1940 Plymouth

P-10 DeLuxe Sedan

6 - Cyl.

Manual

109648XX

Gasoline

This auction is for one 1940 Plymouth “DeLuxe Four-Door Touring Sedan.” The factory designation for the DeLuxe (Top-of-the-Line) Series is “P-10.” Included with the car are one original 1940 Plymouth Owners Manual, Sales Manual, Service Manual, and a file containing information on the 1940 Plymouth, 1940 Dodge, 1940 DeSoto, 1940 Ford, and 1940 Chevrolet. This is a good unrestored car that we have driven more than 6000 miles in 8 years, and have ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH! The odometer reading is 78,540 miles, and we are reasonably sure that it is the ACTUAL TOTAL mileage. We find it interesting that in recent years many 1940 Fords have been modified by: #1) replacing the straight front axle and buggy springs with coil-spring independent front suspension. (All 1940 Plymouths came from the factory with coil-spring independent front suspension.) #2) replacing the rear buggy spring suspension with parallel leaf-spring rear suspension. (All 1940 Plymouths came from the factory with parallel leaf-spring rear suspension.) Why do they make these modifications to so many 1940s vintage Fords? One fellow said they do it so their 1940 Ford will RIDE GOOD like a 1940 Plymouth! On Nov-13-10 at 06:24:58 PST, seller added the following information: The reserve on this car is very reasonable. We expect the winning bid to be significantly higher than the reserve price! Lots more pictures below. This old Plymouth is very much an “original” car. Before I brought this car to Oklahoma City in late 2002, it had always lived in DRY central KANSAS, in the Hutchison-Great Bend area. Sometime probably in the 1970s the car was repainted dark blue, the same color it was when new. It was not the best paint job, but rather an ordinary new paint job for a neat old car that wasn’t worth a lot of money. The gentleman I bought the car from put very few miles on the car, same as the fellow he bought it from. I think that it has always been garaged since it was repainted. Except for the paint job, this car is VERY ORIGINAL & UNMOLLESTED! When I bought the car, it was not roadworthy because of the BRAKES. We replaced the brake master cylinder, and rebuilt all four wheel cylinders. We also installed an ON-OFF SWITCH in order to conveniently disconnect the battery. The HORN honks fine, but it appears to be a replacement horn. As far as I know, this horn, and the battery disconnect switch are the only two things on the car that are not original to a Plymouth P-12. (The stainless steel wheel trim rings may have been a dealer accessory.) In 2003 I bought four new BF Goodrich Silverton 6:00 X 16 wide-whitewall TIRES and four new TUBES for the car. These tires now probably have about 5500 miles on them. The high & low beam HEADLIGHTS, tail lights, brake lights, tag light, dash lights, and interior light all work well. All inside door handles and window cranks are original, and are in good condition. The trunk lock, and all DOOR LOCKS work well with the exception of the left rear door lock. The left rear door lock does not work, and I have not tried to fix it. All WINDOWS crank up and down well, and all FOUR WIND WINGS open and close fine. The cowl vent works fine. The SPEEDOMETER does not work at all, but the odometer works well, and is accurate. The temperature, oil, and amp gages work well. The gas gauge works to some degree, but is not totally accurate. Since we were driving the car a lot, I would always write the odometer reading on the gas receipts so we did not have to depend on the gas gauge. We have never ran out of gas in this car. The EMEGENCY BRAKE works fine. The vacuum WINDSHIELD WIPERS do work, but I never use them. I use “Rain-X” on the windshield of my antique cars, so if I do occasionally get rained on, the Rain-X takes the place of the wipers. The HEATER works. The heater motor makes a lot of noise, so normally after the car warns up, we just run the heater fan temporarily because of the noise. This old Plymouth is not 100% rust free. I can say that it is probably one of the most RUST free un-restored 1940 cars you have ever seen. This car does have some rust, but there is very little of it. And I had to search to find it. There is hardly any rust damage under this car. And, there is no evidence that I can see of any rust repair prior to painting. There may have been some minor dent removal, but we see no signs of any rust repair. There is no rust damage on any of the exposed outer sheet metal; fenders, doors, or front and rear pans. The roof has no dents or dings. The body has a few minor dings. The body is not perfect, but it is good. Please see the pictures. Some of the pictures are a little “grainy” and take some of the shine away from the paint. The INTERIOR is weak, but it is all original, with seat covers over the original upholstery. The original back seat upholstery is in fair condition. The original upholstery on the front seat bottom on the driver’s side is in bad condition. With the seat cover and some replacement padding that has been added, it is very serviceable. The black rubber front floor mat is original, and in poor condition, but for my purposes, I like it better than covering it up. The original rear carpet is fair. The foot rest for the rear passengers is also carpeted. All four door panels are original. They have some wear and some water stains. , and poor, but again, being factory original, give the interior a very comfortable feel. The original headliner is aged, but in fair condition. There are a couple of small patches. There are no tears visible because of the small patches. Please see the pictures. The original robe rope on the back of the front seat is in very good condition. The original pull straps on the door posts are totally functional, and still look pretty good. The RUNNING BOARD covers are original. They are weathered and aged, but for an unrestored car, they don’t look too bad. The outer edges of the running boards have a few dings. GLASS: The GLASS in this car is basically good, but three pieces of glass have cracks. Both the right side and the left side windshield halves have cracks in the lower-center area. These can be seen in some of the pictures. The left-rear door glass has one vertical crack top to bottom. These three cracks are so minor that they were of no concern to me. If you wanted to replace them, they are just flat safety glass, and consequently would not cost much to replace. All of the remaining glass is free of cracks. Some of the side windows have a bit of bubbling around the very outside edges. It is very minor. This is a form of patina on old unrestored cars that I find appealing. It adds to the warmth and character of a fine old unrestored car. The ENGINE has always started easily and runs well. We have driven this Plymouth in four July 4th Parades, and it has NEVER OVERHEATED! In many parts of the country, the high temperatures during a Fourth of July Parade is a real behavior test for antique cars. This Plymouth passes this test each year with flying colors. During the summer of 2008, we headed out one day and the car would not SHIFT into second or high gears. We put it back in the garage. I played with the shifting linkage, but couldn’t correct it. Later, I would occasionally drive the car down the block just to prevent the car from setting. One day I tried shifting it into second and high, and it shifted fine several times. Then it would refuse to go into second and high. Not having access to a grease rack, or a lift, and with so many other projects, I just kept postponing the project. The months have flown by. I would start the car on a regular basis, and sometimes drive it down the block. Sometimes it will shift fine, and sometimes it will not. I think it is just a linkage problem. But time flies, and I wanted to get this auction started so that it ends on Nov 19th. Lots of folks have a four day weekend on Nov 25 to Nov 28th due to Thanksgiving. So we are selling the car as is. It is drivable, but it is not roadworthy. It always shifts fine into reverse and low. Sometimes it will shift into second and high just fine, and sometimes it will not. This Plymouth is drivable, but it is not currently roadworthy. So plan to bring a trailer, or have it transported. The brakes are dragging a bit on one or more of the wheels. This is from having been driven so little in the last 16 months. To put this car back into roadworthy condition, and ready to drive on out-of-town trips, I believe it needs two or three items fixed. The shifting problem will need fixed, and I think that it is just a linkage issue. One or more of the brake wheel cylinders will need attention, as the brakes are dragging a little. If you live in Montana, North Dakota, or Minnesota, and if you want to drive it in the winter, you will want to either service or replace the heater fan motor. We have really enjoyed driving this Plymouth. We averaged driving it about 100 miles a month for a long time. It was parked in front of a Mexican Restaurant almost every Saturday night, even through the winter months. This car has been very dependable and trouble free until the shifting issue appeared. I have several other antique car projects (more than my budget can handle), so it is time to find a good home for this fun old Plymouth. There is no such thing as an “easy restoration.” The disassembly and reassembly of any car takes a lot of time. But if you want to restore a 1940 Plymouth, this would be a great candidate. First, it is the DeLuxe P-10 Model, which means that it has most of the extra-cost features as Standard Equipment. Second, as far as I know, an original 1940 Plymouth horn is the only item that is not authentic on this car. And third, this old Plymouth is in such GOOD, UNMOLESTED CONDITION. With the exception of the paint, the horn, and the (added) battery on-off switch, this car is all original. This old 1940 Plymouth DeLuxe sedan is not a show car. It has never been restored. For use as a FUN DRIVER, it does not need to be restored. This car is being sold AS-IS and where is. TRANSPORTATION is the responsibility of the buyer. My schedule is very flexible. As long as I have a day or more of advance notice, I can meet with the buyer, or with your car transporter, at almost any time, EXCEPT on Thanksgiving Day (November 25th). On Nov-14-10 at 04:26:57 PST, seller added the following information: More pictures below. If you are seriously interested in buying this Plymouth, and would like to see it, just let us know. PAYMENT: We expect the winning bidder to pay a $500 deposit through PayPal within 48 hours of the close of the auction. We prefer the balance be paid by bank wire transfer, or in cash, within seven days (by November 26th). The exception to the seven day deadline is if you plan to pick up the car the weekend of Nov. 19, 20, or 21. If you plan to pick up the car by Nov. 21, then the payment deadline would be when you pick up the car. We will not release the car to the buyer, his agent, or an auto transporter until the car is paid for. If planning to pay by bank wire transfer, and you plan to pick up the car the weekend of Nov. 19, 20, or 21, check with your bank regarding the time required for the bank wire transfer to take place. The title is in my name. The address on the title is my address. You will get the title signed and notarized, along with a Bill of Sale that will also be notarized. We expect the buyer to transfer the title into his name within a reasonable amount of time. We can store the car for 30 days after the auction ends. If you need longer than that, or have questions, please let us know before the auction ends. The reason the reserve is so low is because we are loosing the storage where this car is kept. My schedule is flexible, and as long as I know a couple of days in advance, I can be available at almost any time to meet the buyer or his agent, and help load the car. I have worked with auto transporters before, so if you plan to have it picked up, that is not a problem. (I will not be available on THANKSGIVING DAY.) Thank you for your interest. Historical NOTE: According to automotive historian and author Don Butler, after the new 1940 cars were introduced, Chrysler Corporation had a labor union strike in late 1939 that completely shut down all of the Chrysler Corp. plants for EIGHT WEEKS. Were it not for that eight week strike, 1940 Plymouth auto sales could have possibly overtaken 1940 Ford auto sales, putting Plymouth into the No. 2 position in the industry. Plymouth was No. 3 in sales for many years. >A comparison between the 1940 Plymouth P-10 “DeLuxe ” Four-Door Sedan and the 1940 Plymouth P-9 “Roadking” Four-Door Sedan: Model: …………..…… P-10 DeLuxe .………… P-9 Roadking Retail Base Price …………$805.00 ………….……… $740.00 Stainless belt line trim .. full length on side of car .. above the grille only Interior …………………. Nice fabrics ……..…… inexpensive vinyl (?) Rear floor …………..…….. carpet …………..……. rubber mat Right side tail/brake light … standard equip. ……….. optional Right side sun visor ….. standard equip. …………….. optional Tire size ……………….... 6:00 X 16 ……………….. 5:50 X 16 Trim around windshield … Stainless ……………..…… none Wind wings (vents) ……… standard ……….……….. optional Horn control …... large chrome horn ring …. horn button in center of wheel Dashboard ……………. Lots of chrome ……….….. Some chrome