There’s a Hemi in that thing! 
A little hemi - 241 CID. I wonder how that thing could rev…
I remember when the 1953 Dodge hit the show rooms. The new V8 engine should have made the 1953 Dodge a winner. It’s closest competitors did not have a modern OHV V8. The 1953: Pontiac had its inline 6 cylinder and inline 8 cylinder flat head engines. The Mercury had the flathead V8 that was based on the Ford V8 introduced in 1932.
What Dodge lacked was a fully automatic transmission. Dodge only offered the “lift and clunk” GyroMatic and GyroTorque transmissions. There was still a clutch pedal that was used to put the transmission into drive, low, neutral or reverse. In drive, one accelerated to a speed above 12 mph, lifted one’s foot off the accelerator, and the transmission then “clunked” into direct drive. The difference between GyroMatic and GyroTorque was that the GyroMatic used a fluid coupling which did not multiply the torque while the GyroTorque utilized a torque converter. On Dodgers equipped with GyroTorque, the engine and transmission shared the same oil. The GyroTorque was only offered with the V8 engine. The V8 engine was only available on the too trim line Coronet and was not available on the Meadowbrook. Pontiac was available with the Hydramatic automatic transmission which was first offered in 1948. Mercury had its MercOmatic which became available in 1951.
I really didn’t care for the stubby styling of the 1953 Dodge. For a few dollars more the 1953 Oldsmobile 88 came equipped with an OHV V8 engine, an up to date 12 volt electrical system as opposed to the 6 volt system on the Dodge, and made available a fully automatic transmission. I preferred the styling of the Oldsmobile.
However, Dodges are still manufactured while Pontiac, Mercury, and Oldsmobile are long gone.
I see the specs were around 150 hp at 4400 rpm with 220 ft-lbs. 3.25 inch stroke and 3.437 bore. But only 7.5 compression ratio.
So by modern standards it could rev higher with a stronger cam and a bigger carb. I assume it has 5 main bearings so the crank would be well supported.
But those old hemis were really heavy all in cast iron!
We rode in one of those in a fishing trip prolly about 1956. It was no hemi though. Straight stick, probably six cylinder. Neighbor kid and his dad took it up to northern minnesota for a week. He worked for the Plymouth dealer and borrowed it instead of using their 49 Plymouth. It was really a very smooth riding and comfortable car. I just remember the clunking of the clutch when he dropped it into third gear. Must have been pedal noise and they all did that. I don’t remember catching many fish but we had to pick the leeches off after swimming in leech lake.
The '57 was the best looking ( but very flawed)
Yup!
Great styling, but extremely poor quality control regarding the assembly process and some of the mechanical design features.
My brother’s friend bought a low-mileage '57 Chrysler, circa 1963. The first time that he crossed some rough RR tracks, both torsion bars snapped, stranding him in a somewhat dangerous place.
When my cousin went off to college in 1961, his father gave him a decent-looking '57 Chrysler. Within a year or so, you could see the highway through the rusted-out floor. That car soon met its demise when cousin crashed it through a fence and into a cemetery, demolishing both the car and a few tombstones,
I recall riding in my uncle’s brand-new '58 DeSoto Fireflite 4-door hardtop–blue & white–and it was a really good-looking car with a very nice ride quality.
Edited to add…
I think that some of the most serious flaws were taken care of for the '58 model year, but the damage to their sales had been done by too many owners of '57 models having had too many problems. '57 was a banner year for Chrysler sales figures, but their numbers dropped-off badly for '58,
57 ruined their reputation for years. It’s why they introduced the 5/50 warranty in '63.
That was an awful little car that i think was obsolete the day it was intoduced.