1958 Plymouth Belvedere - valuable or rare

[SGT FURY]

I’ve watched all 60 episodes of CWM 60 fury transformation many times over.

Simply amazing!! Very inspirational on what can be done if you have the skills.

By tensioning you mean like ratchet strapping certain areas to keep it from bowing out?

Here’s the 2 61s I want to do the coupe to coupe roof structure to.
Splices on Pilar’s is the plan.

 

[57fury440]

If you have good doors from the hardtop it shouldn't be that difficult. I swapped a roof on my son's 74 Barracuda. We were not changing the style like you are, but it enabled us to get rid of a rusty roof and put on a nice solid one. The biggest thing is making sure the measurements are all correct. I'm sure yours will be nice when it's done.

 

[mikes2nd]

Could you patch that roof? with the good sections? That seems easier than doing the whole roof, unless every edge needs swapped.

 

[58Belvedere]

Download this or get the book on line for about $50 for a cheapie: http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/partscatalogs/55to58_Mopar_Parts_Catalog.zip

Instructions and Vendors:
First, you need to download this searchable (Ctrl F) 1955-58 Mopar parts catalogue:

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/partscatalogs/55to58_Mopar_Parts_C... (I use it a lot).

It is 1268 pages and is searchable via CTRL F.

For this example I have chosen to look for the water pump outlet hose on a 1958 Chrysler

To do this, I need to find the diagram (Plate) that shows the cooling system including the water pump and radiator. (You can scroll or start searching for PLATE).

When you find the right diagram, you will see that the hose is in Section 7-14-5.

So I used CTRL F and enter 7-14-5 and click on Next.

When I find 7-14-5's parts listings, I note that the PN I need is 1730 915. So I markdown that number (or highlight it and right click copy it) and head off to the internet to see if I can find the part.

First stop is Len Dawson's Deception Pass Motor Parts website. I enter the PN 1730915 (no spaces) in his search page and hit Search for Parts.

Search Mopar Inventory: Len Dawson's Deception Pass Motor Parts - NOS Mopar

In this case, I came up dry.

So the next one I try is Collectors Auto Parts http://collectorsautosupply.com/Check Your Part Number.htm

Same thing: enter the PN (no spaces) and hit Search.

In this case, there was a positive response.

If I didn't get a response, I would try

Mopar Mall: 1955-1959 Passenger Car Parts
(came up dry there too)

eBay: https://www.ebay.ca/ or https://www.ebay.com/
(came up dry)

So back to Collectors Auto to give them a call (in theory, this was just an example)



Edited by 56D500boy 2017-08-27 7:53 PM

 

[58Belvedere]

Collision Book can be your friend also: 1958 Mopar collision parts list | eBay

 

[58Belvedere]

Reprint of 1957-1958 book: Illustrated Factory Parts Manual for 1955-1958 Plymouth - Dodge - DeSoto - Chrysler - Imperial $64

 

[mikes2nd]

Is this so he can get an idea of whats involved? These guys dont typically have any sheet metal left.

I believe Collectors Auto Parts is just a drop shipper of Lens parts... oh they are just skimmers... not actually selling anything.

They used to take Lens parts numbers and mark them up 40% and then just drop ship you Len's parts... smart guy

Now it looks like they are just ebay skimmers... They get 2.5% of the ebay auction you buy when you click on their link and buy an item.
They arent actually selling anything.

 

[mikes2nd]

Yeah confirmed Collectors Auto supply sells "window" seals for example... for 75.87$ plus shipping.
Those same seals are 41.99$ on rockauto... So they ebay link and rockauto link with huge markups

Suckers are born everyday. These are chinese parts but I love how they say "we work with USA manufacturers"

 

[mikes2nd]

it boggles my mind... I certainly had rose colored glasses on thinking I could EVER repair this car...
Lol... Find a donor if you can the amount of work saved is astounding...

 

[floatinglc]

I'm new here. So Hi! I would say, determine how much it is worth to YOU and your intended useage, and then take it from there. A few years ago, I paid $18k for a near original '57, 4 door Belvedere. The only custom additions were new seats, front disc brake conversion, and new exhaust. I recognize that this is a bit much, but the seller was literally in my neighborhood, so paying a convenience price was worth it to me...also this was the height of all used car values being a bit inflated...so there's that. I didnt want a project (I already have too many), I wanted a daily driver. It had zero rust, full undercoat intact, original paint, all door gaps still perfect, all the doors closed like vaults, etc. It is now, in fact my daily driver, kid carpooler, grocery getter, and road trip vehicle. Everything I have done to it has really been to make it more usable as a daily as I encountered wants/needs: I added power steering, power brakes, duel brake master cylinder, fully gone through the suspension and replaced every bushing, four 3-point seatbelts, two 2 point seatbelts, updated headlights and taillights, electric window washer pump, etc.

Even with the premium I paid, after digging in and making the mods I have, I dont regret the initial spend for a minute due to how mind-blowingly unmolested and original this car has been over the decades. I have been extremely happy with how unbelievably usable it is as a family daily driver....even by today's standards, I feel like it offers more convenience than most modern cars....Plus life is too short to drive something boring right?

 

[WikedPlymouth]

Beautiful car!!