We’ve never seen a build quite like this; it’s as custom as it gets and the design tastefully departs from the norm without breaking the away from what it means to be a classic hotrod. It’s chopped, but has no top, and it’s powered by a modern 2.4-liter dual overhead camshaft GM engine.
The proud owner of this stellar build is Jerry Pingola out of Mesa, Arizona. Jerry has had the car for eight months and bought it with the bodywork, paint, and interior already complete, but he is the mastermind behind the GM powertrain setup. “This is my 111th car,” Jerry explained. “I’ve done it all. I’ve and had the shoebox Fords, the Mercurys, and the Chevys. This is the first Plymouth I’ve done” Coming into this project with all of his past experience meant that Jerry knew what he was getting into, and he knew what he was going to do.
What attracted Jerry to the car was the uniqueness of what it was. Although it’s a little different now, it started life as a 1951 Plymouth Concord Salesman car. As a salesman’s car, it came with no back seat and was a whole 12-inches longer than the standard coupe.
The salesmen would store their wares in the back and go door to door selling them. They were not available to the public and could only be ordered by the companies, so they are rare for that reason, but they were also driven hard and really had some serious miles put on them. By the time the salesman was done with the car, it was pretty much all worn out.
“There is nothing else like it,” Jerry explained. “I was just out in the Grand Nationals LA roadster show and there was a crowd around it all weekend. With 10,000 cars there, mine was the only one like it and nobody knows what it is when you look at it.” Jerry explained that since this has the 3-tooth grill everyone thinks it’s a Chevy when they first see it, but the Plymouth Concord came with the unique 3-tooth grill like what is seen on this car.
There has obviously been a lot of custom work done to the car inside and out. The exterior features a chopped windshield, a 14-inch extended rear deck, a completely shaved body with no trim or door handles, frenched headlights, and smoothed and tucked bumpers—not to mention the fact that the car did not start life as a topless roadster!
The ride on the car has been improved with front and rear full air suspensions with dual air compressors and a 5-gallon air tank. It also features Fat Man lowered spindles, front disc brakes, and a custom made x-frame. The frame and the ride have been designed so that the car can sit extremely low to the ground for just the right hotrod look.
The interior is all custom with red marine-grade vinyl and red loop carpet. The body color is Mercedes #744 silver and all the bumpers and emblems have been repainted to a PPG jet black chrome. The black on silver creates a nice contrast that really pop with the red interior and the red pinstriping.
The drivetrain on this car is another area that really deviates from the norm and works to make this a unique build. While we’ve seen plenty of small-block Chevy, Hemi, and Buick Nailhead powered hotrods, but this car is powered instead by a more refined, modern engine and features a 2.4-liter dual overhead cam 200-horsepower GM engine linked to a 5-speed 5L40E automatic transmission.
We love the look and style of Jerry’s Plymouth Concord. It was built with just the right mixture of classic hotrod style and modern flair. It’s an example of what you get when you do things exactly how you want, and it was definitely done right. Jerry has been at this for quite some time and knew exactly what he was getting into with this hotrod. ““I’ve been doing this a long time,” Jerry said, “since I was 14, and now I’m 73.”
What do you think of Jerry’s custom Concord? Would you keep the 2.4-liter power plant or use a more classic hotrod engine? We think that the variety in build styles is really what makes our hobby great, and people like Jerry keep things fresh and interesting.
Do you have a cool, custom hotrod that you think is Rod Authority material? If so, we’d love to see it. Shoot us an email with some pictures and a few details and we might just want to feature it in our All Out Custom series!