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1955
Plymouth Belvedere
Provided by Hemmings
 If ever a major marque needed a restyling and a V-8 engine option, it
was Plymouth in 1954. Plymouths in those years were stubby, tall, painted
in dull, monochromatic colors, and generally regarded as among the most
uninspiring new cars available. For power, they soldiered along with
the reliable but antiquated flathead six, which had resided in Plymouth
engine compartments since 1933. Sales suffered accordingly, and Plymouth
was firmly kicked from its traditional third slot behind Chevy and Ford,
its place taken by Buick.
Chrysler products in general had been taking a pasting in the marketplace
during those years. They all suffered from dull, stolid styling, albeit
with an array of optional Hemi V-8s to take some of the Dodges, De Sotos
and Chryslers from rest to illegal speeds in impressively short times.
So for 1955, which would prove to be the most exciting and competitive
year yet in the U.S. auto industry, Chrysler Corporation invested heavily
in across-the-board new cars from the studios of Virgil Exner and his
talented crew of designers. While every design that emerged was fresh,
modern, even a bit radical in some cases, the newest design of all was
the 1955 Plymouth.
They were longer, lower and wider, following the market
demands of the day. Every inch of sheet metal was new with the upper
edge of the bodyline running uninterrupted from front to rear, giving
the car an even longer appearance. Wraparound glass front and rear
supported a noticeably lower roofline. Hooded headlamps and coved vertical
taillights gave the Plymouths overtones of '50s dream cars. Front-end
treatment was a set of bold horizontal chromed wings—a far cry from
the timid-looking grille treatment of the '53 and '54 predecessors.
On the top-of-the-line Belvederes, the convertible and hardtop had a
contrasting sweep panel painted to match the color of the roof. On sedans,
a simple stainless strip helped to accent the new, longer body.
Three new V-8s were optionally available, including a 241-cu.in.and
a 259-cu.in., with the latter developing 167 bhp to the smaller V-8's
157. The third engine option was created by adding a power pack with
4-barrel carburetor for a resulting output of 177 bhp. These engines
were current only in the 1955 cars and grew to 268.8 cubes/180 bhp and
276.1/187 bhp in 1956. The new engines were a hit with the buying public
as 60.8 percent of the 1955 Plymouths in all series were ordered with
V-8s.
Sales enjoyed a dramatic improvement from the previous year too, with
672,100 cars from all series delivered compared to 1954's showing of
433,000 sales. Belvedere four-door sedan sales reflected this fact, with
production jumping to 160,984 from 1954's total of 106,601 Belvedere
four-doors.
Despite this impressive production total, a 1955 Plymouth Belvedere
four-door is a scarce sight today. Like most cars of the era, they were
quite vulnerable to rust and many simply rotted away while in regular
service. Nor did they ever achieve the cult status of the '55 Chevy Bel
Airs, which became a collecting phenomenon with market prices to match
the high demand. Nonetheless, the '55 Plymouths are important cars, like
their Chevrolet counterparts. Both marques used 1955 to launch benchmark
styling and V-8 engines, but today a '55 Plymouth V-8 won't ravage your
pocketbook nearly as badly as a comparable Chevy, making them relative
bargains in the collector car community. 1955 Plymouth Belvedere
| Base price: |
$ 2,057 |
| Base weight: |
3,267 lbs. |
| Body: |
All-steel five-passenger four-door sedan |
| Frame: |
Ladder type with cross members |
| Wheelbase: |
115 inches |
| Suspension: |
Independent coil front; semi-elliptic springs rear |
| Steering: |
Worm and roller |
| Brakes: |
Four-wheel hydraulic internal expanding |
| Engine: |
“Hy-Fire” V-8 with polyspheric combustion chambers. Overhead valves,
7.6:1 compression, 241-cu.in, 157 bhp |
| Transmission: |
Three-speed manual, selective sliding |
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