller added the following information: If the photos wont load, go to www.flickr.com/photos/finzandchrome/On Jan-05-13 at 05:27:33 PST, seller added the following information: If photos wont load go to www.flickr.com/photos/finzandchrome/