Dodge Mayfair

The Dodge Mayfair was an automobile built by Chrysler Corporation of Canada Ltd. This vehicle was produced solely for the Canadian market from 1953 to 1959. Its American equivalent was the Plymouth Belvedere. It was based on the Plymouth, a vehicle that Chrysler of Canada had been offering since 1935 and Chrysler in Detroit started offering in export markets in 1936.

The Mayfair name first appeared as a 2-door hardtop in the 1951 Dodge Regent series, just as the Belvedere appeared in the Cranbrook series. The 1952 Mayfair adopted the same paint scheme as the 1952 Belvedere with the roof color sweeping down onto the rear trunk.

When the 1953 models were introduced, the Mayfair was again the hardtop in the Dodge Regent series. In April, 1953, though, Chrysler of Canada introduced a new, upscale series to do battle with the Chevrolet Bel Air and Pontiac Laurentian.

Thus the D43-3 Dodge Mayfair was introduced in both hardtop and sedan models. (Contrary to published articles, the D43-3 series was not a wagon). The exterior had the front fender trim extend onto the front door and backup lamps were standard. Interiors were two-tone, in either blue or green, with a matching steering wheel. With the new D43-3 Mayfair, the Regent Mayfair hardtop was dropped.

Under the hood, the engine was increased from 218.0 CID to 228.1 CID. And Chrysler of Canada introduced Hy-Drive on Plymouth and Dodge models. The system was a torque converter that shared its oil with the engine, along with a clutch and a 3-speed manual transmission.

For 1954 the Mayfair used the interiors of the new full-line Plymouth Belvedere. The engine continued to be a 228.1 CID unit, and Hy-Drive continued as an option. For the first time since 1937, Chrysler of Canada offered a convertible in its Plymouth-based models, importing the Mayfair convertible from Detroit, being a Dodge Kingsway Custom convertible with Mayfair nameplates.

The V8 engine came to Chrysler of Canada's low-priced models in 1955. The engines were imported from Detroit with various covers, manifolds, electrical pieces and rubber parts added in Windsor. Only the Mayfair offered the V8. And both Plymouth and Dodge offered PowerFlite, 2-speed automatic with its new dash-mounted control lever. The Hy-Drive unit was eliminated.

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