Vehicle Description
It's OK if you haven't heard of the Plymouth Plaza. Built for just
four years (1954-58), it was the entry-level Plymouth mostly
designed for fleet buyers. However, that doesn't mean they left out
the styling or the performance, as this 1958 Plymouth Plaza 2-door
club sedan ably proves. With V8 power and a look that should get
plenty of attention, the Plaza delivers big fun with a Mopar
flavor.
You'll easily recognize the iconic shape, particularly when
rendered in bright red. No, the famous car from the horror story
wasn't a Plaza, but a Fury, but the awesome shape is nonetheless
very similar. (So much so, that this very car was used in the movie
for a shot of its nose straight on.) This is the most desirable
variant, the 2-door club sedan with a back seat, making it a
legitimate 6-passenger car. Fins were still all the rage in 1957
and the Plymouth wears a set of seriously big ones that add to the
sleek, forward-looking design. Someone spent a good pile of money
on the restoration work, as the flanks are extremely straight,
which is especially important on a car like this which has no side
trim to distract you. Gaps are good and the paint has a brilliant
shine that really makes this car look expensive. There's some
suggestion that this is one of the limited edition "Silver Special"
cars, with its "forward look" emblem on the fins, but there's
really no way to be sure. However, the grille is in fantastic shape
(good luck finding another one this nice!), the bumpers have bright
chrome, and the unique taillights at the base of the fins look
especially cool.
The interior is simple but comfortable, with wide bench seats
wrapped in durable black vinyl that should last a lifetime. Red
carpets and some slightly jazzy door panels liven up the interior,
and with plenty of red paint on the dash, it's anything but plain.
The big two-tone steering wheel has jet-age styling that really
works and the lovely engine-turned dashboard hides the Plaza's
bargain-basement original price. You get a full complement of
gauges, plus a factory AM radio, and the dash-mounted rear-view
mirror is just plain cool. Three-on-the-tree shifting makes it a
lot of fun to drive and almost everything inside the car is new and
ready to enjoy. There's a nice black headliner overhead and the
trunk is correctly outfitted with a proper mat and vintage bias-ply
spare tire.
The engine isn't some wheezing six, but rather Chrysler's 318 cubic
inch "poly head" V8, and in the relatively lightweight Plaza, it's
a great deal of fun to drive. There's a correct air cleaner with a
2-barrel carburetor underneath, bright red engine paint, and a
nicely detailed engine bay to make people stop and stare at shows.
It starts easily and runs smoothly with a big swell of torque that
makes rowing the 3-speed manual transmission almost unnecessary. As
a price-leader, there's no power steering, no power brakes, but
you'll find that control efforts are reasonable and the car is easy
to handle at any speed. Underneath, there's a clean, mostly
original chassis that shows what life in a warm climate will get
you, and a softly burbling dual exhaust system seems entirely
appropriate. 205/75/14 wide whitewall radials are fitted to the
original wheels, which also carry optional full wheel covers, but
the original "dog dish" hubcaps that were part of the Plaza package
are included.
Neat, rare, and fun car with a fantastic high-visibility look and
enough room for the whole family. This is an easy car to like. Call
now!
