Wisconsin man searching for a piece of Ada's history
Apr. 6—By Richard R. Barron — The Ada News
"DeSoto" Dave Frank of East Troy, Wisconsin is searching for some history connected to a 1956 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman 2 door hardtop he is restoring.
In a recent email to The Ada News, Frank said, "The car is mostly white with a yellow color sweep and roof, which are the original colors for the car. It was purchased new at Wheeler Motor Company in Ada, Oklahoma according to Chrysler Historical and the build card for the car. This would have made it one of the first DeSotos sold by the dealer. The next 10 or so years are unknown, but presumably, the car was purchased by someone somewhat local. In the mid to late 60s, the car ended up in a junkyard in Enid called Sooner Auto, operated by Dick Williams. Based on the car being in good cosmetic condition, but with a badly bent crankshaft and a broken main cap, we assume the car was raced and driven hard in those first 10 years to cause that kind of damage. The car was in the yard for a year or two before it was pulled out by Robert Merritt of Enid. He stored the car, along with some others, in a building in Caldwell, Kansas for the next 20 or so years until one winter when heavy snow collapsed the roof of the building. The car suffered damage to the roof, hood, and passenger fender. The car was sold to a collector named Ron Ondres in Cedar Lake, Indiana, who started a restoration before losing interest.
"My dad purchased the car in November 2002, bringing it to southeast Wisconsin where we live. In July 2004, I started purchasing the car at the age of 12, making it my first car ever. 20 years later in 2024, I am still working on a full frame-off restoration to put the car back to better-than-new condition. Currently, the car is in Kansas for the body/paint work and is in the reassembly stages. Amazingly, the damage to the internal components of the motor did not hurt the block and so the original engine is rebuilt and back in the car."
According to Frank, Ada's Wheeler Motor Company was operated by Earl Wheeler and started as a Studebaker dealer in 1951. On October 19, 1955, he officially started selling DeSoto and Plymouth automobiles, which would have been 1956 models and only been about a month prior to my car arriving, which was built on November 14, 1955. The location at the time of the DeSoto-Plymouth dealer opening was 228 E 10th. On May 27, 1958, Earl Wheeler had an auction and sold off all of the parts and service equipment, getting out of the new car business. A February 18, 1957 article refers to a new location at "10th and Constant", but references before and after that refer to the same 228 E 10th location.
"Perhaps they acquired another property in 1957," Frank added, "that allowed them to expand but retained the original property and continued using it for the address."
Frank says the main information he would like to discover is photos of the 228 E 10th building as a DeSoto-Plymouth dealer, any information regarding the original owner(s) in that first 10-year span, any license plate frames, dealer nameplates, literature, etc. with the Wheeler Motor Co. name on it, and any other leads related to the car or dealership.
If you have any information you think might help Frank, you can call him at 262-745-8161, or email fireflite56@gmail.com.
Frank is the editor of DeSoto Adventures, National DeSoto Club, Inc.
