Photos from the Cohort by Corey Behrens, found in Idaho Springs, CO.
The decade before this ’63 Belvedere came off the assembly line was quite the styling rollercoaster at Chrysler. From the dowdy (but very space efficient!) products of the early ’50s, to the wild swings of the Exner era: the catch up with trends ’55-’56 years, the trendsetting ’57s, the overdone ’58-’59 period, and the otherworldly and bizarre ’60-’62s. Quite a styling party, and like many such events, they had gone from a fun time to out of control.
Of course, no one can withstand such wild swings, whether it is people or corporations. And so, the 1963 line came, ready to leave behind the wild times and return to normalcy. For the most part, that is.
Generally speaking, the “full-size” Plymouths of ’63 arrived dressed in styling perfectly suitable for the office. Nice elongated lines, without the clutter or the antics of the ’60-’62 designs. An elegant profile, with enough sculpting and trim to avoid being an entirely anonymous shape. The excesses of the late ’50s were quite “Jet Age” passé by the dawn of the sixties, and while it took Chrysler longer to sense those shifting winds, the ’63s embraced the sober, elegant spirit of the new age. No need for spaceships on the road anymore by then.
But then again, no one goes to a wild weekend party to arrive fully clean at the office come Monday morning. Some hangover symptoms are bound to show up somewhere on the body.
In the case of the ’63s, the curious jet pod-lights flanking the plain grille are the telling sign that these were still created under the guidance of Virgil Exner, the man behind some of the Pentastar’s wildest Jet-Age party concoctions.
Elsewhere, the car’s lines show that “X” knew when he had overreached. Or when his job was in peril, even if belatedly. But in all, the ’63 Plymouths show he knew how to do normal, but with style: A fairly tight suit, with enough detailing that you knew its tailor liked to imbue his products with uniqueness. Yet, all very early 1960s-tasteful.
As many know, the 1963 line had some heavy lifting to do after the controversial 1962 models. A story told, retold, and spun into various yarns that we’ve covered at CC before (links below).
Still, beneath their questionable downsizing and rushed detailing, much good came design-wise with the ’62’s DNA. Mainly, in their dynamic long-hood short-deck proportions, which foretold upcoming trends for the next years to come. Unlike the tail-long Chevy (gold, on top) and Ford (blue, bottom), the ’62s speak to the proportions that would soon become the norm. A brilliant blunder, as Paul referred to them a while back.
The downsized “full-sizers” of ’63 arrived with much cleaner styling, looking far more cohesive after going through a proper styling process (all while carrying the unibody bones and 116″ wheelbase of the ’62s). Styled to look longer and sleeker, and done so in a rather successful manner.
For ’63, the Plymouth “full-size” line consisted of the Fury, the Belvedere and the Savoy. Above, is the 4-door Fury hardtop, as pedigree as a ’63 Plymouth could be, and looking the part.
The Belvedere occupied the brand’s middle rung, a role it had played since ’59. For ’63, Belvederes could come in 2-door hardtop and sedan, 4-door sedan and wagon. More exclusive 4-door hardtops and convertibles were solely to be found in the Fury line. The Savoy, as the entry line, only offered three body styles.
Engine choices were mostly carryovers, with the standards being the entry-level 223CID Slant-Six, and a 318 CID V8 that “you wouldn’t call a poke” (Plymouth’s words). Beyond those, V8 options included the 361 “Commando” and 413 “Golden Commando”, the latter with 4-barrel carburetion. Torsion bars handled suspension duties upfront, while shifting could be via a 3-speed manual or the 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic.
Back to this Plymouth’s face and body. The ’63s trim and detailing feel like a more accomplished take on the styling studio’s original intentions for the ’62 line (before their downsizing). Meanwhile, the plain-looking grille seems like an updated take on the ’61 Dodge.
But what about those jet pod-like fender lights? Not a usual styling feature.
The styling oddities under Exner were usually foretold in earlier design proposals, particularly those created alongside Ghia. And the bumperettes/lights on the ’53 Chrysler Ghia Special seem the closest to the ’63’s jetpods. It creates a whole different impression however, as those accent blade-like fenders.
Then again, jet pod details on hoods and the like had been the norm all over Detroit in the ’50s. The touch may be a spin off of some other source.
The ’63 and later ’64 models did improve results for the Plymouth division. Curious that so few are still to be found, but sell in better numbers than the ’62s they did. Then again, the desirable and unattainable is what usually gets preserved, not 4-door family sedans that, while tasteful, were not the most Go-Go of offerings at the time.
Indeed, the ’60s were to be a wild and unpredictable decade, with the automotive world soon catering to the youthful and rebellious spirit of the times. Youthful feelings Plymouth would try to rejoin later on, but for ’63, some time back in the real world was the right call to make.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1963 Plymouth Belvedere – Exner Could Do Normal, Mostly
Brilliant Blunder: 1962 Plymouth & Dodge – The Real Reason They Were Downsized
A ‘63 Fury 4 door hardtop’ is my choice when it comes to these 1963 Plymouths. Just take a long hard look at the red example in this excellent article.
Like early 1960s Chevrolets, 4 door pillarless hardtop 1964 Plymouths and Dodges are becoming seriously rare. Simply lovely cars.
Great article, pity the black ‘63 Plymouth is not a 4 door hardtop.
I’m rather amused that Plymouth sold these as “full-size cars” in ’62-64 until they (and Dodge) had a “real” C-body full size car for 1965, at which time the B bodies were recast as “mid-sized cars” – although they were about the same size as before, and bigger than the ’62s. Kind of the opposite of what they did in the late ’70s to early ’80s, when the “small” Volare became “mid-sized” around 1978, and after morphing into the Gran Fury in ’82 became a “full-sized car” though it was still just a mildly restyled “small” ’76 Volare.
Dodge quickly had their full-sizer return in mid ’62 when the dealers recognized the mistake and demanded a true big car: the Custom 880, a mix of ’61 Dodge grille and Newport rear end. Plymouth was usually dualled with Chrysler, so they still had the Newport, new the previous year and with a new low price for ’62, as their full-size offering.
I’ve made the assertion before that since WWII anything with a wheelbase of 111 inches or greater is a “full size” car. When the big three were building a “standard” car line, that seemed to be the beginning point.
In 1950, the base Plymouth, series P19, had a 111 inch wheelbase. The final Gran Fury was 112.7 inches.
Seeing the damage to the front of this Plymouth reminded me of an episode in the very last season of “Leave It to Beaver”. Wally had borrowed his Dad’s brand new ’63 Plymouth. Those unfortunate jet pods on the front fender took a hit. Looks like this survivor lasted a bit longer than Mr. Cleaver’s Plymouth.
Ninjad! I was just going to mention the same thing!
What was strange on that episode was that they thought that all that was needed was a new headlight, when it was clear the paint was scuffed, the headlight bucket/housing was trash, and the hood was partially out of alignment…and who knows what that bumper would need to be like new again.
Whether it was intentional or not, Chrysler products of that era, consistently seem to be the most vulnerable to styling obsolescence.
Even these toned-down Chryslers have design quirks, that date them faster, than their competitors. As a kid, my friends and I would shake our heads, at some of these vintage Chrysler styling examples.
There was this famous scene:
While the ’60 was over-the-top finwise, and the ’61 otherworldly (but I love them!), I’d submit that the downsized ’62 was actually a very rational design, maybe too much so for the time. The ’62 Dodge Dart was the same car but more extroverted in styling, and my Grandfather’s ’62 Dart 440 was a far better car in most ways than our ’63 Ford, or the ’63 Chevy. If only Detroit had followed that path instead of continuing the bigger & heavier-is-better road well into the ’70s, I’d posit that the US rwd V8 formula ala the ’77 GM B&C downsize, further refined, would have been a better way forward than what actually happened, which led to the end of the traditional US automobile.