Parked 36 Years Ago. 1937 Desoto Coupe Re-discovered

[keithb7]

Recently at a car show, I was tending my 1938 Chrysler. Someone approached me to ask a few questions. I was given a lead where a similar coupe was shacked up. Parked for many years. Local here in my town.  My interest was peaked for several reasons.

 

1. How often do you see a 1937 Desoto Coupe? I have never seen one. Let alone right here in this town.

2. Very few Desoto coupes were made in Canada. How many are actually left?

3. I might get glimpse of some original parts. Interior, dash etc...

4. I hear tell of an alligator type hood opening system. Again, not personally see on an old Mopar of this era.

5. Maybe I can help re-invigorate the owner? Maybe I can help get it running and mobile again

 

I was given a name an address. The owner had no idea I planned a cold call at his door. I showed up in my '38 Chrysler and rang the door bell. He appeared and I introduced myself. He was an older gentleman. Pre-"digital age"manners and demeanor. I like that. He saw my Chrysler behind me in his driveway and he lit up. He quickly welcomed me into his home and was more than happy to show me his vintage Desoto coupe. He allowed me to take whatever photos I wanted . We chatted about the car's history and previous owners.  We had a very good visit. I then offered him a ride in my '38 Chrysler which he quickly accepted.  We chatted and looked happy out on our little cruise.

 

We agreed to meet again in later September. I offered to help him clear out the car and roll it out into his driveway. We have plans to make a You Tube video to showcase the car. He'd never heard of You Tube, but he was smiling and fine with the idea. I offered to help him get it running again if he wanted. 

 

The pictures may say 1 million words. It easily happens. We secure a car. We start to dig in. Life happens while we are busy making other plans. We get drawn away from our original plan for the old car. A new car comes along.  We enjoy the new car. Then weddings happen. The family grows. Again with the more important things in life, distracting you. You start laying things in the car, against the car, on the car. Decades pass. You forget how quickly the years add up.  You turn around and you're pushing 80. What the h e l l happened? Life happened I guess. 

 

I am looking forward to digging this Desoto out, and hopefully helping the gentleman. The car is not for sale. I won't be passing along any leads or info. I have no ulterior motives to secure the car for myself. I already have one basically, my '38 Chrysler coupe. Although if I were a rich man with a 6 bay garage, owning a '37 Desoto to append my '38 Plymouth and '38 Chyrsler would be appealing. Then all I'd need is a '37  or '38 Dodge. Lol.  That's not happening. 

 

As the years pass here in my town, as I continue to network and sniff out leads, I am seeing a growing list of old flathead Mopars. They don't come out very often but they are here it seems. Locally I have located a 1947 Dodge coupe, a 1948 Plymouth Sedan, 1952 Chrysler Windsor, this 1937 Desoto Coupe, plus my 2 Mopars. Someday it would be fun to get us all out together. - Keith

 

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by keithb7

[rekbender]

Now that looks promising. My kind of car.

[plymouthcranbrook]

Good work Keith. Very nice looking car from what I can see. Keep us updated on progress.

[greg g]

Wow.  I passed a vintage car a few years back on my way to work jn my46.  I pulled into the. C store for a news paper and coffee and the fellow pulled in next to me.  It was then I saw the Despto BadgIng, he said it was a 37 was a coupe In  black original car with 80k miles. I couldnt get over how stunning the grill and front end design was..  we chatted for a short time regarding our cars,, he had dual exhaust and was interested in my dual intake set up.  He was on his way to the Auto Museum in Saratoga Springs for a show and to visit some friends.  Taking the blue roads the car was made for.  Nice looking car you don't see many of these days.

 

The coil to distributor  situation looks a little suspect from here.

Edited August 28, 2021 by greg g

[chrysler1941]

9 hours ago, greg g said:

The coil to distributor  situation looks a little suspect from here.

So does freeze plug repairs, Green shrink tubing and weird thing sticking up behind oil filter.

[RobertKB]

Cool old DeSoto. Looks like a survivor.  Thanks for posting. 

[Booger]

That is such an awesome story dude! This is why we do this!

Make a new friend! thanks for sharing

[1950 Special Deluxe]

Great work Keith. 
I will watch your channel for updates. 

[T120]

Hey Keith, Thank you for the update. A very nice "survivor" vehicle. Looking forward to more photos when you get the chance. At first glance  - doesn't appear to be too much wrong that can't be easily corrected.?

[joecoozie]

8 hours ago, chrysler1941 said:

So does freeze plug repairs, Green shrink tubing and weird thing sticking up behind oil filter.

The shrink tubing is on the battery cable end to prevent it from shorting out.

The weird thing behind the oil filter appears to be the speedometer cable end

The coil should be mounted on the firewall - you can see the hole for it.

Nice car. If it was for sale I'd be interested.

[tom'sB2B]

Great find. Hopefully you can free the car from the garage and the detritus of life, cruising the back roads again. It inspires the rest of us that maybe there are cars still hidden in the garages of our home town. ?

[keithb7]

The odd looking object at the block expansion plug at the left front upper area of the block, is actually a heater element. It's a block heater. The 120V AC power cord is missing. Up here in Canada we plug in a block heater so the block does not freeze, and it heats up sooner. -40 celsius is not fun. 

 

The more modern coil with both primary voltage connections on the front of the coil has been installed here. I was not done well, but easily fixable.

Edited August 29, 2021 by keithb7

[chrysler1941]

@joecoozie Thank you for explaining to me what shrink tubing is. Someone uses shiny green tubing. Suspect.

 

@keithb7 I'm not referring to heater element. I also live in a country with same latitude as mid Canada. It's the shiny freeze plug under ignition wire holder in a rusty engine. Suspect.

 

Seems someone has worked on engine not long ago. Band air repairs probably failed and looks like owner gave up. 

Still curious to know what the white cup behind filter is.

[belvedere]

7 hours ago, chrysler1941 said:

 

Still curious to know what the white cup behind filter is.

Yeah, that is interesting. Almost looks like a mechanical gauge of some sort, but really hard to tell.

[Dodgeb4ya]

When some of us get older...repairs on a car can be difficult to do right.

Finding a good thru the firewall coil can be extremely difficult...let alone getting up under the dash to access the armored cable.

The owner maybe not be mechanically inclined..who knows.

The work on the car was done not right but enough possibly to kept it running...

Kudos to the owner keeping it inside and proudly owning it.

He's a good guy and owner ...you can tell by reading keith's story.

A lucky future for both the 37 DeSoto and owner after meeting Keith!

[T120]

1 hour ago, belvedere said:

Yeah, that is interesting. Almost looks like a mechanical gauge of some sort, but really hard to tell.

Possibly another block heater,hard to tell from the photo. It does on occasion get very cold here in the winter and an oil pan heater is required as well.?

 

 

[joecoozie]

1 hour ago, T120 said:

Possibly another block heater,hard to tell from the photo. It does on occasion get very cold here in the winter and an oil pan heater is required as well.?

 

 

That looks right

[capt den]

wonder if the engine spins by hand. car looks like it should be brought back to life. we all know how much work that will take, so is the owner up to it? maybe keith can motivate him. hope to find out is back on the road in 6 months and cruising with other mopars.    capt den

[T120]

This is a picture of a  (vintage) Carter head bolt heater...

 

[Andydodge]

This is what I like about this forum..........I do LEARN things..........here in Oz I've never seen nor heard of anyone using or needing a block heater of any sort and T120's pic showing a head bolt heater is something I've never even imagined let alone seen...........so thanks, its things like this is what makes this forum so great..........Andy Douglas. 

[sidevalvepete]

Wondering if there is anything to update on here Keith...?

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

little late to the thread but looking at the pictures  in post 1 you got to wonder if he is shooting to make this a battery operated hybrid...

[Dan Hiebert]

I missed the original post.  I too am curious regarding an update.  And, it is green...Keith seems drawn to green late '30s MoPars?

[keithb7]

No Update. I've had second thoughts about going back. I figure if I go look at it, I'll be tempted to try and strike a deal. 2 years ago the elderly owner still hoped to do something with it. There is a lot of odds stacked against him to do that. I'm sort of at the "wait-and-see" what unfolds stage. In order for me to take this project on, it would have to be priced right. I might be tempted.

 

I'd love to own the car and fix it up but my '38 Plym would have to go. I already have a coupe. My '38 Chrysler. I also like owning a sedan so I can pack-in more people. Maybe the right answer is I offer to take the Desoto to my garage.  I park my Plymouth in his garage. I work on his 37 Desoto with the plan to get it running and drive-able again. He pays for all the parts, freight, fluids etc. He gets to retain ownership and drive it again. I get the pleasure and satisfaction of fixing it. 

 

6 hours ago, Dan Hiebert said:

 And, it is green...Keith seems drawn to green late '30s MoPars?

Lol. I am not drawn to green Mopars. Then find me! Every single flathead Mopar I have owned (3) have been green. I am hopeful someday another color may appear...?

 

Yet this orphaned, disparaged green '37 Desoto tugs at me. A very rare car. If it was made in Canada I'd guess they may have built 25 of them or so. It needs to be dug out. It needs to be nursed back to life and be enjoyed.  Why do I want to take-in these stray dogs? Lol.  I know they'll cost me more money and time.

Edited June 11, 2023 by keithb7

[Dodgeb4ya]

I think you will own it.