I was looking at a 1940 Plymouth Business Coupe that had been restored. He's at least the third owner and has redone the majority of it. A few things look different than the pictures I have seen and I am not sure what was the original configuration. First, the trunk has external hinges. They were chrome and simple triangular shape like you might find at HD. All the pics I can find have internal hinges. How did they come from the factory? The long trim piece that runs from the hood to the rear fender is missing. The owner claimed that he never had the piece and that he did not fill any holes for it. Were there any configurations that did not have this piece. I find it hard to believe that it was glued on from the factory and now simply removed. A few other details like an antenna in front of the passenger door on the fender and a rear view mirror mounted on the driver A pillar seem out of place. Is there a good source for original factory pictures and configurations I can reference? All help is appreciated. Thanks.
I thought about that, but I figured I'd wait till I bought a project and had something to introduce. Not much interest in a rock crawler on here.
Most have internal hinges, but I have seen them with the 1939 external hinges on them. Probably an early manufactured car. P9 Roadking has the short trim, P10 Deluxe has the long trim. Mine had the antennae as you described.
Thanks for the help! Sounds like its original as the owner stated. I'll be getting the report from my dad and his friend tomorrow. Everything I find is out of town.
They were used for the early production business coupes they then switched to ones in the trunk later in the production run. I have external.
The Road King Plymouth was the cheap car line for Plymouth in 40. A road king (P-9) would not have had the chrome strip down the side. All the coupes (and all convertibles) in 40 had the outside trunk hinges. Gene
Thanks for all the help everyone. My dad is closing the deal on it now. He took a friend who used to manage a body shop and is familiar with classics. He says the paint job is a good 10 footer, some chrome is showing some pitting, but it seems to run and drive well. The interior is well executed but in an odd style - looks like an old couch. Seems like a really nice starting point and I should be able to drive it for a while before I start the mods. Here are some pics from his add. I'll be working on getting it shipped back to AZ and then do what it takes for the inspection. STOKED!!