1952 Imperial

I am restoring a 1952 Imperial 4 door sedan. I have a few question about this project.

1. The id plate on the firewall states "Model 55", according to all the refernce books I have found, this stands for a Saratoga, but this car is an Imperial (132"wheelbase). Why the difference?

2. The engine is a 331 hemi, but not the original. The serial number on the block is C551376C. I have not found this number in any reference book. Why?

3. I rebuilt the engine. It runs fine (just a little rich), has good oil pressure. Problem is the main bearing clearance. Main bearings 1 to 4 have clearance .0015, main bearing 5 (rear) has clearance .004+ The machine shop said this was fine since the rear bearing is over two inches wide. I need anouther opinion. Is this acceptable? or should I disassemble and repair? I do not want a broken crank, or spun bearing.

Any help would be appreciated.

John

Hope you are still around for this ...

The C-55 was the 1951-52 Saratoga. The Imperial was C-54.

What is the serial number on the car?

The Saratoga grille was shared with the Windsor (parking lights right under the headlamps), while the Imperial had its own grille (parking lights above the bumper).

Your engine is for a 1952 Chrysler Saratoga - a Canadian Saratoga. "C55" is for a 1951-52 Saratoga, but the "C" at the end makes it a Canadian model. And Chrysler of Canada built the Saratoga in 1952 and imported the 1951 models.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

Serial Number is 7754378

It is an Imperial not a Saratoga.

JB