Darrel Davis does not verify cars or offer a verification service. My car’s VIN is listed in his 1963 Plymouth Max Wedge book. It also lists the options that were on the car, the selling dealer, and the shipping date. I know Darrel, he has put my name in his personal database as the current owner. I have a copy of the IBM card from Chrysler Historical and I sent him a copy. He has held the actual IBM card for my car in his hand. That’s how he wrote the book, he went through all of the IBM cards.
The original selling dealer of my car is Fretwell Motors, in Oklahoma City, OK. From looking at the IBM card, Darrel says the car was a sold car. Fretwell did not order the car for stock, someone went into Fretwell and ordered the car with its specific colors and options. The shipping date on the car is 12/31/62. So it is an original steel nose, battery in front car. It is an automatic, high compression, with heater and radio delete. There was no pentastar on Plymouth cars on 12/31/62. Pentastars arrived approximately on February 5, 1963. Chrysler offered a pentastar to older cars, and it was part number 2495798, and it was free.
I have talked to Glenn Gruber many times, the last time was about four months ago. He is fine and owns a bowling alley in St Paul. He knows the car is an original steel nose car. He told me the car had received one of the ten sets of extra aluminum. I asked him how he knew that information. He said “Because of the hood emblem.” He asked Chrysler why his car had a hood emblem and the other aluminum cars did not. Chrysler did some research and then told him the car had received one of the extra sets of aluminum, and gave him the specific date of installation, but now he doesn’t remember the specific date. But it was in the first half of the year of 1963, then he said between March and May.
Chrysler said the aluminum came in primer and there were no emblems on the aluminum. Someone transferred the Plymouth letters from the steel hood to the aluminum hood. And the person must have also transferred the hood emblem, but the person should not have transferred the hood emblem. The person must have had a pentastar and installed it in the wrong location. Chrysler told him to remove the hood emblem.
Glenn said he then started looking for the ten cars that received the extra aluminum. He found two or three, but now can’t remember the names. He did well enough with the 63 Plymouth that Chrysler set him up with a 1965 Plymouth A990 car in 1971. That became the Gruber and Kasse car. Glenn sold the 63 Plymouth in 1971 to Roy Dean, and stopped researching the aluminum Max Wedge cars.
Since Fretwell’s was in Oklahoma City, someone told me to call Don Grotheer and ask if he knows anything about the car. I was given his cell phone number and called and left a message, but I haven't received a return call.
