Mr. Redgap's series of articles on the family MoPar dealership made for some extremely interesting reading. There are a couple of points that I wish to clarify, if I may.

The Canadian 303 V8 vs the 301 & 318 :

When the 1956 model year started, the Plymouth and Plymouth- bodied Dodges (Crusader, Regent, Mayfair) all used the 270-cid engine with its 3.63"x3.25" bore and stroke. In mid-year, it was replaced by the 277-cid - 3.75"x3.13". The same engines were built in the U.S. for American Plymouths.

The Dodge Custom Royal, being bigger that its siblings, needed a bigger engine. So. the 303-cid V8 was used, based on the 270-277 V8 block, with 3.75"x3.81".   The adoption of the 277 size over the 270 reduced costs - could share crankshafts and piston rods.

This 303-cid V8 was also used in the Canadian-built Chrysler Windsor, which is where some of the confusion comes from. Chrysler Canada also shipped this block to Detroit, not Evansville, for the Fury. That Chrysler Canada was joyous to sell these blocks to Detroit was not at the idea of the Fury coming to market (it was not sold in Canada) but that they could sell engines and make some money. The Canadian market being less than 1/10th the U.S., costs of production were higher in Canada. Thus, the more sales the lower the per-unit costs.

The 1956 Chrysler Windsor used a 301-cid V8, but is was a de-bored 331, but with polyheads. The 331-cid was 3.94"x3.63" while the 301-cid was 3.81"x3.63". Checking the parts book shows that both engines shared crankshafts, while the 277/303 shared another. The 1956 301/331 block is in no way connected to the 277/303.

In 1957, Plymouth used the 277-cid engine in the Plaza, and by increasing the bore to 3.91", it got the 301-cid V8 for the Savoy and Belvedere (optional in Savoy). The Fury engine of 318-cid was obtained by taking the 301-cid V8 and stroking it to 3.31". Thus the 318-cid V8 is related to the 303-cid V8 only in that they both were related to the 277-cid V8.

By the way, the centreplane brakes that Chrysler marketed from 1956 were still Lockheed brakes, and still had 2 wheel cylinders on the front wheels up to 1962 (I checked the parts books). Lockheed also sold their brakes in Great Britain, and I know the Nuffield and Rootes products used Lockheed brakes through the 1950's. (Nuffield cars also had torsion-bar suspension on the front in 1949!) I seem to remember seeing Lockheed brakes, with the centreplane style,  on Rootes products into the mid-1960's - something I will double check on before claiming it to be true.

The 1959-1960 383 V8s

The 361-cid V8 had a bore and stroke of 4.12"x3.38". To get the 383-cid V8, Chrysler increased the bore to 4.25".

The 413-cid V8 had a bore and stroke of 4.18"x3.75". To get the 383-cid V8, Chrysler decreased the bore to 4.03".

The reason for the RB 383-cid V8 in the Chrysler is simple - shared costs producing the RB-based 413 V8. After all, at that point only Chrysler New Yorker / 300 and Imperial used the 413 V8.

By the way, Chrysler Canada used the B block 383 and not the RB block in Canadian-built Windsor and Saratoga models. The New Yorker, 300-letter series and the Imperial were all imported.

The 1959-1960 DeSoto used the B block, not RB block, 383-cid V8. Thus DeSoto engines will exchange with all 383 V8's EXCEPT the 1959-1960 U.S.-built Chryslers.

Also, all 1960 DeSoto models came on the 122"-wheelbase. DeSoto did not have any model on the 126"wheelbase after 1959. As to the the engine options on the 1960 Adventurer, remember that the 1960 Fireflite was a replacement for the 1959 Firesweep and the 1960 Adventurer replaced the 1959 Firedome. The 1960 Adventurer was a sport model no more.

The 1962 "S" Bodies :

The designs for these cars were pretty much in the bag when the decision was made in early 1960 to downsize the Plymouth and Dodge. As to what Ford was doing, the upper brass knew - Ford was coming out with an intermediate-size Fairlane.

The idea to share Valiant-Lancer bodies with the Plymouth-Dodge was a short-lived, but expensive and time-wasting, move. Although Ford used Falson inner bits for its Fairlane/Meteor, the Falcon was a bigger car than the Valiant/Lancer at that time. By 1964, though, the Fairlane and Falcon would be sharing wagon bodies, to show how close the two bodies were.

The decision to downsize the Plymouth and Dodge had become so costly that Chrysler killed the restyle for the 1962 DeSoto, Chrysler and Imperial. Instead, the edict came down to restyle the 1961 bodies and chop the fins. The Imperial was simple - just redesign the rear quarter panels. But the DeSoto/Chrysler body was something else.

On the 1960-1961 DeSoto/Chrysler body, the fins start on the front doors and sweep up to the rear. Given the time frame involved, what could Chrysler do, and do it yesterday! Simple enough. Someone looked at the 1961 Dodge Polara and noted its doors had no fins and the body (under all that sheetmetal) was basically the same as the DeSoto/Chrysler.

So, take off the Dodge front end, slap on the 1961 Chrysler snoot, put in the 1961 Chrysler dashboard, and come up with new rear, finless, quarter panels. The only problem facing the stylists was the crease along the bottom of the 1960-1961 Dodge Polara door. Thus the reverse curve sweep on the rear quarter panels of the 1962 Chrysler.

The way I have read the events of the 1962 Chrysler styling, by the time the design was finalized, the decision to kill the DeSoto had been made.  After the decision to downsize the Plymouth and Dodge had been made and killed the "S" restyle for the bigger cars, company brass, at no time, would have considered resurecting the "S" style for a new DeSoto. Especially considering the costs involved and the lack of cash at that time.

When Chrysler decided to bring the big Dodge back, no problem! Take the 1961 Dodge Polara, use the 1962 Chrysler rear quarter panels and taillamps, delete the holes around the outer edge of the grille, put a bar across the grille with the Dodge "fratzog", add the "C" pillar trim from the Dart 440 to the "C" pillar on the 880, use half the 1961 New Yorker rear fender trim on the front fender, put trim down the side (that looks like it was modified from the 1961 DeSoto) and voila! The brand new 1962 Dodge Custom 880! Nothing to it! (Except panic, overtime and stress.)

Chrysler Corporation Division Realignment :

In 1958, there were 5 five divisions, and their managers :

• 1)  Plymouth Division - Harry E. Cheseborough
• 2) Dodge Division - M.C. Patterson
• 3)  DeSoto Division - J.B. Wagstaff
• 4)  Chrysler Division - Clare E. Briggs
• 5)  Imperial Division - Clare E. Briggs (The Imperial Division was more for show than reality)

In June, 1959, the DeSoto division was merged in with Plymouth under Mr. Cheseborough to become the Plymouth-DeSoto Division. About this time, the Chrysler and Imperial divisions were officially joined to become Chrysler-Imperial Division.

In November, 1959, the Plymouth-DeSoto Division became the Plymouth-DeSoto-Valiant Division, under Harry E. Cheseborough,

With the demise of the DeSoto in October, 1960, the Plymouth-DeSoto-Valiant Division became the Plymouth Division.

In early 1961, the Plymouth Division and the Chrysler-Imperial Division were joined under Clare E. Briggs as the Chrysler-Plymouth Division.

M.C. Patterson was replaced as Dodge Division manager in 1960 by Byron J. Nichols. This was the man that went to bat for the Custom 880.

Styling :

Virgil Exner had his heart attack at the end of 1958. That there was scull-duggery in the office during his absence is well known. And it also shows in the styling in some of the 1959-1961 models. The Plymouth and Dodge, especially, show this with front and rear ends seemingly styled by two different people. The "S" body was meant by Exner to do two things - come up with a new styling theme to replace fins, and to put himself firmly back into the styling chair. But, due to incompetence in the boardroom, such was not to be.

The 1963 front ends of the Plymouth and Dodge were done under Exner. The decision to redo the rear ends was done after the front ends were done, by the way.

And the last car influenced by Exner was the 1963 Chrysler. If you can, compare the styling clays for the "S" series Chrysler with the 1963 production model. The themes are there, only softened and made more "normal" (especially the rear fenders where the chicken wing was removed).

Someone made some comments about Byron Foy being the son-in-law of Walter P Chrysler and his status in the company. It should be pointed out that Mr. Foy was working for Chrysler BEFORE he got married. He was head of DeSoto from 1931 to 1941, through the toughest times of the company. From what I can see from my vantage point today, some sixty years later, and from comments others of the era have made about him, Mr. Foy was a very competent manager, and well deserved the position he held.

Everyone claims Chrysler styling among the divisions is so bland and similar. Which division strived to be different from the rest? DeSoto! Look at the grilles of 1932, 1933, 1941 and 1942 especially. The 1942 DeSoto even had hide-away headlamps! Mr. Foy seemed to be a man willing to let his division's products have some sort of individuality. The shame is not that he worked for Chrysler, but that he left and there were not more like him.

After K.T.Keller became president, Chrysler lost another man, a man that I believe wanted the presidency. After he left Chrysler he went on to Willys, setting that firm up with the Jeep. That vehicle kept the two independents, and later Chrysler, afloat. From there to Graham-Paige, where his car became the cornerstone of the last company to take on Detroit - Kaiser-Frazer. Yes, the man who also named the Plymouth - Joseph Washington Frazer.

Mr. Frazer was no engineer, but he had respect for them Just follow the development of the Jeep and the Frazer car. But, more importantly, he had his finger on the pulse of the car buyers. He had an eye for style, and what would, or would not, sell. I have often wondered what would have happened if J.W.Fraser became president in 1935 instead of K.T.Keller.

By the way, K.T.Keller retired as board chairman in 1956. And if you are looking for a "culprit" in the introduction of the Dodge Dart, consider this man - L.L. Colbert.   L.L. Colbert was president of Chrysler from 1950 to 1960, but from 1946 to 1951 was head of the Dodge Division. His successor in both jobs was W.C. Newberg.

Interesting, although I doubt much can be made of it.

- Bill Watson, Vancouver, BC

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