Claudia Ottinger - Dimondale, MI, USA
Claudia Ottinger - Dimondale, MI, USA
"I’ve loved anything Mid-century", Claudia writes, "especially cars with fins, all my life, and I’ve always wanted a late ‘50s MOPAR. In 2017, I finally decided I wasn’t getting any younger, and I checked that item off my bucket list. 'Mean Green Maxine' is a 1959 Plymouth Fury four door that I found on Ebay Motors. The car came out of Littitz, Pennsylvania. The previous owner had passed away a number of years ago, leaving a large farm with many outbuildings. When the property changed hands, the new owners discovered a collection of cars in one of the barns, including my Plymouth. When I found the car, it was listed for sale at a used car lot in Strasburg, PA. I purchased it having only seen photos (lots and lots of them, luckily), and jumping in essentially knowing nothing, and just trusting my gut that I was making the right move. I wasn’t wrong."
"The car is extremely solid and doesn’t appear to have had any rust repair, and there was no mouse damage, even after sitting in a barn. The paint appears to be original, as does the interior and the 395 Golden Commando under the hood. I had my mechanics look it over thoroughly, and they were astonished at what good shape it was in. It had new tires and brakes, fuel tank, hoses, belt, etc., to get it up and running before I bought it (and the generator was replaced with an alternator), and whomever did the work did not cut corners just to get it sold. The engine bay could stand to be painted and cleaned up some, but I’ve left it for now to preserve the originality. It’s kind of an odd car—a four door Fury with the big engine, but a manual three speed and virtually no options, not even outside mirrors."
"I made and sold jewelry for years at art fairs, but, inspired by my car and the cars I was photographing at shows along with a 2018 trip to Palm Springs where I soaked up the Mid-century architecture, I started painting cars and vintage signs and scenes. They were a hit, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I have an online shop where I sell my work, and I’ve also been doing commissions for people who want paintings of their cars. I paint in a realistic style, and love to get the shine on the chrome just right! I live in Michigan, and I spend most of my summer weekends at either car shows or art fairs. The Plymouth can hold my entire art fair setup, and I sometimes use it as a prop at the shows!"
Addicted to Americana? Then you should visit Charles Phoenix's website!
"If it's new, Plymouth's got it!"