1939 Plymouth Coupe P8

Hey Guys,

So i picked up a new project, a 1939 Plymouth Coupe. I've been looking for a cool old ride to cruise around in while i finish my '52 Dodge truck build. I came across the Plymouth on CL so i went out to take a look. The car is really solid from the sheet metal to the frame. Someone back in the mid 90's did an amateur restoration on it. The running boards have some rot through holes and the bottom lip below the trunk has some bubbling rust. Oh yea, the car runs and drives (needs brake work).

The Plan:

Get her road worthy as soon as possible and just drive. Hopefully this winter i will get her painted a good old satin black.

The Problems:

1. Master cylinder needs to be rebuilt or replaced.
2. Brakes need adjustment
3. Radiator leaks

Im sure more issues will pop up but thats it for now.

Thanks for looking,

-Chris

So the first issue that i tackled was the leaking radiator. I called a place that re-cores radiators for classic cars and when he told me it would be around $900 i almost dropped the phone. That tossed that idea out the window real quick. I went on ebay and found an aluminum replacement for 1947-1949 Plymouth Coupes with similar dimensions. Its made by a company called American Eagle Radiator and cost $200. I was much more happy with that price tag. I've attached a few pics of the install. If anyones interested in what mods need to be done to make the radiator fit let me know and i'll explain. All in all it was a pretty easy swap to do.

-Chris

Ive also removed the old master cylinder and brought it over to a fellow a few towns over who repairs them. Hes going to see if he can simply rebuild it or if he needs to send it out and have it re-sleeved in stainless steel and then will rebuild it.

Removing the old MC was quite the chore. Disconnecting it from the brake pedal is nearly impossible without making an access panel in the drivers side floor pan. So thats exactly what i did. It'll make it so much easier to service or adjust the MC in the future.

I also fired up the car last night and there where no leaks from the new radiator.

-Chris

That's a really good find to get one in that condition. There's one here that I've been looking at but it needs the front sheet metal and that's really hard and expensive to get...seems that the P8 is totally different from it's Dodge and Chrysler cousins and that the '39 was kind of a transitional year, so completely different from the '38 and '40 also. The front suspension on those is supposedly really good, too...just relocate the shocks and go. Good luck with the build, Bill.

That old girl looks solid! Nice score! [cl

Very Nice!! [cl
that will make a great cruiser.
I was just talking with a friend lastnight about how I miss having a vintage car to drive while I work on the project.
Torchie.

Sweet ride! Looks very solid too!

Great score, a really nice body style. Saw this one last weekend at a show.

Thanks guys. Ive really been wanting a cruiser for a long time and im glad i found this car. Its not that common and i absolutely love the lines she has. IMO its a beautiful car straight from the factory. In the future i'd like to build a rod out of it but for now im going to drive it the way it is. Hopefully this winter i'll have the extra cash to get it painted satin black and do up the interior a little better.

As far as progress on the car goes, i painted the floor pans with some rustoleum black yesterday. Hopefully that'll help keep the rust at bay so it doesnt turn into a Flinstone car Also im still waiting on the guy to tell me whats going on with the MC. Im pretty anxious to get that in so i can adjust the brakes and finally take it for a test drive. More to come.

Thanks for checking in,

-Chris

zzrodder said:

Great score, a really nice body style. Saw this one last weekend at a show.

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Thats a beautiful car ZZ, thanks for sharing. Whats it got in it for a power plant?

-Chris

ssimpala said:

That's a really good find to get one in that condition. There's one here that I've been looking at but it needs the front sheet metal and that's really hard and expensive to get...seems that the P8 is totally different from it's Dodge and Chrysler cousins and that the '39 was kind of a transitional year, so completely different from the '38 and '40 also. The front suspension on those is supposedly really good, too...just relocate the shocks and go. Good luck with the build, Bill.

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Yea its pretty remarkable at how good of condition she is in for being 75 years old. This is a car that i never plan on selling i absolutely love it.

I was really surprised when i went to see it that it had independent front suspension. I thought for sure it'd be a solid axle. I do know that '39 was the first year of this body style so i guess they re-instated the IFS along with it. From my research i found that they had tried IFS earlier on in the 30's (maybe 34 or 35, cant remember exactly) but then switched back to solid axle. I can tell you that by just the little bit of driving i did around my back yard it surprised me at how well it rides.

Could you explain the "relocate the shocks" comment, never heard of that.

Thanks,

-Chris

1952B3b23 said:

Thats a beautiful car ZZ, thanks for sharing. Whats it got in it for a power plant?

-Chris

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Saw it again today - yup, it's a Hemi...

zzrodder said:

Saw it again today - yup, it's a Hemi...

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Looks great. That must be a real fun car to drive. [dr

-Chris

Small Update:

Not to much going on thats to picture worthy. I got the master cylinder re-sleeved in stainless steel and rebuilt and is now in the car. It works as it should and no leaks so im happy with that.

The next task was getting the brakes bled and adjusted. The previous owner told me he and a friend had recently replaced the wheel cylinders on the front. I was happy to hear that at the time. Well turns out he pulled a fast one on me, both front wheel cylinders need to be rebuilt. The drivers side leaks like hell and the passenger side wont release. The front shoes will also get re-lined. The back brake shoes look good but im going to rebuild those wheel cylinders since im already in the middle of the job anyway. I'll hopefully be able to get the parts this weekend.

Thanks for lookin'

-Chris

I hope those rebuilds aren't too painful! Keep at it!

christcrusader13 said:

I hope those rebuilds aren't too painful! Keep at it!

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Thanks. The brake rebuild went decently and now she has all brand new shoes/ hardware and rebuilt wheel cylinders. I still need to finish bleeding the brakes and rebuild the carb then she should be ready for a test drive.

I also rewired the back half of the car as the previous owner had left all the original 75 yr old wires back there. They where tattered and torn all over the place but still in okay shape for how old they are.

-Chris

I had that problem with my Lincoln. The wires were OK, but the cloth insulation was rotten. I'd replace any of the original wiring, better safe than sorry later on.

Bamamav said:

I had that problem with my Lincoln. The wires were OK, but the cloth insulation was rotten. I'd replace any of the original wiring, better safe than sorry later on.

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Yea that's exactly how i feel too. I was surprised that the tail lights even worked at all. Some of the wires were literally hanging on by a thread. Luckily the wires under the dash look to be in real good condition.

-Chris

Sounds like you're moving in the right direction, I'm glad you got past the rebuild on the brakes

christcrusader13 said:

Sounds like you're moving in the right direction, I'm glad you got past the rebuild on the brakes

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Me too, i had never worked on those older style drum brakes so it was a decent learning curve for me.

Im hoping that maybe just maybe i'll get to take it for its first ride this weekend.

-Chris