1956 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible

The 1956 Plymouth Belvedere was the company's high trim level vehicle. The prior year Plymouth had introduced their all-new body style and for 1956 Plymouth offered revamped version with minor modifications throughout. They had taller, sharp-edged tailfins, a larger egg crate grille, new taillights, and aircraft-inspired styling themes courtesy of Virgil Exner. Plymouth's entry level offerings included the Plaza and Savoy, up to the top-of-the-line Belvedere. The Belvedere was given a vast amount of additional chrome trim and interior luxuries. A new convenience option was the Powerflite automatic transmission, operated by pushbuttons to the left of the steering column.

This particular Belvedere is a convertible; one of just 6,735 examples produced for 1956. It was ordered as the dealer demonstrator for Burns Garage of Walworth, Wisconsin. The car was finished in Turquoise and Midnight blue. Options bestowed upon this example include a four-barrel carburetor, Powerflite, power brakes, and the Highway Hi-Fi, which is an under-dash 16-RPM record player that was one of the first in-car entertainment systems.

The original owner purchased this car from Burns Garage after prospective customers drove it 1,700 miles. He retained the car until 2006, when it was sold to its second and current owner. The new owner treated to the car to a body-off restoration. The only change from its original specification was the addition of chrome wire wheel covers.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2013