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Elite Veteran
Posts: 988
  
Location: Kansas City, Kansas | This might interest some of the Denver members....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37573576@N06/8227754043/in/photostream
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Location: The Mile High City | Thanks Slim! That is really cool! My (former) gold and white '58 Dodge Lancer sedan came from Thomas-Hyer. My '58 D-500 coupe came from James and my '58 De Soto came from Shane. I have a James emblem (on the D-500) and a Binx-Johnson emblem on the loose! I think Cullen-Thompson became the Gart Brothers Sports Castle with a tennis court on top of the building. You can still see the Chrysler wings inside the building. It is a Sports Authority now. The Thomas-Hyer building might be the old Firestone building on 18th and Downing, which is now residential lofts. This version is not as good as the original, but I altered it enough to make it my own work that I can put on this webpage without restriction!
 (1959 Plymouth Dealers Denver.JPG)
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 1959 Plymouth Dealers Denver.JPG (111KB - 616 downloads)
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Location: The Mile High City | To go along with Slim's thread, there is a cool little article in this month's Hemmings that describes a 1959 Plymouth grille in detail as an example of one of the best automotive grilles of the decade. |
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Expert
Posts: 1287
| My Big-Tailed Beast came from Plymouth City, but the original invoice that I have says it was sold by "Bill Goodro's Plymouth City" and the build record says it was shipped to "Goodro, Inc." Perhaps since Goodro also had Dodge (i.e., "Bill Goodro's Dodge City"), DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial at various locations, the Plymouth Division of Chrysler, who most likely sponsored the ad, wanted to make Plymouth City a bit more identifiable with that marque only.
BTW, I tend to agree with ol' Uncle Tom McCahill who said the 300C had the best grill in the automotive world. It certainly is more aggressive than most. It's even just a bit better than the one on my '65 Vette -- just a little bit, though!
Joe |
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Location: The Mile High City | Bill Goodro was a member of the Grand Lake Yacht Club and he donated a travelling trophy to the club in the 1960's. My oldest brother and I have won the Goodro Cup for the past two sailing seasons - and several times before. I never met Mr. Goodro in person though.
I wonder how many of these buildings are still standing? I think Binx-Johnson was cleared to build the hospital. I think Perkins Chrysler-Plymouth in Colorado Springs has been around for a very long time. |
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Expert
Posts: 1207
Location: Ponder, TX | I seem to recall a Plymouth dealer on East Colfax, not far from downtown. Is my memory failing even more that I thought? |
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Location: The Mile High City | There was a Ford dealer on East Colfax, just west of Colorado Boulevard - east of East High School. I suppose they could have been a Plymouth dealer before they became a Ford dealer?
Rosen-Novak Ford. The old buildings will be demolished to build a new Sunflower Market. |
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Location: The Mile High City | Buildings that are still there:
Cullen-Thompson - now Sports Authority
Thomas-Hyer - now residential lofts
Shane Motor Co.
James Motor Co. - now Colorado Ballet
Standard Motor Co.? - now Diamond Cabaret?
Buildings that are gone:
Goodro's Plymouth City
Griffith Motors
Pappy Fry
Majestic Motors
Binx Johnson |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1107
Location: Arvada, Colorado (NW Denver Metro Area) | Gotta love those 59 Plymouths! You need to get one Mike to upgrade your collection! LOL
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Location: The Mile High City | Sonoramic60 - 2012-12-04 7:51 AM
BTW, I tend to agree with ol' Uncle Tom McCahill who said the 300C had the best grill in the automotive world. It certainly is more aggressive than most. It's even just a bit better than the one on my '65 Vette -- just a little bit, though!
Joe
I like a lot of the FL grilles. It is hard to pick the favorites. The 1955 grilles were understated simple beauty, the 1961 grilles were outlandish and fantastic.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1107
Location: Arvada, Colorado (NW Denver Metro Area) | But the 59's were the Cats Meow! Right? |
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Location: Parts Unknown | My dislike of the 59 Mopars is well known, but to be fair, the 59 Plymouth grille is very well
executed, the headlight/fender interface is super sharp and integrated. I am at a loss for the
fat bumper and lower valance though .... they sure don't match the crisp, clean lines of the
rest of the nose.
The shot of the car in the ad is the best angle on a 59 Plymouth, IMO - very dynamic. 
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Location: The Mile High City | Forward-Looking
The sporty and modern 1959 Plymouth looked to the future
by Mark J. McCourt
In the late 1950s, Plymouth's cars were some of the hottest and most exciting on the American roads. The lean and dramatic "Forward Look," penned by Virgil Exner, had caused waves among the buying public and sent the competition back to their drawing boards. For many Mopar enthusiasts, the 1959 models were the height of fashion, and their restyled front end was the freshest and most dynamic of all of that generation's model years.
The alterations to Exner's "Flight-Sweep" styling were subtle, but effective. The 1959 Plymouth Savoy, Belvedere, Fury, Sport Fury, and Suburban station wagon retained their quad headlamps, but gave them a new treatment that left them "floating" over black housings that disappeared into the grille; the fenders above them now undulated in kind.
Adding to the three-dimensional appearance the headlamps created was the new split grille treatment. This replaced the previous slat-style grille with a coarser cross-hatch design that ended in the middle, exposing a modern take on the traditional Plymouth Mayflower emblem that appeared to float in space without visible support. Finishing the grille's appearance where outer corner pieces made from aluminum, with raised lines left bright and depressions painted black; clear leanses covered parking lamps/turn signals. An unadorned front bumper wrapped around the body sides and topped a lower opening; this very modern treatment was designed as an "air scoop," said to recall a jet's air intake and looking like the air dams of today's cars.
The grille handily emphasized these Plymouths' 78-inch width; depending on model, the cross-hatching was either solid-surface matte-finished or bright, with ribbed horizontal surfaces, but all were made of anodized aluminum. These grids, made from hollow C-shaped secions of metal riveted together, consisted of six horizontal bars and nine vertical bars per side. Those horizontal and vertical slats weere cut to slide together, and curved segments at each top corner underlined the floating headlamps. Both grille halves sported bright aluminum trim bands at their bases, and a third piece of trim joined those halves, underlining the blank area in the center.
The aforementioned Mayflower emblem, made of brushed and ribbed gold-annodized aluminum and accented with a chromed potmetal "missle," actually sat on a piece of black-painted metal mesh. This mesh was fastened to the black hood latch assembly benind it by the bolt that also mated the two components of the Plymouth emblem. That piece got special mention in period literature: "Plymouth's bright new emblem symbolizes the spirit in which the 1959 models have been created. A stylized representation of the Mayflower reflects Plymouth's great tradition. The missle poised above it portrays the pace-setting styling and engineering features that set Plymouth ahead in the new Space Age." A point of trivia - this was the first time the ship's bow was depicted, rather than its stern.
The 1960 Plymouth grille treatment would be even bolder for 1960, and while that wasn't universally loved, few would disagree that its predecessor was a classic in the making. |
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Location: The Mile High City | What a load! Everyone knows the 1958 Dodge had the king of Forward Look grilles!  |
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Expert
Posts: 1287
| Mike and John --
Generally, the great or classic cars are not defined as such by just styling, but also by performance -- i.e., the Stutz Bearcats, Mercer Raceabouts, "Doozies," Auburns, Cords, Packards, Pierce Silver Arrows, et al. The first six of the "letter cars" fit into that category as well as the '56 and '57 Adventurers and Furys. A few of the D-500 Dodges could possibly, but they were not distinctive as were the others and while the '58 Fury had power, its styling was just a rehash of the '57. By 1959, the Dodge had grown to DeSoto size and the '59 Sport Fury and Fury were definitely underpowered.
I submit that it's not the just the grill that makes the car a classic, but what sits behind that grill. A /-6 may may be interesting, but that same engine could power a taxicab.
That's why I'm into 375/392 hemis, SonoRamic Commandos, and fuel-injected 375/327 Vettes. Even the Beach Boys sang of "Little Old Ladies from Pasadena" (in theie 413 Dodges), "She's So Fine, My 409," and the Goats and Stingrays -- and they knew nothing about cars (one of their friends did).
Joe
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Location: The Mile High City | Ah, the ol' "form follows function" debate! I would also submit that there are definitive landmarks in automotive design that did not necessarily go hand-in-hand with performance advancements. For example, the 1940 Ford, the 1949 Cadillac, the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, 1957 Chrysler line-up and soforth. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1107
Location: Arvada, Colorado (NW Denver Metro Area) | Don't forget the '77 Pontiac Astra, and the '73 Pinto's! Now that is styling!!!
The early '50 to mid 50' Vette's were seriously underpowered with their 6 cylinders but are coveted today due to their styling, The Thunderbirds of the mid to late 50's also under-powered but had excellent styling points. Just not about HP all the time.
Just my two cents... |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Paradigms, boys, ... paradigms. Joe is a dyed-in-the-wool go-fast performance guy. His paradigm
is performance first, all else follows. Speaking strictly for myself, it is the opposite. Form is paramount,
followed by function. There is a reason I am sold on 58 DeSoto over anything else going at the time ..
.. the looks first, AND you got a well engineered car under that skin. Moreso than any GM or Ford or even
other Mopars. I would not own a 300. The limited paint and trim and all tan interior are boring to this
lover of color sweeps, wild paint colors and interior fabrics. I really could not care less if it has two carbs
and goes a little bit faster than my DeSoto. The color and fabric more than make up for that "advantage".
But that's MY paradigm. Both are legit.
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Expert
Posts: 1287
| "Joe is a dyed-in-the-wool go-fast performance guy." And unrepentently so! |
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Expert
Posts: 1287
| In all honesty, I must admit that in the automotive world of the 1950s and 1960s it was styling that dictated design. There was a famous exhange between Bill Mitchell and Zora Arkus-Duntov when Duntov attempted to point out a design flaw in the Sting Ray and where Mitchell said, "Zora, engineering doesn't sell cars -- styling does!" As a result, the '63-'67 Corvette went forward with one of the most beautful designs of all time, but one that was completely impractical as it developed an aerodynamic lift that started raising the front end up at speeds above 100 or thereabouts. So, the Vette was OK for the quarter-mile but even the old Mini Coopers could wax them on a road course, to say nothing what the Ferraris or Porsches would do at LeMans.
The hooded headlights and visor kept the 300C from beating the speeds of the 300B at Daytona even though the C had 45 more horses and was roughly the same weight and size. The Chrysler guys faired those in with modeling clay (yes, MODELING clay!) which was a dramatic improvement.
In 1961, the "flipped" fins of the '61 Plymouths also produced a lift on its rear end, which Lee and Richard Petty found out at the number two turn at the same race, going over the wall almost together.
The '66 and '67 Chargers were much the same -- virtually an airfoil design.
I guess it took the '70 SuperBirds and Daytonas to really demonstrate "form following function."
BTW, Doc, my Vette doesn't have ANY carb at all! It's got the old Rochester mechanical fuel injection.
Joe |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Joe, you have some of my all-time favorite kinds of cars. The Stingray is just an awesome car to look at,
and the others .... add in the go-fast stuff, it makes a cool car even more interesting. I like the extremes ...
the strippers, and the wildly equipped. It's the "typical" in the middle that doesn't hold my interest very long.
Call it A.D.D. .... 
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Expert
Posts: 1287
| Doc --
The best thing is that I can relate to each as I remember when the 300C came out, the dealer wouldn't even let this snot-nosed kid in the showroom. I wanted the '65 Vette when I graduated from college, but couldn't afford it until 23 years later. The Fury is similar to the one I abused back in '60-'64.
I guess I'm just trying to return to the days of my misspent youth.
Joe |
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Location: Parts Unknown | I can't believe your luck in finding that Como car ! 
Right in your backyard with such a great local history. What are the chances ?
Lucky dog. |
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Location: Colorado | Very cool, thanks for sharing Slim. |
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Location: The Mile High City | Guess the Cat Girl's weight and Pappy Fry might give you the 14-year old jazzed up jalopy (42 Plymouth)!
I bet all the 15 year old boys in Denver were there! It looks like Earl Sheib painted it.
 (Cat Girl reduced.jpg)
 (Earl Scheib.jpg)
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Cat Girl reduced.jpg (428KB - 302 downloads)
Earl Scheib.jpg (54KB - 344 downloads)
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'59 Denver Plymouth Dealers
