montanabill

Was a high schooler in the 60's when lots of the classics were new. What a time to grow up!! '57 Bel Aires and Furys, torsion bar suspension and rock and roll. My Dad sold Chrysler cars for a dealership for a while and I guess that's when my affair with the brand started. Have owned several new Mopars including an ordered new 1968 440 4 speed GTX, and a 1971 440 Six Pack four speed Dodge Charger. Had a customized 1960 Sport Fury with the Sonoramic 383 and a modded 1954 Chrysler Newport hardtop with tuck and roll interior and a blueprinted and balanced 354 Hemi and a Borg Warner T-10 4 speed. My high school driver was a '55 Plymouth Plaza 2 door club sedan with a V8 and stick and overdrive. Guess that's what started my quest to try to re-create this car. Now am a few months away from completion of my Belvedere 2 door club sedan. Over the past while I have sub-framed the car with a '77 Dodge Diplomat front section which gave me transverse torsion bar front suspension, power steering, and 11" front disc brakes. I fit in the 318 motor with a mild warm up like a street grind camshaft, high rise intake with an Edelbrock four barrel and Hedman Headers. I used the Torque Flight automatic and installed the complete rear end assembly from the Dodge. The electrical system is now 12 volt negative ground.  I'm thinking the little '55 will drive and handle very well and scoot right along with the power upgrades. My goal with the project was to have the '55 drive and handle like a much more modern car but to look completely stock right down to the shifter sticking out of the dash. I completely retired last June after a 35 year career owning and operating a mobile home sales and service, a six year stint as a county commissioner, and 10 years as a local transit bus driver. I played in a weekend country western dance band for over 40 years and got a chance to sneak in a little of that 60's rock and roll. I've had a busy happy life filled with music, work, family and of course cars. I'm attaching a couple pictures. One of my nearly completed project and one of my little brown Plaza from 50 years ago.