a huge, special thanks to rc57 for posting this pic on the "great lakes drag way union grove wi. pics" thread and thanks to he and his dad for sharing the pics. I started this thread because this custom is significant in a number of ways; a chopped, lowered, door handle shaved, louvered hood, twin spotlights 1957. Plymouth built and finished in 1957 would be outstanding anywhere, then or now for showing up in the southern Wisconsin area in 1957. being drag raced at the time. it was seen cruising on the streets of Milwaukee, Wi. on weekends, so between the cruising and racing, it wasn't a trailer queen. perfect example of an outstanding custom that was typical of many customs thru out the USA that, never got any magazine exposure. Here is what I remember about the car, if my memory is correct, 57 years has passed. Any pics, new or more accurate info is what we need; car was owned by Bill Block, lived in the Kenosha, Wi/Waukegan, Il. area. His parents owned a large manufacturing firm in the same area. Bill continued to build customs and hot rods until he passed away late 1990's, early 2000's. don't know who did the custom work. For as long as I heard about Bill and his cars, he was strictly hands on during the build when it came to what changes were made. I don't recall any comments about him buying a finished car. my memory and the pics place the car in 1957. When I would see it cruising at night, I believe it was black, it was like a low, sleek black ghost looking to grab your custom car soul and devour it. It got mine. I saw the car maybe a half a dozen times but it stuck in my memory like the first customs I saw in early Hop Up and other magazines. I never saw it after 1957. Where did it go? by 1958, Bill was showing the first custom version of his 1936 Ford. Did the Plymouth go down the road to finance the 36? From back in the day! Curt R
as I was putting this thread together, I recalled seeing a color pic of a chopped 57 Plymouth on the internet a while back, thought I had printed it. I dug thru a bunch of stuff and here is the pic. I find a Bigelow Motors in Belleview, New Jersey. OK East coast guys, what do you remember? Don't know if its the Bill Block car. The side view mirrors have been replaced by the spotlites that may have been moved from the door. Hope the east coast guys can identify owner or ? I scanned this pic from the internet in 2008. Curt R View attachment 2738458
Check out the 5 1/2" high beam subbed for the stock park/turn signal. And it's a Belvedere, not a cheaper one. May have been a 2 - 4 bbl 318 ...
Man these cars look good chopped!!! That one in the first post looks just plain evil, makes "Christine" look like a nice family cruiser.
There was a chopped '57 featured in an old HRM, but probably not the same car. It also had a louvered hood, but, as I recall, a '61 Dodge back window. It is possibly the car in post #4. A distinctive feature was the use of Buick port holes in the fender tops, just behind the headlights. If this thread stays current, I may be able to dig it up for a scan.
Thank you for posting this being a MOPAR custom enthusiast 57-62 mostly (I like the big years) this is the nicest cleanest classiest example I've ever seen of one being they were rarely customized do to obvious reasons it is awesome to see another great example! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I have always loved the late 50,s Mopar products These two look sooo coool ill have to see about digging up a pic of my 56 300B I drove around in after high school.
It is really neat to see something in the '50's Mopar line. Ya see a lot of Fords, Mercs, and Chevys. Thanks for the post!!!
Curt, thanks for posting that great photo! I've never seen a photo of Bill's chopped Plymouth before. The other picture (in color) is Hank Blank's Plymouth from NJ. Like someone else said, it was in a magazine feature (I think Car Craft) in the early '60s. However, the article wasn't very good; there were no photos where you could see the whole car in one shot. All of them either showed just the front, just the back, or just the rear window treatment, etc. The photo you posted of Hank's car shows it off better than any of the photos in the magazine article.
A stock bumper yes - but with the optional wings, usually found on Fury models. They are VERY rare and sought-after. Ask me how I know. Haha...
I'd only seen the one like on the plym in front of Bigelow motors in post #4. I learn something everyday!
W o W. I would've never envisioned such a nice lookin' chop on that roofline.....or pair of rooflines here. Amazing.....and with gas and hammer ? PfFfffttt..... !! What a difference with today's tools to compare to. Those guys were magicians.
My father took this picture of Hank's car, He was friends with Hank. Also has pictures of his chopped '58 Fury. Unfortunately the car was loaned to someone who crashed the car and died.
Very cool car. I stumbled upon another thread of hanks car. Can't seem to post a link from my iPad but I'm sure a quick search will turn it up.
Dual 4 bbl 318 was Fury only in 57 and 58 .... There's an ad in a 1957 HRM that lists the "V-800" 2 4bbl engine available in any Plymouth.
Very cool car from my home state. Also appears to have shaved the grille emblem and has some different emblem on the leading edge of the hood, probably a ton of small custom touches on this car that aren't obvious at first. Would love to find out that this car still exists. Great pic, too.
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