As Good As It Gets! 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook

“Nice paint and nice interior,” suggests the owner of this 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook Club Coupe. Gee, ya think? It’s in spectacular condition, but it’s being promoted by a listing that is way too light on details (and exterior images). This may be the nicest example of an early-fifties Plymouth I’ve encountered, and its stellar presentation just begs more questions than the listing answers. Found cooling its heels in Raleigh, North Carolina, this often-overlooked make and model is listed here on craigslist for $16,500. A high five is due to Barney for this tip!

I referred to this Plymouth Cranbrook as “overlooked” because they just don’t surface often these days, even though Plymouth placed third in the 1951 great domestic auto production race, knocking out 611K total units. Plymouth’s ’51 lineup started with the Concord, moved up to the Cambridge, and saw the Cranbrook resting on top with four body styles: two-door coupes and convertibles, along with four-door sedans and hardtops, which were known as “Belvederes”. This Club Coupe is one of  124K assembled three-quarters of a century ago, but as suggested, they just don’t make the scene to the degree that a corresponding Chevrolet or Ford does. I’d like to suggest that the listing images will do the talking due to the parsimony of the text, but there’s not much picture-wise, other than the interior, which is shown repeatedly from differing perspectives. Long story short, I can’t find anything out of sorts with this Cranbrook’s exterior – it shows like new. Oh yeah, and the underside is just as clean!

The 97 gross HP, 217 CI flathead, in-line six-cylinder engine presents as well as the exterior. The seller does state that the “car runs and drives beautifully,” so there are a few words of encouragement. And this is one of those items I’d like to know about in greater detail. The mileage is listed as 102K miles, so my guess is that this powerplant has undergone a redo. A three-speed manual transmission (three-on-the-tree) is all that was available in ’51, and that’s what’s backing up the flathead.

The interior, and I mean every inch of it, shows beautifully! It had to have undergone a total restoration; it reveals no sign of wear, dirt, or the effects of age, weather, etc. I cannot attest to the accuracy of the seating upholstery material or pattern, but then again, does it really matter, especially in an environment that is so perfect?

And that excellence includes the dash and instrument panel. Note the original radio; certainly a nice inclusion.  The seller claims, “lights and all gauges work…”

A couple of thoughts here. Cars from this era, and really reaching back twenty years prior, are just not that popular with enthusiasts anymore. We’ve covered this observation here many times before; as time marches on, the old ways and favorites fall by the wayside. Still, someone thought enough of this Plymouth Cranbrook to invest significant time, talent, and $$$  to get it to the level of perfection that you see here – it almost doesn’t seem fair! I’d say this Plymouth is quite the buy; how about you?