Hi Owen, the chassis number is only about 1/3 the size of the part numbers and the stamping is vague by comparison. If you look directly below the left hand cowl it should be on the outside bottom edge about 100mm behind 2 rivets.
Yes the coupe and sedan chassis are the same with just the door post mount in a different position, you should have the coupe mount holes on your chassis.

Hi Andy,
When you say the cahssis number is on the lower part of the rail directly below the Richards cowl number do you mean the number is stamped on the actual chassis as aI can't find any other numbers. I only have the 8 digit serial number on the door frame and the number on the cowl, just wondering if on the 39 Plymouths the same chassis was used on the coupes, ute coupes and sedans.
I wired wheeled off some more paint on the weekend and found just like you said about the numbers at the rear of the chassis RP7R on the right and LP7R on the left.
I will have the entire chassis sand blasted after the new front subframe is fitted soon.
Cheerio
Owen.

Swamp? A "sort of billabong" I think the seller described it as Todd.

Yikes! I thought my brake drums were marginal. I've never seen a drum rusted through like that. . . It is spend time sitting in a swamp?

Jim I suspect the Ute chassis was shipped with a cowl and floorpan, the Richard's turret is gas welded at the base of the windscreen posts and from there back it's all different,. The ute 1/4 panels spliced to the Richard's coupe from the trunk opening, the rear inner guards are widened to remove the taper to the rear and the guards trimmed.
I think the Canada Cycle Company were the conduit through Canada to comply with Australian Bristish Commonwealth trading laws or concessions and there were a lot of tariffs aimed at fostering the Australian motor industry.
I finally got some scans, the tag on left of the picture carries the Lynch Rd number...




This is the day I dragged iit home to Sydney from central Victoria, I couldn't bare to photograph it without the 4x2 propping the body off the diff. It looks to be the same colour as the Queensland one originally was.





I bought it sight unseen, the vendor said there was a little bit of rust behind the doors, he didn't mention the bad brakes.





Owen I think RP7R is the right chassis rail part number, the left one should be different with an 'L'.

Thanks Go,
I just sent off for mine.
Regards
Owen.

Here is the still valid Adress for DaimlerChgrysler Historical infos, which came from Robert Cook (1934 R/S coupe, 1922 Model T, 1917 Model T, 1931 Model A) : Posted: Aug. 11 2005,19:50

Yours Go

Here is latest info on Build Cards.  They are still $45.
If you email them at:       and include your name and address they will mail you a form to fill out.
They also include a sheet showing other services available and a price list.
New Address is:
Daimler-Chrysler
Corporate Historical Collection
CIMS 410-11-21
12501 Chrysler Freeway
Detroit, MI, 48288

Hi Jim.
Again thanks for the info and yes I'd love the address of where the build records are available from. You can send it to   
Regards
Owen.

Austin - Your car is a P8 Deluxe.  It came from the factory as a right hand drive.  It was probably shipped as a chassis only to Australia and the local T J Richards body was put on it.  Chrysler has the build records on these cars and if you send them $45 US and the 10 digit serial number, they will send you a copy of the build record. 

Andy - still love that UTE.  Hope you get it resurrected someday.  And if you ever find an extra Richards body emblem I'd love to get my hands on one!

The number you gave 1359123 indicates a P7 Road King sourced out of the Lynch Road plant in Detroit.  Again, like Austin's  car, it was probably shipped as a right hand drive chassis.  I can't find any record of ANY P7 RHD chassis only being shipped so perhaps it was shipped with a coupe body that was converted to a UTE by T J Richards.  (Don't have a clue what 3930006 means....)

Austin - there were 869 RHD drive P8 chassis shipped in 1939.  Again, the build records would tell exactly what was shipped.  I've got the address for Chrysler Historical if you are interested....

Jim B.

Hi Guys,
Yes the vehicle is colum shift and the number on the door post is  10845722 someone has used hifill primer so after I removed some paint in several areas this number is stamped into the metal on the cowl  P8S 816. That number RP7R is stamped on both side of the rail to so going by the numbers what does it say, the vehicle was assembled in Detroit then converted to right hand drive by Chrysler in Australia.
I have finally removed the front crossmember last night and it looks as if the HT Holden subframe will be a great fit.

Owen.

If you look closely at the picture of the cowl you will see that the steering column has.... SHIFT LEVERS... this would indicate that the car originally had a column shift, therefore,  it would be a P8....Bill

Take a look at these pics of a relatively unmolested Richard's car... http://home.aanet.com.au/finnedmopar/1939ply.html
The chassis number should be on the bottom edge of the rail directly below the pictured Richard's cowl numbers. I suspect the aluminium tag on the other side of the cowl the original part number, mine reads 1359123 and the chassis 3930006. Do those mean anything to you Jim?

Serial number 0845722 doesn't fit any '39 serial number sequences.  Are you sure its not 10845722.  That would indicate a Lynch Road initial assembly out of Detroit.  And  make the car a P8 and not a P7.  Do you know if the car had a floor shirt and a column shift transmission?  That was the major difference between the P7 Road King and P8 Deluxe.

Interesting variation on the firewall of the down-under '39 sedan. It would appear that a special firewall was not used on the right hand drive vehicles.
Note.... the indents for the heater is still on the right side. The re-enforcing bars to the lower portion of the cowl is also interesting. They appear to be made for the car as opposed to being an add on.  The re-enforcing bars were probably a must for the export cars and should have been standard issue on US cars. The majority of the '39 Plym's I have found in the intermountain west, Idaho/Montana, all have cowls that are badly broken/cracked  in the lower portion where they mount to the frame....Bill   

With a bit of research I now know what the T.J.R stands for the body on mine was made by T J Richards of Adelaide South Australia.
http://web.aanet.com.au/finnedmopar/1939ply.html

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the info its most helpfull, now I don't have an engine or gearbox yet but I'm hopeing to use a modern unleaded engine and gearbox and the front suspension crossmember is badly rusted so I'm going to also use a model suspension setup readitaly available in Australia. Sure I know it won't be all Plymouth but I'll save me years looking for those parts.
I can't find any numbers on the firewall either only a plate with the letters T.J.R anyone know what they mean.
Serial number on door pillar is 0845722

On my Australian 39 the number is on the left rail on the lowest section on the outside towards the front. There are 2 numbers on the firewall, one on the left stamped into the cowl and another on an aluminium tag attached with twisted nails on the right.

On U.S. built cars, the engine number was stamped into the LEFT rear frame rail - about in the area where you mentioned finding the "R" number.  Is is possible your car was fitted with an engine from KEW (England) rather than a Canadian or U.S. sourced engine?

Todd,
Your information about the serial number location on the '39's is correct..... The serial number is located on a plate on the right front door post, about midway up from the sill.  The model number and body number is as you said on the cowl above the steering column. The engine number is also as you stated, above the generator.
I have seen two variations of the serial number plate, some have Chrysler Motors imbossed into the plate, other are plain. The serial number plate on my car is plain aluminum, rivoted to the door post. I have read that with some variations, the numbers stamped into frame rails are the frame manufactures ident numbers.

I believe that if one was to read my ramblings about "39 Plymouth Conv. Coupes" here on the Forum,  you will find a listing about the trouble I had straightening out the Serial number confusion on the "Alabama Car" as a result of someone in the past using the model number and body number on the cowl in lieu of the serial number on the door jamb.

When I had the body off my frame, I very carefully checked the frame for numbers prior to painting it..........we found none....Bill

Hmmm. I just noticed you are in Australia and my first cut at this post assumed North America.

If the car was built in the US, then the number you found on the door post would be the car serial number.

On US built cars there are two other numbers to look for: On the firewall in the engine compartment there is a body tag with the body number. On the engine block just above the generator is where the engine number is stamped. The engine number should start P8 regardless if the car is a P7 or P8. The engine number would also stamped on the driver side (left) frame rail around the rear wheel kick up.

Per the 1936-42 factory service manual, P7 Serial numbers from the US are:
Detroit: 1298001 to 1377475
Los Angeles: 3110001 to 3114680
Evansville: 9150401 to 9164593
Engine numbers (all plants): P8-1001 to P8-411923

P8 Serial numbers from the US are:
Detroit: 10630001 to 10879874
Los Angeles: 3222001 to 3242203
Evansville: 20027001 to 20062199
Engine numbers (all plants): P8-1001 to P8-411923

I am not aware of a number being stamped on the right side of the frame and RP7R does not look familiar. Maybe if the frame was shipped "knocked down" it could be a code on how reassembled ("Right P7 Rear"?).

Hi Everyone,
Can anyone tell me if the 39 Plymouth 4 door sedan has a chassis number, I hve found the body number on the right hand door post as for the chassis I can only find one number just at the rear of the chassis rail over the right rear spring. The number is RP7R its probally the model number as it looks a little short.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Regards
Owen
Australia.