1956 DeSoto Fireflite Pacesetter

DeSoto was always the wallflower in Chrysler’s family, so it went ah out in January 1956 to announce it would pace that year’s Indy 500. The division created a new model for the occasion and unveiled it at parties in New York, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis.

Called the Pacesetter, the new car was a version of the top-of-the-line Fireflite convertible and stood out even in the glitzy mid-Fifties. Its body was white with a gold soft top and gold side sweep. The gold anodized trim included special aluminum wheel covers, and the aluminum mesh grille was gold with a silver "V" insert—the reverse of other DeSotos. Upholstery was gold vinyl with brown tweed inserts, carpeting was black with gold "Lurex" flecks, and the steering wheel was white and gold.

Body style: 2-door convertible

Engine: 341-cid ohv V-8

Bore x stroke (in.): 3.78 X 3.80

Horsepower: 320 (gross)

Transmission: 2-speed automatic

Driver: L. Irving Woolson

About 400 Pacesetters were built for public sale and dealers were issued stencils to duplicate the Indy bodyside lettering.

Production Pacesetters looked like the two actual pace cars (one a backup), but there vas a big difference under the hood. The replicas used DeSoto’s 255-horsepower 330-cid single-four-barrel hemi V-8. Unknown to the public, the real pace cars were fitted with a version of this engine bored to 341 cid and fortified with dual quads, a high-lift camshaft, heavy-duty valve springs, aluminum pistons, forged steel connecting rods, and a forged-steel crankshaft shot peened for strength. Compression was 9.25:1, compared to the 330’s 8.5:1, and horsepower was a robust 320.

The Driver: DeSoto president L. Irving Woolson led the field on the fastest pace lap that day and pulled off the track at over 100 mph, while a camera recorded the start trough a hole cut in the Pacesetter’s trunk lid.

The Race: Built by A.J. Watson, driver Pat Flaherty’s car had magnesium body panels that cut weight to just 1700 lbs. It could slide through turns with the left front tire fully off the pavement. Flaherty started on the pole and won his only race in five Indy ‘arts—and was the last victor to wear a short-sleeved T-shirt.

Back to Indi 500 index

Back to Main Index
  [email protected]