Back in 1954, annual births in the U.S. topped four million for the very first time. And many of those young’uns came from families enjoying the growing suburban lifestyle of postwar America. The Plymouth Suburban was the perfect name for its people, pets, and cargo-hauling station wagon. The Suburban name first appeared in 1949 and would last on Plymouth’s long roofs until 1978. Here is an absolutely beautiful example of a 1954 Plymouth Belvedere Suburban Wagon that spent 14 years on display in an auto museum in Oregon and is still wearing its original basket weave fabric interior. It is currently calling Mooresville, Indiana, home and is for sale here on craigslist for $27,000. Another shoutout to super-spotter T.J. for sending this rare wagon our way.
Plymouth was a year away from leaning into The Forward Look, so 1954 represented the last year of its conservative (some folks say “frumpy”) styling. But I like how the slightly-refreshed-from-the-1953-model looks on this long roof with its fender skirts, windshield visor, squared-off rear roofline, wire wheel covers, and overall stance. This two-door wagon looks stylish to me. A color chart I found says this gorgeous shade of burgundy paint is called Indigo Burgundy, and it is showroom shiny. Many top-of-the-line Belvedere Suburbans had a contrasting roof color, but this wagon is a single color, which I actually like better. The wagon’s exterior looks showroom new and glistens in the sun in the supplied photos. I can’t find any faults with this burgundy beauty.
I wish there were more photos of the Suburban’s awesome interior. Finished in a tasteful coral and cream theme, it appears to be in great original shape. Suburban wagons and convertibles in 1954 used a Woodweave seat fabric which was described as “a wheat-colored vinyl material with a realistic woven reed finish.” It was paired with a coral colored leather-like vinyl in the seats and door panels. I’ve only seen one of these original interiors at a car show and they’re beautiful. You’d never know you were looking at the cabin of a budget-friendly competitor to Fords and Chevys.
V8 engines were a year away, so under the wagon’s hood is the durable, reliable 230-cubic-inch, 100-horsepower inline flathead six. Mileage is listed at 82,000 (which is probably original, based on the condition of this wagon) and it’s paired with a 3-speed manual transmission with Overdrive. Only 9,241 of these top-of-the-line Plymouth Belvedere Suburban Station Wagons were produced and I’m guessing only a handful remain. This is probably one of the nicest in existence. I know it’s the nicest one we’ve ever featured on Barn Finds!
Very nice. I preferred the more rounded style of the ‘52 and older but I still wouldn’t kick this one off my driveway. Of course the skirts would have to go—I never liked skirts. There was a family in our neighborhood that had one very similar to this one except for the baby blue color. They finally bought a new one about the time I was in my Junior year, which would make it about 1970.
I remember the car sitting alongside the gas pumps for a very short time before it was gone, never to return. But then, it was shortly after that when the dealership was gone, never to return.
Chrysler never did come back to the old home town. 15 years later all that was left was Ford, and now it’s gone…