Plymouth Touring Sedan 1939 – the everyday car with big ambitions
An American family saloon from a time when comfort was becoming a selling point for more buyers.
With a six-cylinder engine, a spacious body and a price aimed at ordinary car buyers, Plymouth wanted to offer more car for the money. The 1939 Touring Sedan tells the story of a marque that challenged Ford and Chevrolet – and of the details that determine the value of a surviving example.
By Lars EkströmEditor-in-chief · Veteran cars and motoring historyTranslated from Swedish with the help of AI.
A Plymouth for longer family journeys
When an American car buyer walked into a Plymouth dealership ahead of the 1939 model year, he encountered a marque that had already become an established rival to Ford and Chevrolet. Plymouth had been launched in 1928 as the Chrysler group's budget brand. Just over ten years later, selling cars was no longer simply about offering cheap transport, but about winning families over with space, comfort and solid engineering.
The car here is a 1939 Plymouth Touring Sedan, with a six-cylinder petrol engine, a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. The supplied information lists an engine capacity of 3.3 litres and 82 horsepower, which matches the model year's basic engine specification. However, neither a chassis number nor series details are provided. That matters: Plymouth offered both the P7 Roadking and the more upmarket P8 De Luxe, and the Touring Sedan designation alone is not enough for a complete identification.
Touring here referred to a saloon with a luggage compartment incorporated into the rear bodywork, not any special competition version. This was a car for everyday errands and longer family journeys, when suitcases needed to come along without taking up passenger space. It was built as a regular factory model, not as an individually coachbuilt car.
Six cylinders and straightforward engineering
Under the bonnet sat a side-valve straight-six. The valves were located in the engine block beside the cylinders, an arrangement that allowed a simple cylinder head and was familiar engineering for its time. Plymouth was not seeking attention through advanced engine technology here. The appeal lay instead in smooth running, usable pulling power and mechanicals that garages knew how to work on.
The quoted power output needs to be read in its historical context. American power figures from the period are not directly comparable with today's net outputs. The figure therefore chiefly describes the car's standing in its own era, rather than how it would fare in a modern performance comparison.
Plymouth had made hydraulic brakes a selling point early on. On the 1939 cars, these were combined with drum brakes and conventional rear-wheel drive. The gearbox had three forward speeds. For the mechanic, the design meant familiar servicing tasks: ignition, carburettor, lubrication and brake adjustment were all part of the car's routine care.
The editorial team has not driven this example. Its intended role is nevertheless clear: comfortable passenger transport rather than sporting driving. In today's traffic, its use needs to be adapted to older brakes, tyres and safety equipment. The fact that a car can reach a certain speed does not mean it should be driven at that speed in all conditions.
Styling between two decades
The body captures an interesting phase in American car design. The separate forms of the thirties remain in the pronounced wings and tall passenger compartment, while the bonnet, front end and rear are increasingly drawn together. The headlamps are recessed into the front wings rather than standing as separate lamps beside the radiator.
This gives the Plymouth a more modern face without erasing its pre-war character. The upright seating position and the body's height also reveal different priorities from those of a present-day saloon: passengers needed room, relatively easy access and space to travel with their belongings.
For this particular car, there are no photographs or documentation of the interior, paintwork or previous work. Its originality therefore cannot be assessed. The colour combination, upholstery, instruments and trim need to be checked against the correct series and factory specification. A gleaming finish is no proof of a correct restoration; sometimes a preserved detail says more than new chrome.
History determines collector value
The supplied information lists 12 345 mil and a weight of 1 450 kilos. Both figures need to be verified. On an American car, the odometer may be calibrated in miles, and its reading does not automatically tell you how far the car has travelled over its lifetime. The weight should be checked against the registration documents and the relevant body version.
No sale price or documented ownership history is given. A valuation must therefore be based on an examination of the example itself: chassis and body, braking system, engine condition and how complete the car is. Model-specific mouldings and interior parts can take considerably more searching for than routine service parts.
For a Swedish enthusiast, much of the charm lies in precisely this everyday character. The Plymouth was no unattainable dream car when new. It had to work, carry the family and justify its cost. Preserved with respect, it becomes a tangible reminder of the people who built, repaired and used the car – long before anyone called it a classic.
Sources
- Beverly Rae Kimes och Henry Austin Clark Jr., Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942 (1996)
- George H. Dammann, 70 Years of Chrysler (1974)
- Charles K. Hyde, Riding the Roller Coaster: A History of the Chrysler Corporation (2003)
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