Although Studebaker was gone by the mid-60's these trees still say it in what is now Bendix Woods Nature Preserve in New Carlisle Indiana near South Bend which was the home of Studebaker.
The location was the Studebaker proving grounds and is Navistar's now. Navistar is the evolution of the International Harvester vehicles/engines.
We seem to get stuck in a groove or build a wheelhouse as they say.
I might have created a wild blog here that is all over the map, but the more I search, the more I learn that the 1939 Plymouth always thought to be lowest line of MOPAR in 1939 offered the most eclectic models, even shared nameplates to fill a void as the rest of the line created a new body style!
My wheelhouse finally has installed me as a fan of the 1939 Plymouth, I have owned numerous 1930's to 1970's MOPARS with a 1938 Dodge and 2 1939 Plymouths amongst others right now.
If you walk into the Smithsonian Museum of American History you will find a 1939 Plymouth P8 coupe from a period of time where the world was entering war, a world war!
Not to go too far back on part 1, it started with this 39 Plymouth coupe I bought in 2014, it was not until much later did I realize how special the car was!
I started to educate myself about the car, which had been built most likely in the mid to late- 80's in Michigan. The car had sat many years with an older man in a garage down in south New Jersey, The paint had cracked and tires totally dry rotted and he just needed to get rid of it!
To this day I believe the car only had about 7000 miles when I got it, no signs of restoration, but modified old school.
I am not sure if the engine was rebuilt and "hopped up", but it has Phillips (passed away years ago) Split exhaust manifolds with full dual exhaust, Offenhauser intake with dual 1bbl carbs, 12 volt conversion, power front disc brakes, Fat Man lowered uprights along with lowering blocks rear, wheels vintique 6" front, 8" rear wheels, studded rear axle hubs and custom screen printed hub caps. Interior pefectly redone with CoCo mat front floor and in the trunk.
Over the next years I fine tuned everything and even though I had it just below 80 MPH with stock 3.90 gears one of my major plans was get some 3.55 gears in the rear to get that highway RPM down
In an old Warshawsky
catalog (they became JC Whitney) High speed rear carrier 3 ½ ratio so 3.50 so I knew I was on to something.
Side bar on this; numerous posts on facebook groups gave me very little help and a lot of wrong info. One well known MOPAR parts supplier declared changing the rear end ratio will not change or help anything, I guess he has no idea there was an economy option in 1939 with 3.54 rear?
After painstaking research, cross reference of part numbers I found 1948 Chrysler 3.54 chunk, carrier, ham or whatever you like to call it and along with a very custom driveshaft finally got it all in place and it worked out great!
I spot a very familiar front fender in a yard full of old cars near me, eventually some other cars move and I realize it is a 39 Plymouth Coupe. I am careful rolling into properties down here in Tennessee, we once drove up to a house full of old cars in my 47 Packard and the guy came to the door looking with a shot gun in hand. Logic would say we were old car guys not the LAW!
I have so far used Google maps to locate house and sent a letter with no reply.
One day I will venture into the driveway and ask!
My local Applebees on a date night I spot this photo on the wall while waiting for a table, Some local boy scouts using a P7 coupe to transport some bikes.
CARHUNTER was introduced to a 1939 Plymouth Coupe back in 2014 and bought a second 1939 Plymouth almost 9 years later!
This was the 1st CARHUNTER BLOG devoted to that special vehicle! never thought a second blog would have any traction!
Over the years I learned so much more of the 1939 line which I think is facinating
My 39 Deluxe P8 Businessman's coupe next to a friends 39 Roadking P7 2 door touring sedan, often called a bustle back due to the buldging deck lid for more luggage space - the most popular 2 door sedan configuration
I thought about buying it, although my friend spoke of it's greatness, it ran awful, clutch was shot, rear pinion leaked badly even after replacing the seal and the interior was yukky!
ALMOST MAYBE COULD'A NAH!
In 2022 I see this nice P8 for sale outside the Street Machine nationals in Columbus Ohio
Tim made a little error, he put his area code forgot the next 3 numbers but did put the last 4! I tried finding him and several phone number guesses only needed 3, lol!! The car has since popped up from a flipper for a high price!
I could not resist a 2nd 39 Plymouth, this time a Roadking P7 2 door sedan, not a touring sedan and production of these were low compared to bustle back touring sedans!
The Deluxe P8 had a 3 on the tree "remote control" shifter for the 3 spd tranmission vs the floor mounted shifter in the base Roadking P7.
Chrome trim ended on the hood side of a P7 while the P8 sent it all the way down the body line to the rear of the car.
Vent windows were standard on the P8 and might have been an option on the P7 because mine has them, most P7's do not.
It is not often that you find such a complete, mostly original 1939 car coming up on 85 years old at the time!
It shows some wear and tear with 80,000 miles on it, but appears this car had been maintained and driven regulary over the years, after a few tweaks everything is working. Everything worked after cleaning contacts on the interior light switch and one headlamp I thought was out.
Mostly stock, still 6 volt positive ground, but has a 2 circuit brake master cylinder, 6 volt electric fuel pump and a 12 volt negative ground converter for the am/fm cassette under dash.
You got one sunvisor in a P7
After a carb swap and replacing the rear wheel cylinders, the car was road worthy!
Loved the old faded paint, it has had some minor body work, but no rust of any worry.
I have the original 16" wheels/tires/trim rings and hupcaps and then I lowered the front 2"
This was in the movie Vanishing Point and I turned it over to make it clearer being a 39 Plymouth
The original idea for the 39 front end on the left, A man named Gil Spear claimed the design that went into production!
In those years several 40's and 50's Dodges and Plymouths came and went including a 1938 Dodge Coupe which stuck around with me, but the education took that long to fully grasp everything about the 1939 Plymouth and yes it did actually divorce itself from the rest of the MOPAR line for a year!
Although the rest of the line, Dodge, Desoto and Chrysler were completely restyled for 1939, the Plymouth kept the basic body with a new nose!
This is the tale of the tape for the 1939 Plymouth so ask why is it so special?
1939 family member Dodge with one important piece of info often missed by folks even the person that posted this!
To your left the Dodge Deluxe 6 and to your right the Dodge 6, but this is a Canadian brochure not the USA offerings! The Deluxe was a Dodge as in the USA, but the standard 6 used the Plymouth body!
This hood side sat on my man cave wall for years with a big question mark as I could not identify it at all? The Dodge standard 6 in Canada and other parts of the world was indeed a Plymouth with Dodge badging!
The hood side is from a Plymouth based 39 Dodge non USA model
A 1939 Dodge USA
1939 Plymouth
The Plymouth held on to the 1937/1938 basic body while the 1939 Dodge,Chrysler and DeSoto recieved an all new body or did it, well in the USA YES! This Dodge 6 is an export Plymouth based car.
The key to the identity is the "square" headlamps exclusive to Plymouth
I wrongly thought the round headlamp 39 plymouths were base model P7, but was abruptly corrected on one of the facebook groups. Well my dad was only 10 years old in 1939 and I was unaware they sold a sealed beam conversion kit back then. Goes with my opinion some of the older car folks are more insulting than taking a mentor teaching role!
Way to ruin a 39 Plymouth? Fill in the headlamp holes and mount some yourself!
Look carefully as these are all Plymouth Based Dodges outside the USA
Ignore some of the round headlamp conversions on some of these
Plyodge or Dodmouth?
Ooh Ooh this is a Desoto based on the Plymouth so Plymsoto?
The Plymouth based Dodges keep coming!
DESOTO
More Plymouth based Desotos!
7 PASSENGER SEDAN
Not many long wheelbase 7 passenger 1939 Plymouths were built, see production numbers way above
And check out the swing out windshield that was last seen in 1937, also note sealed beam light conversion on this one.
UTE
Down in Australia the Plymouth 3 window coupe (more on that later) were sold as UTE's or unibody pickups and us yanks call em!
SEDAN CONVERTIBLE
Again as the rest of the line changed the Plymouth was left with the old body style 37-38, but the sedan convertible was built on a slightly longer Chrysler chassis and this one even has dual side mount spare tires, sometimes a debate amongst "experts" to have not been possible from the factory!
A Plymouth based Dodge sedan convertible based on a Chrysler chassis!
A Plymouth based Dodge one!
3 WINDOW COUPE
In Australia and New Zealand a 3 window coupe was available which we never had in the USA
Very Willys like!
Here comes a truckload of new1939 Plymouths
Be still my 39 Plymouth loving heart as far as the eyes can see!
ODDITIES
Some flip out headlamps up high, loooks like the roof was cut off as well.
Kind of chopped up
Some racer 39's
No, just a drawing!
39 Plymouth based Dodge Hearse
The tow truck is still for sale as I type this, it was a sedan originally
39 2 door sedan with filled in windows to make a sedan delivery
Those 49 Plymouth bumpers look great!
Some more Plymouth based Dodge hearses
Some Ford headlamps stuffed in there, almost
Who framed Roger Rabbit? Not sure but they had 3 39 Plymouths in the movie
Although Dodge did not offer a convertible in 39, Plymouth did with an automatic top
Rumble seats also still in the 39 Plymouth line, but try and find a rumble seat coupe- very rare!
Oh did I say Dodge did not build a convertible for 1939? The best information says Plymouth had the only convertible in the MOPAR lineup, in the USA. It is assumed all export convertibles were based on the Plymouth because they had not tooled up one for the new 39 bodies.
WAIT!
Hermann Graber with his bodyshop in Wichtrach near Berne, certainly the most famous and talented Swiss coachwork designer/builder, made about 12 Cabriolets on the Dodge D11 chassis, with the car presented here most probably the only example left.
OK 2 exist?
Another one??? NO they cut off a roof lol!
No Chrysler convertible in 1939, well one custom built retaining just it's original grille and dashboard, not much else!
Then a custom one off 1939 Imperial!
A Canadian 39 Imperial Royal one off, but we are getting off track here, point is no production 1939 Dodge, Chrysler, Imperial or Desoto convertibles were built!
Plymouth carried the torch!
The last RUMBLE seats!
Opinions vary, but there were 1939 Plymouth Rumble seat coupes built although I only found convertible examples
Let's ruin a few more 39 Plymouths
Filled in fenders and deck lid, they claimed it started as a 4 door, but I believe it was a 2 door
Bad Chad's "Heaven" and this started as a 4 door sedan
A little too narrow subframe wheel track?
That is a lot of 39 Plymouth right there!
More headlamp mix ups
Pretty rare slant back 4 door sedan without the bustle back touring sedan trunk
Oh the headlamps again!
PANEL DELIVERY AS PLYMOUTH CALLED USING THE PASSENGER CAR CHASSIS
Not many built and not many survived, next 2 only restored ones I have found
MODELS
I found this photo in a magazine showing the 1939 Chrysler line in large scale models!
Back in the day we would build up resin hand cast models from hand made masters. Welcome to the future because the 3D printers have opened up a whole new world and I am having these 1/48 scale simple 1939 models printed up!
I started to build the entire range of 1939 Plymouths, not the greatest photos and some are still slightly incomplete, but it is a long term project!
I started with models of my own cars!
Having a photo of this actual car which was in the area I grew up in made this NYPD one of the first models built,
Started to run into models that had no 3D program files so I performed quite a bit of scratch building, a little easier in small 1/48 scale
A Woody wagon, a lot of scratch building!
The yellow touring sedan is a replica of my friends show above in the blog, I had to do a convertible
3 window Australian coupe
Had to do a Gasser and 4 door sedan convertible
7 passenger long wheelbase sedan and US ARMY
7 passenger long wheelbase taxi
NY State Police and a Fire Chief
They offered a slide in pickup bed so I built one too!
Nice flower shop delivery vehicle!
Australian UTE based on a 3 window coupe
A Fireball Roberts racer
A few stockers like this coupe
Chopped roof pro street
Finally the Sedan Delivery modified from a 4 door sedan is almost done!
GASSERS
POLICE CARS
This photo was used to model the 1/48 one in the models section
Yes another swing out windshield a year+ after they stopped offering them!
Oddly the factory issued a preview magazine showing 37 and 38 Plymouths being used by the NY State and Nassau County NY police departments, mentioning Nassau Commissioner Skidmore
As far as I know neither department ever used the 39 Plymouth
Many military 39's put in service
Very few 7 passenger long wheelbase taxi's were build
COULD THIS BE THE END OF PART 2, IT IS FOR THAT 39 PLYMOUTH IN THE PHOTO, BUT CARHUNTER IS STILL GOING!
Why were so many different models built down under? TJR was the local body builder and they just came up with their own styles!
Incomplete cars were exported to Australia and local body builder finished them, their way!
AUSTRALIAN 3 WINDOW COUPE +
AGAIN
BROCHURES
Oh my, the utility vehicles just knock you for a loop!
This sedan had it's rear area opened up with a cage behind the driver to make a little delivery vehicle!
For 39 there was a panel delivery built on the passenger car chassis
Nifty ambulance with no passenger side seats so a stretcher could be inserted
Dealer supplied?!??!
Has anyone ever seen a 1939 Plymouth converted coupe?
They were pretty excited about the new 1939 Plymouth!
All of these seen in one day at Columbus Street Machine Nationals in 2022
Some poor old gals!
My favorite 1939 Plymouth from TV is one they found on American Pickers under a house for $5500 and tortured Frank that he made a bad buy, Well I would have taken it for $5500 and we never learned of the eventual fate, who wound up with it? A 1939???
Can you guess how crazy this made me as I just watched the episode again screaming IT'S A 1940!!!
Best part was they looked up a 1939 Plymouth and used the photo on those informative little side bars, again triggering, NO ONE NOTICED IT'S NOT A 1939!! LOL
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