1959 Plymouth Wagon Undergoes Restoration After 26 Years of Service

Kenneth Josephson's 1959 Plymouth Suburban Station Wagon.

Kenneth Josephson bought a ’59 Plymouth Wagon in 1985 and used the uber-cool beast as a daily driver on and off for 25 years before deciding to strip it down and redo the behemoth. Fortunately for us, Kenneth is a very detailed enthusiast and he has documented and shared his work on various forums, as well as his personal facebook page.

We were alerted to Kenneth’s project from the Belgium based “American Power On Wheels” website and facebook page. Kenneth posted a before and after photo of his project and we immediately saw the attraction that Kenneth had for the classic. A little digging and research turned up a very interesting story that is based on Kenneth’s love for classics and his desire to keep them on the road.

The "before" picture Kenneth posted on American Power on Wheels facebook page.

One of the first posts we found, Kenneth talked about buying the car and using it as a primary daily driver. At one point the car was repainted and those were the “after” pictures that Kenneth posted on the American Power on Wheels site. Somewhere along the way, Kenneth decided to do a full rebuild of the car. Under a photo of the worn-out wagon, he stated “My ’59 Plymouth wagon. Has it’s original 318 and manual transmission. A future project.” It appears that in summer of 2011, Kenneth began the rebuild.

The "after" photo taken after an earlier repaint.

The 1959 model year Plymouth Suburban station wagons were typical of the automotive styling of the time. Quad headlights with a brow over the lights, and the late fifties soaring tail fins on the rear of the car. By 1959 the market for station wagons was beginning to grow, so Plymouth offered four different versions in 1959. Josephson has one of the more attractive four door versions without the roof rack.

We will attempt to get in contact and follow along with Josephson’s rebuild of the classic wagon, but for now, enjoy these photos and the bits and pieces of the story behind the 26 year relationship between driver and car. We look forward to seeing the end result.