Well, it’s Wagon Wednesday and we have an interesting find for you guys! We love the finned cars of the late ’50s and we also happen to love wagons from that era. When we saw this 1959 Plymouth Suburban it just made sense. It took two things we love and merged them into one quirky design. Obviously, these aren’t the kind of massive fins one finds on a ’59 Cadillac, but they look huge on this four door wagon. If you’re like us and enjoy oddball cars, then this one is definitely worth a closer look. It was stored in a barn for a number of years and then made its way to a field before finally being listed here on eBay.
This Plymouth’s fins aren’t the sharp pointed ones found on the likes of the Cadillacs or Lincolns, but we think it would be a bit much if they were. We have only seen a few of these Suburbans and every time we do, we struggle to find the words to explain the looks. Wagons tend to look very flat and somewhat boxy, but the fins break up the lines and give the car an arched or curved look. This definitely isn’t your typical wagon and it would stand out in a crowd of Nomads like a sore thumb.
Plymouth offered a wide range of engine options in the Suburban, from this 130 hp straight six all the way up to a 305 hp V8. As you can see, this one’s 230 cui six looks rough, but the seller claims that it runs. While this engine might not have the power of one of the V8 options, it is a bulletproof engine, should offer decent mileage, and is paired to a manual transmission. This is a lot of car for a six cylinder to pull around, but unless you’re looking to do some racing, it shouldn’t be a problem. We would be more concerned about getting the brakes working, so all that mass can be stopped.
The cavernous interior is showing its age and is going to need a complete restoration. Thankfully all the original pieces are still here and should be salvageable. These were offered in either six or nine passenger layout. This one is a six passenger model so it lacks the rear jump seat. While it would be nice to have the extra seating, it shouldn’t have any impact on value or functionality.
The time spent in the Montana field has left this wagon weathered and rusted, but thankfully we don’t see any cancerous rust. Knowing how much it can snow in Missoula, we would want to inspect it closely for ourselves though. This winged wagon might not be for everyone, but we would be proud to pull up to any event in it! How about you? Would you be happy to call this Plymouth your own?
Sept for the Flathead I wouldn’t mind cruising this around this summer…
He’ll yes! I use to live in Missoula Montana but now live in Iowa so it’s too far away for me now, but would sure love to have it.
4g’s is a long stretch for this car but for less $’s it could be very fun.
“…it would stand out in a crowd of Nomads like a sore thumb”
Kind of like how a four-door car would stand out in a crowd of two-doors?? -_^
Hope the seller can find a buyer willing to put the labor & $$ into restoring this one! It would be magnificent…
As I typed that phrase I seriously wondered if someone would call me out on it or if I could get away with a fast one. Nothing gets by you guys haha! How about four door ’57 Chevy wagon? Either way, it would definitely stick out!
It would be quite the magnificent machine after a massive amount of money and time is sunk into it. It will be a labor of love, but man those fins! I wonder what the aerodynamics are like on this thing. Cadillac tried to calm the fins on the ’59 helped keep the car in a straight line, but I would think these wings could cause problems in strong side winds.
Wagons are much cooler than 4 door sedans. Truth be told, I would probably rather have a wagon than a 2 door if for no other reason than it is much more practical. There’s just something about a classic car that can also haul home a new kitchen full of flat pack cabinets from IKEA.
Love your wagon. I own what my be the worlds only 1958 Impala station wagon/ hearse. It was made in 1958 from a 58 impala sports coupe in Argentina and love to see other rare wagons from the past. Wishing you the best with the sale , only wish I had the money to buy this one also.
Hi Ron, We would love to see your ’58 Impala! If you’d like to share it with us, shoot me an email at mail@barnfinds.com
I’m with Paul, 4K is a chunk for an ultra low option wagon. Granted there probably are only a handful left, but the same is true of Yugo’s and Chevettes.
For me, 1K-1.5K would be the limit.
Spray some perfume on it and it’s still a giant Turd.! You people are Sick.. Hahahaha.. snort.. hahaha…
Come on Stanley – get a tetanus shot and gopher-it. On the other hand, there’s no foot, but there is doubt that any buyer can make this one an economical feasibility. Quick work of $14,000 pile of cash to have an $10,000 car (at best)
i like this car. it has a 6cyl and a 3 on the tree. and i think it has been hit with the ” ugly stick ” more then once. make it a safe daily driver and have fun. make the seller an offer after looking real close at the underside. nice find
and it has more metal in the roof then the midget in the background or someones new starlet!
A gamble for sure but MT didn’t use a lot of salt on the roads during the winter back then except under extreme conditions. The bulk of the rust COULD be on the outside and on top of the rear floor. I’d sure want to get up close before making a final decision though.
it’s great. I like it. Wouldn’t mind driving it (as in “at all”)
The rust is all on the top surfaces, its the sun thats done the damage. Brush the rust off, use some anti rust prep, cavity wax, brush paint it and chuck some timber and tools in the back.
Chrysler called those Exner protrusions “wind stabilizer fins” when it brought out the ’57 models. Of course they were really nothing but “customer inducement-to-buy” fins, and they worked, sort of, for a couple or three short years before Ex got completely out of hand and the “forward look” morphed into one over-styled curiosity after another: witness the ’61 Dodge for the absolute nadir. But this was a very common look back then, and everyone else rushed to match Chrysler, including GM with the ’59 Cadillac and bat-wing Chevy and Buick. Wow. Then it all fairly quickly ended, akin to the extinction of the dinosaurs. All this aside, the Chrysler flathead six is bulletproof and the car contains acres of room. Yes it would be slow, but who cares? Cars were often slow back then and no one thought anything of it. People bought wagons equipped this way all the time. Restoration? Labor of love, with no chance of financial recovery. Best bet: check the frame first for rust, and if it’s good, go with a careful mechanical and safety restoration, a good cleaning, maybe a Maaco paint job unless you really like the aged black-and-white look, and drive it — for a long time. Properly maintained, it won’t give up before you do.
Oh yeah, the price. It’s too high. By a lot. Let’s see what happens on eBay. Just curious.
Those fins look very similar to another car that was designed in 1959….the Volvo 1800 sport coupe.
This would make a really fun resto-mod. Plenty of cachet flowing out of the unusual styling.
Tough to make a case for an original style restoration, quite expensive, and a limited base of interest after it was finished.
I guess four grand is todays hundred bucks. Great wagon………for a hundred bucks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T46OKdpjRyM
I just happened to come across this looking at Betty White clips on youtube. This was for her show “A Date With The Angels” which was sponsored by Plymouth in 1957-1958.
Hmmmm… slap a HEMI into it.. give it a decent paint job, and redo the interior, and you have a nice cruisin wagon!
MOPAR – Mostly Original Parts and Refurbishing LOL!!!
Mom had one of these. I was 14 years old and would take her car to be washed. Loved it, have wonderful memories of driving around as a young kid.