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Coming-out party for 1949 Plymouth Business Coupe

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Contributed by: Linda Mustion on 1/8/2008

Despite dark clouds and rain, this past Sunday, Jan. 7, about 50 people, some coming from Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood, Van Nuys, Santa Monica and Simi Valley, showed up at the North Hollywood home of June Mueller for a coming-out party as she turned over the keys to her nostalgic car to Brent (Blue) Nelson of Santa Monica.

Nelson bought her 1949 Plymouth Business Coupe, which had been kept in her garage since 1980 when Mueller's husband, Al Mueller, passed away.

Mueller had a rough 2007 and was in and out of the hospital.The water pipes in her house broke just before she went into the hospital this last time. She needed the money to get them fixed so she had to sell the car.

Her good friends Paul, Sandy and Mike Muntz were then able to clean out the living room, kitchen and bathroom and repair the pipes.

Sandy's next-door neighbor's nephew, Blue, is a member of a car club. He collects and restores old cars. When Sandy contacted Blue and he looked at the car, he was excited and said he definitely wanted to buy it. He said this car was going to be a keeper.

He told Sandy that he wanted to have a "coming-out party" and Sandy asked what a "coming-out party" was.

Blue told her that at a coming-out party, people invite other car enthusiasts and friends to come over to where the car has been stored and everyone watches as the garage door opens to uncover the car.

Afterward, the tires are jacked and with an air compressor, air is pumped into the tires in hopes that the tires will hold the air. Every one of Mueller's belongings are then removed as she hands over the keys. While all this is happening, it is recorded on a camcorder and digital cameras.

Then, with the help of friends, the car is pushed and rolled out of the garage. Hence, the name "coming-out party."

The date was set for Sunday, Jan. 7, at noon. Mueller, who is still in the convalescent hospital, had to get a day pass and was anxious to see her house. She was very surprised at all the big fuss everyone was making about the car.

As it got close to noontime, it started raining, but by the time everyone got there, it had stopped. Everything went according to plan and it was amazing that when the air was put into the tires, the air held.

Thankfully, they were able to push and roll the car out of the garage. The brakes were not working so the strongest guys stood in front to stop the car.

Now, everyone could get a better look and check under the hood to examine the engine. The trunk was opened and cleaned out of Mueller's belongings. In the back seat was the original Missouri license plate dated June 1955.

Everyone had a good laugh when a box of unopened corn flakes dated 1980 was found. That was the year Mueller's husband passed away.Since the car is a stick shift and Mueller doesn't drive a stick shift, the car remained in the garage all those years.

Blue wanted Mueller to sit in the driver's seat one last time. Sitting there brought back a lot of memories and everything was recorded as Mueller started telling the history of the car.

Mueller said that her late husband's aunt Matilda Hobelnann of St. Louis, Mo., purchased the car brand new in 1949 for $400.

St. Louis was where Al and June were also living at the time. When Matilda made out her will, she asked Al to be the executor and Al said " On one condition - that as my commission I want that car."

She agreed and the rest is history. Matilda had the 1949 Plymouth Business Coupe for only about five or six months when she died. Al got the car after settling her estate. There was no radio in the car when Al acquired it, so he had a radio installed in it.

June and Al moved to California and bought their North Hollywood home in August 1960. They would drive the Plymouth Coupe about once a year back to St. Louis and up to Chicago to visit friends and relatives. June said that no matter what time we would get home, even if it was 3 in the morning Al would rub down the car and cover it up before coming into the house.

A group photo of everyone around the car was then taken. The car was then pushed and rolled down the driveway to the front yard where Blue put the hubcaps back on and more pictures were taken.

Blue ordered pizza for everybody and called the auto club to bring a flat-bed truck. The Plymouth Coupe was pushed out into the street and was then loaded onto the flat-bed truck where it was then taken to an airplane hanger.

Blue had already bought four new white-wall tires for the car, and he said that will be the first thing he will do - put on the new tires and then clean and fix the brakes. After he gets the car running and fixed up, he will call June up and come and pick her up on a Friday and take her for a ride and then end up at Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake with the Road Kings, where they and their cars gather on Friday nights at the car hop.

June thought she might be sad letting go of the car, but she really wasn't as she got her plumbing fixed and the car is going to the right person and that everything worked out for everybody involved and she got to be a Queen for the Day!

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