1939 Two Door Sedan

paul Dibella · October 02, 2018, 11:54:18 PM

Do u still have the shifter cable i would be interested

Wm Steed · September 01, 2018, 12:39:03 PM

Your comment about several items in the interior of my car, door pads, bucket seats, etc., does have some merit. The bucket sets, harvested from a '85 BMW 325 2dr made my car a lot more comfortable. The large original bench seat made the seating very uncomfortable.
The dash was a real challenge, I did not want anything on the dash that was not there on an original car. The '39's originally had an apron on the lower part of the dash which held the misc. switches, etc., I discarded the original apron in favor of a slightly larger unit that the AC vents could be put into. It was my original intent to keep the original Banjo steering wheel and column shift. To many issues to deal with so the original was discarded in favor of a late model tilt with built in turn light switch, hazard switch, and wiper/washer switch. I was able to find an after-market Banjo steering wheel for the tilt column, I then modified an original '39 P-8 horn ring/button to fit the Banjo wheel.
The consul between the bucket seats was an after thought, it utilized the space that the buckets seats created.
I am very much aware that we are touching on very sensitive issues when the discussion drifts off from absolutely stock Plymouth vehicles, I have been brought to task for that before by the purists.
As a result of my contributions to the POC Forum I have been in contact with people from all over the world that have '37-41 Plymouth convertibles. Wm.

delaware39 · August 31, 2018, 11:31:54 PM

I didn't mean any offense about the interior. I'm pretty familiar the late pre-war cars, particularly the 39's. I just noticed the new bucket seats, door panels, and A/C vents. I think the overall effect is very classy. I wouldn't spend $1500 on the instruments, either. You'll notice that mine are aftermarket, too. I bought it that way. The whole car is a mutt.
I still like your turn signals, but they are out of the budget. You can be sure I'll check out your thread when I get some free time. Thanks for your input. I hope you enjoy your P8 as much as I do mine.

Wm Steed · August 31, 2018, 01:16:48 PM

In response to your question about the lights in my bumper guards and the comment about the interior in my '39. The lights in my bumper guards are custom made LED's. I had the lights made, 3/4" x 4" by a company that can and will make LED's to fit custom needs. I then had the openings in the guards lazer cut prior to having them re-chromed. Pretty pricey, LED's, lazer cutting and chrome plating cost over $400. for the four lights, two in red and two in amber for the front.
Evidently you are not familiar with car interiors of the '30's/40's.. I went to great lengths to keep the dash and interior in my car as close to original as possible. With the exception of the wood-graining which is not correct in a Plymouth, or an open car.
Wood graining is correct for a '39 Plym P-8, the majority of the cars of the '30's/40's had wood graining on the dash and window moldings. The POC has taken me to task several times for the wood graining in my car.
The instruments in my dash are not original. I could not bring myself to spend the $1,500. it would have cost to have them rebuilt, I opted for after market vintage type modern gauges.
The radio in the car is an original, NOS Philco push button radio that I scrounged up. Had it modified to work on 12v. I also have a AM FM CD in the consul.
If you take the time to read through my 39 Plym Conv Coupe thread you will find a wealth of information regarding the rebuilding/reconstruction of the car. Wm.

delaware39 · August 28, 2018, 10:00:32 PM

Thanks for the info. I would like to learn more about your turn signals. They blend in perfectly. I thought about going to the original lights, but the "bug eyes" have grown me. They are a proper modification. My dad had them on his 39 back in the 50's. Not halogens, of course.
Your interior is very modern. Mine isn't original, either. The previous had it installed. Does your radio work or did you find a way to hide one? A radio is somewhere on my project list. [attachment id=0 msg=19052]

Wm Steed · August 28, 2018, 12:34:32 PM

delaware39,

Bumper over-rides is another term used to describe 'bumper guard's'.. If you look at the second pix I posted of the rear portion of my car you can clearly see the lights that are embedded into the bumper guard's. The lights in the bumper guard's are LED's that function as turn lights and additional stop lights, and four way hazard lights.
If you should decide to refit your car with original type headlights I would caution you to be very careful buying the parts. There are two versions, 'early'.. one screw holding the lens bezel and 'late' two screws holding the bezel. The headlights are also left and right.
An additional caution is to don't try to convert original reflector headlights to halogen, the lens prisms deflect the halogen light all over the place in lieu of directly onto the road. I ruined a perfectly good set of reflectors converting then to halogen, it had been suggested to me that the lights would be better, wrong!.
"Ron Francis" has bulbs that are high output "Bright Bulbs" and fit the original receptacles.
I have attached a pix of the interior of my car for general info.. Wm

delaware39 · August 28, 2018, 07:14:05 AM

"I would suggest that you loose the MC turn lights, the right light is where the front license plate should be mounted. The turn lights on my '39 are embedded into the bumper over-rides, out of sight until needed."
I'm don't understand what you mean by the "bumper over-rides." Could you explain and/or post a closer picture. I'm not sold on the Harley turn signals, but they work fine and are easy to see day or night. Plus I already had them laying around before I bought the 39. Thanks for you help.

Wm Steed · August 27, 2018, 03:10:00 PM

Opps

Meant to ad a pix of the front end of my '39 .. Wm

Wm Steed · August 27, 2018, 03:07:03 PM

Hi gfquigg,
Nice looking '39.. The head lights you have are aftermarket conversions which were very common in the the early '40's.. The '39 HL's were square in '39, the only year for them until 1978 on Ford F series trucks. Your car is a P8, has the bright trim extending to the rear quarter panel. The P7's only had bright trim on the grille and partly on the hood. P7 also had a floor shift.
GO is spot on about the Chrysler Parts Books. The The best ones are;
Plymouth Passenger Car Parts List, 1939 Model Series. Issued February 20 1938
Plymouth Master Parts List 1936-1942 (Issued July, 1946.
The factory Parts Books pop up on eBay from time to time..
Don't mess around with reprints or CD versions, they are missing a lot of very important info due to their being condensed.
I would suggest that you loose the MC turn lights, the right light is where the front license plate should be mounted. The turn lights on my '39 are embedded into the bumper over-rides, out of sight until needed.
If you look back through the topics you will find my topic on '39 Plym conv coupe's, it is one of the most read topics on the POC forum..
Un-fortunately, many of the former contributors to the POC Forum have abandoned it in favor of the FaceBook site. I still lurk around, as does GO..
Side Bar,
Hi GO, glad to see you are still around, hope all is well with you. I am doing great, turned 84 in mid July hitting on all eight cylinders, have a great girl friend, a young chick of only 80', she loves my '39 conv. Wm.

delaware39 · July 24, 2018, 08:26:25 PM

The turn signals are from a Harley-Davidson, mounted on fog light brackets. The back lights are the original. The inside turn signal switch came from eBay, but you can find them from many vendors. FYI: the car has been converted over to 12V, but 6V components aren't too hard to find. I've had the car almost three years and it came 12V and also in the silver & black paint. It has too many modifications for me to pretend that it will ever be original. I just like driving it. You're right about the trim, my only goes to mid trunk, too. Sounds like you definitely have a P8. I'm looking forward to pictures. I will answer any question you have to the best of my ability.
Have fun with your P8.
Pat

gfquigg · July 24, 2018, 11:35:55 AM

Hi Delaware 39. Your post is very helpful. Sounds like my 39 has had the conversion made to the round sealed beam headlight. My car, as mentioned, has the column shift and the band of stainless trim from nose to rear (mine doesn't go to the bumper, but ends about mid trunk). I'll be looking for the manuals you mentioned. Nice car and great pics. Where did you get your turn signals? I've been considering adding signals, but would like to find a set that looks appropriate to the era...if that's possible...yours look nice. Thank you for taking the time to help me out. I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions. I'll upload a couple pics when I get a chance. Much obliged, sir.

delaware39 · July 23, 2018, 10:16:55 PM

Hi and welcome to the POC. I have a 39 4-door P8. I'm no expert, but I can tell you that in 1939, all of the Plymouths had the square headlights. In 1940, the round sealed beam headlight became available. Plymouth offered a conversion kit for these infinitely superior lamps. Many 39 owners, including my father long before I was born, made the conversion. If your car has a column shift, it is probably a P8. It should also have a band of stainless steel trim that starts at the nose and goes almost to the rear bumper. Other than trim and a column shift, there aren't many differences. I will echo Go's comments: try to find the original repair manuals. There is one that covers the Plymouths from 36 to 42, and one that is specific to the 39's. The originals are much sharper and clearer than the available reprints. I have both the originals and a reprint, all from eBay. I hope this helps. [attachment id=0 msg=19016] [attachment id=1 msg=19016]

gfquigg · July 23, 2018, 12:02:23 AM

Thank you for your reply and direction.

Enjoy all those hobbies!

Go Fleiter · July 22, 2018, 12:17:10 PM

Welcome gf!
To start look for a service or shop manual.
Mine for 51 is a perfect helper- and beautiful too!
Second would be a parts book, if available.
If more, You have to go to generic books and periodicals.
Hemmings seems to be the biggest, but I don´t buy it any more since some years.
Having more hobbies, all these operiodicals were too much paper to read...
Greetings from Düsseldorf!
Go

gfquigg · July 21, 2018, 05:12:45 PM

Hello,

Just joined forum and first post. I just bought a 39 Plymouth 2 door sedan and would like to know what the best resources are out there to learn all about it. I'm not sure, but I think it is a P-8 model, which I believe was the "deluxe" model(?) It has a 3 speed on the column, but I don't know what the identifying features are between the P-7 and P-8. It is a very original car; runs and drives great. It does not appear to have had much changed on it other than a paint job. Besides the requested info, I am also curious to know if all 1939 models had square headlights or if some of the 1939 models had round headlights? My sedan has round headlights, which I found confusing as I thought all 39's had square headlights. Looking forward to learning from you all. Thanks.