1950 Plymouth impulse roadside purchase in New York
A 1950 Plymouth led Jaime Steve astray. That’s his story and he is sticking to it. He and his wife, Whitney, were enjoying a fine September drive in 2014 in the Finger Lakes region of New York when they drove pass a rural home with the Plymouth parked in the front yard near the road.
As they drove by, Steve noticed a “for sale” sign on the window. He astutely observed that this 1950 Plymouth was a relatively rare two-door fastback model. A mile or so down the road Steve turned around and drove back at a slower speed for a closer look — even though he had no intention of purchasing the Plymouth or any other automobile that day.
He saw that the Plymouth was a low end DeLuxe model that appeared to be rust-free. Again, Steve slowly drove by before turning around to retrace his original route. This back and forth scenario continued until Steve’s wife urged him to stop, look it over, and buy the car if the price was right.
With no hesitation, Steve stopped to see this car that was reaching out to him. Upon closer inspection, Steve saw the well-preserved Plymouth had no armrests on the doors nor carpeting. At the center of the threespoke shoulder-wide steering wheel is the horn button, but no chrome horn ring around it.
In the headliner above the two-piece windshield is a single visor for the benefit of the driver. When new, Steve observes, “This was a budget machine.”
In the center of the wood-grained metal dashboard is a six-button AM radio with an extra on/off button. To the left of the radio are all of the gauges, including the optimistic 100-mph speedometer while on the right is a clock. On the top of the dashboard is a knob that con- trols the vacuum wipers.
Most everything in, on and under the car appeared to be in good order, so on that autumnal day in 2014 in the town of Hector, New York, Steve became the owner of a 1950 Plymouth.
Because of the unexpected, spur-of-themoment nature of the purchase, Steve had no place to park his prize or even drive it away. That’s when he called on his Uncle Ronnie in nearby Ovid, New York.
Steve’s uncle operates an auto body shop and he graciously agreed to store the Plymouth until the day Steve came to retrieve it. Eight months later Steve and his wife returned and with a new six-volt battery. And when put in place the 217.8-cubic-inch Lhead engine came alive.
On May 2, 2015 the couple set off for what turned out to be an uneventful journey of several hundred miles home to Virginia. Occasionally, Steve unleashed the 97 horsepower developed by the engine to briefly push the speed up to 70 mph.
A set of 6.70-by-15-inch tires supporting a 111-inch wheelbase provide a comfortable ride. There is no vibration from the engine because it has “floating power” with rubber engine mounts.
Dressing up the economy car was easily accomplished with white sidewall tires and the larger and fancier Special DeLuxe full wheel covers.
On the theory that stopping is more important that going, Steve had the old hydraulic brake system replaced with a new one, including a new master brake cylinder.
Although this is a fastback Plymouth model, it has an abundance of bright trim on the fenders, sills, bumper guards and one exterior mirror.
The trunk is spacious enough for the spare tire to stand upright. When Steve first opened the trunk he discovered a trace of over-spray gray paint indicating that his gray car was repainted in the same gray as the original color. If the car was human it would be eligible for Social Security, but Steve has no retirement plans for his Plymouth.