Golden Commando 395 Air Cleaner in 1962???

[Wade_62_SptFury]

First time poster, looking for some 1962 or Golden Commando expertise:

Question - can anyone definitively tell me if Chrysler put the Golden Commando 395 air cleaner (see attached photo below) on the 1962 Plymouths? I've had a couple of guys (both very knowledgeable) tell me they did, on some of the 361 4-bbl engines. But the original Plymouth parts book only lists 2 air cleaner options for the V8 4-bbl engines, and I have scoured the internet without finding one single photo or reference.

I have found lots of photos of this air cleaner on the 1958-61 cars....and I've also seen a few 1962 Plymouths that have the two 4-bbl carbs that have the oval gold air filters, those are pretty rare.

I own a 1962 Plymouth Sport Fury with a 361 4-bbl engine, and the "Sport Fury Golden Commando Power" badges on the body that I'm restoring. I don't have the original air cleaner, and I'd LOVE to put this Golden Commando 395 air cleaner on top, if it's anatomically correct. So if anyone has any good references or first-hand knowledge, please let me know. Thanks much -

Wade

 

[Photon440]

Hi Wade, I see you're new here. Why not pop over to the Welcome (new members) forum and tell people about your ride?

 

[Big Bad Dad]

That looks more like a 1960 air cleaner, I believe.

 

[khryslerkid]

Welcome Wade

Pretty sure it's a "C" body thing, 1961 and older. 1962 Plymouth and Dodge downsized to the "B" body platform. Plymouth still carried on the "Golden Commando". Never saw any gold air cleaners on any 1962. Even the dual quad options in '62 had black oval air cleaners.

As a side note, that air cleaner might have been rare for the 1961 model. I personally haven't seen one before.

Here's some search results...
http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=46984

https://nicksgarage.com/aircleaner.htm

Make sure you hit the Welcome Wagon and don't forget some pictures.

 

[tonysrt]

I had a 58 fury with the 350 and 2 4bbls and it had 2 oval gold air cleaners.

 

[Derv]

If I had that air cleaner, I would put it on my 62 sport fury. It’s a keeper!

 

[Slap Stick]

According to allpar.com the Golden Commando was offered in 60s and 61 full size models. The 395 is the torque rating.
And to be precise the downsized 62s were built on the platform that BECAME the B body in 65. They weren't called Bs in 62. Same platform so everyone calls them B bodies but its not entirely correct.

 

[33 IMP]

I have no idea if it is "correct" or not, and I don't care That is a seriously cool aircleaner, and if it was mine I would sure use it!
Who knows, someday someone might use yours to authenticate theirs! LOL!

 

[Dan64]

I don't know if it's correct or not but if you had one of those on your 62' , you would be the coolest kid on the block.

 

[tonysrt]

We used to throw some of the factory stuff away for a nice shiny chrome air cleaner. Who would have thought 50-60 years later people would be looking for that stuff. I lived in the city so I only had one car at a time and no place to store anything.

 

[Wade_62_SptFury]

OK gang, I wanted to report back on my research about whether the 1962 Plymouths came from the factory with this Golden Commando 395 air cleaners. Bottom Line: I don't believe they did, but if there were any, it was likely a small number of one-offs.

I checked in with Nick at Nick's Garage, since he showed that air cleaner correct for 1962. Nick said he wasn't really sure, he couldn't remember where he got that info from, and it was possible those air cleaners only went up to 1961. But he did give me a part number for the air cleaner: 1947364

So I checked my 1962 Parts List book (the big fat catalog). I looked in the air cleaner section (section 14-29), and that air cleaner is not listed anywhere in the book for Plymouths, Dodges or Chrysler Imperials. This section (and most of my book) was printed in March 1963, which should have included any late-year production modifications to the 1962 vehicles.

Finally, I called Joe Suchy, an expert on 1962-65 MoPars. He had never even heard of this air cleaner before, and definitely had not ever seen a 1962 with one on it. He had seen a few '62 examples of the dual 4-barrel carb cars that had the smaller gold oval air cleaners, but not the Golden Commando 395. He suggested I call AMS Obsolete to see if they had one. I gave them a ring - they didn't have one, it didn't show up in any of their 1962 parts books, and they actually went to Nick's Garage website to see what I was talking about. Ironically, Nick had already changed his website to 1958-61 as a result of our conversation.

However.....despite all this lack of evidence, I think we all know that it's still entirely possible Chrysler stuck this air cleaner on some of the 1962's, specifically the Golden Commando 361 4-bbl cars. These cars were deemed "ugly", so Chrysler was having to pull all sorts of tricks to bling them up - different trim packages, number of tail lights, etc. The cars at the beginning of the year looked different than at year end. So I personally think there's a good chance Chrysler added this air cleaner on some of them.

If anyone has some good evidence (first-hand knowledge of factory car, magazine article, etc.) that can validate this theory, I would love to see it, so we can help set the record straight. For now, I've decided to go ahead and put this air cleaner on my 1962 Sport Fury Golden Commando 361 4-bbl car, I think it's just too cool to pass up!

If anyone has a different perspective or more info to add to the pot, please reply and let us know so we can learn together. Thanks much -

Wade

 

[33 IMP]

I know hot rod has archived all their old issues, but i dont know if motor trend has also done so. I would try to find a motor trend
"comparison test" of the 62 plymouth with a 361 compared to a 327 impala and a 352 ford. Maybe late 61/early 62?
If motor trend hasnt archived , maybe give hotrods old issues a look, maybe an engine shot of the all-new 62!