Are you ever amazed how kind California has been to so many cars? The climate helps with preserving a car, but there is also something to be said about a good owner as well. Not original, and not quite restored either, this Plymouth has seen a repainted and had some upholstery work in its past. Despite this fact, this 2 door wagon is in excellent condition, and is ready to roll for $8,750. Check it out here on craigslist out of Visalia, California. Thanks to Pat L. for another awesome submission!
Purchased used in 1957 through a Chevrolet dealership, this Plymouth seems to have only collected 69,800 miles in its life so far. The flathead inline 6 engine is virtually stock minus a fake dual exhaust setup and a 12 volt conversion. There is no immediate rust or oxidation to be found under the hood, and the engine compartment itself looks like it would clean up nicely.
The interior is tidy and clean, with modern upholstery that is ready for long rides and car shows. There is no radio, but the interior shows very nicely with only a few paint chips around the gauge cluster, and a few cracks in the steering wheel. Surprisingly the cardboard panels in the back of this wagon are still in place, and reflect only minor signs of age.
What can be said about the exterior other than the fact that it looks great! The paint is shiny, and the chrome is very nice. You can forget about rust since this is a California car, and the body work on this wagon is straight with no apparent flaws from the photos. Even the glass is brilliant and clear in this old Plymouth. Are you a fan of this 2 door Plymouth wagon?
Goodbye original Plymouth, hello 502 crate motor,,,
Hellcat power plant. Keep it Mopar.
Say hello to the gas stations along the way, and municipal bylaw officers for the noise complaints on the exhaust.
I’d leave the original engine in.
Bob
screw that! put a slant 6 225 c.i. in it almost a direct bolt in! them install a 4 barrel intake manifold from clifford performance and split exhaust for daul exhaust and enjoy! tuned up right this will run with traffic all day long and not have to tear the front end out of it to put a v8 in it because you will never clear the steering box! besides who needs 500 plus horsepower anyways!
Slant six is longer than the flat head six. I tried to put one in my 48 Dodge Business Coupe. No matter how I tried, it would not fit. I had the front body work off (It came off assembled.). In a fit of frustration I tried the BFH on the firewall. I ended up sourcing another flat head six from my friend who was sticking a SBC in a late 30s Dodge build.
Would that color exterior have been matched with those interior colors by the factory. Doesn’t seem like an obvious pairing to me. But if it looks in good in person as it does in the pics this is enticing.
Nice…love wagons,especially 2dr ones.
She’s a little on the stodgy side, but I do love her! Great find!
At first glance it resembles a full size Chevy HHR.
A pretty rare car, the Concord was only made in ’51 and ’52. While the 218cid 6-cyl. with 97hp is pretty tame, it’s probably adequate for today’s roads.
It looks good, it appears to have been well cared for. I like it just as-is, original. When was the last time you saw one, if ever?
Hi Fordguy I have a Canadian cousin to this car mine is a 1951 dodge Mayfair 2 door hard top. From what I have been able to figure out US Plymouths got a 217 CID engine that is 23″ long and the Canadian dodges got the 218 CID which is 25″ long. The Mayfair badge was exclusive to the Canadian market with only 13460ish car produced. In the US the counter part to my car was the dodge cornet and Plymouth Belvidere. The Belvidere being exclusively a hard top where as the cornet was available in 2 door coupe and hardtop as well as 4 door sedan. My car was much like the cars found in Montana some rust but not rusted out. The dodge flat head engine may not have been a high horse power engine but it was torquie, they had a full pressure oiling system when GM was still using dippers on its connecting rods. Chryslers used these engines in a variety of sizes from 1938 until 1959 after that they were used in industrial applications up to as late as 2002. Parts are readily available at Napa infact on the shelf for most parts.
Wish it was closer to me. Love any old wagon. 2 doors just makes it a bonus!
Someone mentioned a 502. I’m thinking late model hemi!
The Hellcat Hemi is now available as a crate engine…
I would go old school with a 426 Hemi. Much more attractive to look at than a modern Hemi.
I would go ever older school with a 392 hemi. It would be period correct in the late 50’s-early 60’s time frame.
I’d go with the set up a couple of low rider buddies of mine had with their pair of Plymouth wagons: split exhausts, Edmunds head, etc.
Play some Doo-Wop through the sound system and I’d be ready to relive my misspent youth, cruising San Fernando Mall…
A total sleeper cruiser. Maybe 502 is a bit too radical for this whip (I think I’m starting to get old by saying this) but it’s a jonesingbfor a V8 for sure… spend a few extra bucks and widen the wheels, keep the hub caps
My best buddy has a 52 Plymouth “Fastback”.
A chicken coop find, in W.Va that was parked in the 60’s [I think] by his own Uncle Hubert when the head was pulled for valves. Sat there for 50 years. He dragged it home and I looked at it and said that car was ugly the day it was new, sitting in the showroom.
He had a vision and what did I know? Two years later, DeSoto Hemi, 2 fours, Chevy 4 speed and a Ford 9′, and it it the coolest thing ever. At every show, People walk past the more glamorous stuff and stand around his Plymouth!
I looked it over picture by picture and the only thing I would do is tidy up the battery hold down and clean the carpets. Otherwise, I’d make it reliable and safe where needed then drive it as is.
The reason I said a “crate motor”, is there’s a 101% chance this car will be resto-modded. I’m surprised it made it this long. Vintage 2 door wagons, especially like this, are prime candidates for updating, and that’s ok. I like original stuff, and I’d keep it as is, O/D or axle swap, for starters, but people that like these cars, as is, like me, are fading fast. It would still be cool, and a lot safer, as a resto-mod.
Nice wagon. And remember the mantra when it comes to classic station wagons, “4 doors bad, 2 doors good”.
Cool wagon. Get rid of the skinny whitewalls. lower about 3 inches. Instant beach cruiser. These old flathead mopars run for ever (not quickly) but will cruise at 65 all day long. No 502 plz no “restomod” way to nice of a wagon to cut up, find a basket case example for that.
Example:
1951 Plymouth Concord Suburban my very first car I ever own… sold it for $100. back in the late 60’s
In the early 1990’s , I bought the twin to this car, mine was light blue, and I paid $850 for it, so $8750 now is probably about right, I would pay that. I drove the car for 4or 5 years, all stock, lowered with 5 spoke Polished American’s. Then I got a crazy Idea and a vey good friend of mine Darrell Mayabb, drew several concept drawings of the car as a woody wagon. If you don’t know who Darrell is look it up, having him design a car is as good as it gets. So I decided, I had to build it, it was one of those things that just fell in place and it all came together. A friend did the wood and he is a genius with wood, we blew the car apart, and put it all back together in about 120 days. It was a feat, that I probably couldn’t do it again no matter how hard I tried. It was dark green , almost black the wood was blond, interior a camel color, and it retained the 5-spokes. The drivetrain stayed original except for extensive detailing. The car made a big splash, probably the most of any car I have ever done. It won several picks at Goodguy’s events, including Pleasanton. Was in David Featherton”s Woody Books and featured in Custom Rodder. The car was really special, but I discovered as much as I liked it I hated it, because I created a piece of furniture, and all I did was worry about it. There were so many un-knowns with the wood and the elements, and I became afraid to drive it, because I thought it would get damaged. So I sold it, at the time 25K, which seemed like allot at the time. The new owner took it to a Shop in Utah, (not Kindig”s), and completely replaced the drive train with late model Mo-Par including a new Hemi. I got to see the car and drive it when it was done. It was beautiful and very well done. After that he wanted to sell it and the number was near 80K , to the best of my knowledge he might still have it , I contacted him a year or so ago, and told him ,I wanted to know about the car condition etc. and was it for sale. He said he was busy and would call me back and that’s the last I ever heard.
There are several of these wagons around ,but to the best of my Knowledge mine was the first wood one, and then a gentleman on the west coast contacted me and he did one, and its red. I think about the car allot , and I would love to know were it is, although it would probably complicate my life, as I am sure I would want it back
I hope some one buys this car and really enjoys it, if they want to make it a woody , I would gladly explain the process, I went through.
Dabig Kahuna, Love the picture of the wagon, BUTT I can guarantee you it will not run, all day long at 65 mph , maybe 50, they didn’t call them the soft main bearing Plymouths for nothing, I know I blew mine up trying it!
Aw, come on… don’t ruin this nice 2 door wagon with a crate motor! Let people enoy it as is & reminisce about these wagons from the 50’s…not many of them left!
I like stock…but….maybe something old school….flat head V 8 ?
…I do wonder sometimes amongst all the original find cars that get hot rodded/rat rodded or customed that a few could remain as they are. Here is a gentle desirable 2 door wagon that’s been kept well with original engine etc and no doubt if a big engine was put in it would need wheels-a “better” paint job etc. I hope thisremains just as it is-you can’t recreate originality
Before you get too excited, drive one (or another Chrysler Corp car of the same vintage) . If you are used to modern rack and pinon steering, or maybe never drove a car without it, you will be shocked at how “loose” the steering is, particularly the non-power variety. You do get used to it, but it is very disconcerting at first. So bigger engine, power brakes to stop it, power steering to compensate for the probable greater weight on the front end, you might as well change the entire front end to get rack and pinon and power discs up front, and the rear axel, and pretty soon not a lot is left of the old Plymouth, but, more fun to drive . I’d just leave it as is. Uncle’s friend regularly hit a sustained 70 mph in one when I was a kid, no problem.
If you have loose feeling worm & ball steering it isn’t adjusted right or it needs to be rebuilt. From 1965 to 1998 never had a car or truck with rack and pinion steering and never had a problem and to me R&P doesn’t feel much different. What really makes the difference is radial tires vs bias ply. First time I drove a car with radials, I thought I had died and went to heaven. Most people under 50 have not had the misfortune to drive a car with bias ply tires. The difference between the two is as different as night and day. Once I had a car with radials I never bought another bias ply tire in my life. Radials ride better, handle better, go through rain and snow better and last 3 to 6 times longer. I like disk brakes but a well tuned drum break system with semi metallic lining works for me. To me rack and pinion steering is at the bottom of the list in upgrades that make a difference.
Saw a ’50 two wagon at Detroit some years back that had wood applied to it – don’t know if its the same one mentioned in one of the posts above or not. Don’t remember much else, don’t recall if the engine had been upgraded or not but I do know the car was sold and shipped to Germany.
That should read ’50 two door wagon —
Leave it alone! If you want a car with a big engine, go buy one but leave this untouched jewel alone.
Please stop saying stupid things like there is no rust, ‘cuz it is a California car. I’ve lived in Southern California my whole life, and the myth that all CA cars are rust free is just that. Try buying a car from along the coast or beach areas, and you may soon lusting after a car from the Midwest or New England.
True they were stodgy, yet bulletproof. There were a lot of these old Plymouth s still on the road in the 60s.
like XMA0891’n Bob my description is ‘stodgy’ as in: I expected 2 C a guy wid a bowler hat sittin in it. That side view looks so British.
Did they copy our designs back then? Did che**y copy the italians for the vette? “Yes’ to both.
The ‘world car’ came out way B4 ford (brought out the escort) or whoever started that phrase back a decade or so ago…
I would think the Model T would be the first “world car”. They were sold all over the world.
You can usually tell when the young viewers write their comments. Right away they would take a classic unmolested antique automobile and want to chop it up just to put a monster V-8 engine and transmission in it without thinking there are very few enough of these classic antique automobiles left anymore. When you modify any thing on these cars/ trucks Etc. , They can never ever be the same again.
Well I just bought this wagon this afternoon. The owners name is Gary and he’s an old-time car guy who’s a terrific guy and great to deal with. If it’s any consolation to some of the posters here, I intend to keep the wagon bone stock and preserve this little piece of history as I do with all my cars.
Jim, that’s terrific! Please post some pictures and keep us informed!!!
Terrific! I’m so relieved, and happy, to hear that the car will remain stock, and become a piece of history, as it deserves to be. Good on ya!
Ja, ja
Jim, Great buy, you are going to love this car. I have just recently moved to Phoenix and have lots of stuff in Storage, I am not positive, but there just might be some station wagon parts left over. If so I would be glad to give them to you. It might be a month or more before I get through it all, but if you e-mail me you contact info, I will let you now what I find
jhaska@Comcast.net
That is the TRUE spirit of the car hobby that I love.