For 1956, Plymouth introduced a fresh take on the sensational Forward Look design theme of 1955 called Flight Sweep styling. Now with fins!
When the 1956 Plymouths were introduced in October of 1955, the division was on a solid roll. Sales had shot up 52 percent in ’55, largely on the strength of the Forward Look, the bold corporate design theme developed by styling chief Virgil Exner. For 1956, the Forward Look received an update called Flight Sweep in which all five Chrysler brands received tail fins. The Plymouth version sported fins that, in retrospect, are remarkably similar to those featured on the 1957 Chevrolet one year later. And while the tail fins of the ’57 Chevy eventually became an avatar of ’50s pop culture, many will say the Plymouth’s fins are more handsomely executed.
Mechanically, the ’56 Plymouth was largely a carryover, with a conventional ladder frame supporting coil-independent suspension at the front and splayed leaf springs at the rear, a Chrysler trick to increase rear roll resistance without increasing the spring rate. The corporation’s signature torsion-bar front suspension would be introduced one year later. Wheelbase was an industry standard 115 inches—the same as its two competitors in the low-priced field, Ford and Chevrolet, give or take a half inch.
The big change in hardware for ’56 was Plymouth’s first V8. While Plymouth had offered a V8 in ’55, it was borrowed from Dodge, and this engine was carried forward briefly into ’56. Early in the model year Plymouth received its own V8, along with a dedicated plant on Mound Road in Warren, Michigan, in the suburbs of Detroit, to produce it in numbers sufficient for Plymouth’s greater volume.
While there were other V8s with polyspherical combustion chambers at Chrysler, this was indeed the A-series Poly V8 (internal name A479) that served the corporation through 1967. Standard displacement for ’56 was 277 cubic inches, with 187 or 200 hp in factory tune. Eventually this engine family would be updated to become the LA-series V8, which remained in production in various forms through 2003. Even the Dodge Viper V10 can trace its ancestry to the A-series V8.
Belvedere Sport Sedan
The ’56 Product line initially consisted for four models: the bare-bones Plaza, mid-level Savoy, deluxe Belvedere, and Suburban wagon. The Plaza was almost painfully austere, stripped of exterior chrome, while Belvederes usually sported Plymouth’s Sportone two-tone paint scheme with distinctive chrome separator trim.
The hot new body style for ’56 was the Sport Sedan, a four-door pillarless hardtop available only in Belvedere trim (above). Like the other Chrysler divisions, the Plymouth Sport Sedan used a clever scissor-window setup to stow the two-piece glass inside the rear doors. (You can see it in action here.) However, cost-conscious Plymouth buyers far more often chose the conventional post sedan due to the price difference: $2,109 versus $2,281. Actually, the best-selling Plymouth for ’56 was the four-door sedan in mid-range Savoy trim at $2,025.
Savoy Club Sedan
In January of 1956 at the Chicago Auto Show, Plymouth introduced the Fury, the brand’s first dedicated performance model. Exclusive features included an aggressively tuned 303 CID V8, heavy-duty clutch, suspension and brakes, and broad, impossible-to-miss side trim in embossed and gold-anodized aluminum. Actually, we previously devoted a separate feature to the ’56 Fury you can visit here. That’s how we do things at Mac’s Motor City Garage: in no particular order.
The 1956 model year was another successful one for Plymouth, though total volume slipped 18 percent to around 572,000 cars. In the Chrysler brands and throughout the industry, production began to tick downward in ’56, possibly foreshadowing the 1957-58 recession. For 1957 the Chrysler Corporation, Plymouth included, introduced another fresh take on the Forward Look that would shake up the Motor City.
Belvedere Sport Coupe 
1955 and 1956 Plymouths were very good looking designs and a long way from some of Chryslers far out stuff in the early ’60s.
In early ’56, Plymouth offered a dealer installed High Performance Package for $750.00, included dual four-barrels, air cleaners, aluminum intake, big bumpstick kit, hand choke and linkage. 1956 is also the first year for Chrysler’s pushbutton “typewriter” transmission shifter across the board.
Speaking of transmissions, Chrysler’s infamous Kokomo transmission factory also opened in ’56, where the flat spot on their rooster comb was born destined to unleash “false park” phenomena on the motoring world in 1966- with a trail of blood that continues to this day…
“False Park” on any ’66 & newer Torqueflight is the phantom detent felt during shifting from Reverse to Park when the parking pawl is abutted on an output shaft annulous gear tooth (not engaged). This false detent unforunately positions the manual valve in the valve body in a position that can allow a slow pressurization of the Reverse hydraulic curcuit when the engine is idling. With parking pawl not engaged, soon you hear the click click click as you watch your Dakota take off backwards.
In 1990 after the A500/A518 trans met the corporate steering column (replaced Saginaw column that year), caused one of the statistically most deadly safety-related defects documented in NHTSA history…
Besides my Powerflite equipped 56 Plymouth (which does not have a “park” position), I have several Torqueflite equipped cars, including two post 66 examples that I’ve owned more than 30 years. Never heard of or experienced a “false park.”
Good info on the ’56 Plymouth NASCAR package, filled in many blanks thank you sir.
Pre-’90 Chrysler column shift steering columns masked the false detent pretty well with a large gate and shift lever lift force between Reverse and Park on the PRNDL (“prindle”) whereas the corporate steering column introduced in 1990 didn’t. You could shift it to the false detent 100/100 times, delayed reverse rollaway times of up to 15 minutes documented with engine idling. Chrysler false park has been investigated over and over again by NHTSA since at least 1979…
I never knew about this, having spent much of the ’90s driving Mopars of 1981-96 vintage. But all were floor shift and half were manual.
OK, my experience is almost exclusively pre-1990 (pre-1970 actually), except that I did once own a 1994 Ram truck with automatic. Never had a problem with that one, either, but I don’t doubt your knowledge that such a problem existed.
I know that Jim Benjaminson in his book, “Plymouth 1945-1959” mentions this high performance engine package and claims it cost $750, but I have an actual Plymouth “Confidential Price Bulletin” dated June 18, 1956, which shows a factory retail price of $243.45 for a dealer installed engine package for 277 and 303 inch V8s, which includes two four barrel carbs, intake manifold, hotter cam, new tappets, linkage and two air cleaners. Bumps the power of a 277 to 230, and the 303 inch Fury to 270. The dealer cost was $185.
There was also what I assume is a NASCAR package which, besides the two four barrel carbs, includes either a high speed or high torque cam, dual valve springs, low restriction exhaust manifolds, 2.5 inch exhaust pipes with matching mufflers, 3.8″ fuel line, 20 gallon gas tank, 12 inch Center Plane brakes front and rear, sway bar, 15 x 6.5 inch wheels and HD manual trans, Retail price for all this was $694.10, dealer cost was $527.50
I should add that the Confidential Price Bulletin for the “NASCAR” (?) package was dated March 6, 1956, and was described as a “Supplement” to a January 18, 1956 Bulletin which I do not have.
Why is the 1956 Plymouth Fury not mentioned? Incomplete article!
MCG already did a separate & very good article on the 1956 Fury, & included a link to it in this article.
Was the 4 door hardtop a late intro as well? I ask because one of the more widely available JoHan promo model reissues is the ’56 Plymouth, and is of a Belvedere 4 door sedan complete with thick B pillar. I downgraded mine to a slightly incorrect Savoy, still with the Belvedere’s flookerangs on the rear fenders.
It’s not clear so I dodged the question here. Later sources say the 4D HT was a late intro, but I couldn’t find any primary sources to confirm it. Meanwhile, it’s featured prominently in all the catalog materials published at season intro, while the Fury is not. Could be it was launched on time but slow into production, just as a guess. Any clarification would be appreciated.
I don’t know that this clarifies anything, but I have a press release dated October 19, 1955 that shows a picture of “New Plymouth 4-Door Hardtop,” accompanied by additional info, calling it “an entirely new model introduced by Plymouth.” Of course just because this press release was issued doesn’t mean that they actually had produced any at the time.
I still drive a 1955 Plymouth with the more understated fin-tail lights. 56 Plymouth fins grew large and ugly. Yes, 57 Chevy copied the large fin look from 56 Plymouth. 56 Chevy copied the front and rear forward leaning look from 55 Plymouth. 55 56 Plymouth v8s are powerful engines for their day. 55 Plymouth was the only American production car to earn a design award from an independent organization. All good.
Sooo cool, ya gotta love Chrysler of the day.