Curtis Redgap wrote:

I am not an expert. I cannot make any claim to accuracy for the materials that I have used to make these articles. This is intended solely for the enjoyment of MoPar fans including the closet admirers that drive bow tie and blue oval machines. Any resembalance to persons, places, events, things or time is purely coincidental and not intentional. If you like what you are reading, contact Dr. David Zatz, "allpar.com" or leave an email message at: "plymouth4ever@msn.com. Lastly but not least, PLYMOUTH should be allowed to survive, to finally stand on it's own! Contact CHRYSLER directly and let them know that killing PLYMOUTH is a huge marketing mistake!! Thanks for your many kind comments. Mail Letters to: Mr. James Holden, Mr. Jurgen E. Schrempp, Co-Chairmen, DaimlerChrysler AG, World HQ USA, Auburn Hills, Michigan, 48326-2766.

-Curtis Redgap @ Orlando Florida in the 21st Century, year 2000-

Installment X

Compared to the 1962 models, the 1963 Chrysler line was far distant in design. The design group had wrought a miracle. Townsend had fired Virgil Exner in November 1961. At the time, the Newberg-ordered "downsized" cars had been hurriedly rushed to production. When Colbert came back, he was too bogged down fighting his own demons to really have an influence over the car design. However, when Townsend finally got control, he knew that the 1962 models were a complete disaster, so he ordered a crash change for the 1963 model year.

Exner did not really have a hand in the design of the 1962 Plymouth or Dodge. He was totally out of it, recuperating from a massive heart attack. The board failed to appoint anyone to take his spot during his long illness, so the design work sort of went on a remote control. Daily changes were ordered by anyone higher than the designers. As a result, the two cars met the Newberg downsized limits, but their styling was shrunk without the benefit of resizing it as well. Of course, we all know that they were a sales flop. Dealers went howling after Exner's scalp. Townsend had no choice in the end but to terminate Exner's job at Chrysler. However, the new man, Elwood Engle, newly out of the Ford Lincoln design bureau, made no changes in the Exner designed 1963 models! He told Townsend that they were beautiful cars, as is.

And they nearly were. I do take exception with the Plymouth front end styling. With the parking lights out on the end of the front fenders, viewed from the front, I finally figured out what the 1963 Plymouth looked like. All you have to do is watch the Disney Movie, "The Lion King." It looks exactly like the Wart Hog in that movie! As well, the new Dodge Dart and the mid sized Dodge looked bug eyed and sunken chinned as a result of the headlights being podded at the end of the elongated fender. Yet, the rest of the vehicles showed brilliance in the execution of the design. Dodge introduced a new car on the 119 inch wheelbase, effectively moving it back into the niche it occupied prior to the "Newberg" disaster in downsizing. Plymouth was mentioned, however, it would be two more long years that the Plymouth had to suffice with the downsized wheelbase.

Looking at the 1963 Dodge and Plymouth offerings belied the exceptional effort it took to get them to the stores on opening night in late September 1962. Given the lack of marketability of the 1961 cars, and the subsequent profit margin losses, 1963 models were planned for a face lift only! Can you imagine?

Dad was just beside himself in view of the disaster of the 1962 models. I felt like he did. Remember, on dealer introduction day in June 1961, before the sun had set, over 20 dealers had outright quit the Chrysler Corporation. They would never be back!

To add to the misery, close to 200 Dodge and/or Chrysler/Plymouth dealers were forced to close their doors in 1962 due to poor sales, warranty cheating, or just plain lack of interest. To even consider running those 1962 ruptured ducks for another year was sheer insanity! Lynn Townsend, at least at first, listened to the dealer input. He knew for certain that he had a disaster on his hands. He did not intend to add to it.

His first step in July 1961 was to stop the "S" styling for the 1962 Chrysler and the Imperial. He briefly had entertained the concept of resurrection of the DeSoto with the "S" styling concept that Exner had drawn. He just couldn't do it. It was just too far out, and plain ugly. Wisely, given the marketing department's lack of ability to sell the car, he let DeSoto rest.

He recognized that there was no way he could pull back the Newberg ordered "downsized" Plymouth and Dodge, so he concentrated on their appearances for 1963. After being in the "crash" styling mode to get the 1962 models downsized, Townsend turned around and ordered complete remakes on the Plymouth and Dodge for 1963. Suddenly, it was a "crash" program all over again! What Exner had set for Plymouth in 1963, was completely changed, with the exception of the front end, (which to me looks like the face on view of a Warthog) all the way to the rear bumper. All new!

To add to that, the Dodge was totally changed, including the wheelbase, which grew from 116 inches to 119 inches, as Exner had originally intended! The stylists, accustomed now to pressure, moved with ease, speed, and grace. So much so, that when Townsend gave in to pressure and fired Exner in November 1961, the 1963 models were all in place. Not bad for 5 1/2 months of work!

To top it off, Dodge introduced a new size car which replaced the Valiant clone Lancer. Based on a 111 inch wheelbase the new "Dart," although sort of bug eyed, was a hot seller at the dealerships. It came in the 170, 270 and GT models. Two doors, 4 doors, Wagons and Convertibles were also offered. The chassis was pure Chrysler, with torsion bars up front and leaf springs in the rear. You got a choice of either the 170 cubic inch six or the 225. Both engines could be backed by a three speed manual or the aluminum cased Torqueflite. Prices ranged from about $1,980 for a 2 door 170 sedan to $2,350 for the GT Convertible.

Opening night was full of excitement. Ford and General Motors had restyled their cars for 1963, and for the most part, Ford looked like it had a winner on its hands. Chevrolet's new SS models were also sharp. As alternatives to the Ford and Chevrolet, Plymouth and Dodge did very well compared to the previous three years!

Dad was at the dealership, but his heart was not in the festivities. Continued pressures from Highland Park to bring all the dealers into some sort of conformity, whose business would be dictated from Detroit just wrangled Dad no end. Fiercely independent, reliance on anyone was totally out of the question for him. With grandpa passing away, Dad lost a lot of heart for focusing on matters that were the daily grind of owning a car store. More and more work got pushed to the General Manager. Finally, just after Christmas 1962, Mrs. Weed, the cornerstone of the administrative functions of the store announced her intention to retire on New Year's Day, 1963. Mr. Greene, our warranty administrator was having fits as well, so he also decided to retire along with Mrs. Weed.

One of the greatest things that Lynn Townsend did was to put a warranty on the 1963 models that was unprecedented. Every new 1963 Chrysler built vehicle was guaranteed for 5 years or 50,000 miles!

It generated unbelievable floor traffic. We had gotten 1,000 tri-folded flyers explaining the new Chrysler 5/50 warranty. They were all gone within a couple hours on opening night! Oh, there were some exceptions, and a few clauses that let Chrysler out in the event of nontraditional use (racing) or non service intervals, however, for the most part, it was a good warranty, with few problems to it. It also forced the service departments to pre-inspect every vehicle prior to sale and send that back to Chrysler. They were literally breathing down the necks of every service department to see that the provisions of the warranty were enforced to the letter. Stacks of rejections were coming back to Mr. Greene. Not for bad work, but for administrative details that were pretty picky.

Again marketing seemed lost on what to call the "new" standard sized Dodges, which rode on the 119 inch wheelbase. It is surmised to keep in line with the big Dodge 880, numbers were used to designate the models. The base model was the "330." The mid range was the "440" (a portent of the future engine size?) and of course the top was the Polara. Engines ranged from the 225 slant six to the 426 RamCharger V-8.

Although the 426 was offered, it was not meant in any way, shape, or form as a normally driven street engine. After a wonderful year in drag racing circles with the 62 track terrors, the 426 cubic inch "stage III" V-8 continued Mopar's complete domination of the drag strips. Plymouth and Dodge racers broke records at virtually every level they competed. Of course, the 5/50 warranty did NOT apply to these cars. Prices ranged from $2,400 for a sedan to $3,200 for the Polara 500 Convertible.

The big Dodge was the Custom 880, which rode on a 122 inch wheelbase. The 1963 880 got its own front clip, after using a 1961 front clip on a Chrysler Newport body in 1962. It was still pure Chrysler from the firewall back, however, the new front styling did lend a look all of its own. Available as a 2 door, 4 door, station wagon or convertible, the 880 came standard with the 361 cubic inch V-8 and two barrel carburetor. The top engine was the RB 413 cubic inch V-8 borrowed from the Chrysler stable.

The 1963 Chryslers were completely restyled. All the models were now built on the 122 inch wheelbase, eliminating the 126 inch size. Considering what Exner had done to the 1962 models, his last efforts, the 1963s, were stunners in their own right. They represented some of the finest styling that ever came out of Detroit. Models were the Newport, the sport edition "300," the New Yorker, and the limited production Letter series the "J." The "J" was available only in a 2 door hardtop. When Indianapolis Speedway came calling for a pace car, Chrysler had to use a sport edition of the 300 since a convertible was not available in the Letter series. Unique to the 300 series was the 383 cubic inch V-8, that was not offered in any other Chrysler, and the 426 cubic inch single 4 barrel V-8 that developed 375 horsepower. As well, you could order the full race versions of the 426 in the 300 series, if you wanted to try and race the 3,900 pound sedan! It is surmised that the 426 four barrel powered the Indy Pace car, however, the 2,187 replica convertibles were equipped with more mundane powerplants.

One good thing finally came up from the Valiant line and that was the Bendix brake system. At last, the big Chrysler had stopping power to match its go power. One magazine that tested the 300 "J" took the big sedan through a series of torturous brake tests from high speeds. On the 8th near panic stop, the pedal finally faded to near the floor. However, as reported, after a couple minutes cool down, they were right back, ready for another series of stops. Stops of 32 feet from 30 miles an hour and 167 feet from 60 miles an hour were recorded. The brake drums were of cast iron, 12 inches by 3 inches wide. They were heavily flanged on the rims, and deeply finned all the way around. This held their shape and shed heat quickly. Certainly, they were not the police package brakes, however, they were miles above anything coming out of Detroit at the time. Two engine options were available on the "J." Both came from the 413 RB V-8. One was a 340 horse and the other was a hot 390 horsepower engine.

Only 400 letter cars were built in 1963. We did not sell any. Dad took a Newport 2 door hardtop with a 383 two barrel and power everything for his car. We tried mightily to talk Mom into trading her 1960 Valiant, but again she refused, even though the 1963 restyle was absolutely breath taking.

The Imperial models still had those silly free standing headlight things. The rear had been cleaned up and at least the tail lights looked like they belonged to the car, instead of standing up like an egg on a fence post. For the first time, Imperial had no models priced less than $5,000. The convertible model were pushing the $6,000 line. The line did do much better in 63 than 62.

The 1963 Plymouth were as divorced from the 1962 models as Elizabeth Taylor was from Richard Burton. For the first time in a long time, Plymouth was generating its own level of excitement. We had several convertibles and 2 door hard tops in the Sport Fury line. They went on opening night! It was great. The top engine available for standard street use was the 383 cubic inch V-8 that put out 330 horsepower. Unless you were going racing, such as my brother did. His use of the store sponsored 1962 Savoy with the 413 short ram had turned him into a professional driver! With advice from Cousin Jimmy, and the backing of my Dad's money, my brother was able to garner a nice income from racing. He even landed a couple sponsors from Quaker State's local distributor, and Goodyear, and Racemaster tires. Dad may have bought the cars, but my brother got all the income to race them on his own.

We knew we were going to have a good year, when Mrs. Beachum came in and got her new Plymouth, trading in her absolutely cherry 1962 model. She rarely made comments about the cars, but she did like the 1963 styling. She was gratified that we had gotten rid of the "fins" she had not liked. Plymouth continued with its models, the Savoy, the Belvedere, and the Fury. Standard engine was the 225 slant six on all except the Sport Fury Convertible, which was mandated a 318 cubic inch V-8. Prices ranged from $2,450 for a sedan to $3,100 for a decked out Sport Fury.

The Plymouth Valiant was restyled for 1963. It was one of the better efforts of Exner, no doubt. It had character, lines, and a presence all its own, in a conservative package that looked more expensive than it really was. The models were the V100, the V200 and the Signet 200. There were 2 doors, 4 doors, wagons and a convertible. Standard engine was the 170 cubic inch slant six. Prices ranged from $1,800 to $2,450 for a decked out convertible. They were good sellers, and very well built, able to take daily beatings and keep right on going.

If you wanted to go drag racing, a 2 door Plymouth Savoy with no radio, heater, undercoating, rear window cranks, rear seat, floor matting, glove box, Valiant sized brakes, thin seats, and lightened suspension was the hot ticket on the strips for 1963. Coming in early spring were the "lightweights," where the fenders, hood, and other front end components were made out of aluminum, shaving off close to 200 pounds of weight while looking innocently "stock." My brother was literally tearing them up at the strips. About the only real competition he got was from other MoPars. Although Chevrolet in the Spring introduced the 427 "rat," or "mystery" motor. In a well driven Chevy, it would be neck and neck with the MoPars. On the hot rod circuits, Ford was not up to speed, even with its new 427 FE block. They just didn't seem to have the torque to be able to drag those heavy Galaxies down the 1/4 mile.

Plymouth set 8 new records in the National Hot Rod Association books in 1963. My brother managed to earn close to $40,000. In 1963, he was living good.

Over in NASCAR, however, things were completely different. Petty Engineering received two new 1963 Savoy bodies. Chrysler assisted in pumping up the 426 cubic inch V-8 with the "stage III" engine. It was a substantial increase in power. Jim Paschal was recruited to drive the number "42" Plymouth. He alternated this job with USAC driver Jim Hurtibise. In a surprise move, Maurice Petty rebuilt one of the 1962 cars with 1963 sheet metal, and slapped the number "41" on it. He drove in a couple races with it.

Shortly before the 1963 Daytona 500 in February, Ford hit the streets with an absolute killer body style on its two door hardtop. That combined with the high revving new 427 FE big block gave Ford the edge in NASCAR. Chevrolet initially sent its entry down with the 427 "mystery" engine. Junior Johnson went out and blew the entire field away with a blistering 166 mile an hour lap. However, Junior held a terrible secret. At the last minute, fearing reprisals from the Manufacturer's Association, and a backlash from NASCAR, since the new 427 was NOT a regular production item, Chevrolet pulled the engines! One day prior to the race, Junior Johnson had no back up engine, and no parts to fix what he had.

When the dust settled, Junior had blown up and had to leave the race. Richard Petty was sixth, with five Fords crossing the finish line in front of him! Hurtibise went out on lap 113 with a sour engine. And old 41 with Paschal lasted 72 laps when the ignition blew apart.

Ford didn't have it all its own way in 1963. On the short tracks that made up the NASCAR circuit at the time, the Petty Plymouths were the nemesis for Fords. Chevrolet was in the running, but usually faded, with no factory support. At the end of the 1963 NASCAR season, it should have been Richard Petty's first championship! He won 14 races, scored 30 top fives, and 34 top tens. However, it was not to be! Amazingly, Joe Weatherly scored more points than Richard for less wins! And to make it even more stunning, Weatherly did not have a regular ride in 1963! He drove for eight, that's right, 8 different teams! To put even more spin on this tale, the times he did win were with teams no one had ever heard of before or since! It was just that time, the way NASCAR scored its races, which allowed Weatherly to outpoint Richard. For the third time, Richard Petty was second in NASCAR. However, the rumor mill was hot with speculation, that Chrysler had big help on the way for 1964.

Over at Nichels engineering, my cousin was not having a good time. All his developments were being usurped by Nichels without getting him either recognition or money. He contacted Ronnie Householder, then head of Chrysler's racing efforts. Householder practically sneered at Jimmy when he offered to sell his stuff directly to Chrysler. Knowing my cousin as I do, Householder may have had his reasons, such as contractual obligations, however, he didn't use very good judgment in dealing with people. Jimmy had no two good words to say for him or Nichels engineering after that. He simply packed up and headed for home. However, his reputation had preceded him. He no sooner hit the front porch at the North Carolina homestead, when the phone was ringing. Cotton Owens needed a red hot engine builder, and he wanted Jimmy to head up the effort. Only then did Jimmy discover that Chrysler was rushing to build a Hemispherical head on the 426 cubic inch RB V-8. He, of course, accepted the Owens offer. In return, he was given a state of the art engine facility, and his own course of action to make power. One of the efforts of Cotton Owens was sharing the wealth with his son-in-law, Richard Petty. Jimmy didn't protest this at all! At that point he was simply just grateful to be doing what he loved, getting paid way beyond his expectations, beating Householder at his own game, and making lots of experience for his own efforts in the near future.

The fleet picture looked good for 1963. Dodge had finally captured the essence of Plymouth and was offering essentially the same packages as Plymouth. They did have an advantage in the low priced field due to their longer wheelbase. Taxi fleets looked long and hard at the Dodge Taxi Specials. A lot of them were sold. However, the old reliable one, Plymouth still held sway in a lot of fleet managers hearts. Plymouth used their smaller wheelbase as an advantage, bragging that it handled better, and turned shorter than its brother at Dodge.

By now, we were used to the State Police to come calling for their annual vehicle run offs. Police Packages were offered from Plymouth and both sizes of the Dodge cars. Wisely Dodge fleet made sure that the Pursuit package was not withheld from any size car. Fairly scarce this year was the Chrysler police package, the Enforcer. Not much seems to be known about it, and no one really knows if any were built or sold. I remember seeing literature and parts references to it, but I never saw one. I did see the Dodge 880, 330, and Plymouth Pursuits. They all went to the State Capital.

Unbelievably, the whole world seemed to go Ford for 1963. From L.A. to N.Y., everyone was running the Ford cars this year! It wasn't because of the tests either! Anyway you looked at it, Plymouth slapped the rest of the cars silly. 0 to 60 took 7.7 seconds. 1/4 mile was ripped through in 15.9 seconds and 91 miles an hour. Observed top speed was 126 miles an hour. The police package brakes could not be made to fade out, taking every abuse that could be thrown at them, and still hauled the cars down, straight, true and even.

The Ford took 8.9 seconds to 60. It went through the 1/4 mile in 16.9 seconds at 86 miles an hour. Top speed was observed at 118 miles an hour. It almost was disqualified on the brake tests. Chevrolet was good, near the Plymouth, but again, lack of a good 3 speed automatic hurt it. In all fairness, however, the Chevrolet that the troopers tested had the 340 horsepower 409 Z-ll block. It ran very well. In the braking tests, it actually outstopped the Plymouth in shorter distances from low speeds. The 340 horse engine was close to Plymouth's 330 horse 383. Had they tested the next step up in the Z-11 block, they may well have run Chevrolet for the first time in their history! The 400 horsepower 4 barrel, dual exhaust 409 Z-11 had 11.1 compression. It was a screamer. The Iowa Highway Patrol tests showed that it ripped through the 0 to 60 test in 6.6 seconds! It blew through the 1/4 mile at 15.7 seconds at 89 miles an hour. Top speed as recorded on radar was 142 miles an hour!! If this car had the later TurboHydramatic 3-speed transmission, it would have eaten Plymouth and Dodge alive! There was another engine that was also available in the Z-11 family. This 409 had two four barrel carbs, and was listed at a mere 425 horsepower. Right. This same engine gave the 413 short ram drag racers fits across the country..... and it was available as a Police Pack!! Imagine that!

My Uncle came in to get his bid submission, however, Ford beat us out by over 300 dollars. They were making no profit at all on those cars. The only winner we got was the Sheriff's department. They took their own bid for 250 new Plymouths. They were Savoy 4 door cars with 383 hi-performance V-8, Torqueflite, L.A. handling package (sway bars), power steering, brakes, windows (!) and big brakes. They came through with the traditional "police strip" paint job of white roof and doors, with the rest being black.

The State Police Contract called for Ford Custom 300 4 door models with the 390 cubic inch Police Interceptor V-8. They had Cruise-O-Matic, limited slip rear ends, no radios, and the poorest brakes of any lot of cars they ever had. This is what was said of the "390." Three stabs at the brake pedal from 90 will result in the biggest crash you ever had. As well, they were nose heavy, and plowed into corners whereby snapping the accelerator would result in even MORE plowing, instead of bringing it around to neutral action, like the MoPars.

My Uncle's experience with the 1963 fleet of Fords was fairly good. Maintenance wise, they were not bad. Electrically, without the alternator, (they were still using generators), you couldn't use the warning lights, siren, and radio without losing the engine, since all the power would die! The majority of the police officers didn't like the way they handled. Many a pursuit was ended by the Sheriff's office which could run the offender down in their Plymouths while the city police Fords couldn't keep up. Even the Troopers took to calling the Sheriff's deputies to assist when their Fords were obviously not up to the task.

Corporate wise, Chrysler, under Townsend began to more and more consolidate things. Townsend, as an accountant, had the desire to get everything lined up, neat and orderly, just like a clean ledger page. The problems began to develop when he attempted to bring all the dealers into one network, so that they would all resemble one another, act like one another, and supposedly, behave like one another. It was a good idea, but, like legislation designed to control human nature, it just won't work. We will always have gambling, prostitution, moonshine, marijuana, and untaxed cigarettes. It just is, and that is all. The same with dealers. It is their show, and they will run it their way. In his efforts, Townsend's minions went too far. They figured they had a mandate to bring forth change, and to those that resisted their efforts, bad things began to happen to them. Yes, we were one of those places.

Corporate real estate wanted us to replace the original show room with a modern design that was about three times as large, and all glass encased. They also wanted us to divest ourselves of the body shop operation, the tow service, and the independent gasoline and service areas! Didn't fit into the Chrysler corporate image. You can imagine what my Dad told those guys, as he nearly physically threw them off the lot. In a secondary effort, they wanted Dad to give up the Dodge car and truck sales so that they could put in a second store using Dodge. They offered to let him be the "Manager." He practically blew a gasket that day.

I didn't realize how much pressure my Dad was under. Not only from Chrysler, but from his own self imposed regimen. He sorely missed his father, and now two of the original family were going to retire. Mrs. Weed, and Mr. Greene were the oldest, and the best. They had been with grandpa when he opened the store. I know now that Dad felt he could not function in the same way, and was given to serious thoughts of his own "retirement." To top that off, our old family attorney, Mr. Crossbridges, had elected to let his son run his office. His son was no where the man that his father had been. Whatever had happened to that boy's upbringing surely turned a lot of old customers off, including us. I couldn't stand the man, and considered him a spoiled little punk. The fact is, that the relationship between grandpa and Mr. Crossbridges had saved our family's business more than once. I don't believe the kid ever grasped that concept, instead he focused only on the money. It was a good thing that his father amassed a fortune, because as an attorney, he lost more business than he ever gained.

When the annual Christmas party came for 1963, it was an all out blow out. Dad acted out his usual part, however, I knew it was with false bravado. A week later, he would hand out two huge bonus items to two esteemed, trusted, very valued, and deeply loved loyal employees as they retired. Dad openly wept as they said their good-byes.

We had a far better year in 1963, than we had in a long time, sales wise, that is. We sold 14 Imperials. Chryslers were a bit off compared to 1962. I think the new style may have set some people back, although, 1963 was a good looking car in it's own rite. We moved 128 of them. For the Dodge cars, the Custom 880 still looked back at the 1962 Chrysler Newport styling. It didn't hurt. We sold 30 of them. The standard size Dodge moved at 235 units. Not bad at all. The new compact Dart was a very good seller in it's first year. We found places for 184 of them. The big story was the 1963 Plymouth. With it's good looks, it sold very well, with 263,292 units, pushing it's production up to fifth place nationally, displacing Buick, and close on the tail of Pontiac. We happily saw 268 of them leave our store. The Valiant with its new styling was a hot one, selling 225,156 cars for 1963. We sold 315 of them. Grand total for 1963: 1,174 cars, not counting the fleet and sub sales we had. Yes, we were a big frog, in a pond that was growing smaller. Our lily pad was about to sink, however.

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