P designations - what do the mean?

[pontiacguy]

I was looking for a noob area, couldn't find one. I figures this would be the best place to ask a basic question and not clog up the technically inclined forums with a question like this.

Basically, I have a 54 Plaza Wagon. Known as a P25 to the cool kids. This is my first Chrysler product. Some of you may recognize me from the tech forum when I was dealing with the timing issue. I have been to Allpar and looked through here and think I understand the designations. So please correct me where I may be wrong. P stands fro Plymouth,  25 if for any Plymouth model in 54. D would be dodge C Chrysler etc. basically you just memorize the years associated with the number designation? Are all cars of the same year just trim levels of the other. So my Plaza is a base model. Add some options its a Savoy. Add some more and its a Belevedere? This is true of all the divisions?

[greg g]

The numerical designation behind the letter indicate the engineering code for the series, not necessarily the years of manufacture. For example the P 12 was a one year code for 1942 Plymouth.  The following P 15 series went from 1946 through early 1949.  But they 49 was not the P16. Don't forget S for Desoto, T for Dodge trucks and Ind for industrial. And blank ones sold to rebuilders. 

[pontiacguy]

How do you guys keep track of all that?

[Plymouthy Adams]

in truth it really does not get any more simpler..

[40plyrod]

I believe P9 and P10 were both used for 1940, just different trim levels; road king vs deluxe

[Plymouthy Adams]

while each year there was often different body P designation for body styles usually based on chassis size.. remember the engine only got a single P-designation for the year (multiple years in a number of cases)..even in 1954 when they used two different engine sizes for that year in the Plymouth lineup...the larger 230 had an additional designation id with the DIAMOND shaped stamp...

[TodFitch]

15 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

. . . remember the engine only got a single P-designation for the year (multiple years in a number of cases). . .

Chrysler was consistently inconsistent: In 1933 the engines were stamped with PC or PD depending if it was a PC or PD model car. Likewise in 1934 PE and PF were both stamped on engines. In 1935 they used one code (PJ) for both the deluxe and business versions. Wasn't until 1936 that they dropped the alphabetic second character and went to numbers and that was also when they started just using the deluxe model code on the engines for the business/standard/roadking models.

[Plymouthy Adams]

23 minutes ago, TodFitch said:

Chrysler was consistently inconsistent: In 1933 the engines were stamped with PC or PD depending if it was a PC or PD model car. Likewise in 1934 PE and PF were both stamped on engines. In 1935 they used one code (PJ) for both the deluxe and business versions. Wasn't until 1936 that they dropped the alphabetic second character and went to numbers and that was also when they started just using the deluxe model code on the engines for the business/standard/roadking models.

good info....I plead pre-40 ignorance....most all of my answers will be around the 40-50's car more common to the pages...thanks again for the info..will try to place this in the memory files of the ole gray matter box

Edited December 12, 2016 by Plymouthy Adams