I'm older than most on here, I think. Here's a picture from probably 1955-56 or so. Our 1952 DeSoto. Nothing special, huh? Four door sedan, wide whitewalls, completely stock exterior. Under the hood, though, its original 276 hemi had been bored to a 291, heads milled .100, dual two barrel carburetors, Mallory Magspark ignition and dual exhaust with truck mufflers. Despite being handicapped with Chrysler's ridiculous Fluid Drive, it was pretty quick for a daily driver in its day. Would easily outrun a Rocket 88 Oldsmobile. Even outran a 55 Chevy with power pack (but Powerglide trans).
That's me and my sister standing by the car.
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