2023-06-04 Kind of a repeat post as I did the passenger side a few weeks ago. This weekend I finished converting the drivers side to the 1956 Desoto door handle. Works well and glad both door handles match again. I am finally down to one last metal modification on the 59. I would like to completely move the gas filler door out of the quarter fin but I am so burned out of doing metal work on this car I am going to leave it. I am going to close the gaps up in the gas door and take the little finger hump out of it and live with it.
2023-08-06 So, a car guy facebook friend I have never met [Will Walker! You can read all about Will here], flew to Carlisle, PA. for the Mopar show a few weeks ago. While out there, he messages that he found NOS front marker lights and headlight rings for my 59 Plymouth. He buys them with his own money and tells me just to reimburse him after he gets home and mails them to me. Not to mention, he brought them on the plane ride home as a carry on so they wouldn’t get damaged by the potential Neanderthals handling his luggage at the airport. Really thankful for his kindness and the parts are gorgeous.
2023-12-09 We were on the subject of finned valve covers today at work, and it made me think of these. In 1990, when I was 17 years old, I bought a crusty pale yellow 1969 Roadrunner for $450.00. A couple of high school buddies and I stripped it down to a shell in the driveway of my parents’ home and junked it before my dad returned from out of town one weekend. These valve covers were on the Roadrunner, and after all these years, I intend to use them on the 59 Plymouth.
2023-12-28 Tying up some loose ends on the 59 today. For those that don’t know, a tree limb fell through the front window of the 59 taking out the dash, steering column and doing significant damage to the firewall many years ago before I bought it. I repaired the firewall the best I could five years ago but was always bothered by some of its imperfections. Although it’s never going to be blemish free, today I spent some time pulling on it and getting it straighter. The back of the hood meets the front of the cowl better now also. It’s not perfect but I won’t wake up at 3am thinking about it anymore either. I have a damage dozer and port-a-power here at the house that I could have used to do this today but chose the come-along out of pure laziness and it worked well. The mirror on the driver side fender was also ripped off in the tree limb accident. Today, I finally took the time to repair that area.
2023-12-29 The 59 is finally free of all the damage from the tree falling on it. The last of all the dents were knocked out today. Some were partially difficult to get to from behind so the stud gun was utilized. I also buffed the top of the door and half the hood today. I was surprised how stained the paint had gotten since buffing it 6 years ago. The color brighten right up.
2024-01-08 I’m super thrilled to put the @bendpak Quickjack portable car jack to work today in the garage. Nice compact unit that doesn’t take up the whole garage when not in use. Lifts to the perfect working height for aging car enthusiasts like myself.
2024-01-31 One of the wiper pivots in the 59 was locked up solid. I tried to locate a replacement with no success. Tried wd40 with no success. So I decided to soak it for a few days in @rust911_ Rust remover, and it didn’t disappoint. Turns fleely now. We use this product constantly @snakepitcustoms. 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆
2024-02-03 I have been trying to get everything fab wise done on the firewall of the 59 as it will be one of the first things painted. The original heater system was broken up from the “tree limb” incident. It was obvious with the amount of over engineering and expense of replacing the original heater box parts, I would be able to replace it with something smaller and more efficient. So, I bought an aftermarket heater from Vintage Air. It was around $300.00. It comes with defrost, regular floor heat, and a three-knob control unit to manage it all. I bought a dual hose bulkhead from Amazon to pass through the firewall. I fabbed a bracket up for the heater box and welded it on. I also put the hose bulkhead in a more inconspicuous area of the firewall. The 59 isn’t going to be a show car but I also don’t want 20ft of heater hose stretching across the engine bay to the passenger side of the firewall. Pretty happy with this heater unit. It should be sufficient for what little cold weather the car will be driven in and I can’t imagine the weight saving it gave me also.
2024-02-10 Not sure why or when I came up with this idea, but it took me a while to find all the necessary plates reasonably priced. St. Joseph County’s license prefix in 1959 was BD so that gave me a little jump start on the hyphenated BAD. Then the others had to be pre 61 because of the metal thickness. I also found out that welding up a license plate is a similar experience to a root canal…painful. I have a little more metal finishing to do to it but considering how angry it was after welding I am happy with it. It will be painted in the original color and lettering.
For those that know Maureen MacDonald, her nickname is Mo, so it’s makes for a nice little touch on the custom plate. BD MOJO…
2024-02-23 Mail call. I have wanted a set of these 66/67ish Plymouth Fury poverty caps for the 59 for a while. I finally found a set on ebay and the condition far exceeded my expectations. I had a Dodge set left over from when I had my 68 Bee. I always liked that style of poverty cap so these are the best of both worlds with the Plymouth insignia.
2024-03-28 So…today I ordered the base color, clear coat, and some of the materials 
needed to paint the 59 Plymouth when I get to that point. I had the 59’s gas door sent to Sherwin-Williams lab for color matching a few weeks ago. The spray out card came today and I am pleased with the color match. If you read Plymouth’s description of the color from 1959 (last photo), what grown man could resist repainting their car that color 
(sarcasm).
2024-05-26 This might just work. I’m thinking about it with some custom-made aluminum inserts. The scoop in it’s original design. It’s on my car backwards.
2024-06-16 Photos are nearly 20 years apart. I seem to only be interested in project cars that have destroyed roofs…it’s a disorder. 
2024-08-18 Mail call. More n.o.s for the 59 Plymouth. Nothing like an unused part in it’s original box.
2024-09-01 Purchased one of the more expensive pieces of the puzzle this week for the 1959 Plymouth. Sniper II efi units were on sale, so I pulled the trigger on one. It’s always been about keeping the 59 a low buck deal, but having been around so many of these units at work, it’s money well spent.
