So here is the story of my 1949 Plymouth Business Coupe or my entry to the "just how small the world can be" contest -

Part 1 - The back ground of the 1949 Plymouth, its owner, and its early life !

My Dad’s first cousin, that he always called "Aunt Thelma" Lewis lived in London Ontario, in a large house on Waterloo Avenue. Her Dad was a builder of large homes and industrial buildings in the early 1900's and by the late 1920’s was a very wealthy man.

When the stock market crashed in 1929 the Lewis family would loose a huge portion of their wealth, although they still owned several pieces of property. They also had several Chrysler cars and would visit the Kingsbury farm which is located in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada, a place I still live in and am proud to be the 7^th generation to live here.

In 1949 my Dad would actually purchase his very first car from Aunt Thelma’s Mom. It was a 1941 Plymouth business coupe as she had bought her daughter a new Plymouth.

Dad a 17 year old, was following others in the family in the automotive trade and was apprenticing to be a mechanic at a garage in Georgetown Ontario. The garage owner also had 3 stock cars and Dad was given a chance to work on the oldest of the 3 cars which had not been very competitive in the 1948 season. Dad worked on the engine with the help of his Dad, and his Uncle and the 1949 season would see the car actually win 9 races, including 2 features.

So Dad was immediately hooked as a racing fan and he noted in his diary that he had read that Jimmy Thompson had finished 10^th in the very first “Strictly Stock” race that was held on June 19 1949 at Charlotte Speedway; a 3/4 mile dirt track in Charlotte, North Carolina. This would be the birth of Nascar. There is a clipping of a newspaper that I have no idea from what paper, that stated that Lee Petty, on the 105^th lap, rolled his 46 Buick Roadmaster. Apparently is was just after that race concluded that he vowed never to drive a heavy vehicle in competition again.

Early in the year as the conversation was taking place about buying the 1941 Plymouth, my Grandfather, my Dad, his Aunt Thelma and her Mom discussed what car she should buy for Thelma. Later in life Thelma would tell me that she was going to get a bigger 4 door but Dad had talked her into the much smaller business coupe. On a visit in February of 1949 for my Dad’s birthday, Aunt Thelma was driving her Mom’s big Chrysler. She lived at home with her Mom and worked at a Savings and Loan in London, although the honest truth was she most certainly didn’t need to work. When her Dad had passed away, her Mom had sold an apartment building that he owned for what was a huge amount of money. By huge I mean 1.8 million dollars.

Dad got to drive the big straight 8 Chrysler as he took Aunt Thelma, her Mom along with his Mother (my Grandmother) into Guelph for lunch at relatives. Some how they wound up a Wellington Motors. That was the local Chrysler, Desoto, Plymouth and Fargo Truck dealers and the dealerships owner was a very good friend of my Grandfathers.

Before they left that day Aunt Thelma had ordered a 1949 Plymouth business coupe configured with absolutely zero options. In fact, I believe it was a special order car because most Plymouths on lots had at least some options like a spare tire or hubcaps. This one was ordered, with not as much as a spare tire coming with it.

It definitely wasn’t that she couldn’t afford it, but lets just say she was frugal.

They would come back to Guelph to pick up the Plymouth on June 4^th 1949. I had mentioned the 1^st Nascar Race earlier, because while it had nothing to do with why Aunt Thelma had bought her 1949 Plymouth Business Coupe, it was ironic that when Dad got to go to the 7^th race of the Strictly Stock (Nascar) season in early October of 1949 (held at Heidleberg Raceway near Pittsburgh PA) guess what Lee Petty was driving. Yes a 1949 Plymouth Business Coupe.

In the 100-mile event at Heidelberg Speedway, Petty driving his number 42 lightweight Plymouth, was five full laps ahead of his nearest competitor when the checkered flag dropped !

He was quoted as saying "We figured the lighter car would get through the turns better," . "It would also be easier on the suspension parts. We knew we could win one with the Plymouth."

The win by Petty would be the largest margin of victory of any race that season. While Lee Petty’s #42 would be the only Mopar in the field, it really didn’t matter when he was 5 laps ahead of the 2^nd place car which was a Kasier, 7 laps ahead of the 3^rd place car which was a Ford and 8 laps ahead of the 4^th place car which would be a Chevy !

You can imagine how excited Dad was to get back home with the story of how Lee Petty was driving the exact same car as his Aunt Thelma! He was allowed to make the phone call to his Aunt Thelma’s to tell her all about it. To be honest, I doubt it really mattered to her, but she and her Mother were always excited to hear from young Eddy Kingsbury.

So Thelma would drive the 1949 Plymouth until she ordered a brand new Plymouth in 1959. The 1959 would sport a 250 ci flathead 6 cylinder. But back to the 1949. While it would have been cool if the 1949 had wound up in my Dad’s hands as the 1941 had, Thelma would sell or give the car to her best friend who like Thelma was a spinster who lived at home with her Mom.

She actually managed a license bureau. When Thelma handed over the keys for the 1949 Plymouth, with tongue firmly in cheek here, it was pretty much worn out, it had so many miles on it. I say tongue in cheek because when she sold it in 1959 it has 5,400 original miles on it and the original tires.

Interestingly enough I was alive to see her trade in her 1959 Plymouth in 1969 and it had just turned 5,000 miles.

In any case the 1949 Plymouth would move from 991 Waterloo Avenue London, down the street and across the road to 986 Waterloo Avenue London, where it was driven between May and September each year. From September to May she would drive her Dad’s Fargo pickup truck as her father had passed away a couple of years before she got the Plymouth from Aunt Thelma.

In 1989 Aunt Thelma, the life long Spinster actually got married. The standing joke when I was growing up and we asked how old she was, she would always say she was 29. So you can imagine how much fun I had at the wedding as I was the Master of Ceremony. The other interesting part was it would be her life long friend that would be her Maid of Honor and what did she come to the wedding in?…., you bet yah, the 1949 Plymouth business coupe! Her nephew had driven her to the Church in the 1949 Plymouth.

Dad and I went over and had a good look at the Plymouth that fall day in 1989 and as I looked in I noticed it had just over 17,000 miles.

Aunt Thelma would die just two years later and sadly the 6 Mopars in her garage in 991 waterloo were sold by her new Husband’s kids for a song. My father who actually shared 50% of the estate with her Husband was furious as there were some absolute museum pieces in the garage including a 1948 Chrysler Woodie that Thelma’s Mother had purchased for herself but at the time of her death in 1965 had driven it less than 200 miles in total. But I digress yet again.. lol

At her funeral in 1991 her best friend was not well enough to attend the funeral so I never did she her again. When Aunt Thelma’s estate was settled in 1992 I actually decided to go knock on the door of her friend. Unfortunately I was surprised to find out that her son had sold the house 6 months earlier and they didn’t really know where they had moved to, but thought she had died. I was definitely puzzled as I said to the new owner, I didn’t realize she was even married.

In Part two - The 1949 Plymouth raises its head again or the World is a small place contest winner ..