got my girl running like a top

[scottyv47]

got the 51 running great even without the choke, starts first time with just a tap of the key, put a new under dash mech temp guage in today, pulled out old temp sensor, new one bolted right in no adaptors or anything, took her on a ten mile cruise, works like a charm, needle was broken off original one which is a shame because all other gauges work, even with it in high 90's today temp never went above 165, only issue was loud exhaust(cracked manifold), and my badly dry rotted tires with flat spots, but those are next on the list, anyone got a set of decent used 15 inch wide whitewalls they want to sell ? was going for white letters but the oldskool look is growing on me

[randroid]

Scotty,

I can't help you with the tires and I won't insult you with suggesting other stuff you should check (at least, not yet) but doesn't it give you a warm and fuzzy feeling when things work well the first time with our old beasts?

-Randy

[scottyv47]

i know she still needs a ton of work, but she's still a load of fun, 10 miles is not far, but i've only taken her around the block a few times before today, not to mention she's completely stripped for paint, no lights or bumpers or anything legal, but clutch is good, brakes are solid, and steering is tight, oh by the way another question, my car didn't come with a swaybar did it, i'm sure they didn't have them back then, but mine has one, and it looks like factory

[Plymouthy Adams]

are you talking front or rear..front yes..probably not on the rear..I have never seen one with a rear sway bar..but then I have not really made a point to check out every P23 I should see..how can you drive a car on the back road after all the time you spent prepping for paint..? you will need go back and re-do all that work in my opinion..

[Niel Hoback]

It seems to me that the more one drives these cars, the stronger the urge is to keep it original. Maybe its just me am prejudiced against raised white letters. Unless you could get tires that say "Plymouth" on them.

[scottyv47]

the only finish prep work i've done so far was on the top, and that has a coat of paint now, so i just have to scuff it and clean it for another coat, i've done alot of sanding on the rest but no finish work yet, besides even though its a back road its paved, its not really a back road, its the main road from tignall to gill point recreation area and yes the swaybar is on the front

[scottyv47]

It seems to me that the more one drives these cars, the stronger the urge is to keep it original. Maybe its just me am prejudiced against raised white letters. Unless you could get tires that say "Plymouth" on them.

my goal was a 60's/70's hotrod, *** end raised up, white letter fattys on rear skinnys on front, dual exhaust, but the more i look at it the more i want to drop the back, skirts flippers lake pipes dummy spots and wide whites

[scottyv47]

do they still call it a.d.d. when your over 45, or the begining stages of alltiemers, because i change my mind every 5 minutes about this car and cant figure it out

[Plymouthy Adams]

I can make you a good deal on the dummy spots if you so inclined..NIB..send my PM if interested..

[BobT-47P15]

Your car probably did come with a front anti-sway bar......the

46-48 Plymouths have them.

Re the whitewalls......it depends what width you like best.

I personally prefer the approx 2 1/4 inch ones that really

came out in the late 50s - early 60s. Some like the 4 inch

"gangsterwalls". I bought Firestone bias ply reproductions

from Coker, and am happy with them......none of them are

very "cheap" any more.

I first bought Coker's house brand whites.....but the brown

from underneath kept bleeding thru the whitewall. Can be

cleaned, but is a pain. Do not have that problem with the

Firestone item. They have numerous types and brands to

choose from.

There are others around too. Diamondback has a very nice

radial wide white.

My Firestones:

[BobT-47P15]

A little background on the 51-52 Plymouth hardtops in case anyone is

interested.

1951-1953 Plymouth Cranbrook BelvederePlymouth Cranbrook Belvedere Model years 1951-1953

Class Full-size car

Body style 2-door hardtop [1]

Engine 218 cu in (3.6 L) I6

Wheelbase 114.0 in (2,896 mm)

Introduced on March 31, the 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook Belvedere arrived as a two-door pillarless hardtop. It was Plymouth's first vehicle of such design and was built in response to Chevrolet's Bel Air. That vehicle, the first two-door hardtop in the low-priced American market, was introduced in 1950 and ended that model year with great success.

The Cranbook Belvedere was not a separate model. Rather, it was the specific name only used for the two-door hardtop version of the Cranbrook. Being built on that car's 118.5 in (3,010 mm) wheelbase gave the two-door Belvedere very favorable proportions. Powering the Belvedere was the familiar flathead straight-6 engine. Displacement was 217.8 in3 (3.6 L), the compression ratio was a relatively low 7.00:1, and output was 97 hp (72 kW) (SAE gross). First-year prices started at US$2,114.

For 1952, Plymouth kept the Cranbrook Belvedere largely unchanged. The biggest alteration was to the color scheme; to further distinguish the top-level Belvedere from other Plymouths, the two toning now flowed from the roof over the beltline onto the trunk, which has been referred to as the "saddleback" treatment. Two Tone color schemes were Sable Bronze over Suede, Black over Mint Green, and Gray over Blue. Overdrive was made available as optional equipment in the 1952 Plymouth. In overdrive, the engine made three revolutions for each rear wheel revolution against four without overdrive. The engine was a complete carry over from 1951. Prices, however, did increase by about US$100 to $2,216. Production for 1951 and 1952 totalled 51,266 units, which was slightly better than a quarter of Chevrolet Bel Air and Ford Victoria production for that same period. There has never been a separate breakout for Plymouth production figures for the Korean War era years of 1951–52.

The Belvedere remained a part of the Cranbrook series through 1953. For that year, all Plymouth models were completely restyled. Major style changes included a shorter 114 in (2,900 mm) wheelbase, a one-piece windshield, flush rear fenders, and a lower hood line. In April 1953, Plymouths received the Hy-Drive semi-automatic transmission. Again, Plymouth was behind the competition with Chevrolet having introduced the fully automatic Powerglide transmission in 1950, with Ford following the next year with its fully automatic Ford-O-Matic transmission. The engine was carried over from 1952 with the only enhancement being a slight increase in the compression ratio to 7.10:1, which yielded a rating of 100 hp (75 kW). The shorter wheelbase partly led to an overall stubby appearance that was panned by consumers and critics. Even with a reduced starting price of US$2,132, demand was rather low. A total of 35,185 1953 Belevederes were sold.

[BobT-47P15]

a 1951 ad

[scottyv47]

A little background on the 51-52 Plymouth hardtops in case anyone is

interested.

1951-1953 Plymouth Cranbrook BelvederePlymouth Cranbrook Belvedere Model years 1951-1953

Class Full-size car

Body style 2-door hardtop [1]

Engine 218 cu in (3.6 L) I6

Wheelbase 114.0 in (2,896 mm)

Introduced on March 31, the 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook Belvedere arrived as a two-door pillarless hardtop. It was Plymouth's first vehicle of such design and was built in response to Chevrolet's Bel Air. That vehicle, the first two-door hardtop in the low-priced American market, was introduced in 1950 and ended that model year with great success.

The Cranbook Belvedere was not a separate model. Rather, it was the specific name only used for the two-door hardtop version of the Cranbrook. Being built on that car's 118.5 in (3,010 mm) wheelbase gave the two-door Belvedere very favorable proportions. Powering the Belvedere was the familiar flathead straight-6 engine. Displacement was 217.8 in3 (3.6 L), the compression ratio was a relatively low 7.00:1, and output was 97 hp (72 kW) (SAE gross). First-year prices started at US$2,114.

For 1952, Plymouth kept the Cranbrook Belvedere largely unchanged. The biggest alteration was to the color scheme; to further distinguish the top-level Belvedere from other Plymouths, the two toning now flowed from the roof over the beltline onto the trunk, which has been referred to as the "saddleback" treatment. Two Tone color schemes were Sable Bronze over Suede, Black over Mint Green, and Gray over Blue. Overdrive was made available as optional equipment in the 1952 Plymouth. In overdrive, the engine made three revolutions for each rear wheel revolution against four without overdrive. The engine was a complete carry over from 1951. Prices, however, did increase by about US$100 to $2,216. Production for 1951 and 1952 totalled 51,266 units, which was slightly better than a quarter of Chevrolet Bel Air and Ford Victoria production for that same period. There has never been a separate breakout for Plymouth production figures for the Korean War era years of 1951–52.

The Belvedere remained a part of the Cranbrook series through 1953. For that year, all Plymouth models were completely restyled. Major style changes included a shorter 114 in (2,900 mm) wheelbase, a one-piece windshield, flush rear fenders, and a lower hood line. In April 1953, Plymouths received the Hy-Drive semi-automatic transmission. Again, Plymouth was behind the competition with Chevrolet having introduced the fully automatic Powerglide transmission in 1950, with Ford following the next year with its fully automatic Ford-O-Matic transmission. The engine was carried over from 1952 with the only enhancement being a slight increase in the compression ratio to 7.10:1, which yielded a rating of 100 hp (75 kW). The shorter wheelbase partly led to an overall stubby appearance that was panned by consumers and critics. Even with a reduced starting price of US$2,132, demand was rather low. A total of 35,185 1953 Belevederes were sold.

funny i thought it was a cambridge belvedere not cranbrook, then i looked it up, several diferent websites call it different, same car but some call it cambridge some call it cranbrook, when i bought it i was told it was a cambridge ????

[scottyv47]

Your car probably did come with a front anti-sway bar......the

46-48 Plymouths have them.

Re the whitewalls......it depends what width you like best.

I personally prefer the approx 2 1/4 inch ones that really

came out in the late 50s - early 60s. Some like the 4 inch

"gangsterwalls". I bought Firestone bias ply reproductions

from Coker, and am happy with them......none of them are

very "cheap" any more.

I first bought Coker's house brand whites.....but the brown

from underneath kept bleeding thru the whitewall. Can be

cleaned, but is a pain. Do not have that problem with the

Firestone item. They have numerous types and brands to

choose from.

There are others around too. Diamondback has a very nice

radial wide white.

My Firestones:

yeh i was looking for used but summit sells coker tires very reasonable, $147 for the 2 3/4 wides in my size, so i'm going to go for 2 of those for now, its a shame because my tires are brand new, unfortunatly they were made in 1951 so there dry rotted beyond use, but 2 are good enough to leave on the back for now for local cruise ins, amazingly they all hold air

[scottyv47]

beutiful car by the way !!

[Young Ed]

Cranbrook was the top of the line model so I'm sure its a cranbrook belvedere.

[scottyv47]

Your car probably did come with a front anti-sway bar......the

46-48 Plymouths have them.

Re the whitewalls......it depends what width you like best.

I personally prefer the approx 2 1/4 inch ones that really

came out in the late 50s - early 60s. Some like the 4 inch

"gangsterwalls". I bought Firestone bias ply reproductions

from Coker, and am happy with them......none of them are

very "cheap" any more.

I first bought Coker's house brand whites.....but the brown

from underneath kept bleeding thru the whitewall. Can be

cleaned, but is a pain. Do not have that problem with the

Firestone item. They have numerous types and brands to

choose from.

There are others around too. Diamondback has a very nice

radial wide white.

My Firestones:

looking at the original paint on my hood (under 6 other coats of paint) as i stripped it, and my car was originaly just about the same color as your car, but looks like it has a very light green tint to it