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Location: Sept. 1958 | I recently bought a 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible. First, I'd like to thank Rebels-59 Coronet for giving me the information so I could contact the owner of this car. At first, the owner didn't want to sell but then called me about a month later and told me he would sell it.
Car is factory Toreador Red with Aluminum Sportone Trim, and has a Red and Black Interior. It's equipped with a 318 4 bbl and Torqueflite Transmission. Rear bumper has a parking sticker from a college in Bowling Green from 1969-70 and I was told it was put in storage in Ohio around 1969, taken out of storage in 2006.
Vehicle runs and drives but will need some work make it a dependable summer car to have fun with, which is what I plan on doing. It will need total restoration someday, but right now I'm not in a position to do that.
Vehicle also came with a 58 Savoy 4 DR SD parts car that is fairly solid. That car has factory A/C.
Matt Dorschug |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | I seem to have trouble uploading photos. Says they must be less than 200KB but I cropped one photo down I have to 1.2MB. Has anybody ever had problems uploading photos? |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Rather than crop the photo, go to images on your program and resize by chopping your image numbers to an appropriate size to get you under the wire. I hope that makes sense with your program.  |
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Expert
Posts: 3575
Location: Netherlands | Just change the image-width to 800 pixels wide, then save as a JPG with setting "8" orso.
Then upload again.
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 |
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 1958 plymouth belvedere convertible1 001 (2).jpg (110KB - 9277 downloads)
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Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 |
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1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible1 002.jpg (162KB - 7208 downloads)
1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible1 003.jpg (141KB - 818 downloads)
1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible1 004.jpg (181KB - 1775 downloads)
1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible1 005.jpg (115KB - 768 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Thank you guys, that worked out great. |
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Expert
Posts: 3575
Location: Netherlands | Awesome car and project. Cool find!
It doesn't get much better than this.
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Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Location: .Norfolk..Mafia.. ,England UK | christine-lover - 2008-12-08 12:13 AM
I recently bought a 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible. First, I'd like to thank Rebels-59 Coronet for giving me the information so I could contact the owner of this car. At first, the owner didn't want to sell but then called me about a month later and told me he would sell it.
Vehicle also came with a 58 Savoy 4 DR SD parts car that is fairly solid.
Matt Dorschug
CONGRATULATIONS MATT....
The Car is Exactly the Same as i remember it, Doesn,t appear they done much to it except store it,, As you have found out , Richie and his Son are great Car People ,, I am Really Pleased you got what seemed a Impossible Car to find and i was able to Help in your Quest.. I believe from memory the Parts car was also there as i remember them saying they had some donor panels,, But Richie,s Son was Also driving a 57 / 58 Plymouth about that needed work and a respray..
Did you get to look in the Top Barn where the Cuda,s and other Cars were Locked away, That was where the 58 Convertible was Originally...
Keep us updated with PICs as you bring her back to her former glory..
CLIVE..
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Expert
Posts: 1918
Location: Hell's Outhouse - a.k.a. Buckeye, Arizona | What a find - a real hen's tooth these days.
One thing, though - you say she's got a 318, yet the "V" on the grille (indicating a V-8 model) is missing. Do you know if the 318 is original and the "V" is either off the car in a box or was it originally a flathead 6 ragtop?
(I see she's got the V-8 only Torqueflite tranny, but that could've been switched sometime down the line as well)
Even if the 318 isn't original, can't blame you a bit if you want to stick with it, as, IMO, the 6's are vastly underpowered for these cars.....
Edited by 1955Coronado 2008-12-08 7:04 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 499
Location: A proud Canadian | What a truly remarkable find. I love the black roof, with the matching Red/Black interior. That's a more uncommon colour combo for one of these. Congratulations Matt, Good luck and keep the pics coming.
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Expert
Posts: 3155
Location: NY & VT | NICE FIND!! I presume you're not going to weld on a hardtop!? Hee hee.  |
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Account Suspended
Posts: 2827
Location: At "The Rock" in upper East Tennessee | Great car you found there. Looks to be pretty solid for coming from that part of the country. |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Clive-
The Plymouth was in that barn, Tony has just had a new floor put in. His 57 Plymouth was tucked away in a corner next to a 58 Saratoga. His muscle cars are in there as well, the Savoy as well as a couple of other cars he has are a few miles away. Richie was not around while I was there.
Matt Dorschug |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | From the VIN, this car had a V8 originally. Going through the factory literature like the owner's manual and sales brochure, it states convertibles could not have a 6 cyl.
Saw a "V" emblem on eBay last week, but it got kinda high, over $150.
This car was in a fender bender sometime in it's past, but not sure how much was damaged. The driver's side front fender was replaced as you can see a turquiose/green color underneath the red.
Matt Dorschug |
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Expert
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Location: Connecticut | Great find !  How rusty are the floors and trunk ? I noticed the gauges under the dash. Is the engine original ? Ron |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | It has had some floor patches install back in the 60s, but it doesn't look too bad. Not sure if the engine is original, but looks to be all there and correct.
Matt |
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Expert
Posts: 2596
Location: Upplands Väsby, Sweden | Congratulations! What a wonderful convertible project.
Edited by Windsor59 2008-12-09 7:12 AM
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Veteran
Posts: 166
Location: Nebraska | Holy Schnikes! What an incredible find!!! Congratulations and keep us in the loop on your progress!
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 636
| That is a nice nice car. It looks great just as it sits now!
I think you can still get patch panels for the rear wheel scallops.
Sparky
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 638
Location: Johns Creek, Georgia |
This car was in a fender bender sometime in it's past, but not sure how much was damaged. The driver's side front fender was replaced as you can see a turquiose/green color underneath the red.
I wonder if the front bumper was replaced during the fender bender. It has wings, but none on the rear, nor holes where they would have mounted.
Edited by h-bomb 2008-12-09 2:27 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1508
Location: new york | GOOD LUCK MATT! You found what you wanted ! The car looks great and I'm sure you can find lots of reasonable parts with a little patience.Again Congrats and HAPPY MOTORING! Victor... |
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Veteran
Posts: 166
Location: Nebraska |
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GrantsPassLarrys0001.jpg (93KB - 388 downloads)
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Veteran
Posts: 163
Location: Metro Detroit | Congrats on finding this beatiful car! it looks like a great project to start with, Im sure it will be a real head turner when you get done with it...... |
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Regular
Posts: 74
Location: Falicon 06 France | Looks a bit rusty but Man, I'll like to be behind the wheel. Is the engine running ?? |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Car runs and drives, but it will need some work to make it more reliable. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | mangodart - 2008-12-15 1:49 AM
Looks a bit rusty but Man, I'll like to be behind the wheel. Is the engine running ??
*******************************
A guy must always remember ....
Crushing it is always an option.
UNcrushing it is never an option !
Rusty or not, it is still here and still possible to fix up.
Keep your eyes on da prize ! |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | ...Didn't you ever see "Christine" ???? |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | I want to update this thread, as I have started to work on this car. I had planned for earlier in the year but that didn’t happen. But now I got my garage into a shop where I have room to work. When I bought this car, I really didn’t know the future as I was living with my parents and my father was looking for a job, this was end of 2008. But now with my own house and garage, which is set up with the proper equipment, I'm getting started on this rot bucket of a car.
Among practicing welding and getting better at it, I started trimming down the left side floor section I got from a donor car to use it in the convertible. I still have some more things to do to get to that point. But it will be nice to finally see some progress on this car.
This car is pretty rough, but it's pretty much what I would have ordered, as in factory colors and options. I want a beautifully restored car when I am done, top and bottom, with attention to detail. It's just one of the most beautiful FLs made along with a 58 Fireflite Conv and a black 61 300G Conv. |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Here is the Production Record I received from Chrysler Historical.
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Production Record.jpg (147KB - 400 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Here is the copy of the IBM sheet from Chrysler Historical.
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IBM Card.jpg (157KB - 449 downloads)
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 7808
Location: Williams California | Matt, good to see you've started on your ragtop! That will be a really nice car once completed. I'll be eagerly watching your progress here!!
---John |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 957
Location: Signal Mountain, TN | Nice color combo... i don't see too many in that from what I can remember. Looking forward to watching this little project. |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Motor number is NOT AVAILABLE....what's up, with that (not recording the engine number on the IBM card???) ?
Matt, your engine's casting date should appear at the upper rear of the engine block----iirc----you should try to photo-
document that date, which should correlate to its stamping number, on the front of the block, which should correlate
to the VIN, which appears to be from 5/22/58.
Dunno if/when the upper-rear area of the engine block will be accessible, but, you should try to remember to document
the casting date, because it should be somewhere in the time-vicinity of the car's build date.
You'll note that your car was equipped with the optional "Power Pak", which provided the optional 4-bbl carb and dual exhausts.
Also, both the front and the rear seats were foam padded; otherwise, the rear seat would have been merely 'padded' by a piece
of jute-material; fairly uncomfortable.
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Just noticed that there's no key-codes or any inspectors' initialing on the IBM card.....those details do appear on Dodge's
IBM cards.
Wonder if this IBM card might be some sort of duplicate card, that accompanied the car along the production line, altho
the car's build and shipping dates are recorded on the card.
That "NCS" stamping probably refers to "New Car Service", where the factory aligned the wheels and installed
all the fluids, etc, so that the car could be immediately driven away, upon its arrival at the selling dealership.
And, maybe, they just did things 'differently' at the Evansville assembly plant!
Edited by d500neil 2011-08-03 8:51 PM
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Today I started bracing the body, modified electrical box junction plates where the hinges and strikers go to weld to and started on the passenger side with the first brace. At first the welds didn't hold, but I worked with it and got it. Still have to add another on that side, then go to the driver's side, then cross brace it. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 481
Location: The Netherlands | You got a really nice project there!
Where in jersey are you? Visiting jersey tomorrow |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Matthew Keij - 2011-08-07 8:33 PM
You got a really nice project there!
Where in jersey are you? Visiting jersey tomorrow
Thanks, it would be better if mother nature didn't claim so much of the body.
I live in Burlington. Where are you going to be at? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 481
Location: The Netherlands | I'll be very close if my map is not lying! I'll be in mt holly |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Matthew Keij - 2011-08-07 8:55 PM
I'll be very close if my map is not lying! I'll be in mt holly
PM sent. |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | d500neil - 2011-08-03 4:14 PM
Motor number is NOT AVAILABLE....what's up, with that (not recording the engine number on the IBM card???) ?
Thank you Neil, my guess is possibly only high performance engine numbers were listed on the IBM cards.
I had no idea what NCS stood for, but it makes sense. I though it had something to do with Chrysler Historical Society. |
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | Also, forgot to add this with the information posted earlier about the car, here's the list of what my car had on it's hand written built sheet found in the rear seat cushion.
271 - Possible Rotation Number
522 - Build Date - May 22, 1958
6000 - Body Number - 5,000th Convertible Body
255 - Body Type Number - Convertible Coupe
OO3 - Exterior Color - Toreador Red with Sportone Aluminum Insert Trim
213 - Interior Color - Red and Black Interior
321 - Convertible Top Color - Black
223 - ?
293 - Torqueflite 3 Speed Transmission
301 - Power Steering with Deluxe Wheel
312 - Accessory Group - Back-up Light, Windshield Washer, and Variable Speed Wipers
345 - Hot Water Heater and Defroster
352 - Airfoam Rear Seat
372 - V8 Power Pak - 4 bbl. Carburetor, Dual Exhausts
432 - Safety Package - Padded Dash and Padded Visors
441 - Pushbutton Radio and Antenna
501 - Undercoating and Hood Insulation
13 - 8.00 X 14 Wide Whitewall Tires
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Buildsheet 001.jpg (167KB - 504 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | This week I started to brace the body. Having trouble with getting the welds to hold, I switched to .035" flux core that I had, but flux sucks, so I went out and bought .035" to use with gas. Welds aren't "pretty", but are strong. The welds for the sheet metal will be much better. Still have to "X" between both door openings, but can't do that until I get another set of hands.
I also removed the surface rust that is on my replacement floor for the driver's side. It has some surface rust on the interior side only but I want to remove all that so it won't make any problems in the future.
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1958 Plymouth Convertible Photos 282.jpg (131KB - 451 downloads)
1958 Plymouth Convertible Photos 283.jpg (209KB - 678 downloads)
1958 Plymouth Convertible Photos 284.jpg (161KB - 454 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 4044
Location: Connecticut | If your welds aren't sticking, it means either your wire speed is too slow, you don't have enough heat or the area that you are trying to weld is contaminated (rust, grease, even those 'weld thru primers', which IMHO you should NOT use, except after welding is completed). The metal that you are welding should be perfectly clean. .023 wire with the right size tip should be fine for what you are trying to do. What were you trying to weld where the welds weren't sticking ? Ron
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Expert
Posts: 2996
Location: Sept. 1958 | ronbo97 - 2011-08-12 1:08 PM
If your welds aren't sticking, it means either your wire speed is too slow, you don't have enough heat or the area that you are trying to weld is contaminated (rust, grease, even those 'weld thru primers', which IMHO you should NOT use, except after welding is completed). The metal that you are welding should be perfectly clean. .023 wire with the right size tip should be fine for what you are trying to do. What were you trying to weld where the welds weren't sticking ? Ron
I was using the same voltage and speed but just went from .025" to .035" and they stuck. I am welding on new metal, cut up electrical junction plates and steel tubes from Home Depot, I clean up where I weld using a cookie wheel. I didn't want to weld any bracing on the body. Like I said, still have to diagonally brace between the doors before I can cut out metal from the body. And then I will make sure I will weld to virgin metal, which will be hard to do because my floor is holier than the Vatican. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 6504
Location: Newark, Texas (Fort Worth) | I see whats happening. You are welding galvanized metal. It will weld, but you will need it to be hotter and/ or grind off all the zinc. It won't be pretty but should work wth practice. Mild steel parts would have been better to use. H.D. has a selection of angle iron and flat steel. Marc. |
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Expert
Posts: 4044
Location: Connecticut | IF you were welding galvanized steel, the zinc fumes from the welding are poisonous. You may end up coughing for days if you didn't use a respirator. Ron PS - Ask me how I know this.
Edited by ronbo97 2011-08-12 7:50 PM
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Location: Parts Unknown | Hardware stores gouge the hell out of the buyer on steel stock. Get in the phone book and find a
steel / metals company, ... i.e. Ryerson, Jorgenson, CDA, etc. or better still, go to a scrap yard and
ask. They often have new material brought in for scrap that they resell. Far better pricing.
If you are going to weld galvanized, make sure the shop is all closed up and keep the car running
while doing the work. If the car doesn't run, set a tire on fire.
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Matt; you must have had to get to that Broadcast Sheet from 'above' the springs!
Can you post up an image or two of it, over on our Fender tag Decoding board?
Hand-written, huh; wow....
Broadcast Sheets installed under the rear seats did not occur in Dodges until the 1960 model year.
Your Broadcast Sheet must have pertained only to the creation of the upholstery---just as the B.-Sheets that are
found taped to the back of the glove boxes pertained only to the creation of the dashboards.
You should get your B.-Sheet laminated, to preserve it.
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Location: Parts Unknown | Just crumple up that paper junk with the candy bar wrappers and clean the car out.
No one cares about that stuff !
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1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible
