We all know the story of Miss Belvedere, the Tulsa time capsule that ultimately was a failed project, but not 40 miles away, another Plymouth was last put on the road in 1965, this one, a 1958 model. A young man from near Tulsa got out of the service in 1965, and bought a 1958 Belvedere convertible from a used car lot in central California, and drove it across the country back to his home in rural eastern Oklahoma. Something mechanical had happened shortly thereafter, and the car was parked behind his brother in law's garage, and left to slowly sink into the ground, soon to be forgotten. 5 years ago, a friend of mine was considering buying some property in the area, and happened to spot the car from the cab of his truck, and snapped a few photos. He stopped at the house, but nobody was home, so he left a note inquiring if the car was for sale. Nothing more was heard of it for some time. A customer of mine in Minnesota was heading west to Redding Ca. to pick up a vintage house trailer he had bought, using his beefed up '65 F-250 as a tow vehicle. He came over to the yard to pick up a number of '58 Ford body parts he was buying from me, and after leaving, came back a short while later saying his truck was cutting out in the hills. We checked the usual culprits, fuel filter, ignition points, etc. but found nothing wrong. I told Patrick that he could stay with us until his truck was safe to drive home, and he told me he was headed to eastern Oklahoma, where he and his wife had moved to. I mentioned the Belvedere that Jim had sent me photos of, and asked him to keep an eye out for it. Patrick was here almost a week, until we discovered a loose connection in a primary ignition wire beneath the dash, everything had been re-wired, and some of it not so well. After re-wiring, the cutting out was cured, and Patrick made his trip back home to Oklahoma. Five months later, I got a call from him, he had located the car, and gotten a price from the owner, after going back five times. Seems the car was just 20 miles away from him! I wired him the money, and he paid for the car and extracted it from its resting place of nearly 50 years, and brought it to his ranch for storage. I paid Jim, the fellow that originally found the car, to bring it back to California for me
The car is still sporting its California black plates, last tagged in 1965. Also full of oak leaves that drifted in through the remains of the convertible top for years and years after it deteriorated. Equipped with factory A/C, unusual for a ragtop of this vintage, especially an entry level make.
Beneath the hood was a bit of a surprise, a Dodge Red Ram poly engine, and not fully installed. I surmise the owner had engine failure with the 318, and began to install the Dodge engine, only to never complete it. I pressure washed nearly fifty years of dirt, leaves, and other crud from the interior and engine bay. The floors and trunk floor were shot, from all the years of water going directly into the car, but other than that, things looked pretty decent.
Man what i find! I really dig those 57-58 Plymouths. I'm shocked at how good the body looks after sitting for all those years. Have you gotten a look at the frame etc to see how bad that is? Congrats on the purchase. Tony
I've got a '59 Desoto convertible my wife would like me to do next, so as to keep her happy, I'd best stay on that program. LOL!
Surprisingly, the frame and supports looks good, not even any heavy pitting. I have some pics of the underside I'll post up. ---John
In order to clean the underside, as ground squirrels and moles had packed dirt into every possible crevice, I used the forklift to raise the car, and I thoroughly cleaned the underside. Got soaked in the process, but oh well. Things were in better shape than I was initially thinking they would be.
I'm really impressed with the lack of rot on the body and heavy metal under it. If that car sat here for those years outside there wouldnt be much left. It'd make Miss Belvedere look like a museum piece! Again, nice score! Tony
Always nice to hear that a late 50's Mopar ragtop is in your good hands. Good luck with this one when you get to it. (That Desoto sounds cool too!!)
Wow, that's solid! As a certifiable rare gizmo option whore that car really does it for me.. A Plymouth Ragtop from the 50s with factory air? Yes, please! I know you have your hands full with the '59 but after that car this should be a walk in the park for you. Looks like it was originally blue... What color did you have in mind for it?
Looks to have been two-tone blue [before the sun did it's magic] with blue/white interior. Sounds like a nice combination in my book. ---John
how do you find all these old Mopars friend great score what about your current project ? bob in Grants Pass Or
Aaaarrrrggggg!!!!!!!! Here's another of your threads that I'll have to follow. That does look really solid. It's very cool to see these old Mopars being built. Any pics of the Desoto that you'll be building?
Looking at the first photos I'd never have guessed it was once blue! How many miles does it have, and did you get the rest of the A/C setup with it?
What a great find! Except for the floors the rest of it looks really solid. Question; I always thought all '58 Belvederes had silver anodized aluminum trim inside the side spear. Does this not have it? Did it ever, and if not, how unusual is that? Thanks for sharing this with us!
Probably just luck, Bob, although having a daily driver '57 Fury helps. I've had ,many people come up to me and say they know where a car like it is, although the lead usually turns out to be an entry level sedan. ---John
Here are a few photos of when I got it. A guy started restoring it in the early eighties, took it to bare metal, and lost interest. It sat inside his barn until a demo derby driver found it when buying an Imperial parts car that was on the property. I sanded the surface rust off and sprayed paint over the bare metal to keep the rust from progressing. ---John
The A/C parts that are missing, are just that...Missing. The PO did not remember what happened to them. I should have most of those parts here, I need to do some looking around to see what I can find. ---John
John, Probably fifty percent were ordered with the aluminum Sportone inserts, and an equal amount were painted, depending on how the car was ordered. ---John
It seems like 7 years on the road for those 57 to 59 Mopars was the normal even in the better climate areas,somewhere on here in another thread was a picture of a 57 or 58 convertible that was parked in 65.
Here are some items I found beneath the back seat- Two pop bottles, Pepsi, and Kickapoo Joy Juice [those that remember the Lil' Abner comic strip will know what this was about] Also two Schlitz beer cans, one crushed, and the other unopened, although the beer escaped when the can rusted. In the remains of the trunk is a half full Havoline oil can, and a Charter grease can. ---John
I've spent some time cleaning lichens and surface rust off, there really isn't any heavy surface rust, most of what is showing is a brown primer. I replaced the deck lid, as the old one was rusty along the lower edge. Also, I replaced the front bumper and installed the grill V and hood badge. I rounded up the majority of the missing A/C components and radiator as well. Now time to place it in dry storage until I get a few other projects done. ---John
I was thinking of using a 392 hemi, as I recently dragged in a '58 wagon parts car that one was installed in. ---John
I had a spare couple of hours a week ago, so I unbolted the 392 and torqueflite from the donor wagon. The oil had the consistency of honey, and a small amount of water drained from the transmission when I first cracked the drain plug loose. I'm sure I'll need to rebuild both anyhow, so no big deal. These will be set aside for the ragtop when I can get to it. ---John
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