Vehicle Description
1940 Plymouth Deluxe P10 Business Coupe
The use of business coupes in the 30's and 40's provided traveling
salesmen with a roomy vehicle in coupe configuration, blending in
with normal commuter cars of the era. Later, panel trucks, station
wagons, and even pickup trucks would fill a niche needed by
businessmen who took products with them in the days when welcoming
someone into your house through unlocked doors with no prior
appointment was perfectly normal. Yeah, that was a long time
ago.
For consignment, a 1940 Plymouth Deluxe P10 Business Coupe, long
retired from the sales workforce and now a textbook street rod with
all the desirable ingredients. Flames on red paint? Check. Chrome
wheels? Yep. A 350ci under the hood? Absolutely. It's been
carefully maintained over the past 20 years and is ready for a new
caretaker.
Exterior
Based in Bright Red, the front of the car is on fire with painted
flames that realistically flow from the bookend grilles and flow
back over the wide front fenders and pointed nose, licking across
the entire hood. The scripted Streetrod emblem on the hood is a
nice touch and is underlined by the detail trim of the side vents.
The enormous butt of this car is characteristic of business coupes
and provides a large trunk lid and easy access to contents, all
between the articulated fenders wearing simple taillights and no
bumper. The red out back is briefly broken by the small rear window
and is accented by the twin exhaust tips protruding from the
bottom. The profile of the car indicates forward momentum as the
entire car appears to lean forward and its raked stance enhances
this street rod attitude. Staggered Jegs Sport Star wheels carry
staggered size tires, a must for the consummate hot rod.
Imperfections include some pitting of the door handles and hood
ornament, bubbling in paint down low, some rust on the running
board and nearby seam, scuffs, scratches, and chipped paint.
Interior
Gray velour door panels are neat and clean and contain vintage
hardware and the material continues on the front bench seats
borrowed from a more modern car, all tidy. A 4 spoke steering wheel
front the metal dash painted aluminum color with brass rimmed and
white faced AutoMeter gauges filling the sightline of the driver. A
billet style knob panel handles the A/C and a Pioneer AM/FM/CD
radio sits just below. A Lokar shifter is tall and floor mounted
over low-pile gray carpet in good condition and loosely fitted. The
gray headliner is in excellent shape and visors are intact and in
place.
Drivetrain
Lift the top of the hood and we find the driver quality 350ci V8
with a 4-barrel carburetor over an Edelbrock intake manifold.
Behind it, a TH350 3-speed automatic transmission that was
overhauled in 2018, sends power to the rear 10 bolt. Heat and A/C
were installed in 2019. Power brakes are on the car with disc up
front and drum out back.
Undercarriage
Driver quality conditions prevail underneath with plenty of non
invasive surface rust, some oil on the pan, and some flaking rust
on an inner body bracket and inner rocker panel. There's quite a
bit on the underside panels as well. The dual exhaust runs through
the X-frame and encounters Flowmaster mufflers before exiting out
back. Coil spring suspension is up front with leaf springs in the
back. In 2016 the springs, shocks, and a sway bar were
replaced.
Drive-Ability
The roomy interior is likely more comfortable than it was in 1940,
especially with the addition of air conditioning and a radio! The
350 fires up with gusto and we point the pointed nose towards the
tarmac. We find a good running car that tracks well, accelerates
with no problem, and takes full advantage of the power brakes. All
items were checked for functionality, and we found nothing that
wasn't working. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these
functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot
guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your
purchase.
With classic business coupe lines, bright red paint, and of course,
flames up front, this rod has all of the design cues of an American
classic. Your loved one can sit close to you on the bench and
whether it's a local car show or a summer night ice cream run,
you'll sure to have good times in this vintage workhorse that
probably supported a family back in the day but is now meant to
party.
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and
collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate
controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8
acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic
and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the
I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit
www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us
anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in
person.
With so many great cars, you know we have a lot to talk about, and
we do that each week on the Classic Auto Mall Podcast with host
Stewart Howden. Stewart discusses new inventory as well as trends
in consignments and car prices, while interviewing celebrities and
automotive professionals about amazing cars and their history. Tune
in each week to the Classic Auto Mall Podcast wherever you enjoy
listening. You can also watch on YouTube!
