Almost 8000cc of pearl-washed American nostalgia could find a new home this Easter if Featherston drag car enthusiast Dion Marson gets his way.
Marson said yesterday he has entered his one-of-a-kind-in-New-Zealand 1963 Plymouth Belvedere a street legal pro street gem that commands an asking price of $90,000
in the Cars in the Capital 2009 National Hot Rod Show as much to find a new buyer as "share the love".
He has featured the car over the past couple of months on the online auction site Trade Me and gathered a respectable 12,000 hits, he said, although a bona-fide buyer is yet to step up to the mark.
He has owned the Belvedere, which houses a 7735cc engine that makes nearby pebbles dance when whipped, since journeying stateside a year ago and braving freezing temperatures and Pittsburgh snow to make the buy.
The hologram-striped replica has clocked a quarter-mile top speed of 134mph and boasts full red velour interior, Grant steering wheel, Jaz racing seats, Superman-style bonnet art and custom paint, and an engine and running gear primed and timed to brutal perfection.
He said he has already owned and got over several other enviable machines in the time "since I was a younger hoon" including an HQ Premier, AP5 Valiant, RX-4 Mazda, and a 1970 Dodge Challenger RT four-speed.
Even though he has decided to part with the Plymouth, he said, he is content to cherish his Dodge Coronet "because the counselling hasn't really taken hold yet".
"I would like to see the Belvedere stay here in New Zealand it is unique but if the show this weekend doesn't scare up a buyer I might look at eBay and it could end up going back to the States, which would be a shame."
