CPPC'S Tech Committee introduces their
"new" 1942 Plymouth
Follow this link to see a gallery of pictures of the '42!
For quite a while, CPPC's Technical Committee has been looking for a car they could acquire, fix up, and sell for a little profit to benefit the club treasury.
The usual concerns got in the way: the expense, the need for a regular place to work, the question of whether the enterprise will be profitable …
UPDATE: The '42 Plymouth has been sold!
New CPPC members Phil and Jean Lapin, whose last old-car project was a Willys Jeep, decided a Plymouth would be more driveable in the long run. Phil was happy with the car as a restoration project, and Jean, undaunted, said it didn't look as bad as she thought it was going to look! They trailered the car home in mid-April, and the two of them are working on a baffling fuel-delivery problem which is the only thing keeping the old rig from being driveable. We'll be updating this page with pictures as Phil, Jean, and the Tech Committee guys make progress.
But in December, 2015, the planets more or less aligned with a 1942 Plymouth barn find in southwest Washington. The rarity of the 1942 models worked in its favor. It wasn't too far gone to fix. CPPC's board agreed that the asking price was reasonable. Bob & Yvonne Westphal agreed the car could live at their house while work was being done.
A deal was struck. The Tech Committee showed up en masse, got some air in the old tires, and used a come-along to haul it up on the trailer.
The Plymouth is a 1942 Deluxe (P14), from early in the production run. Later models suffered due to classification of chromium and stainless steel as strategic materials for the military prior to World War II, but this car has all of its brightwork.
The story is that the engine was overhauled shortly before the car was driven from Minnesota to Oregon in 1964. At that point, the owner parked it, and it was never driven regularly again. The grandson of the original owner finally gave up on the idea that he could restore it, and listed the old rig on craigslist, where CPPC found it.
All of the interior bits – knobs, door handles, etc. are either in place or accounted for. Portions of dealer-installed seat covers were in place, and the wool broadcloth underneath doesn't look too bad. Ditto for the headliner.
Body damage is minimal, and the visible rust is in places that's easy to repair.
The Tech Committee started immediately working in several directions: general cleanup, brakes, fuel delivery, ignition . . . each work day bringing them closer to the day the old Plymouth would run on its own.
That day came on March 16, 2016. After liberal doses of mystery oil and some serious work unsticking valves, the old Plymouth fired up. But only for a moment – a rotten rubber fuel line burst, and things shut down quickly. In the short time the engine was running, consensus was that it sounded good. So here's what the guys know right now: it's a 1950 engine, not the one that was original to the car. It has .040-over pistons, a pretty good sign that it was overhauled at some point. It smoked plenty – as an engine full of mystery oil would – but it made no foreign sounds. They're looking at re-torquing the head, installing a fresh fuel line and the tube that runs to the oil pressure gauge, and firing it up again.
And in the meantime, news that they've got a '42 has piqued interest, and there are already potential buyers.
The '42 will be at the Portland Swap Meet, April 1-2-3.
Follow this link to see a gallery of pictures of the '42!