1951 Plymouth Cranbrook Club Coupe - Fuel Injected 5.9 V8 Hot Rod Classic

1951 Plymouth Other Description

Up for bid is a 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook Club Coupe, Model P-23. I have owned this car since 1992. It has a Fuel Injected 5.9 Magnum engine and a 518 OD transmission from a 1994 Ram. The engine had 24,000 miles when installed and the car has had about 3,500 miles since the swap. The transmission was completely rebuilt at the time of the swap. Some of the other parts the car features are a Griffin aluminum radiator, Mopar Performance PCM, Aeromotive adjustable FPR, Aeromotive braided stainless fuel feed line, Holley electric Fuel pump, Flowmaster 50 series mufflers, March aluminum pulleys, Mopar Performance 1800 stall torque converter, gear reduction starter, and Painless Wiring 18 circuit harness. The car also has been converted to front disk brakes.
The car has had some rust repaired in the past and it is starting to show again. The car looks great from 10 feet away, but the paint is 20+ years old and wasn't the best job to begin with. It has plenty of nicks/chips and some checking on the roof. The panel below the trunk has filler in it and a small piece has started to come out. There is actually a place that makes this panel now, there was nothing available when the car was painted. The passenger door has a few small spots bubbling toward the bottom, and there is a crack in some filler behind the driver's door. Lastly, the floors could use some attention. Prior to my purchase of the car, someone welded in some flat steel and attached new rockers, but never replaced the backside of the rockers (essentially a long flat piece of sheet metal with a simple 90 degree bend). It has been this way for 25 years, but really should be done right. Floor pans, rockers, etc are all available now, but were not until a few years ago.
The chrome on the car is in overall very nice shape, we have replaced or rechromed all of it over the years. It all shines very nicely. Some the of the replacement pieces weren't perfect with some very small pitting in some areas, but still looks really good. The front bumper was a NOS unit, and while it had very minor wear from being stored, it looks very good. The rear bumper was rechromed and was perfect until a lady bumped into me a few years back and it now has a small gouge and a few small scratches. All of the stainless looks very nice, and only the upper grille bar has a few small dings. The grille is from a Buick and gets a lot of compliments. The glass is all in good shape, we replaced any pieces that were cloudy.
It runs great and has a lot of power. The only issues mechanically speaking is the rear axle has a whine on coasting but has done this even when it still had the flathead 6 in it. Also, I would plan on putting a set of tires on it since the tires are 20 years old. The are not cracked or dry rotted and don't leak any air at all, but to be safe I would replace them. Also, the gas gauge is off and should be able to be fixed with a resistor. There is no heater in the car, but it never leaves the garage much past October so it has not been an issue.
It may seem like the car needs a lot, but I want to be upfront about what the car needs and not have any surprises. The car drives great, and even after sitting all winter it fires right up. It is a nice cruiser as it sits, but with a little more work could be a perfect hot rod. Having owned the car for so long, I don't want to sell it, but with a growing family and large property to maintain, I just don't have the time to finish it. It is an uncommon car to begin with, and the fact the it has a fuel injected V8 and OD transmission makes it even more so. I have a bunch of the original chrome pieces and extra fenders and hood that will go with the car.
The car located about 25 miles east of Columbus, OH. $500 non refundable deposit due within 24 hours of auction end, and paypal is okay for deposit. Only methods of payment accepted for remaining balance are cash in person or bank wire transfer. Buyer is responsible for shipping, but I will do whatever I can to assist. Thanks for looking!