My new 54

[moose]

Thirty years ago, my dad bought me my first car.  I still have that blue and black 54 Belvedere Hardtop.  Today I got another one(but this time yellow and black), I was 17 then, and my son will be 17 in two years.  Two years ought to be enough time, huh?

[pflaming]

That is a very nice car. The total height of a hard to is less than a coupe of the sane year. 

[Silverdome]

Looks like a good one. Please keep us posted on the updates.

[John Reddie]

Hey Moose,

 Great score. That will be a rewarding project when you are finished?.

John R

[Plymouthy Adams]

satin black is not an option....lol  The 54's grow on a person......lot nicer trim line over the 53...but then am just voicing my own opinion....not to argue with a 53 owner...as each car CAN stand on their own merit...

[moose]

Busy day, I got it all cleaned out.  Junk out of the trunk, seats out, situation assessed.  Floors and rockers need to be done.  Lots of new and or re-chromed pieces, all the trim is there.  I still have to go back to look for a couple more pieces.  Missing the radiator bulkhead and some heater parts.  I'll come up with an engine and transmission for it.  I've got access to several 230's and even a 265, but that might be a bit much for a kids first car...

[Loren]

What a lovely gift for a son from a Dad!

My eldest son got the 66 Mustang his grand parents drove.

He rewarded their memory by doing a truly expert restoration with updates. He made it his own and he made it far nicer than the factory ever made one even by accident!

It took years but he has a car he can be proud of. Because it was such a precious car with a beloved history, while he worked on it he got another "first car" to drive.

So....

There are lots of "Disposable cars" for kids to drive. That's all a guy I know drives. He calls them "Leavers". He only puts fuel in them and changes the oil when he buys one. After that if it dies on the road, he signs the title and leaves it on the seat under the keys, gathers his gear and calls a friend to pick him up. Hence the name "Leaver".

You can tell your son his car is much admired even in this state.

[pflaming]

53 vs 54. I too prefer the 54. They made some very subtle changes: different front fenders, hood and grill, different tail lights, different side grime, all to lengthen the appearance. These row years had short frames, thus small cars. It was a marketing mistake. Other mfgrs went larger and flashier. In my opinion 53 / 54 Plymouth’s are nerdy good cars with better mechanical items, especially in the front suspension and. steering . 

[keithb7]

53 vs 54. I have intrests in the conversation! I like the 3 or 4 stars on the front grill emblem in ‘54. My understanding is the temp and oil gauges were taken away in 54. Replaced with dummy lights. My ‘53 still has actual gauges. 

[pflaming]

My grill in the 54 fenders on a 53 . All I did was replace the three pice bar with the single bar. Same holes, etc. 

[Frank Elder]

What an awesome color combo my favorite in the world is the Dodge three tone....yellow, black and white.

[Young Ed]

5 hours ago, keithb7 said:

53 vs 54. I have intrests in the conversation! I like the 3 or 4 stars on the front grill emblem in ‘54. My understanding is the temp and oil gauges were taken away in 54. Replaced with dummy lights. My ‘53 still has actual gauges. 

Not on plymouths. The 52-54s all share the same gauge package. 

[moose]

5 hours ago, keithb7 said:

53 vs 54. I have intrests in the conversation! I like the 3 or 4 stars on the front grill emblem in ‘54. My understanding is the temp and oil gauges were taken away in 54. Replaced with dummy lights. My ‘53 still has actual gauges. 

The 54's have real gauges.  Even the 55 I used to have, had real gauges.  

[moose]

Something I find interesting is that in the thirty years I've owned the blue one, I've never seen another 54 hardtop in person.  Then this one shows up!  I've run into a couple of convertibles over the years, even though they made more ht's(25,592) than converts(6900).

[keithb7]

Does amyone have a pic of a ‘54 gauge cluster? I’d be interested in seeing one. Here is my ‘53. 

[moose]

[moose]

I've gotten the chance to get the car inside, and just about finished the passenger side front and rear floors, inner and outer rockers, and body mounts.  Lots of finish welding, seam sealing and painting to go.  I've got a lot more pictures, but the site doesn't let me load any more.  Guess I went over the limit?  Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

[RNR1957NYer]

Good progress - looking forward to seeing it on the road!

Edited January 2, 2020 by RNR1957NYer
spelling

[BobT-47P15]

Nice project Moose.  Here in southwest Missouri where I have lived the past 50 years.....I have seen one 54  convertible (light blue) that I did not buy.  Back in the 70s I had a 54 wagon (nice), a 54 hardtop (white over yellow) (fair condition), and  white over pink 54 four door sedan (run down but drove it a couple years).  Also a 54 four door (white over dark green) with factory painted wire wheels (not running--sold car, kept wheels).  So, there were a few 53s and 54s around here but not very many by the 1970s.  I like the look of the 54 best....but they were both decent cars.

[moose]

52 minutes ago, BobT-47P15 said:

Nice project Moose.  Here in southwest Missouri where I have lived the past 50 years.....I have seen one 54  convertible (light blue) that I did not buy.  Back in the 70s I had a 54 wagon (nice), a 54 hardtop (white over yellow) (fair condition), and  white over pink 54 four door sedan (run down but drove it a couple years).  Also a 54 four door (white over dark green) with factory painted wire wheels (not running--sold car, kept wheels).  So, there were a few 53s and 54s around here but not very many by the 1970s.  I like the look of the 54 best....but they were both decent cars.

Bob, I'm pretty  sure I met you at the HAMB drags a few years ago.  We have some past that matches up. 

 

I lived in Carthage during my high school years(graduated in 91) and drove my blue hardtop all around there for those years and a few after.  One of my best friends, bought that green four door before you.  We got it running and cruised our two 54's together as much as we could.  Scott always liked to point out that he had the better car, because his had the Powerflite, cigar lighter(spelled liter on the knob), two speed wipers, and of course those wire wheels! After he went off to college, I think his dad got tired of looking at that ragged green car in his backyard, and sold it to you.  You certainly kept the best part of that car!  Do you know what happened to it?  Was somebody going to fix it up?

[moose]

[moose]

[moose]

[moose]

[BobT-47P15]

 Hi Moose.  I was thinking you were from Carthage.  Yes....his Dad had the Plym parked in the farthest corner of the back yard LOL.

The engine was locked up....I could never get it loosened up.  I was told that before your friend got the car, it was driven by the wife

of some Carthage auto dealer.  The wheels need sandblasting and the center chrome caps were all pitted.  I bought them because I had a

set of painted wires when I first got my convertible.....then made the mistake of selling them one time after acquiring my 55 Chrysler chrome wires.  

 

I hired M&M towing to retrieve it and bring to my house.  It was ultimately bought by a young fellow from Springfield who was going

to make it into a bit of a hot rod with  v8 of some sort.  Have not heard from him in quite some time now.  The yellow and white 54 hard top

also came from Carthage.....I think it belonged to some folks who owned a paint and wallpaper store.   

 

Looks like you are making progress.

(Yes....they had regular gauges)   (The steering wheel wasn't so great)

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by BobT-47P15