I went to look at a '41 Plymouth Coupe today. Overall, the car is complete and the exterior sheet metal is in pretty darn good shape. The car has never been wrecked. The trunk is rusty and perforated in multiple places and the floor pans are perforated near the door sills. Other than that, they are pretty solid. The bottoms of the doors even look solid, as does the frame. Does anyone make replacement trunk and floor pans, or will I have to make my own? Does anyone sell replacement rubber mats for the trunk and interior? Where can I get door seals, etc? The car has the original 16" wheels on it and some very old bias ply tires. What kind of 15" wheels will fit this car and what is the maximum wheel width and tire size combination I can get by with? Thanks for your help and knowledge! Rock
Sheet metal: http://www.plymouthdoctor.com/images/automobile/40plymouth.pdf Most rubber parts: https://secure.steelerubber.com/ 15" wheels will work fine (don't forget about the Mopar locating stud, and the reversed threads on the left side drums). 205 to 215 tires are about the widest thats comfy on my '38. Your 41 may be slightly different. You'll want to spend some time at the P15-D24 board even though your's is a bit earlier you'll find lots of helpful (as opposed to the other kind) help there.
Mopar locating stud? (I'm new to these cars.) What width and backset wheel will work? What is the bolt pattern? Thanks for the info and the help!
There was a place called Andy Bernbaums (??) used to deal with alot of Mopar stuff, worth looking up on the net
Andy Burnbaum (spelling?) in Newton Mass, if I remember correctly, is the place that I got parts for my '56 Fargo about 15 years ago. I do remember that he knew his stuff, was very good to deal with, and the service was fast. Worth a try.
They can be made into decent looking old cars Unfortunately, they have NOT been saved and laid back like the Fords ... so when buying one ... getting one as complete as possible is a good idea. .
I used Andy for some rubber parts. Lookup his web site. I used the factory wheels on my 38 with some new 16" tires and loved the look. Good luck on the project some of the Mopar stuff is hard to find but can be found. How about some pics?
Randy, this one is COMPLETE. It was stored for about 20 years. It has every trim piece and every light and knob. I know it's not a Ford..............those are getting too pricey. Thanks for the tip on Andy Bernbaum, aka Oldmoparts.com. I've bookmarked it.
A lot of rubber parts seem to be the same as GM - trunk rubber from 48 Chevy fit my 39 Chrysler. I second the P-15 D-24 forum idea too, good folks there.
Drum has a small stud sticking out there. Wheel has a hole which aligns with stud. I think your car has left hand threads on the drivers side.
Dude, this is one of the most gorgeous body styles ever, look at that example -- Hootchie Mamma, mor cool trim than you can shake a stick at!! If the little darling was going to be mine I would keep the 16" wheels and buy some 16" Coker tires and have the correct look. That maroon example is red hot but he lost me in the after market wheels -- EEEK! a street rod!! The shape of the orig wheels is very hip, but hey we all see'm a little different. Hope you get this ride, best of luck. The interior trim on these is also very spectacular. Yeah, I like em a little!! ~Sololobo~
If the price is right, get it. Sounds pretty solid. And like you said, Fords are quite a bit more $$$. I've got a 38 Plymouth Coupe & dig it & was a lot less $$$ than a Ford in the same condition. Keep us posted on what you do. Also, how about some pics!
Click on this link to Carnut.com......should be the index page to a whole batch of 41 Plymouths......done up in numerous styles. Might give you some ideas. You can simply place your cursor on the listing and a preview picture will appear...... http://www.carnut.com/photo/list/ply/ply41.html There's a guy on the P15-D24 forum who has 3 1941 Plymouths, his newest one is a coupe streetrod. His handle is "claybill". Link to forum. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/index.php
Well, I bought it. Here are some pics. It's way rougher than it looks in the pictures, cosmetically, but it's very sound. The car has never been hit, as best I can tell and ALL of the pieces are there....every one of them. And, the engine is the quietest running internal combustion engine I've ever heard. QUIET! I've got to fix the brakes, tie rods, king pins, tires and wheels before it's roadworthy. I'm still waiting for someone to give me some wheel information. Rock
That is one sweet automobile my friend! I just picked up a 46 ply coupe. You bring up fords, but stare at the profile of the car you just bought, and the profile of the same year ford, the ply will look much more streamlined and low without any modifications. Mopars have slanted B pillars. These cars have beautiful lines all their own.
Bolt pattern is 5 on 4 1/2. Mopar and Ford use it. Don't worry none about the locating studs.Grind them off. Not a safety issue by doing that. More of a convenience thing. Went through that on my 47 Dodge pickup. A common thing to do.Andy Burnbaum is still in business and got alot of stuff.
I don't know. Depends on how wide I might be able to go with rims and tires. I'm likely to stay old school.............but I might not.
Nice score! I'd like to find one like that in my part of the country. Wouldn't take much to really sled that out...the factory took care of the lines out of the box. Drop it and drive it for a while and you will be styling without half trying.
If you have to deal with the brakes, www.rustyhope.com has a disc brake conversion that works well for these cars, and will probably cost about the same as redoing the original brakes. Parts are also available from www.robertsmotorparts.com and www.fatman.com and a few others. The wheel bolt pattern is 5 on 4 1/2" and grind off the stud if you keep the original stuff. Relocating the upper shock mount from the factory upper control arm to a fabricated frame mounted bracket make these cars handle a lot better. I'd also upgrade the rear axle to one from a 66 or newer "B" body Mopar or to one from a 87-90 Dakota. There are also rack & pinoin steering kits available for these cars. There is a ton of info about this era Mopar available here, search under 39-52 Plymouth Dodge or Chrysler. Those years used the same basic frame and suspension. Gene
Well if you just decide you want that ford you mentioned a couple of times ,let me know I would love to take that one off your hands.I have wanted one of these for a long time and now I want one even worse.
I do not want a Ford. Randy and I were picking at each other. I wanted something different and I got it. Thanks, anyway. Anyone have pics of the shock relocation?
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