1939 P8 or P7

[elmo]

Hi Andy      yes i was refering to the aussie sloper. i have a photo of a aussie sloper and a US bodied sedan together  unfortunately  i dont know how to put it on here

[Roadkingcoupe]

WELL, I CONFUSED ABOUT THIS P7 P8 THING? I HAVE A WHAT I THINK A P7 ROADKING. IT'S A 2DR/SDN WITH FLOOR SHIFT, FACTORY RADIO AND MATCHING DASH. IT HAS A FACTORY INSTALLED HEATER (and i still can't get the switch out--help!)
IT HAS WHAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER TOLD ME P8 TRIM, WHICH IS STAINLESS AND RUNS THE LENGHT OF THE BODY BUT DOESN'T FIT THE CURVE TO THE TAIL OF? FENDER, INFACT IT IS SOMEWHAT LONGER. THE PASSANGER SIDE HAS THE ONLY KEY ENTRY, AND IT WAS BOTH VISORS, BUT NO HORN OR EVER A MARK TO ITS MOUNTING. IF YOU ASK ME, I THINK IT WAS MADE AT THE FIRTS PART OF THE YEAR USING 38 PARTS !!? CONFUSED, KURT

P.S. I WISH THAT I KNEW HOW TO USE THE ICONS AT THE TOP OF THE POST REPLY PAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forgot to mention. A P8 would have a series of holes down the beltline that holds the P8 body trim.

As to the lack of HORN mount. Many (but not all) P7 cars had a single horn mounted to one of the forward head bolts. So if someone worked on the motor and didnt reinstall the horn mount it could easily look like the car was never equiped with a horn.

The engine block/head mounted horn is a single short stubby unit very different from the dual HI/LOW elegant trumpet horns.

Contact me and we can discuss it in more detail. Thanks.

[Roadkingcoupe]

1938 Plymouths had a flat undivided windsheild that did not crank open. 1937 Plymouths had a flat windsheild undivided and it cranked out from a handle mounted on the top center of the dashboard.

ALL 1939 Plymouth cars had a "V" shaped windsheild also known as a split windsheild. The 1939 Plymouth has a split "V" front windsheild. The center of the windsheild where the split post is located is a couple of inches forward of the sides of the windsheild. Sounds a little confusing, but your car probably has the split and therefoer is a 1939 Plymouth.

1939 Plymouths have independent front suspension and the 1937 1938 had front "leaf" springs not coil.

I am a fan of these cars (have a # of them) and am always interested in discussing the finer points of the cars with other owners. Please feel free to email me with your contact info and I would be very interested in speaking with you about your P7.

roadkingcoupe (at) hotmail.com

[lucaboy]

WELL, I CONFUSED ABOUT THIS P7 P8 THING? I HAVE A WHAT I THINK A P7 ROADKING. IT'S A 2DR/SDN WITH FLOOR SHIFT, FACTORY RADIO AND MATCHING DASH. IT HAS A FACTORY INSTALLED HEATER (and i still can't get the switch out--help!)
IT HAS WHAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER TOLD ME P8 TRIM, WHICH IS STAINLESS AND RUNS THE LENGHT OF THE BODY BUT DOESN'T FIT THE CURVE TO THE TAIL OF  FENDER, INFACT IT IS SOMEWHAT LONGER. THE PASSANGER SIDE HAS THE ONLY KEY ENTRY, AND IT WAS BOTH VISORS, BUT NO HORN OR EVER A MARK TO ITS MOUNTING. IF YOU ASK ME, I THINK IT WAS MADE AT THE FIRTS PART OF THE YEAR USING 38 PARTS !!  CONFUSED, KURT

P.S. I WISH THAT I KNEW HOW TO USE THE ICONS AT THE TOP OF THE POST REPLY PAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Andy Wylie]

That said put a aussie and US 39 together and the aussie car is much more streamlined

I'm puzzled by that comment Elmo, are you referring to the 'aussie sloper'?

One of the more curious differences between a Canadian P7/P8 and a US Built cars are the fact that althought the front grill mouldings look identical the US built cars are equiped with stamped "stainless steel" mouldings where as the Canadian models had identical looking front grill mouldings that were chrome plated "pot metal" instead of the stainless. (The US stamped stainless trim fits fine on the Canuck cars).

I came across a brass or bronze centre grille piece on a P7 at the local VCC, there was a guy looking at buying the whole grille and he claimed to have several of these non ferrous pieces. I've also noticed the removable floor sections are different on Aus and NZ cars and the lower inner cowl section too.

[elmo]

dave asked the differance between a D12 and aD13  according to figures printed  there combined production total was 10328 both had a wheelbase of 114inchs and were both powered by the 201 cubic inch engine .looking at pictures i have there exterior trim was the same so i assume it was the standard of the interior trim that was the differance

[elmo]

there was a big differance between the aussie and new zealand chrysler products. where most aussie chrysler,dodge,desoto and plymouths were bodied by either t.j. richards or holden, NZ ones were either Canadian or US bodies ,some were assembled by todd motors in wellington as a ckd package...I have two desotos, one a 1954 Diplomat  and the other a 1939 s6 custom. according to the documentation and numbers i have both were assembled in the US.for export.That said put a aussie and US 39 together and the aussie car is much more streamlined

[Roadkingcoupe]

Some of the major differences of US and Canadian built cars was the US cars were built with the 23" engine block and all the 1939 and on Chrysler products cars built in Canada came with the 25" Chrysler/Desoto longer engine block. One of the more curious differences between a Canadian P7/P8 and a US Built cars are the fact that althought the front grill mouldings look identical the US built cars are equiped with stamped "stainless steel" mouldings where as the Canadian models had identical looking front grill mouldings that were chrome plated "pot metal" instead of the stainless. (The US stamped stainless trim fits fine on the Canuck cars).

? ?The 1941 Plymouth from the US has relatively smooth body mouldings (in profile) whereas the Canadian built models have a stepped moulding that is "ridged". Althouh they are interchangeable they are totally different in cross-section

? ?As to the question about 1940 vs. 1937 body/frame/fender swaps, the 1937 - 1939 cars and the 1940 -1941 cars are very different in that the frames wheelbase and width changed in the model year 1939-1940. In other words anything is possible but the 37 front end is considerably narrower with rounder fenders. In addition the 1937 1938 Plymouths had leaf spring front ends and the 1939 plymouth returned to the coil spring independent suspension front end that added a couple of inches to the length of the car from the cowl forward. From the cowl back most of the 1937-1939's were the same/similar.

[matts37]

 I have a technical question... my friend has a 1940 plymouth 2 door coupe for sale, A project car. I really like the 1937 plymouth front end... are they interchangable...I have a another friend who builds race cars and hot rods we can handle modifications. I was going to buy fiberglass fenders ( 2 inch wider than stock) both front and rear, plus running boards. I don't really want to start messing around with the fiberglass... kinda want to bolt that on. I have a picture of the car I want to build I'm pretty sure its a '37, its been chopped, lowered and has the wider fender, plus frenched in headlights.... HELP... haven't bought anything yet

[Jim Benjaminson]

Andy, the export stuff can get pretty weird - and without numbers, its hard to tell where the car was sourced from - USA or Windsor, Canada.  And the engines might have been sourced from the KEW works in England.  And Aussie cars were usually bodied by T J Richards so they differ from the U.S./Canadian cars in that respect.  Basically the Plymouth-bodied Dodges were an attempt to sell a less expensive car in foreign markets, more upmarket than a Plymouth but still less money than a "real" Dodge!  May not make much sense now but at the time, it was a viable sales tool - they started this foolish in 1932 and ran it until the end of Chrysler product production in the 1980's in Australia!

[Andy Wylie]

hmmm intersesting stuff, the mechanical difference hadn't occurred to me but make perfect sense. Things get really weird in the export market, both Australian and New Zealand cars are supposed to have been built with parts from Windsor CA but there are many big differences between them and US cars.
I came across a couple of brochures on eBay, an Australian one depicting the 3 window coupe and a British Kew one.
Does anybody know what the difference is between the Plymouth based D12 and 13 Dodges?

[Roadkingcoupe]

The 1939 Plymouth marked the change from floor shifter to column shifters. Some cars had the floor shift and therefore made the coupe a 2 person car, the column shift freed up some space and made the column shift cars a 3 person coupe. There are many differences between the P7 and P8. Besides the single tail lamp, visor and W/S Wiper there is NO belt trim moulding that runs the length of the car. Instead there is a short moulding that ends just after the hood stops. In addition there is a different fresh air mechanism (due to the floorshift). I am really fond of the P7 Plymouths as they are great value well designed and were the cheapest car you could buy in 1939 (full size car, from the large manufacturers). eel free to email me at for more info or discussion. Thanks.

[TodFitch]

I'd have to check the service manual to be sure, but typically in this era the lower end model (P7 in this case) would be equipped only third brush regulation on the generator while the upper end model (P8) with external voltage regulation and be capable of a bit more output to run the additional accessories likely to be found in the DeLuxe models (heater fan, radio).

Also in that era the distributors generally had different part numbers between the standard/Roadking versus DeLuxe models. I assume different advance curves were used. Usually the low end models were sold to businesses who were concerned with fuel economy while the upper end models were sold to individuals who wanted a bit more power.

Along power/economy angle in 1933, the standard used a 4.11:1 rear end (economy) while the DeLuxe used a 4.375:1 rear end (more acceleration). Again, I'd have to check the service manual but I would not be surprised if different rear end ratios were used in 1937.

[Andy Wylie]

hi, , I think P7 is Roadking and P8 Deluxe and the difference is a bit of stainless trim and a passenger side wiper and sunvisor and upholstery options.

[DavePLY]

Hi am A new member with a  39 plymouth P8 > I was wondering the difference between the p7 and p8 . Thanks for the valuable info.