The "Golden Vee"

[Faulkner]

Bernie Hanssen sent me this interesting tidbit:

Does this picture belong in UFOs or ephemera?

It's from one of the '59 Savoys that's currently being audtioned on eBay. Notice the gold V-trim next to the Plymouth script on the trunk lid. That is the only piece of visual identification which Plymouth provided in 1959 for all its V8-powered cars. Is it a Six or V8? Check the rear brand script on the trunk. My parents had a 59 Savoy with the six-cylinder engine, the trunk lid had no golden vee on it.

Now, how did I get this information? Well, that magic has been around for several years. The Plymouth and DeSoto Story, written by Don Butler and published by Crestline Publishing, was published in 1978, the 50th anniversary of the Plymouth brand. It detailed all the chrome and gold trim pieces that Plymouth used to identify V8 installations in its cars from 1955 to 1959 in the individual car pictures, and there are plenty of them. Some of them are quite subtle, like the '59 trunk-V. A bit more flamboyant are the 1955 hood and trunk badges, which were V-shaped on V8 cars (the hood and trunk badges on your six-cylinder car were horizontal).

The Plymouth and DeSoto Story has been available for sale since 1978 at shopping mall book stores like B Dalton, Waldenbooks, and Barnes & Noble. That's how I found it. Those same stores also had an excellent book on the early history of the Chrysler company, that book contained detailed articles on Virgil Exner, K. T. Keller, and of course Walter P. himself. But, it had just a small sidebar article on Tex Colbert - a sad example of short shrift.

The book is very hard to find now and is apparently out of print. Also, I am not sure if Crestline Publishing is still in business. Their books are listed on Google, but not the company itself. However, I did find Don Butler's Plymouth and Desoto Story on Amazon.com as a link on the Allpar web site. And here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... ct-details

Amazon does not list an ISBN standard catalog number, however, they do list an ASIN number in the product details section, #0912612142, for this book. Because of its apparent rarity, it's not all that cheap. It was published in 1978, nearly five years before the publication of Stephen King's literary Christine and appealed only to the hard-core vintage car hobbyist. I would hope that ASIN number helps.

Bernie Hanssen

[rogerh]

I may not be getin ga ll of this story. but if the car pictured is a Savoy, then I would hazard a guess that the person has "borrowed" either a trunklid or a "Vee" from a V-8 car

[Matthew Keij]

Well maybe that Savoy has a V-8??

[Nighthawk]

Yeah a V8 was available in ALL models and styles,not just Fury 2 dr htps!

[rogerh]

well, the item is no longer at auction, so we will never know for sure if he car had a 6 or 8

[Fins59]

Not to be picky (although my wife says I am) V8 was not available in all models. According to a 59 brochure I have, one model was offered with only the 6 cyl available. And that was (drum roll) the 59 Savoy Business Coupe, which only 1,051 was made. I assume it was a 3 passenger (listed as3P in info) with only a front seat. Now that would be a rare car. Anyone have one or seen one?

[rogerh]

Well, not sure but yes, I think I saw one years ago. In fact, I bought it (for parts). What happened is I put a deposit down on it, and I was sure he said if I didnt want it he'd give me back my deposit. When I saw it in the flesh, I complained that it was very incomplete, told him I thought he mis-represented the car and asked for my money back. He whined that he had towed it several hundred miles from where it was to his house, but in the end he refunded my money. It was missing the front clip, but I think it was a 3P..I used to have a pic of it, but probably long lost.