Right Church Wrong Pew

It was a case of right church, but wrong pew. The “church” is the ’48 Chrysler we’re working on and the pew is a 1946-1948 Plymouth sedan in Siegel Auto & Recycling in Ogdensburg, Wis.

We discovered a fracture in one of the Chrysler’s window cranks and started looking for a replacement. John Diermeirer of John’s Custom Auto Body in Manawa thought he had seen a ’48 Chrysler in Siegel Auto & Recycling. But the car turned out to be a Plymouth instead of a Chrysler.

Well, old 1940s Chryslers and Plymouths do look somewhat alike. After all, Chryslers and Plymouths are both Chrysler Corp.—or Mopar—cars. That’s why you can say they’re both in the same church.

Plymouth was Chrysler Corp.’s low-rung car and Chryslers are on the next to highest rung. So, the two Mopars go in different pews in the Chrysler church. The widow cranks from both cars are similar in design, but not identical. If you’re conducting a proper restoration, you don’t use Plymouth parts on a Chrysler.

So the door handles are going to stay on the car in the salvage yard and the car is going to stay there, too. At least for a while. Siegel Auto & Recycling is willing to sell it as a parts car, though. If you know someone who needs it, you might want to tell them it’s there. Anyone interested can call Siegels at 1-866-297-0710.