Modified Mayflower - 1951 Plymouth Concord

There was a time when people weren't afraid to dig into a brand-new car in order to personalize it or add options not offered by the factory. Such do-it-yourself accessories as window-mount air conditioners, curb feelers, and extra bumper guards were common items for Dad and Junior to install in the driveway— maybe just a few weekends after bringing home a new car in the fall, maybe in the spring once their need was demonstrated, or maybe after a few years to freshen up a car before it was time to replace it. Auto parts stores and catalog companies were eager to offer the creative car owner myriad opportunities to improve his or her automobile with just a few hours turning wrenches.

It's easy to think of speed parts as a different category from the typical automobile accessory, but the truth is that installing those parts on a newer car was only slightly more difficult than something like a light-up hood ornament. A high-compression cylinder head or a dual-carburetor intake manifold was a bolt-on affair that could yield tangible benefits behind the wheel, especially on a flyweight car like a Chevrolet, Ford, or Plymouth.

Modifying a 1951 Plymouth for performance may seem counter-intuitive to the modern enthusiast. After all, by 1951 not only were there plenty of V-8 Fords to be had, but the outstanding Oldsmobile 88 or Hudson Hornet, too. Consider, though, that the 218-cu.in. Plymouth flathead straight-six, factory rated at 97 horsepower, was comparable to the 100-hp, 239-cu.in. Ford flathead V-8 and Chevrolet's 92-hp, 216-cu.in. OHV straight-six. It's also worth noting that overhead valves notwithstanding, the Chevrolet engine was still using poured bearings and splash oiling, whereas the Plymouth six-cylinder had insert bearings and full-pressure oiling. It was a solid, durable basis for all kinds of upgrades.

The instrument panel and window garnish trim, originally woodgrained, were refinished in the same Wedgewood Blue as the body, convertible style, which nicely complements the white steering wheel.

The power equivalency between the brands was especially notable when the Plymouth's 97 horsepower was found in the 2,969-pound P22 Concord two-door fastback (the lightest six-passenger Plymouth that year), yielding a power-to-weight ratio of 0.033-hp/pound. The equivalent Deluxe Tudor sedan body from Ford weighed 3,062 pounds and the Chevrolet Styleline Sport Coupe weighed 3,060 pounds.

One needn't have been a hot-rodder or engineer to appreciate these facts, either. Simply paying attention to stock car racing would have tipped off savvy shoppers as early as 1949, when Lee Petty (father of "King Richard") bested numerous Oldsmobiles, Hudsons, and other performers of the pre-muscle era thanks to the Plymouth's light weight. Other Plymouth racers in the era included Walt Faulkner, George Seeger, and Johnny Mantz. All told, between 1949 and 1952, Plymouth ranked third in the nation in stock-car wins.

If stock Plymouths could do so well on the nation's speedways (stockish, anyway, Petty used Chrysler Imperial suspension components to increase the durability of his car, but his engine remained factory spec), what could a dedicated Plymouth enthusiast do if unencumbered by rules? The Mopar flathead six had been around since 1929 and was well supplied with speed parts and know-how by the early 1950s. As Petty demonstrated, even the factory parts bins offered possibilities, thanks to shared engineering across Plymouth, Dodge, De Soto, and Chrysler.

Notice the Westach tachometer, which allows the driver to see the rpm drop when the overdrive engages.

By 1951, Ford was already offering the 112-hp, 255-cu.in. Mercury V-8 as an option for police cars. The Ford body/ Mercury V-8 marriage was a natural one, since the basic engine architecture was the same. Ford speed enthusiasts had been making the conversion to Mercury power since the first Mercury V-8's hit the junkyards in late 1939. A similar relationship existed between Plymouth and Dodge, with the 103-hp, 230-cu.in. Dodge flathead six a bolt-in swap.

That's almost exactly what was done to this 1951 Plymouth. At some point in its past, the original 218 engine was removed and a 1958 Dodge 138-hp six-cylinder was bolted in its place. To it were added an Edmunds intake manifold with dual one-barrel carburetors, a higher lift Crower camshaft, and an exhaust header flowing into dual exhausts with glasspack mufflers. Similar modifications made to the 1956 Plymouth 230 bumped power from 125 to 131 hp, so it is fair to speculate that the engine in our feature car is pushing 145 horsepower with no additional bulk—giving a power-to-weight ratio (0.049) in the neighborhood of a 1951 Chrysler New Yorker with the 180-hp, 331-cu.in. Firepower V-8 (0.043).

Another performance-minded upgrade to this lovely old Plymouth, also entirely period-correct, is the installation of overdrive. Chrysler was a pioneer in overdrive technology, having done the engineering on the famed Borg-Warner units back in the 1930s, but the Plymouth line didn't receive the option until the 1952 model year (the oft-misunderstood semi-automatic transmission, a Chrysler breakthrough of the 1940s, didn't become a Plymouth option until 1953).

Red carpets replaced original rubber mats.

With available rear-axle ratios of 3.73:1 or 3.90:1, the overdrive provides a welcome extension of the Plymouth's legs while on the open road. Our feature car has 3.73 gears, which act like 2.61s when overdrive is engaged. Because the overdrive parts were provided over-the-counter for installation in cars as early as 1946, its presence in our feature car may date back as early as 1952—like the 230 under the hood, the installation does nothing to detract from the vintage presentation of the car.

Overdrive is an important feature to owner Nicholas Essinger, of Troy, Ohio. Nicholas has a long line of light-blue Plymouths in his past, with his parents having owned a 1952 Plymouth Club Coupe and later a 1958 Plymouth Custom Suburban nine-passenger station wagon, both finished in that oh-so-Fifties hue. His parents' experience with Chrysler products led him to purchase a new 1963 Chrysler Newport hardtop (in light blue) just before entering the armed forces.

While modern Chryslers are of a decidedly different ilk from their pre-K-car ancestors, the older models remain accessible, affordable, and eminently useable. That's especially true for those that don't say GTX, Road Runner, or 'Cuda on the side. Back in 2009, Nicholas purchased a 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe, one of the P15 models that has such a dedicated following these days. While it was painted maroon rather than light blue, the biggest issue Nicholas found with the car was its lack of overdrive.

"That Plymouth was a great car," he recalls, echoing Plymouth's own advertising of the era. "Then or now. It had excellent steering, shifting, braking, and general operation. It had good outward visibility and plenty of room inside the car for the 1940s, but it did not have overdrive, which I felt was required for relaxed highway driving."

The P15 was eventually passed on to one of Nicholas' doctors at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (who subsequently retrofit overdrive) and Nicholas went looking for a similar car, but with overdrive already installed and from the 1949-'52 short-wheelbase line with the fastback body style. He started his search in the spring of 2016 and by July, he had found his car. It came from a fellow member of the Plymouth Owners Club out in Washington and it was even appropriately finished in Wedgewood Blue.

The car had been partially restored almost 20 years previous and had accumulated just enough wear and tear in the interim to make Nicholas feel good about driving it. "The restoration was good," he says, "The undercarriage is beautiful, as are the body and the chrome. There are a few stone chips on the blue paint, but that is the price one pays to drive such a wonderful car."

Inside, similar sentiments prevail. "The interior is really fabulous: It's a neutral light tan and gray broadcloth material in a striped pattern, with maroon lower seats, door trim and arm rests. It just might be mostly original, but I'm pleased that they did not leave the original light-gray woodtone on the dash and window garnish— I've seen a few others and it's boring, not like the darker walnut of previous years. Instead, it was painted the same light blue as the body and is more attractive." Similarly, the original-equipment rubber floor mats were replaced with red carpet.

That interior makes for a nice place to while away the miles. Chrysler's focus on designing cars from the inside out may have resulted in less showroom traffic, but it makes for a great road trip car. "That cowl vent," Nicholas says, pointing out an old-fashioned feature that was already starting to go away in 1951, "is greatly appreciated. The front vents open and the side windows all roll down to allow fresh air to move through. The front seat moves for a comfortable driving position and to give a good view of the instrument panel—which is equipped with full gauges—and it has excellent visibility, especially out the back glass. This is not a big Chrysler sedan, but there is adequate room for six people." Those passengers will ride in comfort, too, thanks to "Airfoam seat cushions, and lots of leg and head room, especially in back."

The original 97-hp, 218-cu.in. flathead six-cylinder was replaced with a 230-cu.in. six from a 1958 Dodge equipped with aftermarket speed parts—intake manifold, camshaft, and header.

To dial in the car for all the driving, Nicholas made just a few more changes and saw to a bit of maintenance when he got the car home. The first order of business was to finish wiring up the overdrive, a task he entrusted to Hudson enthusiast Noel Renner, also of Troy. Noel also installed a Westach tachometer for Nicholas. "I'm not into hot-rodding or rallying, but I like to see the engine rpm drop 30 percent when I shift into overdrive."

Other additions include seatbelts and a set of curb feelers to protect the BFGoodrich Silvertown wide-whitewall tires. To ensure maximum tread life, Nicholas had the wheels aligned, and it was now ready to go enjoy the rumble of the dual glasspacks on the open road.

Since then, the car has racked up the miles, including a 422-mile road trip to the Plymouth Grand Nationals in Novi and Northville, Michigan, in July 2018. Nicholas describes that trip as "pure enjoyment," cruising between 52 and 56 mph in the slow lane and receiving "a lot of thumbs up" along the way. He even reports the big Dodge six "used no oil and yielded about 20 mpg." It seems there's something to be said for all those period accessories.