This 1962 Plymouth Savoy started life as a regular Savoy, except for quite a few factory additions.  This car was built as a pursuit car for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for the newly created Interstate system in Oklahoma.  It was built to go fast and stop fast.  The Oklahoma Highway Patrol purchased an excess of these cars and had to liquidate the extras. 

This particular Savoy went to the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Fire Department to use as a Fire Chief car.  The Fire Chief that ended up with the car did not like the “Love it or Hate it” styling and he hated it. He had a 1961 Dodge that he was using and did not like the looks or the unibody construction of the new Plymouth.  The Fire Chief put the car on his back lot and let it sit with less than 100 miles on the odometer.



George Mitchell, our great-uncle, was a Fire Chief of the Coffeyville, Kansas, Fire Department.  He was the Fire Department Union President (Local #265) throughout most of the late 1940’s and most of the 1950’s.   In 1948, he purchased a slightly used 1946 Plymouth Special DeLuxe 2-Door Sedan, which, in itself, is a unique car.  Mr. Mitchell drove this car until 1986 when he retired it for good.  In 1962, Mr. Mitchell was in need of a car that didn’t look ‘so old’ and had a discussion with the Fire Chief in Tulsa.

Mr. Mitchell went down to Tulsa to drive the Savoy and purchased it on the spot. The Savoy was delivered to Hammeth Motors, Inc. in Parsons, Kansas to become a Certified New Car with a warranty.  Mr. Mitchell took delivery of the car on January 8, 1963.  He drove the Savoy for the next 26 years. In 1989, at the age of 81, Mr. Mitchell was riding with his younger brother and got his foot caught between the gas and the brake pedals while attempting to stop.   He hit a tree with one side of the front end and a telephone pole with the other side of the front end and the back side quarter.  Mr. Mitchell and his brother were unhurt, but the Savoy was retired to the extra garage that he owned.  He was told by five body shops that the car was “unfixable” due to parts being nearly impossible to find.

Mr. Mitchell sadly passed away in 1991, but left both of his cars, the 1962 Plymouth Savoy and the 1946 Plymouth Special DeLuxe to his great nephews – Darin and Brian Buckner.  We restored the 1962 Plymouth Savoy back to as original condition as possible with Darin performing all the body work and me doing the engine compartment rewiring and refreshing the interior.  It would have been nice for our great uncle George Mitchell to see the finished car – one that they said was “unfixable”.  So, this 1962 Plymouth Savoy is dedicated to our great uncle, George Mitchell. 

Please feel free to look at the pictures of the car before, during and after the work was completed.



Thank you for taking time to enjoy the history of this Savoy! - Brian C. Buckner

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