Dumb question - difference between Dodge and Plymouth

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MrJLR

MrJLR

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I think I know, but is there any significant differences between Dodge and Plymouth small blocks?

Also, any way to tell is my block is from a Dodge or a Plymouth?

I'm leaning towards no....lol

Jeff
 
there is no difference dodge use the term magum and plymouth used commando.the same engines just with different names. vin number on the engine will tell u what it is when u look up the engine vin number on what car it came out of.
 
Not much difference in the run of the mill Mopars from what I understand. Urban legend says that the Hemi's, 6 Pack's and the TA engines were hand assembled. I also heard that the Chrysler's were hand assembled too. I have never seen any fact to back any of those legends though. The strange thing is that the factory used under and over sized bearings and pistons to make up for production tolerances and have bearing clearances in spec. I would there was a bit of hand assembly involved there.
 
In the earlier years each division of Chrysler had there own V8 engines that you might only find in one or the other car lines Chrysler start building the first generation Hemi's in 331,354,392. Desoto had the 276,291,330,341,345. Dodge built them as 241,270,315,325,426.
The Plymouth division never utilized a Hemi until the 426 in 64. So there were differences in the divisions.
 
In the 70's I had "some guy" try to tell me that he bought all his parts at a Dodge dealer because they were "better than Plymouth." I had already figured out that is BS because a Chrysler part no is a Chrysler part no. I bought some parts at Dodge because that dealer was closer to the Naval Station, and some I bought at Plymouth.

But it's not ALWAYS "all the same."

I don't know about "currently" but GMC and Chev trucks were traditionally NEVER the same. There were lots of differences including ball joints, wheel bearings, and brakes, up through the seventies

In 55 when Chev first put v8s into pickups, Chev had a Chev V8 and GMC used Pontiac. I don't think "all Chev" engines were used in GMC until 68?

The point is sometimes there are differences. At one time, Merc Lincoln and Ford all had their own engines.
 
I once knew a guy with a photographic memory who was the parts manager at a Chrysler Plymouth dealer. I needed a bearing for an old flathead Plymouth transmission, but he said they didn't have it in stock. He came back with one for a Chrysler and told me to use it instead. When I asked what the difference was, he answered "About two dollars." He said that some parts were identical in fit, but that certain Chrysler parts were of higher quality...and demanded a premium price.

I have no idea what all those parts were, but his memory was amazing. He almost never had to use a parts book for common parts, as he had everything memorized.
 
ya guys remember back in the 80's???? when THEY were caught using chevy engines in the buick or olds!??? ha

dodge had been considered a slightly more upscale car than Plymouth, at least back in the 60's! ????
 
Plymouths are just better and more valuable..hemi cuda is wayyyyyyyyyyy more valuable then a hemi challenger..roadrunner will always be more valuable then a coronet..same goes for duster vs dart ect ect...:D:D
 
Dodges were the upscale line and the Plymouths were the performance division.
 
In sales, from at least the sixties,Dodge sales always seemed to be better than Plymouth, even tho Plymouth pricing was usually lower. I think it was a public perception that may have harped back to the war,and possibly/ more probably to advertising.
Dodges were usually; bigger,heavier, longer,better-optioned and often more powerful.

IMHO, Plyms were always better looking, lighter, and usually;faster and quicker.WAaaay better looking.lol.
 
Chrysler pecking order was as follows: Chrysler's range from lowest to highest price from the 1940s through the 1970s was Valiant, Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial.[32] Note Chrysler history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler
 
stroked340 said:
Plymouths are just better and more valuable..hemi cuda is wayyyyyyyyyyy more valuable then a hemi challenger..roadrunner will always be more valuable then a coronet..same goes for duster vs dart ect ect...:D:D
Click to expand...

That is true now, but was not when new. Plymouth was considered the sub level division to Dodge. Similar to Ford/Mercury-Chevrolet/Buick.
 
The earlier you look, the more differences you will find. As the decades went by, they all figured out that the fewer specialized parts you needed, the cheaper any combination of cars was to produce. Dodge Brothers cars were mid price point. Plymouth were similar but known as a cheaper line. Chryslers were top of the line price point. AS everyone merged, the parts got less specialized where today it's rare to have anything "unique" or "special" over a wide range of models. By the time of the muscle car years, almost everything in equivilent price levels used the same parts in terms of mechanicals. Engine ratings were slightly difference mostly because of packaging - meaning manifolding and tuning differences. Then there was production line changes vs advertised info, or parts shortages that forced changes.
 
If you go back to the years of the flathead the Desoto and Chrysler had more cubes and was about 2 inches longer than the Plymouth and Dodge was.
 
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