I hated to do it but today I sold my 1956 Plymouth UTE. Here it is loaded up on the new owners trailer going to it's new home in Davenport Iowa. The guy owns two 1954 Plymouth coupes so this one will fit right into his collection. This was the first time the tires had ever seen snow! It still has the original 1956 Olympic 6-ply 16" Tyres on it since the car only has a little over 20K miles on it. But that gives me the money I need to work on my other UTE. The Desoto is the real keeper since it is the only one known in the states and one of only 275 made ( the Plymouth was one of 3 here and 505 were made)
Does the desoto have the bigger motor then the plymouth or is it the same,they both look like the same body except for the grille. Jeff
here a new 1 its so cool.. link http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/modeloverview?modelid=15004
The Desoto and the Plymouth both had the same motor. 250 CI big block flat head six. They also made a Dodge version that used the same motor. In the states the Desoto and Chrysler used the big six (25" block) and the Dodge Plymouth ued the short block (23" block) But in Australia where these were made they all used the longer block. The engines were made in the Chrysler UK plant and the frames were made at Canadian Chrysler plants and shipped to Australia. The bodies were made locally in the OZ facility using the original tooling from the American plant in 1955-57. The UTE body did not come out in this platform until 1956 and lasted through 1957. The UTE body is made out of a four door sedan at the OZ plant and has a convertible style X frame for rigidity during off road (outback) use. When you remove the inside bed covers you can see the lead seams were the rear doors would have been. I Imported both cars almost 4 years ago and have been driving the Plymouth around confusing the locals since then but the focus is to get the Desoto done so I had to sell the Plymouth. Here is a picture of one in OZ that has been slightly modified and some other shots of Plymouth UTEs and if the Photoshop guys want to play with them
here a nice picture of a new UFE http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/modeloverview?modelid=15004
Where were you on that rarest car post? You would have cleaned me out on a sucker bet about being factory or even 1956 year model. Neat.
I enjoy the fact that they confuse even long time car buffs and even the few that are aware of UTEs have never seen a Chrysler version of one. It is really fun at shows to sit a little ways away from the car and listen to the comments that people make when they see it. The kids are normally the first ones to notice the Right hand drive. A lot of people think it is a cut down wagon and other think it is a postal vehicle. Then I have had people argue with me that it is a 1954, since it has a 54 body. But they did not make the UTEs in this body platform until 1956 and they continued through 1957. I have not been able to determine manufactured date yet so I titled them as 1956s but they may well be 1957 build dates. Maybe some day I will find someone that can give me build dates The Plymouth was number 375 of 505 made and the Desoto is number 137 of 275 made PS they also made the UTEs in truck platform but that is another story
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