The Plymouth Cranbrook, Cambridge, and Concord cars, 1951-1954

Largely based on Jim Benjaminson’s book, Plymouth 1946-1959

How did they get those names?
Lanny Knutson wrote: You can find a Cranbrook Drive, Concord Street, and Cambridge Avenue between 7 Mile Road and 8 Mile Road (West). Rod Miller added, “Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, MI is a private day and boarding school founded in the early 1900s. Many of the auto executives’ children went there.” A related girls school is significantly named Kingswood.

The Plymouth Cranbrook, Cambridge, and Concord made their debut in 1951, a year when war demands nearly eliminated auto production and restricted access to key metals. The cars were not new; the Cranbrook was the 1950 Special Deluxe, just as the Cambridge was the Deluxe. The very first Plymouth Cranbrook appeared on December 11, 1950; the similar but shorter-wheelbase Plymouth Concord started on December 12.

Body styles were unchanged from 1950 and the prior names, which had been with Plymouth since prewar days. Concord buyers could buy a three-passenger business coupe, a fastback two-door sedan, or an all-metal two-door Suburban station wagon; the Plymouth Savoy made a sort of debut as the high-end Suburban model.

The Cambridge had only a club coupe and four-door sedan, while the Cranbrook had a club coupe, four-door sedan, convertible club coupe, and Belvedere hardtop. The Belvedere was an attempt to match the new Chevrolet Bel Air, which proved to be very popular; Jim Benjaminson pointed out that Chrysler had built a handful of two-door hardtops in 1946, but the body style was dropped until Buick and Cadillac started production in 1949.

The 1951 Plymouths had a new front clip, with a more modern, fast-looking sloping hood and grille. The hood sloped, and the sailing ship hood ornament was pushed back onto the top of the hood, with “speed waves” added. The Plymouth shield was restyled for the year, too. Name badges were on the front fenders. Carried forward were two elements that competitors had dropped: windshields made of two flat panes of glass and bolt-on rear fenders.

A newly updated instrument panel put all the gauges into one group; a light, artificial finish replaced woodgrain. A clock could replace the Plymouth medallion to the right of the radio. Turn signals were moved onto the steering wheel hub, pushing the ignition to the right; the emergency brake became the familiar (until 1975) T-handle. Electric wipers were now standard on Plymouths.

Broadcloth became standard on some models, with others coming in vinyl. A colors department worked on harmonizing interiors and exteriors.

All of the 1951 Plymouths had the same engine, a 217 cid flathead six rated at 97 horsepower pushing power through a three-speed manual transmission to a Hotchkiss rear. Engines used Oilite fuel tank filters and had electric automatic chokes. New for the 1951s were Oriflow shock absorbers, which provided variable resistance based on the severity of shocks, which confused some owners — they “failed” the then-standard test of pushing the bumper down. Concords rode on 6.40 by 15 inch Goodyear tires.

The basic design of the car was conventional; the welded steel body sat on an arc-welded frame with double-channel box-section side rails and five crossmembers, with the convertible having an X-member design. The floor pan was channeled and ribbed, and box-section reinforcements were provided around window and door openings. A baked enamel finish completed the package, with the final car tipping the scales at around 3,200-3,400 pounds.

The suspension used springs, similar to the Ford and General Motors vehicles of the time, while the rear sat on leaf-springs. Steering used a worm and ball bearing roller gear, with symmetric idler arm linkage and rubber-isolated pivots; ball-joint steering knuckles aided handling.

Despite the relatively low horsepower rating of the straight-six engines, Plymouth did well on NASCAR against the leading V8 Oldsmobiles and Hudson Hornets. Only Ford fielded more racing cars than the 52 Plymouths in NASCAR, and Plymouth ended up in second place behind Oldsmobile for the year.

Taxi fleets flocked to Plymouth’s special cab deal, which put in a 10in clutch, heavier duty chassis springs, shock absorbers, seat springs, and a battery heat shield protecting a big 100amp-hour battery.

1952 changes

The 1952 Plymouths looked similar to the prior models, with minor changes including round hood medallions, a revised hood ornament, and script instead of block letters on the nameplates. The Cranbrook Belvedere was given new roof and paint treatments.

Inside, upholstery materials were changed (except on convertibles) and a gray metallic finish was used for the instrument panel instead of woodgrain. Cambridge and Concord had a neutral textured fabric weave, while Cranbrook had blue or green textured weave. There were other minor cosmetic differences, including a larger speedometer needle which made it hard to figure out the exact speed. The optional turn signals had a single indicator; the electric wipers were made faster.

Radio grilles were installed in all Cranbrooks from January 1952 on, painted to match the panel; Cambridge, Concord, and Suburban buyers had to put in a grille as well as the radio itself.

While the engines were given the same rating, new heads improved actual performance.

Using Cyclebond brake shoes (which eliminated rivets) increased breaking power, giving Plymouth better stops than competitors. But Plymouth still had no automatic transmissions, and only added an electric overdrive (for speeds over 25 mph) midyear in 1952. The overdrive unit itself was automatic, and included a “kickdown” feature; and it could be retrofitted to Plymouths going as far back as 1940.

Tinted "Solex" glass also appeared for 1952; and door handle guards were brought out for the aftermarket in the spring.

MoPar Autostop was brought out in the summer; a gearshift lever-mounted control held the car still, releasing when the accelerator pedal was depressed.

In NASCAR, Plymouth hit a third place in the final points standing, behind Hudson and Oldsmobile, despite only having a flat-head six against those companies’ V8s. Plymouth and Oldsmobile both had three first-place finishes, while Hudson had an amazing 27. Lee Petty stuck with a Plymouth in 1952, but for 1953 moved to Dodge to get a V8.

1953 Plymouth Cranbrook, Cambridge, and Concord

The 1953 cars suffered from a 4 1/2 inch cut in wheelbase, with a one-inch-shorter overall length; but the interior was larger. The bodies were completely different from the 1952 models, a more serious difference than between, say, Special Deluxe and Cranbrook. However, the public wanted bigger cars, and other makers were giving it to them; Plymouth was also sticking with the six-cylinder, now reaching its second decade but upped to 100 hp. Unlike Ford and Chevrolet, there was no power steering or automatic transmission. Despite these issues, Plymouth managed to sell 40,000 more cars in 1953 than in 1951, a record year.

The Concord was dropped, simplifying manufacturing; Cambridge was the lower end, Cranbrook the higher end; Cranbrook encompassed the Savoy and Belvedere.

For drivers, the curved one-piece windshield made visibility better side-to-side, while a lower hood provided better forward views and larger rear and side windows helped vision in those directions. The sailing ship hood ornament was lower as well. A simpler grille was put in, and chrome was cut back as much as possible, given that government restrictions reduced the amount of chrome available when the cars were designed. Door handles were switched to a simpler pull type, rather than the traditional twist action; and entry and exit were made easier with different door openings.

Another change was the move of the gas tube, going to a position above the rear bumper, to make it easier to fill the car; but despite a relief valve, spilled fuel became a problem.

A changed two-toned instrument panel included brows to prevent reflections; the gauges were carried over, while the glove compartment was moved to the center of the dashboard. Door trim panels were two-toned.

Part of the new body was a toughened frame, fully boxed with four cross-members, six inches wider than it had been; the rear axle was moved forward, and the frame sat lower in the rear, providing more legroom. Nonparallel control arms up front reduced body roll, and a front sway bar and splay-mounted rear springs increased stability. Rear springs had five grooved leaves, with the upper ends separated by waxed fabric.

A semi-automatic transmission was brought out in April 1953; the Hy-Drive was a stopgap for 1954’s automatic. It used a torque converter instead of a flywheel; the driver would shift into low, get some speed, manually shift into high, and then allow Hy-Drive to do its work. The unit shared oil with the engine, resulting in longer-spaced but bigger oil changes.

The six-cylinder engine, while not a selling point, was not far in horsepower from the Chevrolet V8, at 115 hp — or from the Ford V8, rated at 110 hp. For those wanting more, numerous aftermarket companies sold dual intake manifolds. Sales hit a new record.

1953 would be the final year for the Cambridge and Cranbrook. The two names would be unaccountably retired; Cranbrook would find Belvedere and Savoy taking its place, while Plaza would nudge Cambridge out for 1954 (being nudged out itself in 1959). Perhaps the name change was designed to call attention away from the lack of substantive changes to the 1954 Plymouths; however, given the high sales of 1953, there seemed to be little reason for the move. Once again, Chrysler gave up a piece of its history and moved forward into a bleak new year.

Jim Benjaminson’s chapters on 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954; Savoy | Belvedere

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