Stately Strength - 1952 Chrysler Saratoga

The 1951 Chrysler Saratoga was a car in the center of an all-new lineup packed with Chrysler Corporation technological firsts. Ventilated drum brakes joined optional Hydraguide power steering. The semi-automatic Fluid Drive transmission was updated to Fluid-Matic and Fluid-Torque. But the big news for the model year 1951 was an all-new engine: the 331-cu.in. Chrysler V-8 with overhead valves and a hemispherical-shaped combustion chamber. In the Saratoga, this V-8 made more horsepower than the top-of-the-line Cadillac or Oldsmobile engines. In fact, with an almost 40hp advantage over the Cadillac, the FirePower hemi was the engine to have under the hood.

More good news was that the Saratoga was not only available with this 180hp V-8, but by virtue of the car featuring a body fixed atop underpinnings from the low-line Windsor, it was the fastest car in the Chrysler fleet--faster, even if not by much, than the top-of-the-line New Yorker. The over-square engine, with a cylinder bore wider than the piston stroke, created greater than one-half horsepower per cubic inch of displacement--a number unequalled by competitors in 1952. Tipping the scales at 250 pounds less than the higher-end luxury New Yorker, the svelte Saratoga was the middleweight champion in the 1952 Chrysler lineup.

Pulling into the gas station with the Saratoga didn't mean having to fill up on high test. The hemi engine's 7.5:1 compression ratio meant regular gas would work just fine. Meanwhile, the mechanical updates were the important ones: The 1952 Chrysler Saratoga remained largely unchanged from the 1951 model, save for an integrated backup lamp within the taillamp assembly. Steel shortages, due in part to a strike and a country in the midst of the Korean War, called for nationwide austerity measures, and this meant that Chrysler's 1951-'52 model year ran for 18 months, more or less. Saratoga, in all its guises, sold a total of 45,500 units, with 35,516 of the total production run built as four-door sedans.

The radio delete plate above the heater controls was replaced with an original-quipment optional factory radio.

With its subdued outward appearance that belied the nearly 200hp lurking beneath the hood, and a historical significance in the hemi kingdom, the Saratoga stands as a solid performer even today.

A backup lamp integrated into the taillamp assembly was the only visible change for the 1952 model year. The Korean War and steel shortages resulted in the no-frills Saratoga selling through an unusual 18-month model year cycle with virtually no changes.

The car is an early production example of the subsequent trend of installing powerful engines in an unlikely platform; in its very essence, it was an early muscle car. Due to its combination of understated looks and excellent performance at the right price, the Saratoga was a hit with horsepower-happy customers, hot rodders and stock car racers alike; its excellent power-to-weight ratio alone made it a favorite. Weighing under 4,000 pounds in two-door coupe form, the Saratoga was the performance bargain of 1951, and was still a bargain for Dave Katen some 30 years later.

Dave found his Chrysler Saratoga in a Connecticut barn in 1983. By his own admission, the good-humored native New Yorker (now living in Milford, Connecticut) is not a car guy in the conventional sense. Dave just likes driving. However, Dave had a few pals who were car guys back in the early Eighties.

Rather than making an exhaustive search for his 1952 Saratoga, therefore, the car found Dave back in 1983. A friend was painting an old barn in Westport, Connecticut, and called Dave at the office to tell him that there was "some old car out here in the barn." Since the barn was only five minutes from Dave's office, out he went. A cash deal was made on the spot. "Remember," Dave said, "there were no ATMs back then. The guy said he wanted $600 dollars. I said I didn't have $600 dollars. So he said, give me $400."

Dave subsequently called upon the tireless servicemen of AAA, as his new acquisition would not start. The tow truck dropped the car off at Dave's house, and he and a pal made like Aladdin, polishing and cleaning to conjure up the hemi genie back out of the blackened lamp. "It was there in the barn for 20 years. A friend of mine who knows something about cars cleaned it up, and put Marvel Mystery Oil in the engine. It turned over. He said 'Now we gotta take it apart and clean it,' but it turned okay," said Dave.

Owner, Dave Katen

The engine proved to be in sound shape, with no disassembly required. With some cleaning and a new battery, the old hemi, with a mere 54,000 miles logged, breathed fire once again. One of Dave's employees used a long-forgotten potion to bring the original green paint back to a mostly original appearance. All this was good news to Dave, who likes driving a heck of a lot more than spinning wrenches or running rags around.

The semi-automatic transmission was a source of great mystery for Dave, who drove the Saratoga around in first gear until finding a book that spelled out how to operate the transmission with three pedals on the floor. At a dead stop, the clutch is depressed and released like a manual transmission--but only in first gear from a stop. Second gear arrives automatically by letting off the gas pedal for the shift.

"I'm being truthful when I say I didn't know how to drive it. I wasn't the only one, though. Every one of my big-mouthed friends would get in and say, 'I know how to drive a clutch,' and I would say, 'Okay, good. Get in. Go ahead.' Then they got in and saw on the steering column, Reverse, Neutral and Drive--and didn't know what to do. They got out of the car because they couldn't do anything. It was hysterical. Absolutely hysterical."

Once everything was mechanically sorted out, Dave bought four new tires. The modern radials with glue-on whitewalls didn't quite work out, so he turned to Hemmings Motor News for some original-size and -style tubeless replacements. The problem was that Dave noticed the tubeless tires would lose air. "I had original hubcaps. I had everything, but never changed the rims. They said my tires were going down because my rims needed replacing. I wasn't going to change the rims, so I had tubes put in the tubeless tires, and they never lost air again."

The plush interior of the car is original except where a mouse chewed up through the front seat. Dave had the driver's side reupholstered, but thankfully, the rest of the car was free of rodent destruction. Meant for families and daily use, the Saratoga has plenty of room for six adults, possibly more. "I know you could fit at least six," Dave said. "However, the rear floor was at 45 degrees. So you could sit and put your feet up, which was nice. You could really relax. It's like a couch. And with the mohair upholstery, oh yeah, it's really nice."

Dave's stately looking sedan came equipped with the optional heater, but no radio. Dave located a correct stock radio and antenna and installed it in place instead of the factory radio-delete plate. Today, Dave takes it to drive-ins and many car shows, taking home a few awards in the process, and having a lot of fun while doing it.

Dave doesn't worry too much about maintenance routines, preferring to follow the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy of car repair. What did he do to get the car ready to go out? "I checked the oil, and the oil was fine. The water was fine. So now I take it out and just drive it. Of course, it still goes. I'd be driving it and I'd say, 'Hm. I'm hitting 80 MPH, and then I'd say, 'What am I, stupid?!' and then I'd back off.

"Now, I'm doing 60 MPH on I-95 in the middle lane heading to a car show and I'm thinking: 'Why would I mess with this car?' You know what I mean? I'm not a car person. I put the key in the ignition. If it starts, fine. If it doesn't, I call AAA."