“Retirement.” A simple word that conjures up different images for each of us – travel, fishing, golf, or a retreat in the woods. Seldom does anyone picture a retirement engaged in the same activity as the working years – unless you’re a “car guy,” whom after years of making other people’s dreams a reality, you’re finally afforded time to fulfill your own.
Ed Britz of Delmont, PA, is a car guy! A retired body man and shop owner, Ed’s greatest passion is building customs and street rods. You may recall the red ’49 Cadillac convertible he built a decade ago, but for Ed the car memories go back much further. “I built my first car at age twelve, using wood and a set of soap box derby wheels. It was kind of crude, but it was the beginning. At 13, I bought my first real car, a 1930 Model A coupe, for $65. I drove it on the back roads and through the fields of rural Pennsylvania. I’ve been hooked ever since,” he recalled.
Ed always wanted to build and customize a mid-’50s DeSoto, looking long and hard before finally locating one across the country in Idaho. The owner sent him photos, and soon a deal was struck to bring the DeSoto home. The shipper soon arrived with a well weathered ’55 DeSoto Fireflite. Ed recalled, “When it arrived here a week later, I was very disappointed. I contacted the seller who stated the pictures he had sent were over fifteen years old and the car had been parked under a tree since then.” He concluded with, “I guess you’re never too old to learn that sometimes people aren’t always honest, but I dealt with it and moved on. After all, I had a car to build.”
Work progressed quickly as Ed put a lifetime of experience to work modifying the old Mopar’s metal. The top was chopped three inches then lengthened to create a visor over the windshield. The factory drip rails were replaced with a smooth custom lip. New body side moldings were machined from brass and chrome plated to emulate the originals.
Britz removed all ornaments, emblems, and door handles, replaced the grille with a ’56 DeSoto grille, and added shortened, recessed, and customized ’56 DeSoto parking lights. Ed also flipped the rear bumper upside down to hug the body, installed a rear license plate frame from a ’53 Studebaker, and added a rear package tray made from a ’56 DeSoto dash built to resemble the front dash.
Ed admitted the most difficult part of his build was fitting the curved glass in the new shortened openings. Ed demanded all the glass be flush fit with no gaskets or moldings, so the back glass was recessed into the sail panel while the curved glass windshield was cut down to the new opening size. Once all the body modifications were complete and smoothed laser straight, Ed laid down several coats of PPG Black and ’56 DeSoto Adventurer Gold paint.
Beauty is more than skin deep. Replacing the 291ci DeSoto Hemi is an Indy Cylinder Heads 528ci Hemi and a Keisler-built GM 4L60E transmission. A host of other chassis and performance modifications ensure this Hemi-powered monster is not just a beauty queen.
Completing the build in just 32 months, Ed can be seen regularly at local car shows. He exclaimed, “I love this car; every time I drive it it’s a memorable experience. It’s a blast to drive!” Asked if there is anything he’d change, he wasted no time in answering, “The color!” He went on to add, “I love the black, it’s just high maintenance, although I can’t imagine the car in any other color.”
SPECIFICATIONS
1955 Desoto fireflite
Ed & Carol Britz, Delmont, PA
Chassis
Frame Modifications: Z’d two inches in the front
Suspension: RideTech, Air (front and rear)
Brakes (front, rear): Dodge Dakota, Lincoln, Discs
Engine/Drivetrain/Wheels/Tires
Engine Model, Size: Indy Cylinder Heads, 528ci Hemi
Transmission: Keisler, GM 4L60E
Rear Axle: John’s Industries Nine-inch Ford, 3.70:1
Headers: Stainless Steel, by owner
Wheels, Tires (front, rear): Intro “Hammer,”
17x7-inch, 17x8-inch, 225/50ZR17, 235/55ZR17
Interior
Upholstery by: Dave Crissy Custom Interiors, Johnstown, PA
Upholstery Material, Color: Leather, Tan
Gauges: Classic Instruments
Seats: 2000 Cadillac Eldorado
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