AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY – MARCH 31, 1951 – THE PLYMOUTH CRANBROOK BELVEDERE

Introduced on March 31, the 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook Belvedere is a two-door pillarless hardtop. It was Plymouth's first such body design and was introduced in response to the 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air, and the Ford Victoria, the first two-door hardtop in the low-priced American market.

The Cranbook Belvedere the name for the two-door hardtop version of the Cranbrook and built on the same 118.5 in (3,010 mm) wheelbase. Powering the Belvedere is the Chrysler flathead 217.8 cu in (3.6 L) straight-6 engine with a 7.00:1 compression ratio producing 97 hp (72 kW; 98 PS) (SAE gross).

For 1952, Plymouth kept the Cranbrook Belvedere largely unchanged. The biggest alteration was to the color scheme; to further distinguish the top-level Belvedere from other Plymouths, the two toning now flowed from the roof over the beltline onto the trunk, which has been referred to as the "saddleback" treatment. Two-tone color schemes were "sable bronze" over suede, black over "mint green", and gray over blue. Overdrive was made available as optional equipment in the 1952 Plymouth. In overdrive, the engine made three revolutions for each rear wheel revolution against four without overdrive. The engine was a complete carry over from 1951. Production for 1951 and 1952 totalled 51,266 units.

The Belvedere remained a part of the Cranbrook series through the 1953 model year, which saw all Plymouth models completely restyled. Major style changes include a shorter 114 in (2,900 mm) wheelbase, a one-piece windshield, flush rear fenders, and a lower hood line. In April 1953, Plymouths received the Hy-Drive semi-automatic transmission. The engine was carried over from 1952 with the only enhancement being a slight increase in the compression ratio to 7.10:1, which yielded a rating of 100 hp (75 kW).

A total of 35,185 1953 Belvederes were sold.

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