Plymouth 1938

[Guest claudiu1988]

Hello,

I have a friend in Romania who has a 1938 Plymouth. Can you tell me if the rear axle is original to the. Also what do you think about the rims. I think they are not original to the car but to be sure I ask for you help.

Here are some pictures.

[ply33]

That rear axle does not look like any Chrysler product rear axle I'm familiar with. So I'd say it has been replaced.

I am not familiar enough with wheels for the 1938 to say if they are correct or not.

[keiser31]

That is not the original rear axle for the 1938 Plymouth. Look like the wrong wheels, too. There are supposed to be clips around the inner cavity to hole a hubcap. More like this one...

Edited December 17, 2009 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[hwellens]

Looks like a Ford rear. The wheels should be 16". If not they are for sure not correct. Also, I think Plymouth had a small hub cab and I don't see any clips to hold them on.

[hwellens]

Here is what the rear and wheels should look like.

[Rusty_OToole]

It looks like a full floating rear axle out of a truck. hwellens is right about the Ford like appearance but it is not Ford. It looks like a straight bevel gear axle, not hypoid gears. Probably from some light truck of Eastern bloc manufacture.

The tires are too small in diameter.

[Guest claudiu1988]

Thanks for the help.

The rear axle my be from a IMS car, a Romanian Communist car, but I am not sure.

[Guest jpg1302]

Hello ! (thanks claudiu1988)

well,this is my car,one rusty Chrysler Plymouth P6 or P6 Roadking (1938).I do not know exactly which model is,I ve search every piece of info I could find,but...no result.I have normal windows except the windscreen which can be opened(cracked).Original engine and gearbox...I hope.Different front and rear axle...the axles are from a comunist russian car named GAZ which in all those years (between the wars too)was built with Ford and Dodge license.(the link Site oficial al ARO M461 CLUB ROMANIA - Sectie a Retromobil Club Romania) I do not know how they manage to change the front axle...yes,the wheels are on 16.

Edited December 20, 2009 by jpg1302 (see edit history)

[hwellens]

What is the serial number on the body? That way you can determine if it is the deluxe model (P6) or not (P5).

[Guest jpg1302]

I will try to search the serial number on the chassis,I do not find other numbers anywhere else on the car.Is there anyone else here who have a `38 plymouth?

[hwellens]

If you cannot find the serial number as pictured below, someone removed it. Do you have a title for the car; serial number may be on that.

[Guest jpg1302]

On my title is writen only some engine numbers.In that time,in Romania,papers ware make on the engine number...unfortunately.

- the car when I have just take it down from the trailer,bad shape..but not too bad

[keiser31]

The front suspension seems to be incorrect, also.

[Guest jpg1302]

It is incorrect !I`m glad that they did not change the shape of the entire car,this is how it works in my country

[Rusty_OToole]

Have you gone back and tried to find the original axles? They may be under a donkey cart by now. In poor countries nothing gets thrown away forever.

Not just poor countries either. When my uncle died in 1989, he still had cars he bought new in 1970 and 1950, the tractor he bought in 1952, parts from cars his father bought in 1917 and 1938, and implements from the late 19th century that were on the farm when his father bought the place.

[Guest elmo39]

the serial# should be on the left front windshield pillar ,its on a plate that is either riveted or screwed on as for the front axle could you post a pic , even if it is original the ford wheels will fit , they had the same stud(bolt) pattern.

[Guest elmo39]

another thing i have found interesting is if it has a crank out winscreen it should be a 37 as that was the last year for them, 38 was a fixed windhield , yet you car has the 38 grill and front end , my guess is it a early 38 export model , which probably used a mixture of 37 and 38 parts

[Guest jpg1302]

Yes,it has this kind of widescreen.I think you have a point here...I could not find a`38 with this widesceen (all this time I thought that the P6 was with this kind of widescreen),my dash is strange too,I have the Logo in the middle and the guages outsides if you google seach a little you`ll find `37 coupe with this kind of dash(not all of them) and `38 coupe with dash nearly like mine.unfortunatley I`ve been lucky to find the ex-owner,and he does not know about technical problems.

[Rusty_OToole]

1938 was a long time ago. The car could have been rebuilt after a crash with a 1938 front clip. The rebuilt car could have been given a cooked up registration which would explain the mix of features, and lack of serial numbers.

If this was done long enough ago it would be far from obvious.

[Guest jpg1302]

Well,in my papers its `38.I belive,the widescreen was fit there to be more cool or something.I would like to find more info about the export models.

[Guest jpg1302]

Does anybody know which is the original model of the door handle,window regulator handle(or parts of those)...and if those light bulbs socket are from the correct headlight.I do not understand where or how did the car have the doorlock.:confused:

[Guest Bill-W]

The serial number was stamped on the chassis frame. It should be on the right (passenger) side around the area of the front axle.

The engine number was stamped on the left side just left of the rear front spring hanger.

These numbers are difficult to see at best.

Back then cars had one door lock on the outside located on the front passenger door.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[Guest 38Plymouth]

I own a 1938 Plymouth and I can be 100% certain that the wheels and diff are NOT 1938 Plymouth. Rusty OToole mentioned that they might be from a Soviet car, possible. I'm no expert on WW2 military vehicles but it looks a lot like Jeep or similar. Even the colour looks like olive drab. As for the body of the car, it is likely to be a P5, as the P6 or Deluxe has opening rear 1/4 windows and side mouldings. I can see no holes in the panels for these mouldings.

Good luck with the restoration.

Dallas

[Guest jpg1302]

Hallo ! I think it s a P5 too,can you tell me if some of those doorhandle are original?

[Guest 38Plymouth]

Hi again, the handle third one down on the right of the picture is correct. It is an external handle for 1937/1938. Same handle on all Chrysler products in Australia. The mounting flange is also correct and they break easily as they are made from rubbish metal. The handle bottom left and above it looks like bonnet release handles but seems to be missing the shaft.

In your second picture, the top left flange is an external door handle mount and the flange just next to it and down slightly looks like the right shape for the boot handle.

As for interior door/window handles, I don't think any of yours are correct. I understand they were a type of 'bone' finish and were prone to deterioration. In both my cars I have used interior handles from a FJ Holden (an Australian made car) as the fittings are the same and they are made of steel and are chromed. So they look good, they work and only the purists know they are incorrect.

I hope that has been helful.

Dallas

[ply33]

...snip...

Back then cars had one door lock on the outside located on the front passenger door.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

The car would have only one outside key lock, on the front passenger door as Bill wrote.

However all doors had inside actuated locks. The door handle, when moved in the direction opposite that needed to open the door, should click into a lock position. On my 1933 that would be raising the door handle up. On the 1963 Dodge truck I once had it was pressing the door handle forward. Not sure what direction it would be on a 1938, but your inside door handles are also your inside lock controls.

[Guest jpg1302]

Passenger door ?now that is wierd...why passenger?

[keiser31]

Passenger door ?now that is wierd...why passenger?

The locking passenger door handle was to try to protect people from getting run over while trying to open their car. Harder to get hit when you are opening the car from the sidewalk.

[Guest 38Plymouth]

In Australia they only had one door lock and that too was on the passenger side, this being the left hand door. Funny, I always assumed that this was because we built our bodies locally (TJ Richards) but used US imported doors. That means if I get a right hand door from the US I can put a lock in that suits me better. The reverse would also apply for people with left hand drive cars!

Oh and on the subject of body numbers: The TJR bodies have it stamped on the left side on top of the cowl, visible when you open the left bonnet (hood) panel.

Dallas

[Hudsy Wudsy]

Passenger door ?now that is wierd...why passenger?

This was a big safety issue for quite a while. Perhaps because roads were narrower (just my speculating), or some other reason, it was actually illegal in most areas to enter a car parked on the street by the drivers door. A lot of old movies show people entering their cars on the passenger side.

Regarding this hybrid '38 Ply, I just want to say that I don't think that it's an early '38 because it would have the "bug-eyed" headlights that were characteristic to the early '38s if it were.

[Guest quicktilley66]

i have a 1938 plymouth rear end complete with maybe wheels. i'll have to check the wheels. i just took it out of the car (1938 plymouth 2 door). u can contact me ay quicktilley66 yahoo. id sell it for $300 plus shipping.

[Guest tilidoc]

Cred ca stiu pe unde gasesti un diferential original,asta daca nu a dat cineva de el inainte.Am avut in curte o masina din asta dar din pacate l-a pacalit cineva pe tatal meu sa i-o vanda.

[Guest tilidoc]

uite un link,cam cu ar trebui sa arate

[Guest claudiu1988]

Salut, sunt si eu interesat de un diferential, iti trimit un mesaj cu nr meu de telefon sa putem vorbi.