Old Plymouths - "HALL OF FAME" Cars

As I update the website, I occasionally find a car that is exceptionally photogenic. These cars become "Feature Cars" on the website. When their turn has passed on the Home page, I will copy them onto this page. The first 2 years of the website, I did not do this so if your car has been a Feature Car, please send me a reminder to post it here. - BKW

Betty Ward, wife of Bill (who used to maintain this website) is the owner of "Betty Boop's Coupe". This labor of love was almost 4 years in the making and represents a long learning curve for a novice restorer. A lot of hard work, some discouraging disappointments and more than a few mistakes went into this car. All in all, it turned out very well. In the process, we documented a lot of the restoration for display on this website. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of Betty's car.

Ken and Jeanne Bowen are the lucky owners of "Old Blue". They bought this beauty back in Feb. of 2002 at an auction and put on about 200 miles per week driving around the North Fort Myers, Florida area. Can you imagine a nicer place to cruise in the winter? Click on the thumbnail photo to see a larger view of Ken & Jeanne's car.

Gerald & Reba DeBari, of Pensacola, Florida, found "Old Grey" a few years back and determined a little loving care was needed. After lots and lots of hard work, "Old Grey" is a true gem. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of their car.

Bill Cicale, of Oxford, Connecticutt is the proud owner of this georgeous P20 coupe. The color is 'Rio Maroon', one of the original colors. Can't you just imagine the feeling he gets driving this car on a beautiful fall day? We compliment Bill for his excelent taste in automobiles. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left to see a larger view of Bill's car.

Jeff Juneau of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA shares this photo with us. This photo shows him with his son Ed relaxing at one of the national shows where he picked up one of his 3 first-place wins. Jeff has owned this car since 1966 - take a look at it before restoration in the photo to the left. Not satisfied with just one great car, Jeff has a '50 4dr sedan on the "General Gallery 50" page plus a whole slew of other Mopars. Lucky Guy!! Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Ed & Nita Botchie, of Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, USA are the proud owners of "Iggy", a 1952 P23 Cranbrook 4-Door Sedan. Ed drove this beauty daily from 1975 thru 1982 and then began restoration in 1996. Since restoration was completed, "Iggy" has won two "Best of Class" awards and "Best of Show" at the National Chrysler Products Meet in Gettysburg and was selected for display in the main building of the 2004 Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle, PA. Ed & Nita also have another 52 Cranbrook (unrestored) and a gorgeous 50 Plymouth convertible. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car or Click on the link below to visit their page.
Click here to see Ed & Nita's page.

Don and Bonnie Turner of Newberg, Oregon USA have had quite an experience building this beautiful 1949 Deluxe Business Coupe. Click on the link below to visit their page for a blow-by-blow description of some of the "interesting" experiences they have had while rebuilding this beauty. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car or Click on the link below to visit their page.
Click here to see more of Don & Bonnie's car.

Keith & Rita Turner of Marion, North Carolina USA are the proud owners of the 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe Club Coupe shown in the view above. This photo shows what a little love and care can do for a car after an accident. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Gary Lehocky of Freedom, Pennsylvania USA is the proud owner of the 1949 Plymouth Deluxe Convertible shown in the view above. He literally brought this car back to life (and did a great job of it). Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Jeff Giles of San Diego, California USA bought this beautiful 1952 Cranbrook 4-Door Sedan �Betsy� back in 2004. Since then, he has converted it to a 12v system with 12v alternator, added a keyless entry and security alarm/ignition interrupt. He has also rebuilt the original flathead engine and syncros in the manual transmission. With an oversized radiator, she doesn�t even get up past 180 deg. Next comes a rewiring job (including fuse block) and cleanup/painting of the engine compartment.

Betsy looks pretty darn good for a car under restoration! Take a good look at the hood emblem - it's a '51 but Jeff swears that she is really a 52 - and that's what the title says too. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Doug Nickerson, of Fallbrook, California, is the proud owner of this 51 Belvedere Hardtop. A California original, with back-up lights, radio & overdrive are all original. Doug is the second owner of this 65k+ miles beauty. The only thing not original is the paint job, but it has been repainted to factory colors. (Normally, I don't choose photos of feature cars with people in them but - get a load of those legs.) Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Kenny & Trish Morales, of Glendale, Arizona USA bought this sedan from R.C. & Barb Leach back in 2004 and it's just the thing for cruising Central in Phoenix. Kenny & Trish - you have good taste!! Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Pete & Nancy Marks of Long Island, New York USA are the proud owners of "Maria" (named after their daughter) a 1950 Special Deluxe 4-Door Sedan. They bought this 69,000 gem in September of 2004 thru Fossil Cars (www.fossilcars.com) for $4,500 - a "steal". Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Howard & Wanda Tarnoff, of Medway, Massachusetts are the lucky owners of Mr. Magoo, a 1949 P20 Special Deluxe Club Coupe. Repainted once, back in the '60s, Mr. Magoo turns heads wherever he goes. Under the hood are a Edmund head, Fenton intake/exhaust and a Borg-Warner overdrive - nice! Click on the thumbnail photo to the left to see a larger view of this car.

Joe & Ann Nault of Bellevue, Washington USA are the owners of this eye-popping 49 P18 Special Deluxe 4-Door sedan. They are the 3rd owners, the car having been originally a "little old lady in Los Angeles" car - then Joe's Uncle, then Joe. With an engine rebuild in the works and a little left to do on the interior, this 67,000 original miles car has tremendous promise. It sure is photogenic! Although the car still needs a little work, Joe is foolishly squandering his income on frivolous things like the mortgage, groceries, and the light bill to have done much lately. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a large view of this car.

Brian and Sheri Welch of Ash Grove, Missouri are the lucky owners of this 1952 P23 Cranbrook Club Coupe. He and his brother-in-law Ryan Beasley completely dismantled the entire car, cut the frame and sub framed a 1988 S-10 front end. They sandblasted EVERYTHING, then sealed everything up with Z-chrome Rust Inhibiter. The flat head six would have been great but Brian went a couple steps further with a 1971 Plymouth 383 big block. The motor was bored .030, Howard Cam, Edelbrock carb, intake, headers, 727 Transmission, balanced, MSD Ignition, narrowed rear end, and on and on.... What it boils down to is this 1952 Plymouth now has 450 horsepower. Brian says that it will put you in the back seat real fast with a grin all over your face. The car was shown in the Mopar Muscle Magazine (January 2006 issue). Click on the thumbnail photo to the left to see more of this great car.

Mike & Gloria Drapac of Coralville, Iowa USA are the proud owners of this 1951 P23 Cranbrook that has been restored as a street rod. Other than the wheels, it looks very original. When Mike was in college in the 1960's, his daily driver was a stock 1952 Plymouth Belvedere - flat head six with low compression and high mileage. Through four years of college with his old Plymouth (tied together with baling wire and with 2 engine swaps), all the while dating Gloria, who is now his wife. Years passed with career changes, jobs, moves etc. Then in 2001 he wanted a street rod - classic car. He found this 1951 Plymouth in Seattle WA and bought it sight-unseen. He has done a lot to that old car and they now love driving it every mile. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left to see a larger view of this car.

Dan Hardin & his wife Cindy Frey of Southfield, Michigan are the Lucky owners of this great looking 1951 Savoy Station Wagon. They are members of the (Chrysler Employee Motorsports Assn - CEMA). At the 2006 Detroit Autorama Custom and Hot Rod Show (over 600 cars selected from more than 1800 entries), this beauty took 1st Place in Full Custom Station Wagon, along with an award from the show promoters "Special Events Performance Series - Pick of the Show"

As you can see, it is "not quite stock". Powered by a 426 Hemi with a Chrysler 4-speed overdrive transmission, this is a real head turner. The airbrushed "trim" plus the outstanding interior make this a joy to just look at. A big "THANK YOU" to Dan & Cindy for sharing these photos. (For those who disapprove of reatoring cars back to anything but original, how can you argue with this?) Click on the thumbnail photo to the left for a larger view of this dream car.

Dave Marshall of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada has two 51's, a P22 Business Coupe and a P23 Belvedere. Dave says that although the car is really solid and particularly photogenic at 30 feet, he's going to do a complete frame-off restoration in 2006. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left to see a larger view of Dave's car.

Esko Kallio, of Pori, Finland is glad to share photos of his 1949 Special Deluxe 4-Door Sedan. In his native tongue, his comments are:

"Plymouth tuli Suomeen USA:sta toukokuussa 1997. Seitsem�n vuoden ty�n j�lkeen se on valmis ja museorekisteriss�. Vain muutamia osia l�ytyi Suomesta suurin osa USA:sta. Nuorena 1958 minulla oli 1951 mallia oleva Plymouth jonka takia hankin t�m�n auton."

Who would have ever thought that a 49 Special Deluxe 4-Door Sedan could look so elegant and dignified? Click on the thumbnail photo on the left to see a larger view of Esko's car.

Sue and Mac Johnson have obviously lavished a lot of time and tender loving care on this beautiful Moss Green 1950 Canadian Special Deluxe "Plodge", the body of which is basically 90% American Plymouth with Dodge grille & badges. Mac says this car is Sue's - it was made in the year of her birth. Sue says it is in better shape than she is..of course the Dodge has had an "Extreme Makeover" and gets treated better, lives under cover in a garage, goes out only on weekends and for special events and doesn't have to go out every day to work. Not a bad life if you think about it. Click on the thumbnail photo to the left to see a larger view of the Johnson's car.

John Papanicolas of Lincoln, California is the lucky soul to own this wonderful 49 P18 Convertible. John says the car was restored to its original condition in 1981 with 31,000 miles on it. It won several awards including AACA senior national, AACA grand national first place, WPC first place national, Plymouth Club national first place as well as many other local and regional awards - all first place. It was sold to a car collector in 1986 who won numerous awards including senior preservation award with the Antique Automobile Club of America for the years 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1998. This gentleman then sold the car to Ellingsons Classic Car Museum in July of 2003 and they sold it to John. As of 11/9/03, it had 36,000 miles on it (original). WOW! Click on the thumbnail photo to see a large view of John's car.

Mike & Vicki Schaefer of Kearney, Missouri USA and their family - Robin Michael, Caleb, Isaac, Jesse and Symber are died-in-the-wool Plymouth Lovers! They have a real collection of old Plymouths - a pair of 1938's, a 1934, a 1950 P19 & a 1965 Convertible. How does that go? "The family that plays together, stays together" - or something like that. What a treat it would be to see them all drive in a cruise together. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Bill & Joyce Chace of North Pole, Alaska, where Christmas lasts year-round, share some photos of their 1952 4-Door Sedan in Santa's neighborhood. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Pete & Kristen Anderson and their boys, Joseph and Benjamin, have done a super job on their P20 Special Deluxe. No "trailer queen", This car has been all over the western US. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Sako Espinoza of Los Angeles, California has an eye opener in his 49 Deluxe 2-Door Suburban. Can't imagine this one not stopping traffic wherever it goes. Since purchasing it back in 2000, Sako has spent a great deal of time (and not a few dollars) getting this car restored to a very high standard. SURF'S UP! Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Brady & Peggy Layman of Kennewick, Washington have restored their P17 Business Coupe as a replica of the car that was Lee Petty's first successful race car in the first season of NASCAR. Nice job! Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

"THE GROCERY GETTER" - That's what Ross and Annie Horton, of Greenbank Washington call this beautiful 1949 Suburban. Ross already had a 49 Dodge roadster and thought Annie should have her own car. She didn't know she wanted it but now? We should all be so lucky. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Hans and Annick Reinhardt of Basel, Switzerland not only rebuilt this great 1950 4-Door Sedan, they drove it from Biejing to Paris in 2007. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Gary Olguin of Barstow, California (and very patient wife Nancy) took a 49 4-Door Sedan that looked great at 20 feet and made it a FANTASTIC car that looks great at 6 inches. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Deb & Scott Weidman are the proud owners of this 49 Convertible. Bravely purchasing a partially restored car, they had the engine rebuilt and, wonder of wonders, it started immediately immediately. Everything else is just history. It really runs smooth and cruises well at 55 even with 5 people. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Ronald Wiglesworth, of Lexington, Kentucky bought this car back in 2004. At the time, it had all the typical attributes - water pump out, bad brakes, faded dash & window garnish, toasted upholstery, bad chrome - you name it, it had it. Ron was able to get the engine running like a kitten, paint the dash and window garnish a black cherry, rechrome a bunch, add turn indicators, reupholster etc. etc. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Bill Gellert amd Helen Montgomery of Franklin Grove, Illinois have just about every option from the original options book on this great looking 50 Club Coupe. And they put lots of touring miles on it, too. Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

Rick & Carolyn Feibusch of Venice, California are the lucky owners of this beauty. This head turner is a regular at SoCal cruises and shows.
Click on the thumbnail photo at the left to see a larger view of this great car.

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