Re: [FWDLK] eBay Motors: Plymouth hemi in 1955...

Being a Dodge engine it was not a Spitfire, a name used only by Chrysler. Dodge hemis were Red Ram.

The 1955 Plymouth, when introduced, used the 241.3-cid engine from the 1953-54 Dodge, but with poly heads instead of hemi. Plymouth dealers did not have a conversion kit, although anyone could replace the poly heads with Dodge hemi heads. Late 1955 Plymouths used a bore out version of the 241 for 260-cid,

Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler all had their own hemi engines in the 1950's with Dodge and Chrysler offering poly versions. However, heads and manifolds will not interchange between makes as the bore centres are different (ie, the distance between the centre of each cylinder bore is smallest on the Dodge and greatest on the Chrysler).

Also, that air cleaner was not a 1950's Mopar piece. Late 1960's or early 1970's, but not in the 1950's. Big, tall, oil bath air cleaners were used in 1955. And it is not from a 1950's Cadillac. The Cadillac unit was taller (oil bath, remember) and was more cylindrical, not as rectangular. Also, first time I have seen an engine fan painted body colour.

The cloth on the upholstery is not only sewn wrong, it is too light. It should be a darker green. And someone has installed the inside door handles wrong. They should be pointing straight down, as was done in all 1941-56 Chrysler Corp. cars. Must have been done by some GM or Ford fanatic.

The instrument panel was repainted - it shines too much under the light. The instrument panel was originally painted in a dark mat green wth a stipple effect to eliminate glare. That interior is not blue, but two-tone green / blue-green. My father had a 1955 Regent (think Plymouth Savoy) done in the same interior colour scheme. On a sunny day the green of the interior gave the windshield the appearance of being tinted green. Exterior was done in Coral Metallic with a Black roof.

And the exterior is not blue either - there is green in it. "Tamiami Green" perhaps?

So, this car is not as original as the seller claims - incorrect cloth inserts, incorrect instrument panel paint, incorrect engines heads, and incorrect era air cleaner.

Bill
Vancouver, BC

----- Original Message ----- From: jrawa@xxxxxxx
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] eBay Motors: Plymouth hemi in 1955...

anything is possible... the stock poly was a dodge based engine so head swap was possible.... it was a spitfire engine i think, just like the 331 and 354 chrysler low-line polys... my 56 belv had the dodge based poly....

the 49-52 caddy [and olds? - my 50 olds had a rear draft carb- so may be caddy-only] "batwing" air cleaner is worth about $500 on ebay

-----Original Message-----
From: debenson2 <debensonii@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:09 am
Subject: [FWDLK] eBay Motors: Plymouth hemi in 1955...

Neat '55 Plymouth...
Did dealers do head and intake swaps back then?
Seems that the seats were done wrong as far as style? (tuck and roll cloth)
Any thoughts?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280301024717
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