James – take me to the airport! You and a whole slew of friends, or merely acquaintances, could hi-tail it there and each have your own door courtesy of this 1955 Plymouth Belvedere airport limousine. I have seen many variations on the multi-door limo, but most are usually Checkers like this 1966 Aerobus that we covered a few weeks back. This is the very first Plymouth version that I have encountered to let’s open some doors. This Belvedere is located in Claremore, Oklahoma and is available, here on Facebook Marketplace for $9,000.
Interestingly, this barn find parts ways with the Checker example by virtue of its door configuration. While it does have four doors on the passenger side, there are only two on the driver’s side making this Plymouth more unusual still. It has been owned by the seller since the mid-’70s but has not moved in the last twenty-six years. The surface rust is obvious and there appears to be a bit more than that lurking in the lower corners of the doors and quarters. That said, the sheet metal is fair and mostly straight though the rear two doors on the passenger-side appear to have encountered the kind of scrape that happens when a garage (or barn) door jamb gets in the way. Of note is the side trim, it extends along the fenders but that’s as far as it reached – it was probably considered superfluous to extend it along this Plymouth’s endless flanks.
The interior is rough, to say the least. The upholstery is torn and the weatherstripping and windlace have totally deteriorated. As for the floors, there’s no clear image provided but I would be concerned about their integrity based on where this car has been parked. It’s not over dirt and grass but is perched over loose gravel, in a doorless facility, where there are plenty of opportunities for moisture exposure.
One of the most notable problems is the gravity-bound headliner. I make note of it because there’s a heck of a lot of it in a car of this length. That’s one of those items where the old stuff gets removed, never to be replaced.
The seller mentions that the starter on this Belvedere’s “Hy-Fire” V8 engine, which may displace either 241 or 260 cubic inches – it’s not disclosed, side-lined it years ago. There is a replacement starter included with the sale but it was never installed. Gear changing is the responsibility of a PowerFlite automatic manual transmission.
OK, it’s what to do with it time! I don’t even know where to start. I like how unusual this Plymouth limo is, and there’s no denying its rarity, but still, it’s a physically huge specimen, and as the seller suggests, “This thing needs a full restore“. And it’s a lot of banannas at nine grand! I’m stumped, what do you suggest?
Are you sure that is an auto? Looks more like a three speed to me. Would be nice to have a more clear shot of the drivers floor to see the number of pedals. A 3sp might make more sense in a car this big and heavy. Can’t see the asking price here. Who would buy it? The cost of restoration is going to be crazy high, then what do you do with it? 55 Plymouths were great cars in either six or eight cylinder varieties, but this makes no sense as a hobbyist play thing.
Laziness on my part, Gary – I actually believed what the seller put in the listing, imagine that…In retrospect, it does look like a manual.
JO
Definitely a 3-speed manual. Cars with the optional PowerFlite had a stubby selector lever on the dash.
Gee I stand corrected.
I thought when you were talking about # of pedals Gary, that you were referring to the planetary transmission.
Hmmmmm……………….
Not even worth $1.00 per pound as junk metal gross weight.
Nice photo of a hunk of rusty steel that is about to get crushed at a wrecking yard. Nobody on planet Earth will buy this artifct of yesteryear.
Bob ‘I call em’ as I see em’.
Ya, I tend to agree. Part out what you can and crush what’s left. Probably not even much of a call for 55 Plymouth parts these days. The old geezers like me who remember them either can’t remember much of anything or are laying quietly at ground temperature. Just the same, if an enthusiast with room to spare could get this, for pretty much nothing beyond hauling it away, then maybe someday those dusty parts on a shelf might help someone with a restoration. These guys are just fishing with the price. I am afraid they will get tired of no offers and scrape it, but scrape everything. That would be too bad because someday someone might have need for some of that trim and dash stuff.
A scrape is what a carless driver does to someone else’s car in a parking lot.
A scrap is what the driver and the other car’s owner get into after the scrape. ;)
I think Rick is being sarcastic. Not sure, but maybe.
“Sorry Mac, that thing ain’t gonna fit in our crusher. Your best bet is to take it out to the woods, leave it, and let mother earth reclaim it.”
Probably a nice car 26 years ago…
Shame that it’s been left in not so optimum conditions; at least it’s available now but at 9k it’s probably going to sit another 26 years.
I see four doors on both sides
The two center ones on the driver’s side have no handles. They look like steel panels that have been put in place of where doors would go.
JO
The listing says its paid off, that’s good to know would hate to see a repo agent dragging this behind a 1ton truck
Poor thing is gonna be there a few more decades till the earth reclaims it, gonna cost a ton to restore it, then who wants it?
Wanna know what’s frightening? Two words..”DRUM BRAKES”….
Steve, add another word in front of those 2 to get “Manual drum brakes”. And no power steering either. The company that ordered this car was sure trying to keep costs down.
I’ve owned several Armbruster-Stageway 6 and 8 door “Airporter” limousines, and have amassed quite a bit of info on them. I’ve never seen or heard of a 1955 Plymouth version. May well be a one-off.
As to the 2 left middle doors not opening, most airport limousines loaded passengers from the curb side, and passengers were supposed to slide across the bench seat. This was, or course, before seat belts. With the advent of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards in 1968, all the doors had to open and close for safe evacuation in an emergency.
Imagine if this was in a situation where the car came to a stop against a guardrail on the right side, and the only doors to get out during a fire were the 2 left doors. And if that fire was in the front or rear area, you could have 12 to 15 people packed inside, trying to get out while panicked.
And YES, there are collectors of these vehicles, but our ranks are pretty thin! Problem is [again] the owner is asking way too much for the car. Realistically it’s not worth even 1/3 of what he’s asking. $9k would be for a decent running and driving vehicle. It’s worth saving, once the price comes back down to a realistic level. Sometimes a product is rare because there was no demand when new, and again no demand when used. We at BF all know that rarity doesn’t always equate to high value. If few people want it, the value is far less. It’s the old adage of supply and demand.
Of note: These early Stageway stretch car have a special roof luggage box made from 2X6 or 2X8 frame members in a long rectangle, with wood ribs across the floor side to side. These main box rails are bolted to the actual roof assembly and play an important part of providing torsional roof strength, and the boards are clearly rotten. This means they will also need replacing.
Probably built by Armbruster-Stageway – it is quite desirable among a very specific group of enthusiasts. The price is out of line, but that is not unusual here..
You cynics should’t dismiss this vehicle as an undesirable “white elephant”, just because you can’t see any use for it! It’s definitely a “special interest” piece, but use your imaginations – it is definitely part of the history of commercial air travel in the mid-century, pre-jet era, and could be the last one of these in existence. It would be of great interest to certain collectors for that alone, or for many other factors. It might go into a museum collection, an airport display, appear in a period movie, or it might be returned to service as an airport limo for an upscale “mid-century modern” hotel. Bottom line: SOMEBODY out there is going to buy and restore it, and it’s going to be a very long time before it ever sees a scrap heap or salvage yard.
Yeah, we all yearn for a drivable, polished future. This unit would be really cool restored. But golly, the cost, the unobtanium parts, the wrecked marriages. The good news is that we’re on the cusp of an unimaginable positive future very soon! So yes.
Do what?
@Christina Not to be obtuse, but do some research and open your mind. I can’t wait for what is upcoming.
This was my dad’s, he had dreams of restoring it. I just put out to see what interests there was in it. It is a one of a kind of vehicle. I dont have control of listing, was done by another family member. As for the $1 per pound comment, yes I would be happy to accept an offer of $7500. Guess you dont have a clue of what these real metal cars weighed in at. Please feel free to make me an offer.
James, if you really want to find that buyer (he’s definitely out there somewhere), do consider listing it for auction on eBay Motors. You might be well advised to tow it out of the shed, and do your best to shine it up for some nice photos inside and out. Good luck!
BTW – Pay no attention to the insulting remarks by some of these folks on here.
If you get no offers, before you give it away, they do use retired train cars for sea life, at the bottom of the ocean, this might fit the need, and it would be useful
Thank you, I will when I’m closer to actually needing it gone. Like I said, was just seeing what attention it would get.
James, Please consider contacting The Professional Car Society [PCS], they are a wonderful club devoted to Funeral and Livery vehicles, including stretch limousines. I suspect you will find a buyer thru the club, just give them a call or email. The well-known automotive author Walt McCall is the editor for the club
https://www.theprofessionalcarsociety.org/contact.html