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Charlie Poole
Charlie writes, "I've had the car for 2.5 years now,
picked it up in new orleans.I live about 30 miles north of there.I found the
car in a fenced yard on 4 flats and and about 4 in off the ground. Been there
for 10 years in plain view of traffic.When I spotted it , the owner came walking
out and I immediatly tossed my tool bag aside to get my butt over to meet
him. It was for sale,I dreamed of that car for another 6 mo. I passed by one
day and he just moved it onto the street with new tires, price just went up
to cover the cost of the tires, thats cool.Then I got paranoid because it
was on the street, in a bad neighborhood, with no antitheft devices and the
doors wouldn't lock. Took me about another 2 months to get it. There was no
damage done to the car while on the street, AMEN for that. It was a clunker
for sure but I drove it home with no problem."
Charlie Poole's '59 Belvedere is a rolling homage to Richard
Petty and his '59 Plymouth.
"I just have the need to be different and I did it
in a tasteful way. All my friends said I was nuts, that it would look goofy,
but they didn't see the picture I had in my head. I must say Ihave not had
one negative response. People love it because I took the road less traveled,
so to speak. I got the car, planned on doing the black primer with big bold
bright flames, but that changed when I was flipping the channels one nite
and saw a black and white race on Speedvision. It was the very first race
on the Daytona track, it was either 59 or 60. Young Richard was about 21 and
was racing a 59 Plymouth. When I saw this I knew the direction I was going
with the car. After the paintjob came out killer, I said to myself, self,
Richards autograph would be the icing on the cake. Well from the day I bought
the car to coming up with the paint scheme to the autograph was 18 mo. I didn't
know how I was going to get him to sign it, cause I wasn't making a trip to
the Carolinas with the car under its own power or trailer it for that matter.
Low and behold they do that charity motorcycle run every year. And there was
my chance cause at the last minute they did a PR stop in my city."
"The car he drove then [in '59] was white, that was
before Petty blue. I went blue cause people wouldn't get it. Richard Petty
got it and autographed it here in Slidell last July."
