I remember the first time I saw the movie "Christine" and the effect it had on me. I have never liked horror films and although I have enormous respect for Stephen King, have never read any of his work. There was something about the film that I really enjoyed though... the entire cast was brilliant; from the likable villains to the main character and the transformation he made throughout the film. It was an incredible piece of work indeed. I remember thinking that one day I'd own a car like that, but understood that they were rare and expensive, so forgot the notion of it fairly quickly.
I returned to the car scene after some hiatus in 2005 and began watching a lot of car shows on Discovery network. One show I enjoyed was American Hotrod, featuring the late Boyd Coddington. In one episode late in the series, the Coddington crew were commissioned to attend the unveiling of "Miss Belvedere" at the Tulsarama celebration in Tulsa Oklahoma. As part of the celebration back in 1957, they buried a Belvedere hardtop with a mere four miles on the odometer outside the city courthouse in a concrete vault. A beautiful new car indeed with the unusual specification of a 2 barrel carburettor and dual exhaust. There is a host of in depth information and photographs elsewhere on the web, so I won't enter into all of the finer details, but the car was found to be ruined once the lid to the vault had been removed. Years of storage under water had taken its toll on the poor Plymouth and rendered it barely able to support its own weight. Whatever the case, when I saw this footage, I was smitten! I had to have a 1957 Plymouth.
A few years passed and my eldest daughter was in her middle teenage years. The odd argument ensued and I wanted to find a way to bond with her. Most things I suggested were met with a "no" until I suggested she watched a horror film with me. She was dubious when I came up with Christine, but agreed all the same. We began to watch it but I had forgotten all about the bad language. We both enjoyed the film, although I was concerned that her mother would enter the room and hear the script. To cut a long story short, every Halloween since then we have watched the movie without fail... and after the movie, I found myself online looking for possible Plymouths to buy. I finally found an incomplete project and although it's not a hardtop, I don't care... it's a 1957 Plymouth and we're proud. Here's it's story...
Here's the car as I found it advertised on Just Classic Cars. It was brought in to the country in 2006 by an Adelaide based importer and sold to a gentleman who was a panel beater. He pulled the car down and performed a frame-off restoration which included restoration of the body shell and hang-ons. the frame and the engine. When I bought the car, I found the electrical system was in poor condition, so re-wired the engine bay and interior, although I haven't completed the rear section yet. I bought and fitted a new carburettor and detailed (and re-painted) the engine bay.
Here she is, on arrival at our home...
1957 Plymouth - Tulsa, Christine and our Miss Belvedere Part 1
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1957 Plymouth Belvedere Part 2
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1957 Plymouth Belvedere Part 3
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How to Rewire Your Car a Safe and Cheap Way - Part 1
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How to Rewire Your Car a Safe and Cheap Way - Part 2
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How to Rewire Your Car a Safe and Cheap Way - Part 3
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How to Rewire Your Car a Safe and Cheap Way - Part 4 FINAL
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Tubes, Transistors and an Old Valve Car Radio
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Where We're Upto with the Plymouth and the Fords
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