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From: Billy-Jack Ebare
Email: [email protected]
Remote Name: 24.76.48.195
Date: October 07, 2003
I failed to mention in my last posting that I too am the proud owner of a 4 door Sedan.. To give you a bit of the story. My father bought my 1958 Plymouth Belvedere, (Canadian model)in 1987. It is a factory 313 cid 3 speed auto, that came with a pink/salmon exterior and a green interior.(Don't ask!)The car had been previously restored in the late seveties early eighties, and the color was changed to red/white. Anyway, my father drove it for a few years, until the paint began to get tired, and it began to show it's age. It was then that he decided to put it into dry storage... There it sat for a number of years. He realized after time that he no longer had the interest in the car to spend the necessary time/money into it to give it the restoration that it deserved. At this time I was just in the process of completing an extensive restoration on a 1979 Ford F150, which I had customized and added a 429 Cobra Jet. When he approached me about the 58, I was at first apprehensive as I had just finished my truck, and didn't have the money to invest into another project. None the less I bought it from him for an excellent price, and left it in dry storage until I decided what I was going to do with my truck... I have to say, at that point there was no question that I was going to restore the Bel, as I had long wanted to own it. I subsequently sold my freshly restored truck and invested every penny of the sale price into the 58... The restoration took me a period of 4 yrs, at which time I did a complete restoration. I stayed with the theme of the previous restoration, and maintained the non original red/white color scheme. I obtained a dual four bbl intake carb breather set-up, and installed it on the freshly rebuilt 313 cid motor. I polished all the stainless myself and rechromed everything that I could find that needed it. I also had the interior redone to a factory appearance (it fooled even the biggest Mopar nuts in my area LOL)... To say the least, this car has been in car shows against the best of em, and because of its pure individuality in a crowd of look alike fifties cars it has placed higher than Thunderbirds, Ford retractables, and Tri Chevy convertibles/Hartops. My point to this is that my car is just a plain Jane 4 door sedan. The nothing special car in the crowd that seems to always surprise the convertible hard top loyalists. I like to consider the 4 door the under dog. The often un-noticed contender, cloaked in the guise of innocence. I relish in the fact that the four door is the often under estimated car of the group. To say they aren't special enough to preserve is a stab at the heart of our hobby/life style... To cap this posting off, I will end it with a story of crowning achievement. At the first car show that my car was entered into after I had restored it, the best of show trophy in this particular show was called the dream car trophy. The show was sponsored by the local Sunshine foundation in our area. The dream car of the show, as it was coined, was to be selected by a little girl who had terminal cancer. She was a special twelve year old who had a heart of gold, and a smile that would light up any room. When she arrived she was assited around the show by some of the Sunshine Foundation volunteers, who helped her look at all the cars. Once she made her selection, the trophy presentation got under way. They went through all the classes of cars, awarding trophies to the best in their class. Then they got to the last trophy of the day. The dream car trophy! When they called the winner, I was in total shock.. They had called my name! I looked around in disbelief that I had been chosen for this honourable trophy. I went up to accept it, and was asked if I would give this little girl a ride in my car... Of course I was honoured to. So I was introduced to her, and I along with a few others assisted her to my car. I gave her a ride through the downtown area of our fine city, and got to know this precious little girl in the few short minutes that I spent with her. I found out that she had beaten the odds for the past six years of her life. For the doctors thought that she wouldn't make it to her seventh birthday. She was at that time twelve! She was so full of spirit, and youthful enthusiasm that it made me fall in love with her courageous spirit right from the start. She told me that she had just gotten back from Los Angeles, where she had met the cast and crew of 90210. This was her dream, and it was sponsored by the Sunshine Foundation and the Make a Wish Foudation. It was her last wish... I finally asked her why she had chosen my car out of so many nice cars in the show? She simply stated, because it was the most beautiful car in the show. And that was all! She picked it because it was beautiful. If only we could all be that innocent....
