1964 Plymouth

Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Manual

99999999999

Clear

Gasoline

I call these Belvederes “Industrial Strength Mopars” because of their combination of brute horsepower and minimalist styling. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE how they look, but the real appeal in these cars is their anvil-like dedication to speed with a minimum of frills. This ‘64 Belvedere is a perfect example of the Industrial Strength philosophy that I find so appealing, and it is A LOT of car for your money. It appears that the car’s mileage of 40,430 is probably authentic, based on the good condition of the undercarriage and interior. All sheet-metal is original, including the floors, trunk and quarter panels, and it’s in outstanding condition with good fit and alignment and no signs of ever having been badly damaged. The car received a decent re-spray last October, and uses modern base/clear paint. It’s an original Dark Blue (my, my, weren’t they just so creative at the Plymouth paint names department in 1964?) car, identical to the 64 Plymouth Fury our shop restored in 2009. The paint has been cut and buffed to a decent standard, and it looks excellent sitting under the lights out in the showroom. There isn’t too much metallic in it, so it doesn’t look modern – kudos to the guys who made this car look so good. The trim and other bright-work is pretty much all original stuff (do they even make repro items for these cars? I don’t think so), and it’s straight and shiny. Like a lot of the other components on this car, it suggests an easy life with good care from day one, so heavy restoration wasn’t required. The glass is similarly clean and undamaged, and if I had to guess, I’d say that it is all original stuff. The end result is a clean, subtle car that begs for a second look, but one that isn’t too nice to drive, because driving is why this car was built. Turn the key and you are treated to a sonic assault when the 440 comes to life. This is how a muscle car should sound! The engine is not original to the car, but is a very strong running 440 that has been well detailed in the engine compartment. Obvious modifications include a newer Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold and 4-barrel carburetor, plus a set of Hooker long-tube headers. Inside, there’s a sizeable cam that sounds killer at idle and pulls hard at speed. The oil pan seems to have been modified with a deeper sump sometime in the distant past. The block and heads have been covered in correct Hemi Orange paint that really pops in the dark blue engine compartment. It is topped with an original 440 Magnum air cleaner and a reproduction red cap battery gives the entire engine compartment a vintage flair. The original 26-inch radiator is still in place and handles cooling chores with ease. The brake system has been upgraded with a dual master cylinder for safety, and I was surprised to note that this is a manual steering car, which I prefer on these types of cars. The power steering is so over-boosted that it’s like steering a boat. With the manual steering, even on a car this big, you get some idea of what the tires are doing way up there. And, of course, there’s the whole concept of “Industrial Strength” that is all about performance over frills, and manual steering plays right into that. The 4-speed transmission and 3.91 Sure Grip rear are reported to be original to the car. It still retains its ball-and-cage front U-joint behind the transmission, which is unusual since they tended to break when people drag raced these cars. That suggests, to me at least, that this car has led a pretty easy life. The rest of the undercarriage is clean and sanitary, showing good maintenance, solid, original floors, and quite a few new parts. There’s also an expensive new all-stainless 3-inch exhaust system that ends in a pair of throaty Borla stainless mufflers just ahead of the rear axle. I think if this were my car, just for noise considerations, I’d install some turn-downs or even full-length tailpipes for a trick look, but that’s just me. The gas tank has been modified with a custom pick-up and fuel line feeding a high-performance mechanical pump mounted on the engine. The front suspension has been rebuilt with new bushings throughout, too, and it drives and tracks straight. The rear shocks have some coil-over helper springs mounted on them, and the original rear leaf springs have adjustable rear mounts so you can fine tune the ride and handling characteristics, or help it at the drag strip if that’s the avenue you want to pursue. I mean honestly, if you own a car like this and don’t take it to the track, you’re not doing it right. For a little extra flash, the rolling stock consists of 15-inch Cragar wheels that look great on these cars. They’re not as Industrial Strength as, say, painted steel wheels and dog dish hubcaps, but they are very vintage and very authentic and compliment the car’s look. Up front there are a set of 215/70/15 all-season radials, while the rears are 275/60/15 BFGoodrich Drag Radials, but this car has never been raced on the sticky tires – we installed them after the car arrived. The interior is all-original, and that’s what really confirms this car’s low mileage status. It’s really, really nice. The blue fabric and vinyl seats are clean and without any rips or tears. It’s definitely the early ‘60s in there, and I dig it. A Moon tach has been added in the dashboard, replacing one of the round factory gauges – a cool vintage trick. No racer worth his salt ignores what’s going on under the hood, so there are 3 auxiliary gauges mounted below the dash: oil pressure, temperature and voltage. The Hurst shifter pokes through the floor and is topped with a cue ball knob. The split bench front seat is still comfortable for long hauls, with no wayward springs poking you, and the back seat looks like new. There’s a little discoloration on the headliner, from what I can’t quite figure out, but it certainly isn’t something that warrants replacement. I’d call it patina rather than a flaw. This is a car that has a soul.So take a look at our collection of Industrial Strength Mopars. We have two or three red ones, and now this blue one to compliment them. In terms of bang for your buck, this one just can’t be beaten – the only one that MIGHT possibly be faster costs three times as much, and it’s much too nice to drive. This one is a super-nice original that just begs to hit cruise nights in the summer, and the drag strip on Sunday afternoons. You can take your whole family with you with that giant back seat, and a week’s worth of luggage in that 4-body trunk out back. It’ll run flawlessly forever because of the dead-nuts simple hardware that these cars made famous. If you read my write-ups regularly, you know I’m a fan of driving your car and how much I love simple, brutal, stealthy machinery. Well, this one is on my list for just those reasons. If you’re like me, you owe it to yourself to have another long, hard look at this piece.