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Elite Veteran
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Location: Kansas City, Kansas | Wow!
http://jalopnik.com/396320/super+rare-dodge-sweptside-bides-its-tim... |
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Expert
Posts: 2309
Location: The Bat Cave, Fairborn, OH | These pics date back a year or two, but this yard in Phoenix is a car nut's dream (Desert Valley Auto Parts). With the absolute lack of rust (except on obviously Midwestern cars), the parts are nearly pristine. The crown jewel, in my book, is the 1957 Dodge Sweptside pickup. Yes, that's the limited production version with DeSoto wagon panels stuck to the bed. For $3500 I almost bit, but we all tell the same story with a different make/model. Here's info on the super-rare Sweptsides, which were stepside pickups with DeSoto station wagon fenders stuck on intended for the Lincoln Blackwood/Mark LT/Chevy Cameo crowd. Sounds like it's being offered for a reasonable price. I never heard of DeSoto wagon panels being used though; I thought they were all graced with Dodge panels.
 (1957 Dodge Sweptside front.jpg)
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 1957 Dodge Sweptside front.jpg (74KB - 691 downloads)
1957 Dodge Sweptside rear.jpg (40KB - 276 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
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Location: bradenton florida | I can't believe the guy had to think about it for only 3500. and still hasen't gotten it |
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Expert
Posts: 1357
Location: Iowa USA | Even the Desoto version did not use Desoto quarters (It used 56 Plymouth 2-door wagon quarters) and was only for export
The Fargo even used Dodge quarters and was for the Canadian market |
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| phins - 2008-06-18 2:10 PM
I can't believe the guy had to think about it for only 3500. and still hasen't gotten it
I'm betting this truck has LONG SINCE been snapped-up by some lucky buyer...
As stated in the article, the pictures aren't new:
"These pics date back a year or two, but this yard in Phoenix is a car nut's dream (Desert Valley Auto Parts)."
Of course, there's one quick way to find out... Call DVAP at 1-800-905-8024.
(If they don't know what you're talking about, ask for a number to get in touch with Red at the "South Yard.")
-NM
Edited by Nathan D. Manning 2008-06-18 5:15 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1622
Location: Seville, OH | For my money, the DeSoto version looks way better than the Dodge. To me the Dodge looks like what it was, a kluge job. There was no graceful transtion from the cab to the bed; totally mismatched styles. And they should have used a station wagon type tailgate, not the utility truck style. But then, I think a 1961 Plymouth looks good, so what do I know.
Edited by Swept57 2008-06-18 11:57 PM
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Expert ,, George Passed away July 28th 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1295
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | They were Dodge 2 door wagon quarters with an additional 6 or so inches added at the front. |
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Expert ,, George Passed away July 28th 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1295
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Nathan....
This truck has been sitting down there for about two years that I know of.... Pictures don't tell the whole story.
George
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Location: Parts Unknown | Swept57 - 2008-06-19 8:41 PM
For my money, the DeSoto version looks way better than the Dodge. To me the Dodge looks like what it was, a kluge job. There was no graceful transtion from the cab to the bed; totally mismatched styles. And they should have used a station wagon type tailgate, not the utility truck style. But then, I think a 1961 Plymouth looks good, so what do I know.
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The Sweptline was a rushed (and cheesy) job to answer calls by dealers to give them a product to counter the GM Cameo pickups. If you have not seen one of these up close, you simply would not believe how UN-engineered these are. The quarters are literally just tack welded on over a regular stepside box with lots of air gaps and open seams. If I did not know they were genuine factory offerings, I'd swear they were some custom work done by a very amateur fab guy.
I really like the idea though, and think Mopar pulled at least the box design off better than anyone else. Remember, International also sold a finned pickup which wasn't too bad looking. What GM lacked in fin design, they made up for in overall smooth lines from nose to cab to box. The Dodge and International trucks in those years are hardly what I'd call "sleek" or "smooth" and the transition to the box was about as clean as a brick being used for a hood ornament.
It is a shame Mopar did not commit a little more effort to making the Sweptline a more unified, special design that looked a little more like a 57 New Yorker and a little less like a bulldog, like the Cameos. With that fantastic finned box, the result could only be terrific. Still, a very cool 50's vehicle. |
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Expert
Posts: 2309
Location: The Bat Cave, Fairborn, OH | chrysler300c - 2008-06-18 11:09 PM Nathan.... This truck has been sitting down there for about two years that I know of.... Pictures don't tell the whole story. George POS is it? Anything can be brought back with the application of elbow grease, TLC, and $$$$. What's the story on this truck?
Edited by 58 DESOTOS RULE 2008-06-19 11:14 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1309
Location: Comox,British Columbia | its not there still come on! |
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Location: Parts Unknown | chrycopsycho - 2008-06-20 9:00 PM
its not there still come on!
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Huh ?
its not there, still come on!
its not, there still come on!
its not there still? come on!
OK, ... how about
It's not there still? Come on!
Cap'n Punkchoo A. Shun |
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Expert
Posts: 1622
Location: Seville, OH | Well said, Cap'n |
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Expert ,, George Passed away July 28th 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1295
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Doc......
You speak of what you know very little about. Have you ever owned a Sweptside??? Or as you refer to it a Sweptline?
I have owned somewhere between 15 and 20 Sweptsides and restored several along the way..... They DO NOT have the fenders tacked on over the stepside fenders. What you have is mis-information similar to some that say the bed and tailgates were narrowed and that they also came with hemi engines..... all of which is NOT TRUE.
George
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Location: Parts Unknown | George,
I apologize for the use of the misnomer "Sweptline". I claim "befuddlement" with too many names like Fireflite, Firedome, Firesweep, Swept Wing, Sweptside, and yes there was even a "Sweptline" .... I think it referred to a spring special trim package in 58 ????
And, actually, I have "handled" several Sweptside trucks over the years. There was one in a field "collection" near Springfield, Oregon that I crawled all over and tipped someone off to who I believe purchased the truck. One of our members here has a 57 Fury that was parked not too far from this truck and might be able to vouch for its existence. I did the same thing with another I found near Creswell, Oregon. These were just two of probably half a dozen I have had the chance to inspect.
I do not believe I stated that the finned quarters were welded over the stepside fenders, but rather, that they were tack welded over a stepside BOX. I do not actually remember if they even had fenders under them at all (acting as inner fenders). What I do remember well was how poorly they were put together and that they were nothing like the Cameo trucks that I had been familiar with through friends that owned them.
Look, I have no interest in a pissing match over this. If you would like to educate us all on the finer nuances of Sweptside truck construction, then by all means, let 'er rip. I claim to be no expert on the subject and only offered my observations and related comments given to me by oldtimers years ago about how these trucks came to be as anecdotal info. Many people today have never seen one of these trucks in person.
I would be more than pleased to have someone who knows these inside and out give us all a good learnin' and look forward to your informative and constructive reply.
Thanks. |
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Expert
Posts: 2932
Location: Lemoore CA | The main thing I have never understood about sweptside trucks is the area of the bed just behind the cab, where the "rollover" top edge of the bed is visible, how nice it would have been if they had made that a smooth edge with the tacked on quarter, and then had the fin raise from that point. In my opinion, they should have added a couple of inches to the height of the quarter as well as the length that they did add. I would like to have the time and money someday, to build my own sweptside, very similar to the factory version, but smoothing out the rough edges. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | 5859 - 2008-06-21 11:49 PM
The main thing I have never understood about sweptside trucks is the area of the bed just behind the cab, where the "rollover" top edge of the bed is visible, how nice it would have been if they had made that a smooth edge with the tacked on quarter, and then had the fin raise from that point. In my opinion, they should have added a couple of inches to the height of the quarter as well as the length that they did add. I would like to have the time and money someday, to build my own sweptside, very similar to the factory version, but smoothing out the rough edges.
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I once found just the box off one of these. These did not hold up well in the wet climate of western Washington and Oregon, so, like most others I saw back then, it was pretty rusty. Anyway, .. I looked it over several times, thinking "What can I do with this?" I think the guy wanted $500 for the thing, and this was when I paid $1500 for a 58 Belvedere convertible, so you can understand my hesitation.
I have never thought the Dodge trucks were the best looking trucks, and in those years they are pretty "bulldog" in their looks, so I was thinking in other directions, namely an el camino kind of design that was based off the car line rather than the trucks.
I never did do anything with that box, and years later I found a 57 Windsor 2HT custom cut down into a pick up that was really interesting. It looked to be a 1960's utilitarian custom .... someone needed a truck and had a torch kinda deal. Outside of a not-so-sleek roof graft, the car was pretty darn well executed with full 2HT fins flying high out back. The car was a solid baby blue and was in a carport just a block off Main St. in Leavenworth, Wa.
Anyone here know what became of that car ? |
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Expert
Posts: 2932
Location: Lemoore CA | Doctor DeSoto - 2008-06-21 3:13 AM
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I never did do anything with that box, and years later I found a 57 Windsor 2HT custom cut down into a pick up that was really interesting. It looked to be a 1960's utilitarian custom .... someone needed a truck and had a torch kinda deal. Outside of a not-so-sleek roof graft, the car was pretty darn well executed with full 2HT fins flying high out back. The car was a solid baby blue and was in a carport just a block off Main St. in Leavenworth, Wa.
Anyone here know what became of that car ?
I have seen at least 2 "trucks" made out of forward look cars like you describe, I think one was a Desoto, and the other may have been a Chrysler, not sure as I wasn't paying close attention, anyway, they were here in California at a mans house, his name is Victor, and he does occasionally post on this board, although I don't remember his exact user name. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 802
Location: Norcross (Atlanta area), GA | Doctor DeSoto - 2008-06-21 2:06 AM
George,
I apologize for the use of the misnomer "Sweptline". I claim "befuddlement" with too many names like Fireflite, Firedome, Firesweep, Swept Wing, Sweptside, and yes there was even a "Sweptline" .... I think it referred to a spring special trim package in 58 ????
Not quite. Sweptline became the name that Dodge/Fargo used for its conventional full-width box pickup trucks, starting in mid-1959, when it replaced the Sweptside box on the Power Giant-era 1957-60 trucks. The box used on these trucks lasted through the 1960 model year, after Chrysler sold the tooling for this box to Studebaker.
Note on this particular link the advertising for Dodge Power Giants With the Forward Look: http://hometown.aol.com/powergiant/1958de.html
Chrysler hung on to the Sweptline name for its 1961-71 Dodge/Fargo trucks, naming the full-width boxes Sweptline and the stepside-style boxes Utiline. These trucks should be legitimate items of some interest to this forum, designed on Virgil Exner's watch and launched for the 1961 model year, with Elwood Engel's 1965 light cargo box makeover an added improvement. The '61-71 trucks have their fans also, and they have their own forum, so check them out:
http://www.sweptline.org/
The Dodge Division must have had a thing about the word swept.
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Location: Parts Unknown | OK, then what was the spring special chrysler trim called that came from both ends and passed each other on the door, missing alignment by a few inches and the space between being painted accent color ? Dartline ?
Thanks for the thorough input on those later trucks. Not exactly my bag, but good information well presented. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 802
Location: Norcross (Atlanta area), GA | Dartline was the name of the two-tone spring special trim used for the 1958 Chrysler Windsor, but I don't know if that trim name was also used on the Saratoga. And I don't know if the Desoto Division used similar trim.
Exner never did like the original 1961 mesh grille for his Dodge pickups, even though he favored centralized front grilles that primarily surrounded the radiator. His revised 1962 Dodge truck horizontal bar grille was one of the last things he did before he left Chrysler.
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61s.jpg (4KB - 169 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 1918
Location: Hell's Outhouse - a.k.a. Buckeye, Arizona | mrtester - 2008-06-25 8:26 AM
Dartline was the name of the two-tone spring special trim used for the 1958 Chrysler Windsor, but I don't know if that trim name was also used on the Saratoga. And I don't know if the Desoto Division used similar trim.
'58 DeSoto Spring Specials used anodized trim inside the sweep, along with the "proper" trunk acoutrements.
Here's a '58 DeSoto Firedome Spring Special 4 door hardtop from the Binder DeSoto collection last October (courtesy of Lee's site):
Edited by 1955Coronado 2008-06-25 4:11 PM
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'58 Firedome Spring Special.jpg (50KB - 160 downloads)
'58 Firedome Spring Special2.jpg (43KB - 175 downloads)
'58 Firedome Spring Special3.jpg (29KB - 160 downloads)
'58 Firedome Spring Special4.jpg (28KB - 165 downloads)
'58 Firedome Spring Special5.jpg (39KB - 183 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 802
Location: Norcross (Atlanta area), GA | From the Early Sweptline Files, it's Dodge Power Giant Sweptlines With the Forward Look: the color pic is courtesy of Chris Lepeer of the Early Sweptline Registry, the B/W pictures are Chrysler press release photos.
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59pgswept.jpg (12KB - 147 downloads)
pgs8-3.png (33KB - 163 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2932
Location: Lemoore CA | So what exactly is the story with this truck? Is it just junk then???? |
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Sweptside in junkyard
