DeSoto Firesweep

Last updated
DeSoto Firesweep
1958 DeSoto Firesweep.jpg
1958 DeSoto Firesweep 4-door Sportsman
Overview
Manufacturer DeSoto (Chrysler)
Also called DeSoto Diplomat (export)
Production1957–1959;64 years ago (1959)
Assembly Los Angeles (Maywood) Assembly
United States
Australia
Body and chassis
Class Full-size
Body style 4-door sedan
2-door hardtop
4-door hardtop
2-door convertible
4-door station wagon
Layout FR layout
Related Chrysler Windsor
Dodge Coronet
Plymouth Belvedere
Powertrain
Engine 325 cu in (5.3 L) V8 [1]
350 cu in (5.7 L) V8 [1]
361 cu in (5.9 L) V8 [1]
Chronology
Predecessor DeSoto Firedome

The DeSoto Firesweep is an automobile that was produced by DeSoto from 1957 through 1959. [2] [3]

Contents

Interior and exterior description

The Firesweep was a lower-priced entry that combined a Dodge shell and chassis (which featured a 122-inch wheelbase, four inches shorter than that of the senior DeSotos) with a DeSoto bumper and grill. 1957 models were sold only as imports in Canada. [4] While the Firesweep featured DeSoto's signature tailfins, the front clip (the front section, forward of the firewall) was based on the Dodge Coronet. The most telling feature was the headlight design, housed under heavily chromed lids typical of Dodge. Firesweep grilles were similar to those on other contemporary DeSoto models.

The Firesweep could seat six passengers. It was available initially as a four-door sedan, four-door station wagon, two-door hardtop and four-door hardtop. [1] A convertible was added for 1958. [1] Depending on the body style, Firesweeps weighed between 3,660 and 3,980 pounds (1,660 and 1,810 kg). The base price of the Firesweep (1957) was US$3,169 and it was offered in one and two-tone exterior finishes. Features included power steering, power brakes, dashboard clock, push-button radio and whitewall tires.

Production and sales

The first year of the car’s production, 1957, was the best year for Firesweep sales. A decline in DeSoto quality and increasing market pressures led to the end of the Firesweep’s production at the end of the 1959 model year. During 1959 Firesweep cars carried only DeSoto external nameplates.

For 1960, DeSoto automobiles came in two series, Fireflite and the Adventurer.

The final Desoto model, lacking a series name, was offered for the 1961 model year. DeSoto production ended in November 1960.

Engine specifications, transmission, options

In 1957, the DeSoto Firesweep was powered by the Dodge "Poly" 325 V8 with a 2bbl Stromberg down draft carburetor. The 325 was basically a detuned polyspherical combustion chambered version of the Dodge "Red Ram" 325 Hemi. With the optional power-pack four-barrel V8, the 1957 Firesweep produced 260 hp at 4400 rpm. This represented an increase of fifteen horsepower over the two-barrel engine. [5]

The 1958 Firesweep was fitted with a 350 cu in (5.7 L) V8 [1] and the 1959 model with a 361 cu in (5.9 L) V8 [1]

The Firesweep was offered with three different transmissions as well, a two-speed PowerFlite, a three-speed TorqueFlite, or a three-speed column-shifted manual.

The Firesweep was available with up to a three-color paint job (the body was a different color than the "sweep" on the side of the body, and the roof was a different color still). DeSoto offered a laundry list of options for the vehicle to include, but not limited to: clock, AM radio, rear speaker, air conditioning, carpeting, deluxe cloth seat inserts, dual rear antennae, deluxe interior lighting, stainless steel stone shields, power steering, and power brakes. [2]

Australian production

The DeSoto Firesweep was also produced in Australia from 1958 to 1960. [6] Production of the 1958 model began at Chrysler Australia’s Mile End facility in South Australia in early 1958, utilizing CKD components imported from Detroit. [6] It was offered as a four-door sedan with a 350-cubic-inch V8 engine. [6] The 1959 Firesweep, released in July 1959, was also assembled from CKD components, [7] and was equipped with a 361-cubic-inch V8 engine and a push-button automatic transmission. [7] The Firesweep was replaced on the Australian market in 1960 by the locally produced Dodge Phoenix. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler New Yorker</span> Motor vehicle

The Chrysler New Yorker is an automobile model that was produced by Chrysler from 1940 until 1996, serving for several decades as the brand's flagship model, or as a junior sedan to the Chrysler Imperial luxury brand. A trim level named the "New York Special" first appeared in 1938 and the "New Yorker" name debuted in 1939. The New Yorker name helped define the Chrysler brand as a maker of upscale models, priced and equipped to compete against upper-level models from Buick, Oldsmobile and Mercury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardtop</span> Automobile roof

A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed, detachable for separate storing or retractable within the vehicle itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Coronet</span> American car model sold 1949–1959, 1965–1976

The Dodge Coronet is an automobile that was marketed by Dodge in seven generations, and shared nameplates with the same bodyshell with varying levels of equipment installed. Introduced as a full-size car in 1949, it was the division's highest trim line and moved to the lowest level starting in 1955 through 1959. The name was reintroduced on intermediate-sized models from the 1965 until 1976 model years. Muscle car versions were available starting in 1965 with the 383 and 426 wedge cu in Chrysler RB engine, followed in 1966 by the powerful 426 cu in Chrysler Hemi. Other performance models included the "Superbee", and featured, the 383 cu in Magnum, among other engine options. The nameplate "coronet" is a type of crown worn by royalty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Fury</span> Motor vehicle

The Plymouth Fury is a model of automobile that was produced by Plymouth from 1955 until 1989. It was introduced for the 1956 model year as a sub-series of the Plymouth Belvedere, becoming a separate series one level above the contemporary Belvedere for 1959. The Fury was a full-size car from 1959 until 1961, then a mid-size car from 1962 until 1964, again, a full-size car from 1965 through 1974, and again, a mid-size car from 1975 through 1978. From 1975 until 1977, the Fury was sold alongside the full-size Plymouth Gran Fury. In 1978, the B-body Fury was the largest Plymouth, and by 1979, there was no large Plymouth. This product gap was filled in 1980 with the R-body Gran Fury, followed by the M-body Fury in 1982. Production of the last V8, RWD Plymouth Fury ended at the Lake Front Main Assembley in Kenosha, WI, on December 23, 1988. Unlike its sibling brand, Dodge, Plymouth would not live to see the resurgence of the large, V8/RWD sedan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Belvedere</span> Motor vehicle

Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Saratoga</span> Motor vehicle

The Chrysler Saratoga is an automobile built by Chrysler. The nameplate was used from 1939 to 1952 and from 1957 to 1960 in the U.S. market, in Canada through 1965, and in Europe from 1989 to 1995. In the beginning, it was introduced as a sport luxury model, using the Straight Eight engine from the Chrysler New Yorker which was more formal, and the Imperial which had graduated to special order limousine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Windsor</span> Motor vehicle

The Chrysler Windsor is a full-size car which was built by Chrysler from 1939 through to the 1960s. The final Chrysler Windsor sold in the United States was produced in 1961, but production in Canada continued until 1966. The Canadian 1961 to 1966 Windsor model was for all intents and purposes the equivalent of the Chrysler Newport in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Savoy</span> Motor vehicle

The Plymouth Savoy is an automobile model produced from the 1954 through 1964 model years by Plymouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Kingsway</span>

The Dodge Kingsway is an automobile built by Dodge for export markets. The Kingsway name was adopted for the 1940 models. Before that, the export models based on Plymouth models had no unique model names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Mayfair</span> Motor vehicle

The Dodge Mayfair was an automobile built by Chrysler Corporation of Canada Ltd. This vehicle was produced solely for the Canadian market from 1953 to 1959. Its American equivalent was the Plymouth Belvedere. It was based on the Plymouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeSoto (automobile)</span> Brand of automobile

DeSoto was an American automobile marque that was manufactured and marketed by the DeSoto division of Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to the 1961 model year. More than two million passenger cars and trucks bore the DeSoto brand in North American markets during its existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Polara</span> Motor vehicle

The Dodge Polara is an automobile introduced in the United States for the 1960 model year as Dodge's top-of-the-line full-size car. After the introduction of the Dodge Custom 880 in 1962, the Polara nameplate designated a step below the full-sized best trimmed Dodge model; the Polara that year had been downsized to what was in effect intermediate, or mid-size status. In its various forms, the Polara name was used by Dodge until 1973, when its position in Dodge's line-up was replaced by the Dodge Monaco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Newport</span> Motor vehicle

The Newport was a name used by Chrysler for both a hardtop body designation and also for its lowest priced model between 1961 and 1981. Chrysler first used the Newport name on a 1940 show car, of which five vehicles were produced. The Newport continued the tradition of a large, comfortable luxurious coupe and sedan, while offering a modestly priced product in comparison to the Chrysler New Yorker and Chrysler Imperial. The Newport gradually replaced the Chrysler Windsor which originally replaced the Chrysler Royal. The Newport was initially the brand name for the Windsor with a hardtop body style, then was used for coupes, sedans and station wagons in later decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeSoto Fireflite</span> Motor vehicle

The DeSoto Fireflite is a full-size premium automobile which was produced by DeSoto in the United States from 1955 until 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeSoto Firedome</span> Motor vehicle

The DeSoto Firedome was a full-size automobile produced between 1952 and 1959 by DeSoto automobiles, a division of the Chrysler Corporation. Introduced as DeSoto's premium line of vehicles in 1953 and 1954, the Firedome also occupied the least expensive position in the model lineup during 1955 and 1956 model years before it was reclassified as a mid-range vehicle offered by DeSoto between 1957 and 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeSoto Adventurer</span>

The DeSoto Adventurer is a full-sized automobile that was produced by DeSoto from 1956 through the 1960 model year. Introduced as a four-seat high-performance sports coupe concept car, the Adventurer ended up being DeSoto's special, limited-production, high-performance model, similar to the more luxurious and exclusive "letter series" Chrysler 300 and Chrysler Saratoga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Dodge</span> Motor vehicle

The 1955 Dodge lineup, consisting of the entry-level Coronet, Royal, and ornate Custom Royal, was a major departure for the company. Driven almost out of business in 1953 and 1954, the Chrysler Corporation was revived with a $250 million loan from Prudential and new models designed by Virgil Exner. The Dodge lineup was positioned as the mainstream line in Chrysler's hierarchy, between DeSoto and Plymouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Royal</span> Motor vehicle

The Dodge Royal is an automobile which was produced by Dodge in the United States for the 1954 through 1959 model years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Custom Royal</span> Motor vehicle

The Dodge Custom Royal is an automobile which was produced by Dodge in the United States for the 1955 through 1959 model years. In each of these years the Custom Royal was the top trim level of the Dodge line, above the mid level Dodge Royal and the base level Dodge Coronet. 2-Door Hardtop, 4-Door Hardtop and Convertible models were marketed under the name "Dodge Custom Royal Lancer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Phoenix</span> Motor vehicle

The Dodge Phoenix is an automobile which was produced by Chrysler Australia from 1960 to 1972.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 John Gunnell, Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975, Revised 4th edition, Krause Publications, 2002, pages 318 to 322
  2. 1 2 The Standard Catalog of American Cars (1946 - 1975), John Gunnell, Kraus Publications, 1987.
  3. "DeSoto to introduce new low-price Firesweep model in agencies Oct. 30". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). October 27, 1956. p. 5.
  4. Dodge 1959, Automobile Quarterly 32 #3, Automobile Heritage Publishing Co., pg. 107.
  5. 1957 DeSoto, Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946 - 1975, John Gunnell, Krause Publications, 1982, pp. 264 - 265.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, 2010, pages 73-77
  7. 1 2 News Review, Three Chryslers, Australian Motor Sports, August 1959, page 314