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These pics are of my newest toy. The car is officially called a 1939 Plymouth P7 Road King, but is commonly called simply a Businessman's Coupe. There were some 22,000 of this model made and they sold for $645 new! Finding one now rodded to show quality is rare it seems as I haven't run into but one yet at the shows we attend, and see virtually no pictures of one even in the magazines, so mine gets attention at the shows we attend.
The car is all steel and is a daily driver.
The car is now undergoing a complete restoration. I didn't intend to do that, but you know how it is? Things just happen. I had two tiny, tiny rust bubbles on the quarter panels.... Once the fenders came off to fix those we saw that the bolt flanges were rusted, so the fenders had to get done too. Right? Next thing I know (cha-ching) we're blasting the whole car. So I figure if we're gonna do this--this is my chance to make some changes to slick the car out. First was the front clip. It was made into a one piece unit and the seams sealed. Then the drip rails were ground off, and the lines where they used to be were blended into the body line that was around the opera windows. That meant the door edges had to be sculpted to keep the door to body gaps uniform. Then a set of teardrop styled California mirrors were added to the doors. The license plate holder and the power antenna were frenched, and anyplace it needed it, sheetmeal was hand formed and welded in to get rid of any rust spots found---permanently.
A lot had already been done before this. The handles and all chrome trim and bumpers had been shaved and filled. A Triology keyless entry system opened the trunk and doors and power windows were already there. The glass is amber tinted, and the windshield V-butted. The original factory headlights--rectangular ones, an industry first--were replaced before I got the car with round ones so halogen could be used instead of the older sealed beam lights. I improved on that by replacing those with 7" Diamond Backs with blue tint bulbs instead. Since this style lamp has a place for an amber bulb inside the reflector, it made the ideal way to trick out the running and turn signals up front.
The motor is a 455 ci Buick Nailhead; the transmission is a TH-400. They stayed. Underneath is a modified and boxed '75 Buick Regal frame. The rollers are still Goodyear, but the rims were changed out to the new American Racing's chromed Torq Thrust " D's". The tail lights are 1939 Ford style with LED conversions. Driver comforts include power steering, tilt wheel, power windows and power brakes. The JVC disk changer and stereo booms with a fresh set of 300w speakers. The vintage GM tilt column is topped with a polished steering wheel with gray leather trim by Grant. The reclining seats are from an Ford Aerostar. The interior and trunk was professionally re-done with tri-tones of gray tweed and accent shades of gray. The patterned door panels were a nice touch. The pinstriping, lettering and graphics are now gone so that opens up the car for some new ideas, like maybe some "real flames" in hot oranges and reds maybe? H-m-m-m. One thing's for sure, I love that Ferrari Yellow. That's staying too!!
The dash has a natural oak panel that holds the SW and VDO gauges as well as an original chromed 1939 Plymouth script logo. Yellow 50's style fuzzy dice and mirror muff complete the nostalgia look in the interior of the car. A custom made embroidered circa 1939 Plymouth logo in burgundy and silver gray was sown into the trunk carpeting as a finishing touch.
A lot of extras have been added since the car came to live with me including new transmission and oil coolers mounted in the frame rails, a remote oil filter, upgraded seat belts and NSRA compliant safety equipment. The motor was completely rebuilt from the mounts up and sports chromed and/or billet parts including valve covers, alternator, starter, breather, the horns, radiator and all fill caps, master cylinder and booster, and various other engine components. Stainless braid covers all hoses and chromed wire loom covers are used to cover all the harnesses and wiring for more sparkle under the hood. Speciality scuff-proof coatings were color matched to the body color and applied to the custom made running boards.
Trailers are for boats!
We were proud to have had the car voted "Internet Streetrod of the Month" back in March 2003 on www.projectstreetrods.com site. Since then we've done very well showing the car. Major credentials include Second Place in the 15th Annual Cobblestone Nationals in St. Louis, Mo. in 2003, and First Place in the 17th Annual Cobblestone Nationals in 2005. The car is also a feature car on www.bluemoongear.com
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COACHMEN CAR CLUB of ST. LOUIS, MO.
I hope you enjoyed the site. I do not have any pics of the resto posted yet, but they are coming soon--check back!! More will be posted later on my other site as well. Click on the MSN page link to take you there.
A special thanks to Chris and all the guys at Speciality Rod & Custom in O'Fallon, Missouri for the hard work, attention to detail, and fabrication skills. This is a new shop to the St. Louis, Mo. area, but one that is surely making a name for itself amoung rodders. They treat your ride---like it's theirs. I heartily recommend them. Kudos guys!
636-379-3566
For great work, done right the first time on your 2006 passenger car--or your 1930's streetrod--and the most honest prices in town--- see Harry!