1940 Plymouth, P9, 2 door sedan, unrestored, driveable, - question on value ?

I recently ended up with a 1940 Plymouth P9 2 door sedan in exchange for some work I had done for the owners family.

The car is a one owner, and other than the paint fading and having some surface rust is undamaged

All the glass is intact, all the lights and lenses are there, the interior is all there but the roof liner is damaged and falling by the back window

The only hole in the car, is the spare tire well in the trunk which is pretty much gone although the rest of the trunk and cabin floors seem fine

The car has a little over 41,000 miles, and runs quite well for not having been started since the 1970s, brakes are decent, clutch seems fine but the column shifter needs adjustment

I have a bunch of pictures of it, but for some reason I couldn't load one here

I appreciate that value is subjective, but I don't have a clue what unrestored, driving cars of this vintage are worth

If anyone could give me even a ballpark idea on its value it would be appreciated, as that may help me decide what to do with it.

Thank you and Regards

If you want to send some photos to me, I will post them here for you. John

keiser31@charter.net

Thank you for the offer, I have sent 4 pictures to your email address, Hopefully you have better luck getting them to upload than I did

Here you go....what a NICE car! Wish I had some cash flow...

$2K-$3K for a two door sedan is roughly the value IMO, depends how fast one wishes to sell. Need more pics to get a idea, such as interior, engine codes, underneath pics, etc.

I was thinking the same thing as Henry.

Maybe a little more, but in agreement with these guys your in that neighborhood.

Had almost the identical car - a '41 two door, and not surprised yours runs well. I believe that car ran better than many other cars I have had including a Packard 120. Smooth even with a couple trips around the odometer - this is definately not a parts car and does not look too far from going down the road this summer. Parts are inexpensive and they are not hard to work on.

Thank you for the thoughts and information, it is all appreciated.

The car is sitting in my sons Quonset - out of the elements - I think I will adjust the shift linkage and drive it a bit - albeit on a different set of tires and rims, and enjoy it for a bit this summer as suggested.

Good for you. Along related lines sometimes that is one of the best ways to sell a car - getting it out around town, and to a couple local shows could net you a buyer if you still want to sell once you get it on the road.

Invest a couple bucks in a shop manual - two unusual things to be aware of right away - the car is positive ground as most prewar cars are, and the lug nuts on the wheels I believe are threaded in the opposite direction of what is conventional. In other words, turning them to the right will loosen, rather than tighten them. Common among Mopars of this vintage, I know that was the case for my '41 and it is likely the case for your car as well.

Glad you intend to put this car on the road - enjoy it!

Yes....left side of car has left-handed lugbolts.

The left handed lugs are only that way on the left side of the car.

Those rear bumper guards look like maybe (American) Desoto, dont they? As I recall every Plymouth I ever saw had those ones with a verticle red line, unlike the car above. But this is correct for a Canadian car I think.

It should have the P 9 engine code stamped into the upper left side of the block just above the generator.

Many mechanical items can be found for the car but trim parts not so much. Many Dodge parts will interchange, many will not.

LH wheel lugs should all be LH thread but look for an L on the end of the lug bolt just in case someone slipped a RH drum and lugs on there.

All of the bumper guards look correct, to me and according to my books, are correct..

I had forgotten the LH lug nuts were LH side only i it has been a while. I learned so much from mine at age 14 (late 70s - a long time ago) not the least of which was it is never a good idea to rest your elbow on the battery terminal and try to pull a plug wire off when the engine is running... Not sure where the batt is on a 40 but trust me that lesson has stayed with me for 35 + years!!!

I am sure this section of the forum covers parts well but we used "Andy Bernbaum" in MA, who I think is still in business. At the time parts for these were dirt cheap compared to Ford or even GM. Carby sits up nice and high, so you may not have as much ethenol issues as some of the prewar cars have either, I think carb placement has a lot to do with that.

$2K-$3K for a two door sedan is roughly the value IMO, depends how fast one wishes to sell. Need more pics to get a idea, such as interior, engine codes, underneath pics, etc.

If he was in my area, I would be running over with the money as fast as I could.

I doubt I'd see one in that shape for less than 8K here.

Send those buyers east. Here, we have so many old cars to chose from that some just dont bring so much. I still havent sold my 40 coupe at $3K, and coupes are always easier to sell than a two door sedan. Location does factor in, and I am told things costs more on the west coast.

OP, if you need any mechanical or electrical parts check with nosmopar@aol.com he has lots of nos goodies for the 40 and he is great to deal with. Andy Bernbaum, mentioned above, is also a good vendor.

I, like many, don't have time nor a desire to travel very far to look and buy a car and then worry about getting it transported back. Yes, some places in the left coast are more expensive. I noticed that cars in much better shape are less expensive in the L.A. area than up here in the Portland metro area.

I would be all over this Plymouth if it were near me. It sure is a neat looking car. I love the color with that patina.

Any idea what a 4 door version of this would be worth in the same condition?

Thank you for the thoughts and information, it is all appreciated.

The car is sitting in my sons Quonset - out of the elements - I think I will adjust the shift linkage and drive it a bit - albeit on a different set of tires and rims, and enjoy it for a bit this summer as suggested.

Why different rims? Keep all stock parts for the next owner if you don't plan on keeping it very long.