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1954 Plymouth Belmont

Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Engine
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Engine
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Engine
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Engine
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Interior
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Engine
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Engine
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Trunk
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Trunk
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont, 1954
Plymouth Belmont at Chicago'54
Plymouth Belmont at Chicago'54
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Brochure
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Brochure
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Brochure
Plymouth Belmont, 1954 - Brochure
Plymouth Belmont, Dodge Firearrow II and IV (1954) - Automobile Yearbook
Plymouth Belmont, Dodge Firearrow II and IV (1954) - Automobile Yearbook
Images: Chrysler Corporation; Andre LE ROUX Site; Barrett-Jackson; Mecum Auctions
Rating:  16    -2    +18
The Plymouth Belmont, an experimental sport car, combines sport car smartness with the proved durability and reliability of Plymouth's standard chassis design. It has a body of reinforced fiberglass construction. The exterior finish is Azure Blue. Individual-type seats are luxuriously upholstered in white leather An intermediate compartment behind the seats provides storage space for luggage. The car's removable fabric top and spare wheel are carried in the rear compartment. Body built by Briggs in fiberglass.

Plymout Press Release


Plymouth’s sleek Belmont concept car rode on a Dodge chassis and was powered by a Dodge V-8. It was the 1st Plymouth experimental car with a light plastic body, had an overall length of nearly 192-inches and was only 32 inch high at the top of the door. The 150 horsepower engine came mated to Plymouth’s Hy-Drive 3-speed semi-automatic transmission. Finished in a light green metallic paint, the Belmont’s exterior went well with the white leather 2-seater interior and had a full set of racing instruments, and radio controls built-into the center armrest.

www.chicagoautoshow.com

The Plymouth Belmont was the first plastic-bodied (reinforced fiberglass) Chrysler “idea car,” an experiment in new materials and design brought out in the same year as the DeSoto Adventurer.

The Belmont was a convertible, made for the 1954 Chicago Auto Show by Briggs Manufacturing (rather than the usual Ghia, because Chrylser had just bought Briggs); it was designed in the Advanced Styling Studio, under the supervision of head stylist Virgil Exner. Underneath the fancy curves was a chassis shared by Plymouth and Dodge, with a 114 inch wheelbase. The V8 engine was, according to the numbers, the 14th allocated to Plymouth, which had no V8 powered cars at the time; it was used in Dodges as the Red Ram, and squeezed 150 horsepower out of its 241 cubic inches, good at the time. The transmission was the corporate semi-automatic, sold by Plymouth as the Hy-Drive.

The Plymouth Belmont was long (191.5 inches), low (49 inches), and sleek, painted light metallic blue (it would later be repainted in red), with what passed for an aerodynamic theme; it also had turbine styling cues, not surprising given that Chrysler was seriously intending to release a turbine engine at the time (“[Chrysler’s] gas turbine has solved high fuel consumption, exhaust heat problems usually associated with turbine engines.”) The roof itself was a soft top hidden behind the seats, with a hard cover.

According to Second Chance Garage, Belmont used a stock engine, except for chrome valve covers and a low-profile air cleaner (to allow the hood to close) on the standard Stromberg WW-3-108 carburetor. The wheels were stock Chrylser options, and tail lights were from the prior year’s Chryslers; various pieces were taken from standard cars across the Chrysler Corporation lines. The windshield itself was made of Plexiglass. Virgil Exner had gotten permission to keep the Belmont after it was shown; it was sold in 1968, and changed hands a couple of times before being left on its own a garage. It was later rescued and is now in Don Williams’ collection in New Jersey.

www.allpar.com
Comments
Jason
Saturday, November 15, 2008
This is an interesting styling exercise in pirating parts from contemporary cars, including the rear bumper and tail lights from the 1952 Ford and the rear bumper and tailights from a 1952 Chrysler. Proportions are handsomely balanced for the size of the car. All in all, an attractive beginning - but I would have liked a bit more originality.
Don Williams
Monday, January 26, 2009
This car was restored by Don Williams (Blackhawk Collection but is now in another collector's collection in New Jersey.
joe steinmetz
Monday, March 16, 2009
does anyone know who built a 1954 newyorker convertable with the thunderbolt badges for show 1953
Roger Conrad
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Belmont could have been built on shorter chassis as a contender of Thunderbird or Corvette. Exner Designers and Chrysler missed out on a sporty car by 1957.
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