1948 Desoto Suburban 2001 Dodge V8 Drivetrain Rat Rod Patina Special -Project

1948 DeSoto Custom Ratrod Description

This is a pretty interesting ride. A 1948 Desoto Suburban sitting on a 2001 Dodge 2500 pickup chassis and drivetrain. Done by a fellow down in Tucso, Arizona not too long ago. Which he said he used as a daily driver and even drove it up the Interstate to Phoenix a time or 2. Must not of been at nite as there is no front left headlite,or wiring for it.. Or in the rain as there is no wiper setup.Small stuff out here in bright sunny dry Arizona. But might be an issue elsewhere. While he considered it a daily driver, I would not. Needs interior finished, needs lights hooked up,signals fixed, maybe waterproof some of the Dodge electronics up in the engine bay and in the cut wheelwells. Most of the flt glass is original 1948 and has cracks, chips, delamination and other flaws . Some would call it character,some would want to replace it. . The previous owner said the Desoto was used on a ranch in Mexico and was used to bring guests back and forth to the airport.Even has neat 1959 turista decals on back glass. He used the pretty much rustfree body on a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 chassis and drivetrain.Which he said had 100k miles or so on it. He has bags in the rear and cut the front coil springs up front. Which when I got it had like a 1/2 inch tire clearance to the fender lip. I said no way and took the stock 245/75/16 tires off up front and put some 205/55/16 on to give plenty of clearance. I have some stock 2001 Dodge front coil springs that would help with clearance if you want to go bigger front tires. And that would help a lot with the ride as the cut springs there now stink in that department.The Desoto body is probably as nice clean and rustfree as is out there. Some very small rust issues here and there but this body is solid.Looks to of never seen a paint job in its life. He was doing the interior up but never finished. I put a piece of foam padding on the drivers seat and left it at that. The 5.2 318 V8 engine runs great, The brakes,drivetrain,transmission, suspension, exhaust, differential, fuel system, steering, etc etc are all modern 2001 Dodge. Even has the factory tilt steering wheel with airbag in it. He used the Dodge instrument pod and hung it below the neat chrome Desoto dash. And even has the heat/AC assembly from the Dodge hanging up in the passenger footwell. The heat works. Not sure on the AC but it is all there including the condenser and compressor. This is a work in progress. Unless you are insane,or close, I would not go down the highways very far until the front coils, the lighting, the wiper, the seats and interior are done some more. I drive it around town here and it is a hoot. Will chirp the tires, stops fast and is something that you do not see everyday,It starts right up smooth as can be, idles smooth as can be.Has a CD player and a cigarette lighter in the glovebox hidden away behind that beautiful chrome glovebox door. I have some boxes of extra parts, including a not bad front bumper. He cut the rear bumper into 3 pieces as he added 4 inches or so to the rear fenders to get the Dodge rear end under there.And added a lower rear pan below the trunk. If I keep it, I would put a frame receiver hitch on and haul my car trailer around in style,. This is project. It is not finished. It needs work. But is as solid and rustfree a 1948 Desoto Suburban as you will ever find. Sitting on modern drivetrain. Where else have you seen one? Let me know if you need more pictures as I can only put 24 on Ebay. I might be able to help with transport as I travel around the West Coast with my truck and trailer. And no problem getting it to Long Beach shippers for 300 bucks if you are an overseas buyer. Desoto has straight clean Arizona title listed as 1948 and matches the vin plate on door post and has a current 2017 Arizona license plate on it.. I even have the Arizona title for the 2001 Dodge pickup it sits on. This thing is neat. If I had half a brain, I would never sell it.