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Details
1941 PLYMOUTH SPECIAL DE LUXE CONVERTIBLE
Chassis No. 11395431
Engine No. P12-531703
Black with red and tan interior
Engine: straight-six, sidevalves, 201.3 cu. in., 87bhp; Gearbox: three speed manual with synchromesh; Suspension: independent front with wishbone and coil spring, live rear axle with half elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: four-wheel hydraulically operated drum. Left hand drive.
In 1928 Walter P. Chrysler put to further use a capable four-cylinder car that began life as a Maxwell back in the early 1920s. Invited to put right the struggling Maxwell-Chalmers Corporation by the bankers who controlled it, he had the good sense to take payment in stock options rather than salary. Under his powerful leadership the company surmounted the problems that had plagued it; it was said that he quickly sold at $5 above cost price, unsold cars cluttering up the factory and Walter Chrysler emerged controlling Maxwell-Chalmers. The Maxwell became a low-price four-cylinder Chrysler, but that made little sense when Chrysler was firmly aimed higher up the market. Instead, the Plymouth marque appeared in 1928, aimed accurately at the mass production field previously shared between Ford and Chevrolet. The line of descent was certainly from Maxwell, but the engineering was of the best and styling, much in the Chrysler idiom, very sharp.
A Californian was reputed to have bought the first Plymouth sold. In 1934 she traded it in for the one millionth Plymouth - sales year to year were that good. Floating Power - with the engine very flexibly mounted on rubber supports - was an innovation for 1931. The straight six L-head engine arrived in 1933, with full pressure lubrication, and there were new longer, X-braced chassis frames with 117 in. wheelbase in the late 1930s giving scope for freely flowing lines. By 1940 the Plymouth was well established indeed, runnning Ford close for second place in their market. In 1941 the Special De Luxe was the top of three Plymouth ranges, but only by narrow price margins and in a booming economy buyers preferred the loaded top models. Convertibles were increasingly rarely offered but Plymouth had one, offering full-width rear seat and with a new alligator-opening hood. With modest updating to body trim and fittings, it sold well enough to hold its place in the range. Safety had been a recurrent theme in Plymouth marketing and in 1941 Safety Rim Wheels were standard, intended to keep the tire on the rim in the event of a blowout. A stop light mounted high on the center of the rear deck lid, was a timely recognition that traffic was getting ever busier. During 1941 the four-millionth Plymouth was built. It was a Special De Luxe convertible.
Mr. Pettit acquired the Special De Luxe Convertible from its previous owner during the mid 1960s. It was driven home to the collection in Louisa, Virginia and has been in storage ever since.
WITHOUT RESERVE
Chassis No. 11395431
Engine No. P12-531703
Black with red and tan interior
Engine: straight-six, sidevalves, 201.3 cu. in., 87bhp; Gearbox: three speed manual with synchromesh; Suspension: independent front with wishbone and coil spring, live rear axle with half elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: four-wheel hydraulically operated drum. Left hand drive.
In 1928 Walter P. Chrysler put to further use a capable four-cylinder car that began life as a Maxwell back in the early 1920s. Invited to put right the struggling Maxwell-Chalmers Corporation by the bankers who controlled it, he had the good sense to take payment in stock options rather than salary. Under his powerful leadership the company surmounted the problems that had plagued it; it was said that he quickly sold at $5 above cost price, unsold cars cluttering up the factory and Walter Chrysler emerged controlling Maxwell-Chalmers. The Maxwell became a low-price four-cylinder Chrysler, but that made little sense when Chrysler was firmly aimed higher up the market. Instead, the Plymouth marque appeared in 1928, aimed accurately at the mass production field previously shared between Ford and Chevrolet. The line of descent was certainly from Maxwell, but the engineering was of the best and styling, much in the Chrysler idiom, very sharp.
A Californian was reputed to have bought the first Plymouth sold. In 1934 she traded it in for the one millionth Plymouth - sales year to year were that good. Floating Power - with the engine very flexibly mounted on rubber supports - was an innovation for 1931. The straight six L-head engine arrived in 1933, with full pressure lubrication, and there were new longer, X-braced chassis frames with 117 in. wheelbase in the late 1930s giving scope for freely flowing lines. By 1940 the Plymouth was well established indeed, runnning Ford close for second place in their market. In 1941 the Special De Luxe was the top of three Plymouth ranges, but only by narrow price margins and in a booming economy buyers preferred the loaded top models. Convertibles were increasingly rarely offered but Plymouth had one, offering full-width rear seat and with a new alligator-opening hood. With modest updating to body trim and fittings, it sold well enough to hold its place in the range. Safety had been a recurrent theme in Plymouth marketing and in 1941 Safety Rim Wheels were standard, intended to keep the tire on the rim in the event of a blowout. A stop light mounted high on the center of the rear deck lid, was a timely recognition that traffic was getting ever busier. During 1941 the four-millionth Plymouth was built. It was a Special De Luxe convertible.
Mr. Pettit acquired the Special De Luxe Convertible from its previous owner during the mid 1960s. It was driven home to the collection in Louisa, Virginia and has been in storage ever since.
WITHOUT RESERVE