Is this car too new for here?

[harmony]

This Forum suggests that the late 50's is the cut off for eligible discussions, so it looks like this car might still qualify, but I'm curious if there are many guys out there with related experience with this particular car.  It's a 1956 Plymouth Savoy with the Belvedere trim package.  I'm contemplating purchasing it, but I keep procrastinating on the 5 hour road trip on the other side of the mountains, plus the 3 hour ferry ride to go look at it.  It's only had 3 owners and it has spent its entire life only a town away from the dealership that it was purchased at.  It's only a stones throw away from Canada's only desert so it's been in a dry climate.  Snow of course in the winter ( car kept out of the weather) but still dry.  It has a 277 V8 with standard transmission, and according to the owner, (nice old fart) it's all original except it has new tires. 

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by harmony

[Sniper]

I don't have an issue with it, but not my forum, lol.

[Plymouthy Adams]

still falls within the era of the flathead six....it is early Mopar and not a brand X 

[desoto1939]

I also do not have any issue with this person joining in the P15D25 Forum.  He is interested in saving a Plymouth and this is a very good reason why we need to invite him to join and participate.  He can learn from us and we can also learn from him.  The hobby needs to keep going forward.

 

In several of my Local clubs we are seeing that they are starting to see that the club members are getting older and are not participating and or even comingout to the club meeting and or even car tours.

 

Here is a prime example. The Local chapter      , the Independence chapter of the NCPC, Nationa Chrysler Products Club, has now officially closed their club becasue they could not get anyone to step up and become the new President.  This is a sign of the times noone want to help out but want everyone else to do the work and reap the benefits of the club.

 

The AACA over the years is also having the same issue with the local clubs.  They are having a hard time getting new young blood to join the AACA. The hobby has changed to being for the more modern cars and hot rods and going to cruise nights and not having to pay dues to a local club and or even the AACA.  The draw of the AACA is slowly changing and I can also see this when attending the Hershey event and also some of the AACA tours and major car judging event.

 

And even in a couple of year around 2035 the country will be switching to electric cars/trucks so the hobby will change even more and there willbe less of an interest in our old gas vehicles.  So we all need to inbrace what is happening and try to keep the hobby alive.

 

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com 

[harmony]

The local WPC club here also struggles with members and the majority of them are us old farts.  I'm a board member of a local well know car club with around 200 members and we have our annual car show coming up in August where the entire main street and about 6 streets branching off of it are shut down and filled with vintage cars of various types.  It's super hard to get volunteers to register for the show to help out.  Even though they get to enter one car for free and they get a T-shirt and only have to devote a couple hours of their day just parking cars or whatnot. 

 

On the flip side it's always GREAT to see someone in their early 20's or so, driving around in an old car. 

One discouraging factor is the inflated prices of old car.  The average guy just can't afford 50 grand for a car that "needs work".  

[keithb7]

Is it in my neck of the woods @harmony? I could probably be coerced to go look at it on your behalf before you make the big trip. At the least, meet you there.

[harmony]

4 minutes ago, keithb7 said:

Is it in my neck of the woods @harmony? I could probably be coerced to go look at it on your behalf before you make the big trip. At the least, meet you there.

Thanks for the offer Keith, that was nice of you.  But it's a fair ways from you down in Keremeos

[keithb7]

I’d be open to meeting up there if you want a second set of eyes. If do, PM me. I like Keremeos. Good excuse to go. 
 

Keith

[harmony]

1 minute ago, keithb7 said:

I’d be open to meeting up there if you want a second set of eyes. If do, PM me. I like Keremeos. Good excuse to go. 
 

Keith

I'll do that Keith.  On my modern car, I recently replaced the CV boot so I'm just testing it to make sure it doesn't fail on a few local trips.   I'm looking for a daily 4 season driver to replace my computer filled modern car. So this car just might fit the bill.  

[Sam Buchanan]

Beautiful car, just like the one I learned to drive in only ours was two-tone green without the extra trim. Had the V8 with over-drive, 143K on the odometer when we sold it. Great memories!

Edited May 8, 2022 by Sam Buchanan

[kencombs]

Great car!  55/56 were sort of transition years.  Old tech, but body styling was changing.  Little fins in 56, whole new chassis design and BIG fins in 57.  The Forward look years were my favorite Mopars, and 56 was the first to feature the styling.

[TodFitch]

Good looking car!

 

When I was a child we inherited a 1956 or 57 Plymouth with, I think, that same V8 except ours had the push button automatic. Looked very much like your car. I could have sworn ours was a '57 but if I recall correctly it looked exactly like yours other than color so maybe it was a '56.

 

First time I was on an airplane was when Dad pulled me out of school for a couple of days to fly to the out of state relatives to pick up the car and ride with him as he drove it home.

 

I can’t speak for GTK, but I don’t have issues with posts about this car on this forum.

[Doug&Deb]

No problem for me. I welcome anyone with an old Mopar.

[Los_Control]

IMHO, I love the car and as others have said it fits in the original parameters of this forum, so of course it should be included.

I know other forums ... without naming names ... they are very strict with their forum guidelines. They have a exclusive set of members there that fit those rules.

 

That was cool in the 50's, they did what they could with the best parts and minds available.

Today with modern EFI, disk brakes, engines .... scarcity of older 30's-50's mopars .... Making rules that say you have to do this or that!

 

I kinda think it is like giving a man a length of rope, when you reach the end of the rope you will die.

While if the forum is willing to adapt and move forward with new rules that fit the modern times, your rope just keeps getting longer & longer.

 

I personally would not mind seeing some early dodge slant 6 and early 318 cars.

[P15-D24]

I certainly don't have an issue with it. Buy it and have fun sharing your experiences with us!

[RNR1957NYer]

Well, having owned my '57 New Yorker since '78, I say go for it!   

[harmony]

I'm told it only has one issue, besides seat upholstery which I'm fairly good at with the assistance of my late 1940's Pfaff 145-H3 Industrial sewing machine.

The issue is that he disconnected the speedometer because it was making unbearable noise.  But in our discussion he said he didn't lubricate it or take out the inner cable to inspect it, so it might just be a cable issue.  He said he's just getting a little too long in the tooth to be working on the car anymore.

 

The other issue is that there is a crease in the centre part of the grill.  It's been awhile since I had a close look at a mid 50's Plymouth grill.  It's the centre section with the gold V below it, in the front view picture.  From that picture you can't really make out the indent but it is about maybe 4 inches long and pushed in almost maybe 2 inches.  I'm not sure if that section would be stainless steel or regular steel ( body gauge or so ).  But I don't think it is a stamped out pot metal piece.  It looks to me like it can be unbolted and removed fairly easily.  I've done a fair bit of reshaping SS trim parts so if it was SS, I'm sure I could make it look new again.  But if it's steel I'd have to rig up a hydraulic press and make a shaped block and then press it back out.  Then refit it, and then probably get it rechromed.

But I do like challenges and my 48 Windsor is behaving so well lately I would look forward to some new challenges.

Edited May 9, 2022 by harmony

[Sniper]

1 hour ago, harmony said:

my 48 Windsor is behaving so well lately

 

Well, you just jinxed yourself, lol

[harmony]

9 minutes ago, Sniper said:

 

Well, you just jinxed yourself, lol

I was afraid of that lol!  I'll bet as we speak my old girl is letting the air out of her tires, just to get attention

Edited May 9, 2022 by harmony

[BobT-47P15]

Good looking car.  If it is  Canadian built model…is the grill the same as the U S model or specifically Canadian?

[harmony]

I personally am not up to date on the differences between Canadian and US on this particular car.  I have read somewhere that the Canadian versions had a mesh behind the gold V on the centre grill, where as the US didn't.

  

I also read that in October of '56 Plymouth started using up extra stock of the Belvedere trim and put it on the Savoy to increase sales. I don't imagine that went over too well with the people who bought one of the Savoy models earlier in the year.

[greg g]

If you are l9oking for specific details from owners of other 56 mopars, you might want to register on the forward look website and forum.  Not another of use have much experience with v8s and other fancy new stuff.  But hey, it's a Plymouth.

[harmony]

1 hour ago, greg g said:

If you are l9oking for specific details from owners of other 56 mopars, you might want to register on the forward look website and forum.  Not another of use have much experience with v8s and other fancy new stuff.  But hey, it's a Plymouth.

Good suggestion, thanks

[Art Bailey]

Scott on Coldwarmotors did a "will it run" video on one of these: 

 

How can you resist?! If I had the space, I'd have a yard full of Mopars. Please let us know if you get it!

[RNR1957NYer]

2 hours ago, greg g said:

If you are l9oking for specific details from owners of other 56 mopars, you might want to register on the forward look website and forum.  Not another of use have much experience with v8s and other fancy new stuff.  But hey, it's a Plymouth.

This is as good a place as any to give a shout out to the creators/administrators of the P15-D24 /Pilot House Forum - I've had A and B body and Forward Look cars for decades and came late to the flathead MoPar party - this is the best, most searchable, most helpful forum of all, in my humble opinion!