Glad to see you finally made it onto the list Roger !! I've known Roger several years, and have encouraged him to join this list because of all the great people here. . . hope you like it, bud!
Mark J. Hash mjh
'57 Fury, 7 other '57 and '58 Plymouths
Dear Forward Lookers, August 10 1998 My name is Roger
Howard and I live in Seattle, WA., U.S.A. Here is my story. When I
moved here in late 1990 from New York state, I was impressed by the
number of rust-free older cars. Partly because my family had owned a
1959 Plymouth wagon new as the family vehicle, I decided to seek out a
59 Plymouth coupe. I ended up with a 59 belvedere 2HT, which the
teenage owner had painted to resemble a 58 Fury. This was my
introduction to the "oldercar" syndrome. The car needed a front-end
rebuild (actually it really needed radial tires) and the brakes were
problematic. After two years or so, I sold it , and my 59 desoto
fireflite 4HT and the 60 Dodge Phoenix 4HT and used some of that money
to buy (sight unseen) a 1959 Plymouth convertible from Iowa. When it
arrived, shocked is a mild explanation of my reaction. So rusted from
years in an Iowa cornfield, the leaf springs had broken in transport.
It was a wonder other items hadn't blown or fallen off during the long
drive from minnesota, where the broker had stored it prior to offering
it for sale in Hemmings. But I figured I was already invested...(Who
would buy a rust hulk?) so I decided I had to press on. But when I
pulled the body from the frame, I found neither was worth saving! I
needed a rustfree body AND frame. A friend in Portland, Oregon had a
stripped out rustfree coupe originally from Idaho . I bought that and
towed it up here. I hired a local body man and he worked
wonders...cutting and welding until I had a solid frame and a solid
convertible body again. I rebuilt the brakes and detailed the frame
and then remounted the body. Next I hired a painter to do the entire
shell in the original 1959 red. I bought the remanufactured fabric for
the interior from a dealer in Portland, and found the exact match for
the vinyl in Michigan. I bought new convertible lift parts from
Florida. Although the original 318 was complete and supposedly ran ,
I pulled that and bought a 1961 361. I have all the new remanufactured
rubber parts from Gary Goers. The chrome and stainless are original but
need work. I've run thru five parts cars and still have a 59 wagon
parts car (and a 57 Sport Suburban runner to keep me quiet). The body
is painted and back on the frame and here it sits in the
garage....waiting for me. In the meantime I have gotten married and
have a 17 month old girl to care for, so spare time is rare. I have
the original swivel seats, factory A/C, AM radio with fader control,
remote control mirror and the dashmount high beam Eye, all awaiting
refitting. Some day it will ride again!.... Roger
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