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where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:00 pm
by rogerh
Back in August, Dick went to look at a SF cvt in Pompano Beach. Over-priced at 50K, he headed home, stopping in at a museum of sorts where another cvt resides. Now if I have this straight, that cvt had a data plate (M292*****), indicating it was built at Plant 2, which is the Dodge Plant.
I looked into this: the Dodge plant, or Dodge Main was in Hamtramck, MI.
This is proof that cvts were made in at least three separate plants..Newark, Delaware- Evansville, Indiana- and Hamtramck, Michigan.
There is a great article about Dodge Main at www.allpar.com/corporate/dodge-main.html

There's a guy in Vancouver, CN by the name of "Bill", who has access to huge volumes of information on prodcution numbers and such. He contributes to the ForwardLook site on occasion. Anybody know who I mean, or how to contact him?

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:12 pm
by Matthew Keij
I know the 2 cvt's that popped up on ebay a while ago both has a VIN starting with M293 so they are both build at the Evansville plant.

Tom Gerrard: M293
Dick Koch: M255.
Tom Fox: M253
John Q: M253
Tim Bakers: M293
Bernie Brouillet: M293
Thomas White: M293
Ebay: M293
Ebay: M293
White for sale in the Netherlands: M293
Secret: M293

Evansville build M293: 8
Evansville build M253: 2

Newark build M255: 1

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:56 pm
by rogerh
It is silly of me to ask,becasue I should know, but where was YOUR cvt built, Matthew?

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:06 pm
by Matthew Keij
Just checked the old VIN, M253 so it's an Evansville build car.
Sport Fury is M294 so it's now an LA build car

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:40 pm
by rogerh
A few more facts on the Evansville assembly plant.
Their quota was one Plymouth each minute off the line.
The plant closed at the end of the 1959 run, due to the change-over to uni-body cars. (Chrysler built a new unibody plant in St Louis, MO.) So the person owning the highest number '59 Plymouth would be the last one ever out of that plant.
But according to JQ's explanation of VINs, there would be no way to determine which was the last '59 cvt. built in the U.S.

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:56 pm
by Steve Storey
Mine is M293-Evansville. Will check out my dataplate next time i check on the old girl.

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:58 pm
by Matthew Keij
Thanks Steve!!

So far Dick Koch is the only one with a weird convertible :lol:

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:06 pm
by rogerh
and remember he SAW another cvt with a firewall tag...maybe Florida has many wierd things?

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:26 pm
by Faulkner
Matthew Keij wrote:Guess we need to VIN numbers on all cvt's. Dan can put us in contact with all the vert owners probably
I'm not sure if I have their current email addresses, Matthew - but if you email me a list of names, I'd be happy to privately email you back what I have.

Meanwhile, I think I'll ask Jim Benjaminson (Plymouth Owner's Club) to review this thread and ask him if he can comment.

Dan

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:47 pm
by Denver 59 Fin Convert
rogerh wrote:Back in August, Dick went to look at a SF cvt in Pompano Beach. Over-priced at 50K, he headed home, stopping in at a museum of sorts where another cvt resides. Now if I have this straight, that cvt had a data plate (M292*****), indicating it was built at Plant 2, which is the Dodge Plant.
I looked into this: the Dodge plant, or Dodge Main was in Hamtramck, MI.
This is proof that cvts were made in at least three separate plants..Newark, Delaware- Evansville, Indiana- and Hamtramck, Michigan.
There is a great article about Dodge Main at http://www.allpar.com/corporate/dodge-main.html

There's a guy in Vancouver, CN by the name of "Bill", who has access to huge volumes of information on prodcution numbers and such. He contributes to the ForwardLook site on occasion. Anybody know who I mean, or how to contact him?
Roger is this "Chryco Man" on the FL? He always seem to know a lot more the a lot of people on Chrysler Mfg in Canada and US.

John Q.

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:07 am
by rogerh
Could be. I will cross-reference. The guy I am looking for is named Bill Watson.

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:07 am
by Matthew Keij

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:30 am
by rogerh
Many thanks, Matthew. Coincidentally, he just replied to the question I put on the Forwardlook site, and from that I got his email address.
in his reply, he questions the Dodge Assembly Plant (#2 seen as fourrth number on VIN) was Dodge Main in Hamtramck, so I just sent him an email asking him to PLEASE contribute any information he can on where "Dodge Assembly Plant" was, and which plants assembled the convertibles. :)

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:07 am
by Denver 59 Fin Convert
Dodge Main is the old Hamtramck assembly plant in Hamramck Michigan, originally built by Horace and John Dodge and then when Walter P bought them out became a Chrylser Plant. My Cuda Convert was built there. My uncle worked there in 1968 bullding Chargers at the time.
The plant was torn down in the 90's for GM's new Poletown plant that is half in Hamtramck and Half in Detroit. It was very old and not very efficient due to its many floors of assembly compared to modern plants of today,

John Q.

Re: where were cvts made?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:33 am
by Matthew Keij
Roger, do you still have a pic of that M292 VIN?
I've never seen it on pics so i can't confirm this.

You said it was a vert in Florida. Is it the one that Dick Koch checked out with the tan top?