swiftshifter67 Posted June 3, 2008 Report Posted June 3, 2008 Good afternoon fellas. I am new to this whole thing and just had a coupla questions regarding my 53' cranbrook. Does anyone know a good parts supply for these old Cranbrooks. I have a Roberts catalog, but i'm sure there are a lot more out there. Thx. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 3, 2008 Report Posted June 3, 2008 lots of information on the homepage of this forum...click on "Return to...." and golook at all the resources and information accumulated on this site. would also be nice if you were to fill out the profile page a bit...might be people near you willing to be of more assistance Quote
swiftshifter67 Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Posted June 3, 2008 The profile is updated.............thx for the heads up. Quote
Kustom52Mopar Posted June 4, 2008 Report Posted June 4, 2008 Tim's right there is a whole lotta good info there. But also there is vintagepowerwagons.com and oldmoparts.com for online resources. But as far as local parts stores go NAPA and Carquest are really good too. Good Luck and hope this helps. Quote
bob_amos Posted June 4, 2008 Report Posted June 4, 2008 There are loads of parts still avail from some of the better parts houses out there. This site is also a wealth of knowledge. I'm a 41 plus year professional in the automotive repair business and have tons of contacts. These guys here have helped me find things time and again. They even found my personal car. A, now get this, '53 Cranbrook. Can't remember who, but one of the guys pointed it out on the "Bay" and it was 18 miles from home. So when there are questions that need asking, this is the absolute best place. Quote
Normspeed Posted June 4, 2008 Report Posted June 4, 2008 Ahhhh, another 53. Hi swiftshifter. Kanter in NJ is another source, and RockAuto.com is good for some mechanicals. Is your coupe running, or are you just getting started on a project? Quote
swiftshifter67 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Posted June 4, 2008 Its a pretty solid running car right now. I have a few things to do like rebuild the master cyl, re-wire for 12V. Speaking of re-wiring. Is there anything I should really pay attention to when converting to 12V besides the basic stuff. Quote
RobertKB Posted June 4, 2008 Report Posted June 4, 2008 We seem to be getting quite a few '53's on the forum which is GREAT! Any pictures to show us? This one is mine and it's an original car, including paint. Quote
swiftshifter67 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Posted June 4, 2008 I can't downsize my pics yet. There is a pic on my profile. The date on the bottom is incorrect. The pic was actually taken last week. I'm not sure what i'm going to do for paint yet. I'll just see how it goes. Quote
RobertKB Posted June 4, 2008 Report Posted June 4, 2008 As long as you enjoy the car, that is the main thing. These '53 and '54 Plymouths are a breed apart and it's nice to see quite a few on the forum. They are quite different from the 49-52 Plymouths and vastly different than the '55. People either like them or they don't. Quote
bob_amos Posted June 4, 2008 Report Posted June 4, 2008 I have my 53 Cranbrook's photo in my profile. Don't know how to have it show up here though. It's good to see so many 53's. Quote
RobertKB Posted June 4, 2008 Report Posted June 4, 2008 Bob, I took the liberty of adding your car to this thread. I just added the profile picture to my photobucket and used that URL. Hope you don't mind but it's always good to remind these P15 and D24 guys what great cars the '53's are!! Quote
50PlymouthSled Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 I believe I'm kinda partial to the 1951 Cranbrook myself. Especially chopped and bagged, I'm a kustom kinda guy, but I do dig the stock 53's. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 I was a tad indifferent toward the 53/54..two main reasons I never considered them much for a car I would own is that the windshield is one piece and the rear fenders are non removable..these two characteristics defined the eara I like most..however since picking up a 54 with 230 and 2 speed powerflite..I have grown quite fond of them..It is a Savoy with both appearance packages from the factory..more bling than the law should allow...they do grow on you...the 54 was an transistion year..the base model was changed in trim to try and boost sales...the 55 was already designed and tooling was gearing up so the 54 got styling changes, addition of trim to make it appear more high-line and even the later units rolled out with the 55 model paint colors to try and make them more appealing to the public. The hy-drive particular to the 53/54 was an attempt to get Plymouth an automatic appeal similar to what the fluid drive was to the rest of the line up..again..stop gap measure to boost sales. Plymouth got power brakes and power steering also with these models. They were the last of a breed so to speak..and as stated..most take a love or hate approach..but to know own one would probably win anyone over... Quote
bob_amos Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 No, I don't mind at all. For some reason my Road Runner internet will not let me see anything from Photobucket. Thanks for helping out. Quote
swiftshifter67 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Report Posted June 5, 2008 Wow Bob.....That Cranbrook is very impressive. Very clean. I picked mine up for $1200 and drove it home 20 miles with no lights and no charging system. (That's why i'm going to be running 12v). I still have a lot to do to it, but hey.....Thats what it's all about. Does anyone have any pics of a chopped 53'. If so, please share. Quote
Normspeed Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 Here's one that's dropped but not chopped. Quote
bob_amos Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 Well, Thanks, Glad you liked it. But to be honset it looks beeter in a photo than in person. Not that it's a bad looking car but it's notnear as nice as it photographs. I bought mine about 18 miles from home and Tony C. and I went out and picked it up Drove it home but it sure was running hot. Real hot. Seems someone tried to seal a cooling system hose leak with silicone and it worked its way into the radiator covering up almost every tube. Had to do a real, real good clean out of the entire system. Quote
p24-1953 Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 one more chance to show off..... here's mine... welcome Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 speaking of 53's...this is against my code of posting active bids but this is so ridiculus I just had to do it... sedan even...not even a club coupe got to be a typo ... http://cgi.ebay.com/1953-Plymouth-Cambridge_W0QQitemZ250255365900QQihZ015QQcategoryZ10778QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Quote
Normspeed Posted June 5, 2008 Report Posted June 5, 2008 Must be a typo. Car looks like a good start on a project but I'd say $1500 might be a better starting bid than $15,000. Quote
swiftshifter67 Posted June 6, 2008 Author Report Posted June 6, 2008 Wow $15000 as a starting bid............It's got to be a typo. He will catch on when he notices 0 bids until it closes. Quote
mackster Posted June 6, 2008 Report Posted June 6, 2008 Can anyone of the 53 fellas here do me a favor.... I am wondering what kind of steering box these have????? a picture will be great..this is for my crazy ideas I have in head, if I can see it, then I can proceed with my car this weekend...thanks in advance fellas! Quote
bob_amos Posted June 7, 2008 Report Posted June 7, 2008 Macster, I can photograph mine for you. I will need an e-mail address to mail it to. Send me a private message to secure the adddress. Bob Quote
mackster Posted June 7, 2008 Report Posted June 7, 2008 I got the pictures and it seems that the steering on the 53 cranbrook moves the pitman arm side to side( like from one wheel towards the other.) On my desoto it pushes and pulls the pitman from front to back of the car....So my idea is to remove and replace the the complete front end with something newer like tim I believe it is here and that way I can also use the cranbrook steering box and do away with the power steering set up....will it work? or am I over thinking it????? sorry to high jack this thread.... Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.