East Coaster of the Day: 1963 Plymouth Belvedere
This pristine red jewel is owned by Barry Sutherland.
Barry found the body of the 1963 Plymouth Belvedere in Nebraska. He found the Max Wedge 426 dual-quad carbureted engine in South Dakota. The original 1963 motor is set aside at his place, just in case he ‘ruins’ this one.
In 1963, the beautiful 500-horsepower Belvedere was basically a street-legal drag car. In fact, he has to fill the gas tank with race fuel.
Barry built cars for Rollie MacDonald, a Maritime motorsport legend from Pictou, Nova Scotia, who is still involved in racing today.
Barry wanted to build a car for himself. Four years ago, while flipping through a magazine, he spotted a Plymouth Belvedere and said: “That’s what I want.”
He bought the then-white Plymouth from a man who had bought the car for his wife. When the wife took off with another man, she left the car behind. The man’s new wife didn’t particularly like the rather large reminder of his first wife sitting in their driveway. Hence the magazine ad that Barry spotted.
As a lobster fisherman, there are stretches of time when Barry is not out on the water. He tells us he spent five months bringing the car to its present condition, including painting the vehicle red. That’s five months, seven days a week, 12 hours a day.
He grins sheepishly and adds: “Honest! Ask my wife. She never saw me.”
And, in case you were wondering, the underside is just as perfect.
