1940 Plymouth Deluxe P10 Business Coupe
The use of business coupes in the 30's and 40's provided traveling salesmen with a roomy vehicle in coupe configuration, blending in with normal commuter cars of the era. Later, panel trucks, station wagons, and even pickup trucks would fill a niche needed by businessmen who took products with them in the days when welcoming someone into your house through unlocked doors with no prior appointment was perfectly normal. Yeah, that was a long time ago.
For consignment, a 1940 Plymouth Deluxe P10 Business Coupe, long retired from the sales workforce and now a textbook street rod with all the desirable ingredients. Flames on red paint? Check. Chrome wheels? Yep. A 350ci under the hood? Absolutely. It's been carefully maintained over the past 20 years and is ready for a new caretaker.
Exterior
Based in Bright Red, the front of the car is on fire with painted flames that realistically flow from the bookend grilles and flow back over the wide front fenders and pointed nose, licking across the entire hood. The scripted Streetrod emblem on the hood is a nice touch and is underlined by the detail trim of the side vents. The enormous butt of this car is characteristic of business coupes and provides a large trunk lid and easy access to contents, all between the articulated fenders wearing simple taillights and no bumper. The red out back is briefly broken by the small rear window and is accented by the twin exhaust tips protruding from the bottom. The profile of the car indicates forward momentum as the entire car appears to lean forward and its raked stance enhances this street rod attitude. Staggered Jegs Sport Star wheels carry staggered size tires, a must for the consummate hot rod. Imperfections include some pitting of the door handles and hood ornament, bubbling in paint down low, some rust on the running board and nearby seam, scuffs, scratches, and chipped paint.
Interior
Gray velour door panels are neat and clean and contain vintage hardware and the material continues on the front bench seats borrowed from a more modern car, all tidy. A 4 spoke steering wheel front the metal dash painted aluminum color with brass rimmed and white faced AutoMeter gauges filling the sightline of the driver. A billet style knob panel handles the A/C and a Pioneer AM/FM/CD radio sits just below. A Lokar shifter is tall and floor mounted over low-pile gray carpet in good condition and loosely fitted. The gray headliner is in excellent shape and visors are intact and in place.
Drivetrain
Lift the top of the hood and we find the driver quality 350ci V8 with a 4-barrel carburetor over an Edelbrock intake manifold. Behind it, a TH350 3-speed automatic transmission that was overhauled in 2018, sends power to the rear 10 bolt. Heat and A/C were installed in 2019. Power brakes are on the car with disc up front and drum out back.
Undercarriage
Driver quality conditions prevail underneath with plenty of non invasive surface rust, some oil on the pan, and some flaking rust on an inner body bracket and inner rocker panel. There's quite a bit on the underside panels as well. The dual exhaust runs through the X-frame and encounters Flowmaster mufflers before exiting out back. Coil spring suspension is up front with leaf springs in the back. In 2016 the springs, shocks, and a sway bar were replaced.
Drive-Ability
The roomy interior is likely more comfortable than it was in 1940, especially with the addition of air conditioning and a radio! The 350 fires up with gusto and we point the pointed nose towards the tarmac. We find a good running car that tracks well, accelerates with no problem, and takes full advantage of the power brakes. All items were checked for functionality, and we found nothing that wasn't working. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase.
With classic business coupe lines, bright red paint, and of course, flames up front, this rod has all of the design cues of an American classic. Your loved one can sit close to you on the bench and whether it's a local car show or a summer night ice cream run, you'll sure to have good times in this vintage workhorse that probably supported a family back in the day but is now meant to party.
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8 acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.
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