California Custom 1960 Desoto Fireflight

1960 Desoto Fireflight Island Girl - Owner / Builder - Duane Barbee

Kustom Body Modifications

A highly modifiedgrill surroundwas crafted from a 2003 Ford F150 grill /head light housing, it was then grafted to the front of the Desoto sheet metal. Three1956Chrysler Windsor grill wings were narrowed to fit inside the custom grill surround.

• The hood & trunk were shaved & decked & all side trim, backup lamps, license plate trim has been removed & their mounting locations filled (welded) & smoothed.

• A 1961 Buick LeSabre bumper has been modified to fit in place of the stock front bumper. The original turn signal locations in the Buick bumper were then filled & the turn signals relocated below their original locations.

• The hood corners have been rounded & the original headlight locations were tunneled & hand formed headlight buckets hold quad Harley Davidson headlights.

• Front fenders have been molded into the rockers and cowl to continue the smooth lines.

• Out back the 1961 Chrysler Imperial tail light bezels were modified and a custom adapter was made to mount the 1959 Cadillac to the 1961 Chrysler Imperial bezels that were then mounted on custom stanchions inside the modified DeSoto housings.

• Twin faux antennas have been frenched into the right inner fender.

• The Desoto rear bumper has been moved in 2” closer to the rear splash area & the license plate has been frenched with 5/8” dia. rod.

Paint – Bali Bali Bay Pearl

• Matt Means owner of Anaheim Rod & custom performed the paint work usingHouse of Kolor Shimrin 2 using 2 coats of KD3000 series custom mix seafoam sealer as the base, with 3 coats of iced mint (custom mix) pearl base, followed by 18 delicately applied coats of the custom Bali Bali Bay pearls. This was all encompassed in 3 coats of USC-01 clear then sanded flat with three more coats applied and all was finished off with meticulous color sanding and buffing.

Interior

• A 1961 Chrysler 4 way power seat was salvaged & rebuilt. The seats are pearl white with sea foam green inserts & custom pleated door panels. A modified dash area holds a custom gauge cluster fitted in in the original radio location.

Running Gear

• The Motor is a 371 c.i. (361 c.i. bored .060 over) rebuilt with new pistons & rods, polished & balanced 383 crank, 440 Source aluminum 383 heads, a Comp 21-305-A cam, an Edelbrock manifold & 600 cfm carb. The original Torqueflight transmission has been rebuilt & maintains the original typewriter shift system.

• Disc brakes have replaced the stock front drum brakes & the tires are P815/75-15 with 2 1/2:” WWW’s with 1962 Dodge SpinnerHubcaps (repops).