1957 Desoto Firesweep Explorer wagon ( 9 passenger)

Description for DeSoto firesweep 1957

This car has lived its life near Albuquerque New Mexico. The survival percentage of these rare wagons is almost none. I checked with the Desoto Registry and they only show 8 known to exist. The 57 and 58 cars seem to be the most desirable of the fined Mopars. The book value on these cars is higher than the 2 door hardtop cars. I will start with the bad stuff. It has a couple of very small rust areas behind and in front of the rear wheel house and a couple of places in the rocker panels. The wheel opening is rock solid all the way around. The only rust areas that is a couple of small need to be fixes are at the very bottom of the quarter and the panel is almost flat there so it will not be a big fix. There is a couple of real small holes in front of the rear wheel opening but they are also very small . There is only one dent in the body. in the center of the tail gate. It will not take much to repair that one. There are a few other very small dings (probably from parking lots) but won't require much to fix. It is not drivable right now. Here is the good stuff. The body is almost rust free. The floor pans are rust free so is the frame and body braces. The car is wearing 100 % of its original paint so you can see what you are getting. The pot metal is smooth and pit free. Even the gold Desoto on the hood looks good. Look close at the pictures. the fenders. hood roof. doors. tailgate inner fenders all rust free. The car has no signs of collision damage other than the tail gate and a small tap on the front bumper. I had it running when I brought it home (3 years ago) but it has a bad head gasket. The odometer is showing a little over 36000 miles but I think it has been around once. The gauges worked when I fired it up but I could only run it for a few minutes . The padded dash needs to be replaces but the gauges horn ring and other interior metal is in great shape. These are very rare and hard to find cars you please take note that it is better than 99%complete. I have the Firesweep script for the rear quarter panels. The only thing I can see missing is a small stainless stone shield in front of the right rear wheel well. The left side one is there. These are used on the other body styles so it will not be hard to find. The right rear door has a crack in the glass but the rest to the glass is in great shape. (even the windshield). Everything is there under the hood too even the original air filter with the factory decal on it. I hate to part with this car but I just have too many projects. The car has some nice options including 325 Poly head engine with 4 barrel carb. 3 speed push button trans. power steering power brakes power rear window. two tone paint. and radio. The first couple of pictures were take out in New Mexico. You can see the pictures of the car inside my storage building where it has been for the last 3 years. The paint doesn't look as good as it was when I brought it home because of the moisture here in Michigan. I will only accept pay pal for the deposit. The balance with need to be paid by check money order or cash. (I forgot to mention it has new tires on it). I do not do bank transfers or forwarding of funds. If you are having the car picked up and send a check of money order it will have to clear my bank before the car can be picked up. It is really an exceptional old car. It will be a easy restoration of a very valuable car. It will have a value when completed of between 40 and 50 grand and will not require a lot of work to complete it. I also have the original New Mexico title that the Michigan DMV cancelled when it was transferred to me