This 1961 Plymouth Belvedere was sold for $300 and the owner turned it from rusty beast to shiny beauty
- US man bought a rusty 1961 Plymouth Belvedere for $300
- He spent three years completely transforming it
- The glow-up was simply magnificent
Published on Oct 23, 2024 at 8:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Oct 24, 2024 at 7:36 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
This US man bought a rusty 1961 Plymouth Belvedere for $300 and completely transformed it.
It had been found abandoned in a field in Adams, North Dakota.
However, someone saw its potential before sending it to the scrapyard and decided to sell it.
The resulting glow-up is simply magnificent.
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1961 Plymouth Belvedere
The owner was probably happy to get $300 for what he considered a rusty piece of junk sitting in a field.
It wasn’t in such a sorry state as this 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was buried by Oklahoma officials in a concrete vault for 50 years.
“A face only a mother can love,” owner Tony told Dennis Gage of MyClassicCarTV.
Designed by Virgil Exner, the green Belvedere has a yellow roof, which is a color used by Chrysler for their PT Cruiser.
However, it’s the chrome that really shines.
A true example of ugly/cool, then president of Chrysler, William Newberg, encouraged Exner and his team to really go for it.
The front end is so low that it look like it might skim the road, while at the back the taillights look like rocket boosters.
The media at the time of its debut called it a ‘jukebox on wheels’.
The restoration
Belvederes of the era had a reputation for being rusty before leaving the factory.
First up, Tony decided to lower it by installing an air ride suspension.
He also installed a big-block 493-cubic-inch with twin turbos.
It was a decision as big as the engine, considering he had to ditch the hood and remove the fender wells to make it fit in the compact space.
While Tony doesn’t have official figures, it’s estimated to pack around 800 horsepower.
An automatic TorqueFlite transmission and gas are to thank for supplying power through its rear wheels.
After ripping out the back seats he put Teas Design front seats in and added a roll cage.
Three years later it was finally finished, and Tony drove from Minnesota to Springfield, Illinois, to show it off at the Route 66 Mother Road Festival.
Meanwhile, this incredibly preserved 1957 Plymouth Belvedere has only done 5,000 miles in the last 40 years.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
