This Hemi-Powered 1955 Plymouth Belvedere Is Minty Fresh

The earliest post-World War II designs from the Big Three were futuristic looking from a 1940s perspective, but quickly came to look outdated as 1950s industrial design left streamline modern behind for the jet age. Similarly, reliable prewar mechanical designs became hard to market to a public expecting great technological advancements to come out of the war. It was only in the 1955 model year when Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors all finally converged on the full envelope body, doing away with detachable rear fenders, and embracing a look that seems modern, even to 21st century eyes.

Ford had been the first to head in that styling direction with its “shoebox” 1949-’51 models. Later enthusiasts would tag the 1955-’57 Chevrolets with the shoebox epithet as well, due to their break from the rounder 1953-’54 styling. For 1955, Ford had reskinned its new-for-’54 ball-joint-equipped chassis with dramatic bodywork styled to match the new-for-’55 Thunderbird. Most impressive of all was the Crown Victoria hardtop, which continued the glass roof of the 1954 Skyliner hardtop and married it with a prominent chrome “basket handle” arch from the beltline. With the equally new 292-cu.in. Y-block V-8 (enlarged from 1954’s 256-cu.in. Mercury/Police Interceptor engine), it was a potent performer to boot. Chevrolets also rode atop a new chassis, adopting ball joints for the first time, along with a new 265-cu.in. OHV V-8 (first of the long-lived “small-block Chevy” design) to supplement the traditional 235-cu.in. OHV straight-six.

At Chrysler Corporation, 1955 would be the first year for stylist Virgil Exner’s influence, which would be dubbed “The 100-Million-Dollar Look” in advertising, after the purported cost to discard the conservative styling for which Mopars had been known since the public rejection of the 1934-’37 Chrysler and DeSoto Airflow models. Although more closely associated with the 1957-’59 cars, 1955 also marked the first appearance of the “Forward Look” designation for Chrysler Corporate styling motifs.

Plymouth, Chrysler’s entry level make from 1929 to 1997, benefitted no less from the Forward Look than corporate siblings Dodge, De Soto, Chrysler, and the newly independent Imperial marque. The 1955 redesign resulted in cars that were longer, lower, and wider with wrap-around windshields, a lower roofline, and hooded headlamps. Plymouth offered three models, in increasing order of luxury: Plaza, Savoy, and Belvedere, each of which was available in a range of body styles, thirteen colors, and an assortment of two-tone options for Savoy and Belvedere.

Complementing the restyling were new engine choices. While Mopars had been known for outstanding engineering since the 1920s, and Dodge Brothers vehicles even before that, Plymouth was late in getting a V-8 engine. The brand had used various iterations of the same flathead straight-six family since 1933, and would continue to do so through 1959, but for 1955 that 117-hp, 230-cu.in. engine was joined by three all-new “Hy-Fire” OHV V-8 engines in two displacements. The basic engine was a 241-cu.in., 157-hp version equipped with a two-barrel carburetor. For added power, a 259-cu.in. version could be specified as either a two-barrel, 167-hp variant, or with a four-barrel “power pack” for 177 hp. Transmission choices for all three engines included a column-shifted three-speed-manual overdrive or a column-shifted two-speed Power Flite automatic.

The public responded to the stunning redesign, and the new V-8 engine was a big hit, accounting for over 60 percent of Plymouth sales. Among them was our feature car, a Belvedere convertible owned by retired Toyota dealer and Omaha, Nebraska, resident Jim Dufflack.

“Back in 2003, I spent a lot of time looking for a nice 1950s-era Mopar, and this 1955 Plymouth convertible was the only one I ever ran across,” he recalls. “I was the first to inquire. The car was in Vancouver, British Columbia, and had been recently restored. Impressed, I wired the funds the same day. Later I learned that the seller had over fifty inquiries after my call. I was really glad I acted when I did,” Jim says.

Buying may have been the easy part, however, as Jim now had to get the car from Vancouver to his home in Omaha: nearly 2,000 miles. He preferred to use a reputable transport company that he could trust.

According to Jim, “I contacted a few that I had used in the past but none of them wanted to go into Canada to pick up the car. That was something I hadn’t thought about earlier, but every problem has its solution, and I was finally able to hire the seller to deliver the car to a gas station on the U.S. side of the border where a transporter was waiting.”

Jim’s freshly acquired, freshly restored Belvedere also came with a near-complete history, including the computer punch card from its assembly at Chrysler’s Lynch Road facility in Highland Park, Michigan, which had been constructed in 1928 a couple of miles north of the original Dodge Brothers factory expressly for De Soto and Plymouth production.

That history showed the car left Lynch Road painted two-tone Tampa Turquoise and Bimini Blue with a dark-green top and two-tone turquoise interior. It was powered by the two-barrel, 167-hp, 259-cu.in. V-8 backed by the standard Synchro-Silent three-speed manual transmission. In addition to the Belvedere convertible’s standard features, options and accessories included two-speed wipers, a pushbutton radio, heater, full instrumentation, a power top, split bench front seat, full carpeting, front and rear bumper guards, 7.10×15 whitewall tires, and full wheel covers.

A further source of information individual to the car was an “auto-biography” for the car written by previous owner Peter Hastings. That work has the car being assembled January 20, 1955, and then shipped by boat with an ultimate destination of a dealership in Chilliwack, British Columbia, where it was sold to a Chilliwack resident named Patricia Cooper. Mrs. Cooper owned the car 14 years and put 88,906 miles on it before selling it to a young man in Kamloops, who operated it throughout British Columbia and Alberta for almost four years before the old Plymouth was relegated to off-road status and, apparently, light-duty farm work through at least 1982.

Hastings acquired the car in 1999 after seeing a classified ad in a local newspaper. He had it trucked to a Vancouver brake repair shop for a basic system service. Then, it was driven on blacktop at highway speeds for what was probably the first time in 17 years. The very tired but still complete and attractive car was then left with a Surrey auto restorer to start an 18-month, ground-up restoration.

In May 2000, following restoration of the chassis and drivetrain, the car was trucked to New Westminster for painting and final assembly. Hastings had the car repainted in its original color scheme and fitted with a completely new turquoise star-embossed and turquoise doeskin interior. Finally, in November 2000, the completed car was delivered to Hastings’ home in Vancouver, where he enjoyed the car another three years before selling it to Jim.

Jim’s collection is rather eclectic, with a primary focus on nicely restored, U.S.-made, 1950s convertibles. A few standouts include a 1953 Oldsmobile 88, a 1954 Buick Skylark, a 1955 Corvette, a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air, a 1957 Dodge Royal Lancer, and a pair of non-convertibles: two 1957 Chevrolet Cameo pickups, one of which was featured previously in Hemmings Classic Car. Jim displays a few of his most prized cars in his basement, set up much like a dealer showroom complete with period automobilia.

For the past twenty years, Jim and his wife Mary Ellen have enjoyed driving this Belvedere during the summer months, primarily attending local and regional car shows and family outings. “The previous owner did a great job with the restoration of this car. It’s a dream to drive. And to think we wouldn’t be able to experience it had I not figured out how to get it shipped here. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time, especially finding a car like this Plymouth.”