Joe lives in Godfrey, Illinois. He writes,
"It was [on 59sportfury.net] I first learned about the car. I called
Olive and struck a deal in mid-August. Over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
of the Labor Day weekend a buddy and I drove up to Huntsville, picked
up the car, and trailered it back. It was quite an experience, but Olive
was a sweet lady. We enjoyed lunch with her and her male friend after
loading the car. The man in one of your photos was her husband, Fred,
who had died about ten years ago." |
"The car is very nice, but not
as pristine as the photos suggest. There are a couple tiny rust spots,
scratches on the paint, and minor 'parking lot' dings on the body and
trim. The car started and ran a little rough, and I attributed that
to having been idle for a long time. I planned to go through the mechanicals
anyway when I brought the car home. I started with new plugs and plug
wires. There is no fuel filter between the fuel pump and carburetor,
so when the engine died from fuel starvation I dropped the gas tank
and found it dirty and rusty. I had it cleaned and epoxy lined. The
sending unit was rusted in a fixed position. I cleaned that and put
a new filter on the pickup tube. I also flushed the gas line from the
tank to the fuel pump, so every thing to the carburetor is now OK. I
still have to remove and rebuild the carburetor. I found a place in
Florida that has carburetor repair kits, so I ordered one. I've been
involved with some 'honeydo' projects for a couple weeks, so I haven't
been able to play with the car too much lately. Being a Canadian-built
car, there are some variations from the U.S.-built cars and I've been
trying to research information about the differences. For instance,
the paint code is PPP. That code is not in the Ditzler chips for 1959
Plymouth. The inside rear view mirror is mounted from the top of the
windshield, not on the dashboard. The Carter carburetor is a 2867S.
Chilton and Motors cover Carter 2864S, 2865S, and 2866S, but not 2867S.
The V8 engine I believe is a 313 cubic inch, but this displacement isn't
covered in the U.S. service manuals. I think I saw on one of the Mopar
forums that the 313 and 318 were pretty much the same as far as internal
parts. The number stamped on the block is MV-23884C. I'd like to decode
what that signifies.
I've written to the Chrysler museum in Auburn Hills and received a lot
of information on '59 Plymouths; however, they do not have much on the
Canadian production. I've even contacted the Windsor headquarters for
DaimlerChrysler, Canada. They could not provide any information, either.
I'm hoping to track down a Canadian version of the '57-'58 Plymouth
service manual and '59 supplement. I have the U.S. version that doesn't
include Canadian production. I'll be joining the Plymouth Owner's Club
soon, too.
I guess I've rattled on long enough. This is not my first '59 Plymouth.
My first was a mint green 4-door Savoy that my dad bought new in the
winter of '58. After I bought it from him in '64, I traded it for a
new '64 Ford Galaxie. (If I only knew how much I'd miss that Plymouth.)
My long term plan is to upgrade to a '59 Sport Fury or Fury, but I had
to start somewhere.
I don't have many pictures yet, but I do have one where we have the
car loaded on the trailer in Huntsville with Olive and Huey, her friend.
And another after the car was unloaded back in Illinois. As work progresses,
I hope to add more photos." |
