New owner, 51 Plymouth Cambridge

[Danclem007]

Hi all. I just traded a 72 f350 stake bed for this 51 Cambridge. It is a 218 I6 with 3 speed. Can someone please explain the "p" and "d" numbers and what they mean? Also if someone could give me leads on places to get parts.(i need a front passenger window glass, mine is cracked) I am redoing the brakes and converting it to 12 volt. Heres the big one Im not sure of, I need to put a new clutch in. Im not sure of the best way of doing this. The trans crossmember is welded and the bell housing will only fit through the front. After removing the clutch/flywheel bolts, do you seperate the trans from the bell housing or pull the motor forward to change the clutch? Thanks for any help!

[Danclem007]

[Merle Coggins]

Is there a removable cover at the bottom of the bell housing? I don’t know the cars as well as the trucks, but I believe once you pull the trans back form the bell housing you should be able to drop the clutch out the bottom. 

[Worden18]

Looks great!  Congrats on the trade.  Here's one place for parts:

http://www.oldmoparts.com/

[Danclem007]

Yes Merle, there is a removable cover on the bottom. That is what i was thinking, separate the trans from the bell housing, just as you described. 

[Andydodge]

Yep, undo the trans from the bellhousing and remove it, leave the bellhousing attached to the engine block and with the mounts on either side of it attached to the crossmember, the trans input shaft is what the clutch fits around so once its out of the way you can then wedge the flywheel ring gear with say a piece of wood between the flywheel and bellhousing then undo the clutch to flywheel bolts and remove the clutch........check the flywheel surface for any heat marks, grooves etc as while you are doing the clutch the flywheel may need a resurface grin, if so then leave the piece of wood wedged and use it to hold the flywheel and undo the flywheel to crank bolts and remove the flywheel........note whether there is/should be any marks indicating which way its to be reinstalled due to balancing etc.............check the pressure plate for similar marks etc to the flywheel and to be honest its better to replace the whole sherbang, clutch plate, pressure plate AND throwout bearing at the same time......don't forget to give the pilot bush in the flywheel a clean out and a new wipe of grease as well as a wipe of grease on the end of the input shaft...........and wack it all back together..........

.................you asked about the "P" and "D"...........this refers to the whether its a Plymouth or Dodge and the numbers refer to the specific model within that year.........your 1951 Plymouth Cambridge should be a P23, the 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook was also a P23, the 1951 Plymouth Concord was a P22.........Dodge for 1951 were the D41 Wayfarer and D42 Meadowbrook and D42 Coronet series..........my Oz assembled 1940 Dodge is a D15 version, tho' most US cars were D14 and D17, just different versions and assembly..............anyway I'd strongly suggest getting a workshop manual and possibily a parts manual as both are a worthwhile thing to read, reread and study as you'll then end up as crazy as we all are...............lol.............BTW....welcome aboard from Oz................hope this helps......Andy Douglas      

[plymjim]

Remove trans, drop cover on bottom of bell housing, drop clutch out the bottom.

Your first step should be to pick up a shop manual or motors manual though.

Roberts Motor Parts (they have a web site) is a good source for parts.

 

There is a clutch rebuilder in Johnson City , Tennessee who rebuilt mine in about 3 days. Incredible

service, reasonable price.  Even sent me an aligning tool. Try searching clutch rebuilder on the web.

If you can't find his info pm me with your phone # & I'll try to help you locate him.

The window glass is flat & any auto glass shop can cut one using your old for a

pattern.

[dpollo]

In my experience, there is only one clutch easier to change and that is in the 5 6 7  Chevrolets.

On a good day I could do a Plymouth clutch in under 2 hours.   Nowadays that would be 2 days.

 

The toughest part is removing the bolt from the top left corner of the trans .   Use a long 3/8 extension with a couple of sections and you can swing the wrench from behind the main case of the trans.  a short 5/8 box end will work but it is slow going.

 I have seen many cars with an access hole cut in the floor but that is pretty poor practice in my opinion.

[keithb7]

15 hours ago, Danclem007 said:

 Can someone please explain the "p" and "d" numbers and what they mean? 

 

I will chip in and say what I think the answer is. The letters and numbers on Mopar products are the model numbers assigned to each model of car. For example a model name may have spanned several years. The P15 is the Plymouth from 1946-1949. The next series of that Playmouth car may have been a P-17 if I recall.  Dodges were D-xx, Chrysler were C-xx, Desoto were S-xx. Some more examples: In 1953 the Chrsyler line up was, C-60 Windsor, C-56 New Yorker, C-58 Imperial, C-59 Crown Imperial. 

Edited March 1, 2018 by keithb7

[jeffsunzeri]

16 hours ago, Danclem007 said:

Hi all. I just traded a 72 f350 stake bed for this 51 Cambridge. It is a 218 I6 with 3 speed. Can someone please explain the "p" and "d" numbers and what they mean? Also if someone could give me leads on places to get parts.(i need a front passenger window glass, mine is cracked) I am redoing the brakes and converting it to 12 volt. Heres the big one Im not sure of, I need to put a new clutch in. Im not sure of the best way of doing this. The trans crossmember is welded and the bell housing will only fit through the front. After removing the clutch/flywheel bolts, do you seperate the trans from the bell housing or pull the motor forward to change the clutch? Thanks for any help!

If by saying you are "redoing the brakes" you mean adapting discs, why? And you should not head forward into a 12 volt alteration without serious thought either. Why not repair the car the way it came and enjoy it that way first? Many people believe that these cars are fine performers just the way they came from the factory.

[LazyK]

I bought all my glass here

http://www.vendio.com/stores/autoglassics/category

Edited March 1, 2018 by LazyK

[matt167]

My personal experience in 6v came from a '51 Chevy. Slow old cranking beast. Always started but it always felt like a dead battery even though it was not. I've been around other 6v GM's which all seem to operate the same.. 6V Mopar's are very different and crank much faster and start easier. Aside from only having 6v, and positive ground, there is really no reason to switch. You probably wouldn't know the difference

[Plymouthy Adams]

8 hours ago, dpollo said:

in part........

 I have seen many cars with an access hole cut in the floor but that is pretty poor practice in my opinion.

 

I have a couple cars where a rubber plugged firewall access hole is factory for changing spark plugs...

[dpollo]

Also true of Reo six cylinder trucks.

[JerseyHarold]

Welcome to the forum.   Your car is a '52 judging by the trim.  I have a '52 Cambridge and '51 business coupe.  They're great cars!

[Danclem007]

Thank you all for your input. I finished the brakes today(just redoing all drum brakes not changing to front disc). Pulled the clutch out and waiting on the new to come in. It was pretty easy to remove, hope it goes back just as easy. I wanted to change to 12 volts because the local shop here wants $120 to rebuild my generator. I can buy the 12 volt alternator for $60. I know there are more pieces to get, and mods to make, but I think it will be more reliable.

[DonaldSmith]

You can buy a 6 volt alternator, positive ground, and won't have to change any of the electrical stuff.  

[Don Coatney]

On 3/8/2018 at 8:29 PM, DonaldSmith said:

You can buy a 6 volt alternator, positive ground, and won't have to change any of the electrical stuff.  

 

 

I have one on my D-24.

 

 

 

[casper50]

I also have one.  works very well.