B-Watson

Now you know where Chrysler got the idea for placing the spare under the floor on the 1960 Valiant. The earlier 1949-50 models had the spare inside the left side, rear door. However, access was restricted as they welded the door shut before heading to the paint department.

The right side looks to be for a 1950-52 Dodge. The left looks to fit a 1950-51 DeSoto taillight. The 1952 taillamp is longer as it also holds the back up light. The back up light on 1950-51 models were mounted in the space between the trunk lid and the fender. The 1953 DeSoto tailiights are different again.

Turn signals were optional back then as were radios. Which is why your car has a radio cover plate instead of a radio. All cars had hand brakes, though, as part of the braking system.

The problem with the 217.6 and 218.06 engines has arisen in the past decade or so. When I first became involved in automotive history back in the 1970's the 217.6 engine was generally referred to as a 217 while the 218.06 (or 218.1) was the 218. No confusion that way. But somewhere along the line the 217 became a 218. Anyway, the Plymouth-based Dodges and DeSotos used the Plymouth engine - no exceptions. The only trouble is that the Canadian-built models from mid-1938 used Canadian-built engines (flathead sixes were 25" block with 3.375" bore and then 3.44" bore when they adopted the 236.6/250.6-cid engines) while US-built models used American-built engines (23" block with 3.125" bore , switching to 3.25" bore for 1942). So, your 1940 D15 model, sourced in the U.S., uses the 3.125" bore with 4.375" stroke gives 201.3-cid. (or 201.36-cid). The Canadian engine with its 3.375" bore and 3.75" stroke gives 201.3-cid (or 201.32-cid). 1941 was the last year for the 3.125" bore and the U.S.-built 1942 Plymouth and export variations switched to the former Dodge engine - 3.25" bore and 4.375" stroke for 217.6-cid. The U.S. Dodge increased the stroke to 4.625" to produce 230.6-cid, which was used from 1942 through 1959. The Canadian Plymouth and the Dodge/DeSoto variations, though, switched to the bigger Dodge 218.0-cid engine for 1940. And the US-style Dodge increased the stroke to 4.25" giving 228.1-cid for 1942 Thus all Canadian-built Plymouths and Dodges used the same 218.0-cid engine in 1940 and 1941. The engine number was stamped on the left side of the block, just below the head and the #1 spark plug. If the number ends with "C" you have a Canadian engine. Otherwise it is an American unit. That least would help determine what the engine was originally. For wheelbases, the Plymouth and DeSoto/Dodge clones used a 117" wheelbase from 1940 through 1948. The 1940-41 LWB models were 137.5". The US-style Dodge used a 119" wheelbase in 1940 and 119.5" from 1941 through 1948. LWB models were 139.5" in 1940 and 137.5" for 1941-1948.

1940 Production : D15 - For the Canadian market : 2 dr Business Coupe - 840 2 dr Sedan - 1,375 4 dr Sedan - 1,442 Chassis (117.5" wheelbase) - 1 Total - 3,658 D15 - Built for export : (LHD / RHD = Total) 2 dr Business Coupe - 34 / 42 = 76 2 dr Auxiliary Seat Coupe - 34 / 122 = 156 2 dr Sedan - 14 / 37 = 51 4 dr Sedan - 1,057 / 1,703 = 2,760 2 dr Convertible - 12 / 2 = 14 2 dr Panel Delivery - 59 / 1 = 60 2 dr Utility Sedan - 15 / 0 = 15 4 dr Station Wagon - 91 / 3 = 94 Standard Chassis (117.5" wheelbase) - 6 / 1,010 = 1,016 4 dr LWB Sedan (137.5" wheelbase), 8-pass - 23 / 35 = 58 Total Export - 4,300 (About 79 of the above exports were for the Canadian-built D14. The figures I have combine US and Canadian export production together. For the D16 - Dodge DeLuxe Six (Canadian-market only) - 2 dr Business Coupe - 563 2dr Auxiliary Coupe - 408 2 dr Sedan - 1,694 4 dr Sedan - 6,220 Total D16 - 8,885

The D14 is the larger US Dodge Luxury Liner with the 217.8 cid 23" block. The D15 and D16 were based on the Plymouth with the D15 built in the U.S. for export and in Canada for export and Canada. Your car has the Plymouth 201.3-cid 23" block (3-1/8" bore and 4-3/8" stroke). Now, there were two versions of the U.S. 1940 Plymouth/Dodge engine - Regular compression - 6.7:1 compression, 87 bhp @ 3800 rpm, torque 160 @ 1200. The export low compression was 5.2:1 compression, 65 bhp @ 3800, torque 138 @ 1200. If your engine is a low compression model it should have "LC" stamped by the engine number. Also, you can tell a Canadian- built engine by the letter "C" at the end of the engine number. Also, the serial number 3937522 (3934901 to 3939123) is for Detroit production. Canadian-built cars start with a "9". The US Plymouth-based export Dodge used their own serial number sequences through 1950. From 1951 to 1959 the US export Dodge used US Plymouth serial numbers. Model names for the D15 all depended upon the market they were sold in. In Chrysler records in the U..S. the D15 seems to have been recorded as simply "Export Six" . The Kingsway name was adopted after WW II. In Canada the D15 was sold as the Kingsway while the D16 was DeLuxe and DeLuxe Special. Chrysler did not record separate production for the DeLuxe Special, although their shipment records did. In the book "The Dodge Story" (Thomas A. McPherson, Crestline Publishing, 1975) the author quotes production numbers for Canadian model year builds, but they made little sense. Looking at them more closely, they appear to be shipment numbers. They are incomplete as model years generally ran from August to the following July while shipments ran from August until all cars were shipped, which could have cars lying around the assembly plant grounds into the fall, or more than twelve months. Also, the export Dodge offered all the body styles Plymouth offered, but in one series. Thus the D15 would have the panel delivery and utility sedan listed along with the convertible coupe, limousine and all the rest. Starting 1942 the export Dodge offered the same models Plymouth did, in the same two layer series arrangement. Don't know that Chrysler Historical will be able to contribute that much. They do not do the interpretation of the build records any more and they generally did not keep records for export vehicles. The build records were kept by Chrysler to help dealers order the correct materials, paints, etc. for their customers. After six or seven years they were tossed. However, someone decided to save all the build records that were kept and thus cars go back to about 1930. CHS has build records up to about 1966 and that was about the time broadcast sheets began taking over on the assembly line.

For the 1956 Plymouth and Dodge front doors, and this includes the US 120" wheelbase Dodge models - 2 door sedan and wagon = R - 1657 006 / L - 1657 007 2 door hardtop and convertible = R - 1657 002 / L - 1657 003 4 door sedan and wagon = R - 1656 458 / L - 1656 459 4 door hardtop = R - 1681 074 / L - 1681 075 For starters, the sedan / wagon doors have an upper frame surrounding the glass that also includes the vent framework. Hardtops and convertibles do not have an upper frame and have different door vents than the closed models. The vent and the door glass are the same for both hardtop and convertible. The front fenders are the same for all models (Plymouth for all Plymouths and Dodge for all Dodges). The "A" pillar is the same for all, except convertible, and the door locks are the same for all models, except the hardtop sedan. So, yes, you could install a convertible/hardtop door for a sedan/wagon door, but things above the belt line might be a little drafty. But installing a 2 door sedan door in a 2 door wagon should pose no more troubles than installing a wagon door in a wagon. As for people who have followed the above and have doors that do not fit, you may have been given doors from another year or even another make. Never assume anything. Forty-some years ago a friend was looking for a 4-barrel carb and manifold for his 1962 Dart with a 313 V8. A local yard had such a unit and he picked it up that afternoon. That evening off came the 2-bbl carb and manifold, but that was as far as he got. Next day he called another yard and gave them the numbers on the 4-bbl carb and manifold. Turned out he had purchased equipment for a 1955 Buick.

Not many out there are from or deal with the Province of Manitoba, but their registration cards recorded the serial number of the car. I have the registration cards for my father's cars for the early 1940's. His first car was a 1931 Graham Special Six 4dr Sedan, registered in 1940, which he traded for a 1936 Graham Supercharger the next year. Chrysler Corporation had the Serial Number tag on the passenger side door hinge post from 1931 (after the FEDCO system was dropped) through to sometime in 1946. The tag was then moved to the driver's door hinge post. Thus there are 1946 models out there with the Serial Number tag on passenger or on the driver door post. But not both. Vehicle Identification Numbers started appearing, as we know it, in the late 1950's. Chrysler's VIN for 1959 had - M - model year, C - car line, 1 - series, B assembly plant followed by the six digit sequential production number (10 digits total). The model year moved to the third spot on the VIN for 1960. For 1966 the prefix included B - car line, 1 - series, 23 - body style, 5 - engine, 6 - model year 3 - assembly plant, followed by the six digit sequential production number (13 digits total). 1966 was the year GM, Ford and AMC all adopted a 13 digit VIN - prefix orders were all different. In 1968 the VIN had to be attached to the interior driver's side of the instrument panel or the A pillar (imports such as Datsun and Renault). The purpose was to able to see the VIN from outside of the car without opening any doors or the hood. The 17 digit VIN was adopted for 1981, and is still in use today. Starting during 1968, the VIN is stamped in various places on the car, as well as the engine and transmission. . Chrysler of Canada adopted an 11 digit VIN for 1965, only - 1 - Car Line (V - Valiant 100 / Barracuda; L - Valiant 200 / Signet; P - Fury; D - Polara; C - Chrysler 2 - Series (1 - Low 6 / 2 - Medium 6 / 3 - High 6 / 4 - Premium 6 / / 6 - Low V8 / 7 - Medium V8 / 8 - High V8 / 9 - Premium V8) 3 - Body Style (A - 2 door sedan / B - 2 door hardtop / C - 4oor sedan / D - 4 door hardtop / E - Convertible / F - 2 seat Wagon / G - 3 seat Wagon) / S - Special . 4 - Model Year - 5 - 1965 5 - Assembly Plant - 9 - Windsor, ON

Dodge was 1934

The 230 engine with its 3.25" bore would be a different casting than the 201 with its 3.125" bore. The 1/8" (0.125") difference is a little much especially when Chrysler itself offered pistons to a maximum of 60 over. - that's .060". 60 over on a 3.125" bore would give you 3.185" bore - 0.065" shy of 3.250". The wall thickness of the cylinders is pretty much the same for all engines, thus the bore size is increased as the bore of the engine is increased. Resulting in different castings for different bore sizes.

For the 1955 and 1956 Plymouth and Dodge doors, they do not interchange due to the difference in door handles. The 1955 models had push button handles while the 1956 had pull-to style. The rear doors on the 1955 Plymouth and Dodge wagons will interchange as well as the 1955 Plymouth rear doors on the sedan. The rear Dodge sedan doors are longer as the Dodge's extra 5" in the wheelbase was done in the rear sear area on the sedans. Usually 2 door convertible and hardtop doors will interchange, but they won't interchange with the 2 door sedan or wagon doors due to the lack of an upper door frame on the convertible and hardtop doors.

Yes, those are Body Side Shields. Being chrome, they don't need the narrow moulding along the bottom of the non-chromed units. But basically that's all they are - bulged trim to cover the spot where running boards used to be.

Yes, the panels were called "Body Side Shields" - in section 12 of the 1940 parts catalogue. The shield was available in prime although Chrysler also had a chrome version. There was a moulding down the lower part of the shield. Plymouth and all Dodges used the same shields with DeSoto and Chrysler sharing another - the body on the DeSoto and Chrysler was 3" longer on the Plymouth and Dodge. And all body styles used the same shield, with the 7-pass models having a longer version. For 1941 Dodge shared the DeSoto/Chrysler body with the Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler using a 3" longer shield than Plymouth. My father owned a 1940 Plymouth 4oor sedan with the body side shields instead of the running boards.

"Sorry for the late reply I have been very busy with work. The engine in the chassis shots is a later one, the trans is a push button whereas the other is a conventional shift alloy t/f so another late block. The number on the good engine is A318- 9?29- 0746. " The "A" in "A318" makes it a 1965 engine. Which means the TF attached to it may have cables, but the shifting inside the car was done with levers, and not buttons. That's if the transmission came with that engine.

Hi Andy, Are those the 1939 Plymouth production figures by body style? I have them here and can repost. Any others you are looking for?