Introduced in 1928, the first Plymouth quickly established the make's reputation for engineering excellence, defining it as Chrysler Corporation's price and volume leader for more than seventy years. The 1941 Plymouth featured styling refinements and equipment upgrades that made it a worthy competitor to that year's Ford and Chevrolet models.
And the unquestioned style leader of the 1941 Plymouth line was the Convertible Coupe. With its low split windshield, the car embodied streamlined sportiness on wheels. The '41 was also the final open Plymouth to have wing vents hinged to chrome posts on the doors (Plymouth's 1942 drop tops would have conventional vent windows.)
Its numerous standard features included rear wheel shields (fender skirts), front and rear bumper protectors, trim rings for the wheels and 6.00 x 16-inch whitewall tires. The 17-inch wheelbase was the longest among the low-priced Three and, on the convertible model, special frame reinforcements added torsional strength. Thanks to a new intake manifold and higher-lift camshaft, the Plymouth six-cylinder engine produced 87 horsepower, giving it performance comparable to other sixes in its field.
That year, salesmen proudly pointed out Plymouth's latest engineering advances like improved rear springs and safety rim wheels that helped keep the tire on the wheel during a blowout. The battery moved from under the front seat to the engine compartment for L941. A new alligator-type hood, hinged at the rear, came with an inside release and safety catch, which soon spread industry-wide. Add in its hydraulic brakes, sealed-beam headlamps and column-shift manual transmission, and the 1941 Plymouth had almost everything that would define a standard modern car well into the 1950s.
An interesting historical aside: Plymouth’s four-millionth car was built during 1941 . . . a Charlotte Ivory Convertible Coupe essentially identical to the one offered here. Press photos showed the era's favorite teenage movie star Andy Rooney painting “4,000,000th" on the windshield (his character received a similar Plymouth convertible upon high school graduation in a film that year).
American car buyers responded to the new style, convenience and value Plymouth put into the P12 Convertible, doubling the style's sales over the year before. It took more than 10,000 of these youthfully sporty open cars to satisfy demand. Although legendarily durable, most pre-war Plymouths were driven into the ground in the years immediately after World War II, when new cars were scarce and the demand for all 1941 cars remained strong.
Consequently, the 1941 Plymouth Special Deluxe Convertible is surprisingly rare today . . . a fact that makes this beautiful and authentically restored car even worthier of consideration.
Finished in Charlotte Ivory with a correct tan cloth top and burgundy interior, this ‘41 convertible shows little evidence of use since a top quality, historically authentic and especially well-detailed restoration was completed some years ago. It has a power-operated top, a feature that was an industry-first when introduced by Plymouth in 1939. This car is also equipped with running boards (optional for 1941), a factory radio with vertical push buttons, an exterior rear-view mirror and dual spotlights and fog lights.
This is truly the best Plymouth we have ever seen with a total frame-off, nut-and-bolt restoration. Everything is better than it was from the factory. This is a must-see that would be a wonderful addition to the collection of any true car enthusiast.
