58L-Y8 Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 (edited) For Sale: 1939 Chrysler Imperial factory flathead 8 cylinder - $10,900 - Riverside, CA - Relisted, Price Increased to $14,900: 5-7-2022: See New Link Below: 1939 Chrysler imperial factory flat 8 cylinder - cars & trucks - by... (craigslist.org) 1939 Chrysler Imperial, factory flathead 8 engine, 3 speed stick with untested overdrive unit, Restored in the early 2000s, Beautiful waterfall grille, lots of Art Deco in this 82 year old piece of Americana, straight body, no rust, original heater, nice velour interior, stainless and chrome like new, original 16” wheels with 2 piece hubcaps and beauty rings, New fuel pump, 6 volt battery, plugs and muffler pipe, Rebuilt starter, solenoid , and carburetor, Needs wheel cylinder rebuilt, runs/drives smooth, clean Idaho title on hand, located in Riverside Ca. Johnny Carson owned one, now it resides at J Leno’s collection, priced to sell! $10,900 Contact: please call, text (323) 5-4-seven-8-0-four-9 Copy and paste in your email: e8322e40fa433abebedfeb2bd7e89914@sale.craigslist.org I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this For Sale: 1939 Chrysler Imperial 4dr sedan. Edited May 8, 2022 by 58L-Y8 Relisted, Price Increased to $14,900: 5-7-2022: Crossed out the dead CL link, (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Looks like old time truck tires on it. The motorcycle turn signals need to be replaced with something that doesn’t stand out as much as these do. Not too bad for the $$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperJonas Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 This is an absolute steal at this price, lose the steering wheel cover, correct the tires (they do look pretty bad), wheel cylinders fixed...nothing outwardly wrong on this one. If I were in the market, I'd be on this right now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrudy Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Great looking car at a nice price. When I purchased my '40 Super it had truck tires on it. The 16 x6.50 tires are hard to find unless you go to Coker, or Universal and they are not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Real nice, IMPERIAL no less. Great value, should be gone by this time tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 But, whoever buys it, please replace those aftermarket seal-beam headlight conversions with the original reflectors, bulbs, lens and rims! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 50 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said: But, whoever buys it, please replace those aftermarket seal-beam headlight conversions with the original reflectors, bulbs, lens and rims! Exactly what I was thinking! Otherwise, I agree with the other posts. I've always liked the Chryslers from this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deac Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Nice car. I love the Art Deco era and most of the late 30's cars had that style to them. It's a nice car at a pretty decent price. First issue is "untested overdrive unit"....what??? Second issue is "needs wheel cylinder rebuild". It would be a cool car to cruise around in on the weekends! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 3 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said: But, whoever buys it, please replace those aftermarket seal-beam headlight conversions with the original reflectors, bulbs, lens and rims! Agreed! The original headlamps look much nicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 I mentioned recently about how tedious it is to reproduce the "sunburst" motif on wheels. It seems that most thirties wheels have been repainted the body color only. The red coupe above sure benefits from the detail, though, doesn't it? And, yes, the factory headlight lenses are quite beautiful. This Imperial is so reasonably priced that I'm tempted to be skeptical about it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkEE Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 @Hudsy Wudsyperhaps very reasonable to be skeptical. I have been looking for a nice 1939 Imperial / New Yorker / Saratoga for a while now (finally subscribing to the advice of@edinmassto the masses on a car search, within my ability). This much nicer, sans color (depending upon taste), 1939 Imperial sold at auction midyear for just a couple thousand more (including the auction premiums). https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1939-chrysler-imperial BTW: I missed the one I’d like to have had that was sold right here, over on the Chrysler forum. Possibly one of the nicest ones out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 30 minutes ago, SparkEE said: @Hudsy Wudsyperhaps very reasonable to be skeptical. I have been looking for a nice 1939 Imperial / New Yorker / Saratoga for a while now (finally subscribing to the advice of@edinmassto the masses on a car search, within my ability). This much nicer, sans color (depending upon taste), 1939 Imperial sold at auction midyear for just a couple thousand more (including the auction premiums). https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1939-chrysler-imperial BTW: I missed the one I’d like to have had that was sold right here, over on the Chrysler forum. Possibly one of the nicest ones out there. SparkEE: Since you've been searching for a "nice 1939 Imperial / New Yorker / Saratoga for a while now" I'd recommend you investigate this particular car. This is the first one to turn up yet in over a year plus of searching Craigslist for good older cars for consideration. Only the six cylinder models typically turn up but few eight cylinder models ever. You can always bypass it if it doesn't meet your standards. If you do investigate it, please report your findings. Thanks. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Sparkee, that one on Hemmings was a beauty. I'm still troubled by the nice green one I posted a link to a year or two ago. I can't see a '39 and not think of that poor New Yorker. It had side mounts which are so nice looking, but rare. Some total idiot put a big block Chevy engine in it and, if that isn't bad enough, put a blower on it. I'm hoping that I'll one day get over that trauma. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkEE Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 @Hudsy Wudsy, I know the one you are referring to. I have seen a video of a red sedan with side mounts and there was a blue sedan earlier this year out of Atlanta with side mounts. It was sold off Copart for next to nothing. It appeared to have only minor front end damage. It later resold (I believe) this year. I don’t believe it originally had side mounts. It was missing the body mount hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I just took a look at Google Images for '39 Chrysler and darn if that nightmare isn't still for sale: Buy used 1939 CHRYSLER NEW YORKER WITH RARE DOUBLE SPARE TIRE FENDERS ! in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, for US $15,000.00 (2040-cars.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 How do you know it’s an Imperial ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted November 5, 2021 Author Share Posted November 5, 2021 Jake: Paraphrased from The Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1805-1942, edited by Kimes and Clark. The 125" wb eight cylinder 1939 Chryslers were all designated C-23 Series. Oddly enough the market position was base-to-high: Imperial ($1123-$1198), New Yorker ($1223-$1395), Saratoga ($1443 & $1495). The model script nameplate is on the forward hood side. While the Imperial had the same grille as six cylinder Royal, the New Yorker and Saratoga have three bars on the upper grille and only eleven bars on the lower 'waterfall' grille. New Yorker was the 'luxury' trim level with two-tone upholstery and rich appointments. The Saratoga was the 'sports luxury' with leather and Bedford cord upholstery. The choicest to find are the rare Victoria Coupes by Hayes: Imperial: 35; New Yorker: 99; Saratoga: 134. I came across one of the Imperial Victoria Coupes on a trailer at the Dunkirk, NY swap meet in the 1990's but have never seen or heard of it since. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I found that video of the red New Yorker with side mounts: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I recall remarking at the time that the side mounts were particularly attractive because they sat low enough to not be obtrusive. Just very tasteful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkEE Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Here is the one from earlier this year. Note that the side mounts don’t sit quite right - no body mount hardware is apparent in the picture. https://www.copart.com/lot/40114070/clean-title-1939-chrysler-imperial-ga-atlanta-north and then here: https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1509700/1939-chrysler-imperial-for-sale-in-cadillac-michigan-49601 it later appeared on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 The one on the driver's side appears to tip outward a little bit. It sure is a beauty otherwise. Do you know how much it sold for at any time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkEE Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 (edited) I believe the Copart sale was on the order of 4k. I did not see the final Ebay price, if it sold. Nice looking car but suspect that fenders aren’t original to the car. If they were there would be a mounting bracket through the cowl. Edited November 5, 2021 by SparkEE (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I keep waiting to see “I bought it” posted here by someone. Doesn’t the original dash have some kind of plastic trim that always broken or missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 This car is only an hour away from me, so if anyone here's interested, I'd be happy to view the car and get additional pics for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, TerryB said: I keep waiting to see “I bought it” posted here by someone. Doesn’t the original dash have some kind of plastic trim that always broken or missing? I don't quite understand why, but sometimes the plastic is badly deteriorated and other times it seems just fine. This is pure speculation, but I sort of wonder if they made a midseason change to the formulation. I wish I knew more about the early history of plastics. I know Henry Ford Sr was a big proponent of one farm based product. I can't recall if it was soy or corn. Tenite was an early cellulose synthetic that found it's way into radios, the one thing that I know a little about. It shrunk and cracked miserably in time. Edited November 6, 2021 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Beer Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 That is one really nice dash insert. Really impossible to find one this nice. The paint is always peeled off on the glass on the instruments and speedo. Those can be found but the plastic on the dash is always toast. Stories of them melting and cracking and shrinking in under a year in southern states. OD's on these cars are rock solid and mechanical in nature. It is the electric kick down to get out on hills that parts can be hard to find. I have been able to track down all of it except the switch on the carb and the bracket. Been told Hudsons are like. Getting into OD is just getting it up to a certain speed in third and letting off the gas till it drops in. http://fordification.com/tech/overdrive.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Beer Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 I am tempted to pull enough out of my crypto currency account and find a place for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Beer Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 He has the OD knob out and it needs pushed in to operate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Beer Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 On 11/3/2021 at 9:17 PM, 58L-Y8 said: But, whoever buys it, please replace those aftermarket seal-beam headlight conversions with the original reflectors, bulbs, lens and rims! I have the same issue on my 1939 Royal. I have not been able to find the complete original set for under 1 k. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 49 minutes ago, Brooklyn Beer said: I have the same issue on my 1939 Royal. I have not been able to find the complete original set for under 1 k. Wow, I had no idea they could be so expensive. Hudson kick down switches are under gas pedal. At least the '48 and later ones are. I think that what they do that's most important is briefly short out the current to the coil to allow the engine to stop "pulling" and put some slack into the driveline so that the overdrive can "shift" easily. I would think that a simple under dash switch might accomplish the same, but you would have to know when to operate it at the precise moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Beer Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 With this year there is a solenoid on the trans, a funky relay on the drivers side fender well that is actuated by switch near the carb that is linkage tripped. Floor it and it all kicks it out of OD. The relay works as you describe above from I read. I have driven mine comfortably without any of the kick down attached. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 While we are busy beating the subject of '39 Chrysler's to death, I figure why not add this woodie wagon. I hate to start out with criticism, but I don't think that I care all that much for the color. It's nice enough on it's own, I guess, but it doesn't really "pop" with the wood color, does it? I don't know what would have been better, though. If you have the time to look through all of the pics, you'll have to notice the clock in the glove box lid. I don't know if I've ever seen one before: Wood-Bodied 1939 Chrysler Imperial Station Wagon (imperialclub.info) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkEE Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 Yes, the clock was an option. Note that it too had a domed impression in the lense, unique to 1939, alone. Also note that the car advertised for sale as the subject of this thread appears to have the glove box door from a six cylinder model (blue emblem). The spark control knob in the woodie (pictured just above the starter button on the left most side of the dash) just might be the original. I’ve yet to see one prior to disintegration. Perhaps an unnecessary curiosity by 1939, I suppose. There’s also a one off 1939 Dodge woody wagon (though I’d have preferred the Chrysler). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 I'm puzzling over the "spark control knob". I don't know what that is. What does it do? Does it have something to do with spark advance/retard? What does it say on the knob? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkEE Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 @Hudsy WudsyFor those that harken back to the spark and throttle levers in the middle of the steering column, and then later on the dash, and yearn to regain control, the top end 1939 Chrysler offered a manual control knob as described here: https://www.web.imperialclub.info/Yr/1939/39Owners/Page04.htm And https://www.web.imperialclub.info/Yr/1939/39Owners/Page05.htm Of course the manual throttle continued much, much longer, at least in trucks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Beer Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 Page 13 explains the OD function 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 B B, thank you for all of that detail. I'm kind of surprised that Chrysler felt the need to offer an adjustable spark control at this point in time. I'd feel bad for any salesman trying to explain the feature to a customer, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 (edited) Just came back on the market after a 6 month hiatus. Same seller, 35% increase in price. https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/d/riverside-1939-chrysler-imperial/7480793882.html 1939 Chrysler imperial factory flat 8 cylinder - $14,500 (Riverside) Edited May 8, 2022 by GregLaR (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malo48 Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 (edited) I came across this 1939 film of Briggs stamping body panels for Chrysler - fascinating! Edited May 8, 2022 by Malo48 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Beer Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 Inflation with the 35% increase? The 8 is a draw for sure but only having drivin a 6 Royal at 45-50 MPH with OD because of the "Asshole on the road factor" I don't know what the gain of the 8 would be ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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