Projects Picking up a new old car 55 Plymouth.

A little back story first. When me and a good friend were about 19 and 20 I was building my first hot rod and he was building a mild custom 55 Plymouth Savoy 4 door. We both didn't know much, but we're picking it up quick. We got both of us cars done and driving enough that we made it to the VLV car show in Vegas from lake Hughes, California. Both of the cars evolved over time and my friend went into the navy and gave me the car. I did some stuff to it to make it a good driver and when he got out I gave it back to him. He had it for a couple years, but then he needed some money for kids and house stuff and sold it and we never saw it again. I always wanted another one and knew of a 55 Plymouth Belvedere, that was about a mile from my house that had been sitting in the back yard forever. Kind of knew the guy and asked about it but it wasn't for sale. I asked once in a while and got the same response and we would chat about cars. Earlier this year he got ahold of me and told me nobody in his family was interested in the car and if I wanted it, I could have it. So this weekend I'm finally getting it out of his place and taking it down to work to get it going again. His aunt bought it in 1957 and him and his sisters drove it
For a long time and he finally retired it about 20 years ago. Before he stopped driving it, he had pulled the heads and had put hardened valve seats in them and put it back together and running and driving and then it kind of just sat. And time went by. It's a 100% complete and shouldn't be too hard to get going again, which is great. There's a big car show up in our town. That's coming up the end of April and I'd like to get it driving again so he could take it as a surprise.

 

Here's a couple of pictures of us when we picked up the 55 when we're about 19 And looking cool, haha. And when it was finished basically and a driver. And another picture of us in my t bucket hauling ass on the freeway going to Vegas. Good times

 

That's a good lookin' car!!

 

Nice looking car, he didnt even leave the air cleaner off!

Those poly V8s are neat looking motors

 

The dashboard alone makes it worth buying. Looks like a fun project.

Those valve covers are a thing of beauty.

 

Great score ... Belvedere 2dr sedan has to be scarce. Solex glass is a plus. Be happy it's a Powerfite.
Had a few '55 - 56 Mopars over the years & was never disappointed with any of them.

 

great story & pics - have fun reliving the past and enjoying it into the future

 

Nice to see a 55 two door that is not a Chevy good for you!!

 

Looks cool!!!

 

Looks like a great car! Congrats!

 

Look how straight and solid.

That's it... next time I wanna buy an old car, I'm goin' to California.

Congrats.

 

Neat car and great score! When did Plymouth go to 12 volts? I’d cruise the the s&@t out of that Baby!

 

You ARE referring to the car, Mark? It does look good, too.

Ben

 

Plymouth went to 12 volts in 56.

 

I really like that, looks pretty solid, I'd just lower it a bit, put on some www's and cruz,...good luck with it.

 

My first ride in a fast car was a 55 Plymouth that had a 345 Desoto hemi swapped in

 

been looking for one forever myself

 

Gonna go pick up the trailer today and then I can't grab the car till Sunday but it'll be pretty cool.

 

You are just chasing all kinds of cool stuff right now. These things seem to come in waves for me too.

 

It definitely comes in waves. Couple years of nothing and then all of a sudden, within a month, couple 3 motors and a car and a bunch of extra parts. I'll take what I can get. Being honest and fair with people pays off.

 

Nice looking project! A big scrub down, some mechanical effort, then the fun begins.
Good that you've already got experience with the era and will be able to do that thing proud.

 

Slip a 440 in it and leave the outside. Perfect sleeper!

 

Well, the last one we put a 440 and a torqueflight in it. Then promptly blew up the 440 and installed a 383. It was no slouch.

 

The old go big or go (walk) home deal .
For some reason I never cared for those cars when I was growing up in the 50s, but now I'd like to find one.

 

Cool car. My aunt had a white 55 Savoy 2dr sedan when I was a kid, I was always intrigued by the dash mounted shifter. I recall those magazine articles where Steve Stanford would draw custom ideas and one was a 55 Belvedere 2dr hardtop with the white and black two tone in a 60's brawler vibe; 5 spokes, exhaust dumps, tach on the dash, etc.

 

Had a '55 2 door S.W. 6cyl / 3 gears. Lotsa fun in that car.
Even got pulled over for speeding.
Gave it to the other guy in my avatar.
Took him 6 mos to destroy it


One of my school buds had a five six, V8 put dump tubes behind the front tires

 

Exactly! Funny how few folks seem to grasp that anymore.

 

I had a 56 two door sedan with a V8 and powerflite. Nice cars. Mine had the 277 Poly which Plymouth eventually made into the 318. The poly in the 55 I think is one of the ones that can take hemi heads. Someone here will know about that for sure.

 

me likey