There are only 79,000 miles on this beautiful 1956 DeSoto Fireflite Convertible. Very little has had to be done to it over the years and it has clearly been cherished.
The new “Forward Look” had made its appearance the previous year and we had a restyle for 1956 too. At the rear there was now a new taillight cluster with three turret style lenses on each side.
On the sides the double molding trim spread from front to back flaring out to form a color sweep panel on the rear fender.
At the front the chunky grille had gone and there was now a new perforated mesh with a large V in the center. The new, large bumper guards also incorporated the parking lamps.
Power comes from a 330 cubic inch V8 producing 255 horsepower. It was push-button driving too – with the introduction by Chrysler of the new, dash mounted gear selection. This was connected to the PowerFlite automatic transmission that came as standard.
Check out the stunning, correct white leather and rose cloth interior. It looks great with the Shell Pink and White exterior.
DeSoto made just 1,485 Fireflite convertibles for 1956 making this a pretty rare car. Had you ordered one of these new the base price would have been $3,454. Power steering would have cost an additional $97, power brakes were $40 and a powered front seat, $70.
I have a non restored 1956 fireflite convertible it was repainted then parked in 1974. It has no rust or damage and the top still looks almost new the paint shines. Its in the barn. The chrome was removed for paint and never put back on but is all there . It has a set of wire wheels and the tires still hold air. It looks the same as above but the chrome and seats are not as nice.
I had one just like that mine was gold and white good car
I recollect the transmission is Torqueflite, not Powerflite. Not 100% whether Torqueflite debuted in ’56 or ’57. Dashboard transmission selector was on the ’55, the ’56 used a set of buttons on the left side of the dash.