1959 Plymouths
Paul Bussey meets a man with a passion for Plymouths. So much so, he owns two: a 1959 Plymouth Fury two-door hardtop and 1959 Plymouth Deluxe Suburban four-door, sixpassenger station wagon…
While we may live in modern times, with many advantages such as the internet, mobile phones, greater healthcare and so on, for many people it’s the past which conjures up the most interest. Take Richard Mayo and his partner Ginny, for example. For them, it’s everything about the late Fifties which they find more fascinating; the fins ’n’ chrome cars, music, lifestyle and culture, and just about everything which defines the era. So it is only fitting for them that they own cars from the Fifties – their ’59 Fury makes for an excellent example, while the ’59 Suburban is more of a well-used runabout hack.
Viewing period TV excerpts from 1959 advertising the Fury, it really does look the proverbial ‘million dollars’ sitting in a studio, even in black and white. Richard has been in love with the Fury for as long as he can remember, well, since he was about five years old to be precise, and it was the only car he ever tried to draw as a child.
The dream finally came true for Richard when he purchased his Fury in Palm Springs, California, in September 2015. “I’ve said many times that I’d never part with a particular car and have done so, but the Fury I’ll never part with,” he asserts. “It has had one respray in the original colour of Gold with the Iceberg White. The seat coverings have been replaced with NOS (or very accurate reproduction) cloth and vinyl, with the Fury logo embossed in the rear seat back. The car really does look, feel and drive as though I’ve just picked it up from the showroom in late ’58 when this model was first available.
“The ’59 Plymouths were the last of the chassis cars, moving on to unibody construction for the ’60 models, the so-called ‘so solid for ’60 Plymouth’.”
Richard’s Fury came complete with a huge wad of receipts and information from when it was auctioned at some point in its life, but other than that there’s no previous history at all. The car is powered by a 318cu in 230bhp V8 with a Torqueflite push-button three-speed automatic transmission. It features power steering, which could be deemed over-powered for modern tastes, non-power brakes, and options include push-button heater, transistor radio, Mirror-Matic rear view mirror (auto dimming) and Sports Deck, a faux spare wheel cover, to give the car a ‘classy’ appeal mimicking the pricier Imperials.
“Apart from a leaking front wheel cylinder and a minor leak from the radiator, the Fury has proved to be completely reliable since I purchased it,” Richard confirms. “The Fury is very precious to me and it enjoys a cosseted life, being kept at a professional storage facility, who keep the battery in good condition, fluids topped up and is ‘exercised’ on their special track.
It’s therefore always ready for us to jump in and go, but as it’s an hour’s drive from home I don’t get to drive the car as often as I would like...”
Since he was five years old, Richard has always imagined himself in the US, being in the position of buying one of the cars then on offer. “They seemed like land-based spacecraft compared with my dad’s 1946 Austin 10,” he jokes. “I would see glimpses of these wonderful machines as we lived near an American airbase, and envied kids of my age off the base, with their methods of transport and their cowboy-themed metal lunch boxes. I had to make do with Tupperware! I used to practise drawing silhouettes of these cars in my rough books at school. This fantasy never really left me and I like to imagine what life would be as a 30-something in the late Fifties with a good regular job in middle America buying (on time) one of the best-looking cars ever made. It wouldn’t be wrong to say ‘everyone loves a Cadillac’, but the cars I want to drive are the ones I could have aspired to back in the day – not one only the ones my boss or bank manager could afford. I love everything about the late Fifties, from fridges, fashion, buildings and the whole space aspiration vibe…
“At home, I would be watching the Plymouth Show on black and white TV with Lawrence Welk, with performances by Alice Lom,” enthuses Richard (definitely enthusiastic in this journey back in time, and why not?) “The Lennon Sisters and Larry Hooper, interspersed with commercials, convincing me I needed a 1959 Plymouth ‘The Star of the Forward Look’, a reference to Virgil Exner’s new designs for Chrysler.”
Richard purchased his 1959 Suburban station wagon in 2013, several years earlier than his Fury. “The previous UK owner worked in the music industry,” he explains. “I had already seen the car for sale on eBay USA several months prior, being offered by a dealer in California. I decided to pass on it, due to having too many other cars at the time. Then one night the very same car surfaced again on UK eBay, looking as good as I had remembered, but apparently with an engine fault. This time I wasn’t going to let it get away from me.
Being in the very fortunate position of having a very good friend in the motor trade, who loves cars and any kind of challenge, I knew we could get the engine problem sorted. Prior to the US dealer acquiring the Suburban, it was owned by a girl who had saved hard to get her ‘dream car’ and had purchased it from the previous original owner. He had sold it to her on the condition she would never allow it to be hot-rodded! Take a peek at 1959 Plymouth Suburban on YouTube, for an interview between her and the dealer.” (Search ‘1959 plymouth suburban wagon’, it’s about the 16th video down and the only one with a girl on it.)
Richard’s Suburban has the basic Deluxe specification and is fitted with a 318cu in 230bhp engine with a three-speed manual transmission. The higher specification versions could be ordered with a third row of seats facing rearwards, thus accommodating nine people, including the driver. With all the seats folded down, the cargo area is truly cavernous.
Interestingly, the spare wheel is located by the right-hand rear wing behind a wheel spat type cover, as the folded rear seat, when not in use, occupied the locker space under the boot floor, normally reserved for the spare. Richard’s Suburban sits on 15in wheels from a 1955 Plymouth, instead of the standard 14in wheels. However, on this vehicle, the original owner specified the extra storage of the under-floor locker as an ‘extra’, therefore the spare wheel is carried as per nine-passenger wagons. This Suburban is very basic, no power-assisted brakes or steering and has been repainted in the original colours of Flame Red with Iceberg White roof.
“Plymouth were very big on introducing new ideas, with commercials promoting ‘If it’s new, Plymouth’s got it’,” says Richard. “Since ’57 they offered the biggest wagon in its class and pioneered the third row of seats and tailgate glass dropping into the tailgate; doing away with the old split tailgate arrangement, whereby one went up and the other down.
“The dealer in California who sold the car on had completed some restoration work, with the paint and interior holding up well. It was a quick repaint to a good standard, but wouldn’t win any prizes. This suits me, as I’m not afraid to use it as a daily driver. On occasions it has served me well to transport trees and garden waste to the local tip, with a large builder’s merchants’ one-ton bag resting on the dropped tailgate. Other than having to get the engine rebuilt, I have only had to replace a fuel pump, two tyres and had the carburettor rebuilt. It’s quite good on fuel, in fact the Chrysler Group were very keen on promoting economy, winning the Mobil economy run (in their class) in ’57, ’58 and ’59.”
Richard seems to have got the best of both worlds with his two Plymouths − one dropdead gorgeous fins ’n’ chrome two-door pillarless coupe and one load-hauler, ready to go anywhere, undertaking any task, on a daily basis if necessary. However, not wishing to rest on his laurels, if anyone is selling a 1960 Dodge Polara/Matador or Dart, then he would be most interested. You just can’t have enough American cars, can you?! Plus, a set of 14in stock wheels for the Suburban are also on the shopping list.