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A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions
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56D500boy
Posted 2023-11-11 3:17 AM (#632666)
Subject: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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A few years ago I purchased a Brooklands "book" which was a compendium of magazine articles about the 1949 to 1959 Dodges. I have pretty much read it cover to cover two or three times. The other day I was reading it again and I re-read a comment about the 1956 Dodge wagons (on pg. 45 of the "book") that suggested that the 56 Dodge wagon body was the same as the 56 Plymouth body. Knowing that 56 Dodge wheel base was 120" and the 56 Plymouth wheelbase was 115", I found that statement very hard to believe.

So armed with my trusty 1955-58 Mopar Passenger Cars Parts List pdf (downloaded from MyMopar.com), I set about to prove that "same body" statement to be wrong.

What I found out by searching for some pertinent body part numbers was the statement is *NOT* wrong. (WHAAATTT!!!???).

The 56 Dodge and Plymouth wagons share significant parts. I also found that there are some differences between 1955 wagons and 1956 wagons.
But it also looks like 1955 Dodge and Plymouth wagons share significant pertinent parts, just somehow different than the 56 wagon parts.

The main and most telling part that connects these wagons is the roof (the "long roof"). It is the same for the 1955 and 1956 Dodge and Plymouth wagons.

The other significant parts that these wagons share is the front and rear door shells. The 1955 shells are different than the 1956 shells but in each year (55 and 56) the Dodge and Plymouths share the same front door shells for the 2 dr wagons and the same front and rear door shells for the 4dr wagons.

In addition, the upper part of the two part tailgates is the same for 1955 and 1956 and for Dodges and Plymouths. (The lower part of the two piece tailgate is different because of styling differences, as will be shown below).

None of this explains how the bodies are the "same" when the wheel bases are 5" different (120" for the Dodge and 115" for the Plymouths).

It took me awhile to find photos that help to show how this was possible: The 5" difference appears to have been "lost" in the space between the rear of the rear door and the leading edge of the rear wheel well. Put differently, the "dog legs" are thicker on the Dodge than the Plymouth.

As I went through the various photos, I concluded that the 55 and 56 Plymouths wagons were a much better design than the 55 and 56 Dodge wagons. I also regret that the bean counters didn't allow the Dodge boys to put proper 56 Dodge rear fenders on the 56 Dodge wagons but instead forced them to use tacked on chrome fin extensions. I previously photo shopped 56 Dodge sedan rear fenders on to a 56 Dodge wagon to "prove" my point.

Anyway, that is my contribution to 55 and 56 Dodge and Plymouth wagon trivia.

For now.





(Brooklands56DodgeWagonComment_2.jpg)



(Brooklands56DodgeWagonComment_1.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthWagonRoofPanel_Section.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthWagonRoofPanel_PN1591123.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthWagonFrontDoor_Section.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthSedanAndWagon_FrontDoorPNs.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthWagonRearDoor_Section23-11-3.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthSedanAndWagon_RearDoorPNs.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthWagonTailgate_Section.jpg)



(55-56DodgePlymouthWagonTailgate_PNs_Upper.jpg)



(56DodgeWagon_4dr_TailGate.jpg)



(56PlymouthWagon_4dr_TailGate.jpg)



(56PlymouthWagon_4dr.jpg)



(56DodgeWagon_4dr.jpg)



(Proper56DodgeWagonMockUp.jpg)



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Attachments Brooklands56DodgeWagonComment_2.jpg (147KB - 37 downloads)
Attachments Brooklands56DodgeWagonComment_1.jpg (148KB - 35 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthWagonRoofPanel_Section.jpg (147KB - 34 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthWagonRoofPanel_PN1591123.jpg (146KB - 28 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthWagonFrontDoor_Section.jpg (146KB - 33 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthSedanAndWagon_FrontDoorPNs.jpg (149KB - 30 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthWagonRearDoor_Section23-11-3.jpg (148KB - 26 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthSedanAndWagon_RearDoorPNs.jpg (148KB - 36 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthWagonTailgate_Section.jpg (148KB - 31 downloads)
Attachments 55-56DodgePlymouthWagonTailgate_PNs_Upper.jpg (146KB - 28 downloads)
Attachments 56DodgeWagon_4dr_TailGate.jpg (148KB - 36 downloads)
Attachments 56PlymouthWagon_4dr_TailGate.jpg (147KB - 36 downloads)
Attachments 56PlymouthWagon_4dr.jpg (145KB - 34 downloads)
Attachments 56DodgeWagon_4dr.jpg (140KB - 31 downloads)
Attachments Proper56DodgeWagonMockUp.jpg (102KB - 32 downloads)
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Powerflite
Posted 2023-11-11 10:23 AM (#632670 - in reply to #632666)
Subject: Re: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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I agree that the Plymouth is much better looking. Not only did they just use the old '55 Dodge wagon body with the tacked-on fins, but the roof looks too short for the Dodge body and the tailgate angles up at too big of a slope. They should have made them with the same wheelbase and the actual same body like they did in '57. But in '57, they went too far, making Chrysler & DeSoto share the same body as Dodge & Plymouth with a generic wagon body in 2 different wheel bases. Finally in '59, Plymouth received it's own proper wagon body and by 1960, they finally got away from all this nonsense. As a result. the 1955-56 Plymouth, 1959 Plymouth and 1960 Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler are the best looking wagons from the forwardlook era.

Edited by Powerflite 2023-11-11 10:30 AM
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frwl
Posted 2023-11-11 1:42 PM (#632675 - in reply to #632666)
Subject: RE: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions


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Are the tailgate louvers (teeth) optional equipment?



(1.jpg)



(2.JPG)



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Attachments 1.jpg (147KB - 28 downloads)
Attachments 2.JPG (164KB - 35 downloads)
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56D500boy
Posted 2023-11-11 5:04 PM (#632678 - in reply to #632675)
Subject: RE: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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frwl - 2023-11-11 10:42 AM
Are the tailgate louvers (teeth) optional equipment?


Excellent question. So I checked my 56 Mopar Accessories catalogue BUT there was nothing.

Then I checked the 55-58 Mopar parts catalogue and found what I thought might be the correct PNs for the 9 (= 7 + 2) teeth: 1682 552 and 1682 554.

Seemed to be on the right track. I then confirmed this after I remembered that I have a 55-56 Mopar collision damage parts book.

The 56 Plymouth wagon tailgate image in the collision damage book flags the parts as Item 35 that shows up 1682 552 as "sides" and 1682 554 as "center".



Edited by 56D500boy 2023-11-11 6:39 PM




(Possible56PlymouthLowerTailgateTrimPNs.jpg)



(56PlymouthWagon_CollisionDamage_TailgateTrim.jpg)



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Attachments Possible56PlymouthLowerTailgateTrimPNs.jpg (149KB - 30 downloads)
Attachments 56PlymouthWagon_CollisionDamage_TailgateTrim.jpg (148KB - 35 downloads)
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Powerflite
Posted 2023-11-11 6:01 PM (#632681 - in reply to #632666)
Subject: Re: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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I'm pretty sure that tailgate trim is standard on the Sport Suburban. I don't know if it was optional on the Custom suburban or not, but I doubt it. Only the Sport Suburban came with the Belvedere style of side trim with the forwardlook flookerang at the back end, but I see a bunch of Custom Suburbans with that trim. However, the true Sport Suburban side trim had "Sport Suburban" written on the wide arrow trim on the door, making it somewhat rare. So if you see a custom suburban with "Belvedere" on the door, you can be sure that the trim was transplanted onto it. I believe that all the Custom Suburbans (2 door and 4 door models) originally came with Savoy style trim on them. The lowly Deluxe Suburban (2 door only) just had the spears on it.



(56Plym Sport Wagon LF.jpg)



(56Plym Sport Wagon RR.jpg)



(1956 Sport Suburban Trim.jpg)



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Attachments 56Plym Sport Wagon LF.jpg (128KB - 35 downloads)
Attachments 56Plym Sport Wagon RR.jpg (95KB - 39 downloads)
Attachments 1956 Sport Suburban Trim.jpg (101KB - 28 downloads)
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RDP
Posted 2023-11-12 3:11 AM (#632686 - in reply to #632666)
Subject: Re: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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(P.JPG)



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Attachments P.JPG (206KB - 30 downloads)
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56D500boy
Posted 2023-11-12 12:11 PM (#632688 - in reply to #632686)
Subject: Re: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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To maybe put the Sport Suburban name plate to bed, I found the PN to be 1682 615 but what is confusing is, there is no right and left PN, when there has to be (???) one.

Thanks to Nathan for this photo and Robert for the additional Sport Suburban trim information.





(56PlymouthSporttoneSideTrimDiagram_3.jpg)



(56PlymouthSporttoneSideTrimDiagram_9.jpg)



(1682615SportSuburbanNamePlateAtLenDawson.jpg)



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Attachments 56PlymouthSporttoneSideTrimDiagram_3.jpg (146KB - 35 downloads)
Attachments 56PlymouthSporttoneSideTrimDiagram_9.jpg (149KB - 40 downloads)
Attachments 1682615SportSuburbanNamePlateAtLenDawson.jpg (148KB - 37 downloads)
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56D500boy
Posted 2023-11-13 3:05 PM (#632696 - in reply to #632688)
Subject: Re: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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Okay. I (slowly) figured out why there isn't a left and right PN for the "Sport Suburban" side trim.

That is because it is an applique, i.e. it is a name plate that is added over top of, say, the Belvedere side side trim. While I cannot confirm this with photos, holes must have been drilled and the applique added with clips (or something) on top of the Belvedere type trim.






(56PlymouthBelvedereSideMoulding_Right.jpg)



(1956 Sport Suburban Trim_Turned.jpg)



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Attachments 56PlymouthBelvedereSideMoulding_Right.jpg (134KB - 34 downloads)
Attachments 1956 Sport Suburban Trim_Turned.jpg (147KB - 36 downloads)
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mstrug
Posted 2023-11-14 10:36 AM (#632703 - in reply to #632666)
Subject: Re: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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https://www.ebay.com/itm/145260286688?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid...
id=101&itemid=145260286688&targetid=1530439032211&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9023573&poi=&campaignid=19851828444&mkgroupid=145880009014&rlsatarget=
nid=19851828444&mkgroupid=145880009014&rlsatarget=pla-1530439032211&abcId=9307249&merchantid=101681139&gclid=CjwKCAiA0syqBhBxEiwAeNx9N7IQdLBLBfZBM7sM0
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(1956sportsuburbanbelvedereemblemPROOF1.jpg)



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Attachments 1956sportsuburbanbelvedereemblemPROOF1.jpg (183KB - 33 downloads)
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56D500boy
Posted 2023-11-14 11:08 AM (#632704 - in reply to #632703)
Subject: Re: A little 55-56 Dodge/Plymouth wagon trivia for future discussions



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Thanks for finding that Marc. Suspicions confirmed



(1956 Sport Suburban Trim_BackSide.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments 1956 Sport Suburban Trim_BackSide.jpg (147KB - 29 downloads)
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