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H

hi-roller

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
125
Location
eastern pa
A little light on the '49 Plymouth convert we have. Starting off being a 40's plymouth ragtop in itself is a pretty rare thing, as icing on the cake its an original late fifties-early sixties custom. The spotlights are old 4in. GE's, the interior was upulstered in vinyl, it has a Ford 9incher, a 303 poly hemi, three on the tree, nosed and decked, 1956 Kelsey-Hayes wire rims, dual exhaust that exits out the bumperettes, and a true history.
The car was built as one of those Highschool cruisers by its original owner and his friend (the guy we bought it from). The two used to go double dating in the Norristown Pa area. Its been stored in a garage for almost 40 years? Its an unmolested original old school hot rod. The back tires are are almost bald. Gee someone used have fun with it. The guy said the car could light em up at the slightest touch of the gas. And it looks like it.
 

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Really cool car and story hi-roller. If it were me, I would make it mechanically sound and leave the rest of it as is. But I know my dad would want it fully restored to it's former glory.
 
I remember finding one of these in a local wreckers...it seems that i remember it not having rear seating, like a roadster....I mentioned to a friend, who told his buddy....bought it out from under me, then promptly KILLED it by cutting down a LARGE tree on his property...guess where it landed... couldnt even save the grille....dammit. Nice score , BTW!!!
 
Really a pretty rare car for sure. I agree, fix the mechanicals and drive the thing to death. Those wheels alone are very rare. This isn't a cheap car by any means.

Don
 
We would like to drive it but the thing is it back fired and broke :(, not bent, one of the push rods which in turn opened a whole slew of expensive engine problems causing it reside in its current garage bay. Also any body with leads on running 50's polys would be a great help thanks.
 
I'm with the rest of these guys. Get it running & drive the _ _ _ _ out of it. Not only is the car a rare piece being a drop-top but it's an original 50's-60's custom, too. That's the look & feel I'm hoping for with my 47.
 
I know its been awhile since ive posted here but i believe this story needs to be put up here.



Today i was outside wrenching on my 1950s bf goodrich bike when all of the sudden i see this old man walking down my drive towards me. He introduces himself and tells me he built this car. I look at him skeptically and then he proceeds to start telling me about the car. He tells me everything that i knew and then some.

Back in his youth, the builder would pick up used Model A's for $25 and flip them at a profit. Well one day in 1952 he was at a ford dealer and the plymouth was sitting there on the back lot. He asked about it, put $25 down to hold the car, and promptly returned to pay the rest of the $650 he owed for the 5 year old convertable.
In 1954 he paid $380 ish (i dont remember the exact figure) for a set of Kelsey hayes wire rims. 3 years later he pulled a 57 didge lancer engine, trans and rear (not a ford 9inch as previously thought) out of a wreck. Around this time he also redid the interior, decked and nosed it, added custom touches to the grill, and flipped the bumper to put the exhaust ports through the bumperettes along with adding a chevy lisence plate suround. He took the car to shows around the philadelphia show and racked up trophies as he went including a best of show at a Custom and Street rod show in philly (i dont remember the exact name of the show).
In 1972, he sold the car to a friend who had cancer but the terms of the sale included the builder to get the car back when the friend passed. This friend owned the car untill 1976 when he died and the car was given to his brother in law, the guy we bought the car from. From 1976 till the 1990s, mr bono, the guy we bought the car from, would go out start the car take it around the black and do burn outs for neighborhood kids.
The plymouth has been sitting outside for the last year and a half because of our recently aquired 1918 caddillac speedster taking its place in ths stable.
 

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