First published in the March 2012 issue of Street Machine

The Plymouth Belvedere might sound dorky to modern ears, but in 1956 it was Plymouth’s top-line model. The whole range was named after ritzy hotels of the era, with the Belvedere on top, followed by the Savoy and the hose-out Plaza models. Plymouth itself was Chrysler’s low-cost division, with Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler and Imperial filling out the range from lowest to highest price. That might sound like a lot of nameplates for one manufacturer but this was boom-time in Detroit and multiple models with countless options was the name of the game.

One guy who has his head around it all is David Manby, a car nut from Lismore in northern NSW.
“I bought my first American car when I was 16,” he says. “It was a Blue Flame-powered 1953 Chev sedan, rough as guts but a great cruiser. I was an apprentice signwriter and gave it a wild flame job. It cemented my love affair with Yank iron and I’ve owned more than 60 cars, over half being 50s or 60s US metal.”

In the past four years David’s started to home in on cars that he wanted to scrub off his bucket list. “My main target has always been a 1956 Plymouth two-door. I absolutely love this model and being born in Plymouth in the UK, it was a search I was determined to fulfil.”

So he scoured classic car websites and eBay looking for something suitable and stumbled onto this rare Plymouth Belvedere Sports Coupe. At a glance you’ll see that it shares some styling similarities with our local single-headlight AP1 and AP2 Chrysler Royals, but it was miles in ahead of the Aussie versions in the glamour stakes.

The fact that it’s a two-door sports coupe to boot makes it an extremely rare example, even in the States. The Plymouth range was aimed more at working class buyers than the Dodges and Chryslers, which means build numbers of anything glitzy were small.

“I immediately rang the dealer in Oregon, told him about my search and bought the car over the phone.”
The Plymouth had already been given a complete restoration by its previous owners, so David and wife Anna were able to jump in and enjoy it almost straight away when it arrived Down Under.

“I didn’t mind actually — it was the car I’d been after for a number of years so I didn’t fancy having to wait any longer to get behind the wheel. We own Lismore Garden Centre, which keeps us busy, so this was a no-fuss way for us to get out and clock up some miles.”

And that they do. With the factory twin-barrel 277-cube Super Hi-Fire V8 under the hood, backed by a three-speed manual transmission and lever pull-action overdrive, the Plymouth has ventured as far north as Brisbane on a number of occasions, with other trips to Yamba and Brunswick Heads, where it even attracted the admiration of the So-Cal Speed Shop’s Jimmy Shine.

“He loved the car and spent a heap of time looking over it; he’d never seen one in the flesh before.”
A twin two-inch stainless steel exhaust with glass-pack mufflers ensures the Poly donk makes all the right noises. Whilst the factory steering and suspension were retained, they have been fully rebuilt and the brakes were upgraded to discs at the front. Original 15in steelie rims are finished with Moon spinner caps and wide whites.

Body-wise the Belvedere is near stock, apart from a custom grille, lakes pipes and twin aerials, but it’s the striking visuals of this car that get the mouth watering.

The sleek two-door styling is set off by a spectacular mix of Onyx Black and Coral Pink.

“A lot of people ask me about the colour scheme and it can take some serious convincing with some of them to prove that it’s factory — I even keep the original Plymouth handbooks and advertising literature on hand that show it clearly.”

It really stands out in a crowd and the black-and-pink theme extends to the twin-bench interior, which is colour-matched in a combination of cloth and vinyl. There have, however, been a couple of updates to make cruising that little bit more pleasurable — under-dash air conditioning and a completely hidden remote CD player and sound system.

With nearly three years of ownership under his belt, David is still as happy with the car as the day it arrived.

“It’s a dream come true to own this and it’s taken out five awards at three shows, including King Classic at GreazeFest 2010 and trophies at the Queensland Chrysler Expo and North Coast Show ’n’ Shine.”

With new bub Ollie cruising along with David, Anna and daughter Charlotte these days, trips have stayed a little closer to home. “We’ve recently reformed the local Trojans Rod & Custom Club and we try to stretch its legs whenever we can,” David says.

So what’re the chances of it ever going up for sale?

“Don’t bother asking. Since buying this one three years ago, I’ve only ever seen one other advertised and it was an absolute basketcase. This’ll be in my shed forever.”

DAVID MANBY
1956 PLYMOUTH BELVEDERE SPORTS COUPE

THANKS
My wife, Anna, for putting up with me! Craig and Kevin from Marques Automotive, Lismore; Steve at Lismore Tyre Co.