Ramblings on a 1932 Plymouth Roadster

"stuckMTB" (stuckmtb) 06/30/2020 at 16:21 • Filed to: None

17

17

1932 Plymouth PB Sports Roadster

This car has been in my family since well before I was born. I was lucky enough to drive this beauty today. It’s a 1932 Plymouth PB Sports Roadster, with a dog-leg 3 speed manual gearbox and free-wheeling clutch. It was originally sold to somebody in Massachusetts, went through a few subsequent owners and repaints, and was bought by my grandfather sometime in the early ‘60s. It spent the next thirty years mostly stationary and unrestored in his garage while my cousins and I hopped around in it, jumped up and down on the mouse-eaten springy bench seat, and slammed the hood and doors of its tattered shell. Sometime in the early 90's, he shipped it off to a restorer around Hershey, PA and got it back more-or-less as it sits today.

These days it doesn’t get used all that much. My grandpa is all of 93 years old and doesn’t drive it much, although he still could. I think he’s a bit afraid of the single circuit brake system with drums on all four corners. That and the effort required to move the non-hydraulically assisted steering wheel at low speeds is quite a lot!

Free-wheeling clutch!

Visibility through the pillbox sized windshield is comical, a mixed result of the original styling and the NYS inspection sticker taking up an inconsiderate amount of what’s left of the windshield. Trying to place it on the road is very strange compared to a modern car; it feels much wider than it actually is, and the long hood looms out in front of you, making it hard to place the passenger front tire.

Look at that hood!

It drives remarkably well for its age, although steering inputs above 40mph are more like suggestions. Braking is, well, about what you’d expect. That said, the car cruises very comfortably at 30-40 mph. You can even tip the bottom of the windshield forward for a bit of fresh air if the cabin temperature gets a bit toasty from that big four cylinder humming away just ahead of the firewall.

Bi-fold hoods are the best.

A torquey little four.

Very photogenic!

He also has an old tin advertisement for the thing hanging in the garage. The MSRP in 1932 was $595, which works out to be around $11,000 today. Seems amazingly cheap for a nicely finished machine. I guess airbags and modern safety probably add quite a bit of cost to the modern automobile. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Tin advertisement hanging in the garage

He wrote the Chrysler Historical Society a few years back and they actually sent him a great trove of historical info on his car, including a bunch of period advertising material and the original delivery sheet!

Original build sheet

Original Brochure Material

Original Brochure Material

Original Brochure Material

70 MPH! Yeah, right.

70 MPH! I don’t think you could pay me to go that speed. Anything above 45 mph and the vague inputs from the overly large non-collapsing steering wheel and bias ply tires begin to remind you that you’re tempting fate at that point. I can’t even contemplate pushing this car to 50mph in second as the ad states it can do. At 30mph, the engine is loudly asking you “Sir, could you change up, please.”

I don’t know if the automatic clutch works or not, I don’t know if my grandfather’s ever tested it, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to try it. It does have a synchro that works going up, but going back down requires a double clutch if you’re going to do it smoothly.

The Chrysler Historical Society even sent along this photo of the car in front of a place I immediately recognized, being about a mile from my house, as the Woodward entrance to the Detroit Institute of Arts. I hope one day I can recreate this photo, although it might take a considerable amount of schmoozing with the right people, as I think today this driveway is only occasionally used for valets for fancy events and things like that, otherwise it’s closed to vehicular traffic.

1932 Plymouth PB Sports Roadster in front of the Woodward Avenue entrance to the DIA

Anyways, the car will probably head into the care of my uncle soon, maybe then it’ll get driven a bit more than it is now. Hopefully in a few years I can buy it off of him when I’ve found a place with a bit more garage space. A gravel parking lot just wouldn’t be right for a car that’s survived nearly 90 years and still looks this good. Thanks for reading!

Six incredible volts of electwizardry

19JRC99 > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 13:29

1

God, that’s gorgeous. I’ve always preferred 30s cars as hot rods, and still do, but I’m really getting a new appreciation for them as they were when new. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 14:11

1

If 40 mph is comfortable, take it to an autocross, report back?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 14:27

1

My goodness, they don’t build cars with a presence like that anymore! That was something you could be proud of to be seen in! Fantastic color too! Period materials just make it perfect!

Does NY does year of manufacture plates? The classic yellow on black is just perfect! Georgia forces you to stick this tacky all white one on with a picture of a model T in the middle.

I think you accidentally backdated this by an hour or two so feel free to repost later.

Sovande > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 14:31

0

Wow.  Beautiful car. Thanks for all the info! 

stuckMTB > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/30/2020 at 16:01

0

My grandpa was saying that NY will let you put original year historical plates on a car provided you find them yourself and don’t refinish them. Apparently he found these at the Hershey swap meet shortly before restoring the car, and the restorer refinished them anyways. Oh well!

On another note, I don’t know how I posted back in time before I finished the post... still getting to know Kinja I guess. I’ll see if I can figure out how to repost it again later.

stuckMTB > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 06/30/2020 at 16:01

1

That would be entertaining to say the least!

stuckMTB > Sovande 06/30/2020 at 16:01

0

No problem, happy to share some details about it!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 16:16

1

Shhhhh they don't know they are refinished. That seems outright dangerous on a 90 year old plate to have the original paint. 

At the top of the draft menu, there is a timestamp. You can reset or set to any time you wish. Makes it easy to do an afternoon repost, but we use that power sparingly.

stuckMTB > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/30/2020 at 16:22

0

Thanks, and done!

Future next gen S2000 owner > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 16:26

1

I am really into pre-war 2dr droptops right now. I need one in my life. Damn thing is almost 100 years old.

fintail > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 16:27

1

That was a fun read, glad it is staying in your family.  Many relatively normal cars of this era aren’t embraced by the under-50 set, and have depreciated over time, maybe because of a lack of relation, and not being suited for modern dense traffic.  But in the right situation, they can be fun, and definitely have aesthetic appeal.  Enjoy it in good health for the driver and car alike.  

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 16:33

2

I love the car. So it’s an unsynced gearbox? My 1952 Dodge has a 230 flathead which originates far earlier than 1952 and downshifting from above 2nd gear requires a double clutch. I will have to practice some more when I get it back. It’s a truck so first is a granny, it’s really a three speed 2-3-4. It would top out at 45mph but I changed the gears so it will do 55 now. And I put power steering in, yeah it’s just too much! 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 16:40

1

There is a formal 1 repost cap, just so you know. More people need to to see this so you're good on that. Kinja is a tricky beast to get the hang of.

stuckMTB > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/30/2020 at 16:48

1

I bet the gearbox design is similar, except for the addition of your truck’s 1st/low  gear. You don’t need to double clutch going up, but it sure helps going back down. The 2>3 change is doable, but you definitely can’t be in a hurry.

stuckMTB > fintail 06/30/2020 at 17:05

1

Thanks! It definitely has its time and place. In 2008 my grandparents had it out in Plymouth, MI for a Plymouth owner’s club show celebrating the 90th anniversary of the brand. I can’t remember exactly where the meet was held, but I think it was in or near Pontiac. I recall being able to see a then- recently-c losed GM assembly plant from the parking lot of the hotel/show.

I had a chance to drive it around town a bit the night after the show, and pulling out onto some of southeast MI’s more heavily trafficked roads was quite the experience! Luckily, it was mid-summer and the locals are pretty used to old cruisers, even if this one was a bit slower than most. Most people gave it enough room to not cause an issue.

Funny story related to that, that show was on the same weekend they held the Meadowbrook Concours D’Elegance, and my grandpa got a deal on an enclosed trailer to bring the car out, as there was one going by from NJ or CT with a couple million-dollar Bugattis or something of that nature that were on their way to Meadowbrook that weekend. Their place was only about 30-40 mins out of the way, and I’m sure the trailer driver got a few more bucks for his effort. It was pretty neat getting to check out the other cars in the trailer up close without the show crowds swarming all over them.

Wish I could remember exactly what they were... these are the only photos I could find of them. If anyone can tell what they are, I’d love to know!

fintail > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 17:23

1

Yeah, I bet in Michigan, with strong car culture and a “cruise” environment, people respect an old car. Funny, I have an early 60s car, which I bought in the 90s. It didn’t feel insanely old then, but has more of a quaint feel as time goes by. I have to tell myself that a 1960s car now is as old as a 1930s car in the 90s. It still keeps up with city traffic fine, but I don’t like to take it above 75 or so anymore, and it is very happy to cruise along a lightly traveled secondary highway at 50-60.

You should make some videos of the Plymouth, especially cold starting and engine/exhaust noise, and driving. People on Youtube like that kind of thing.

For the mystery cars, the large car on the bottom is hard to place, but I think it from the very end of the 20s. The detached fender/open wheel design is distinctive, along with the disc wheels used that late suggest it is a custom body, definitely a high end car. The radiator shell would be the key help.  The car on top resembles a mid-late 30s SS100, predecessor to the Jaguar brand.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > stuckMTB 06/30/2020 at 17:56

0

Yeah, the WWII Dodge WCs were crash boxes, mine is a Korean War era truck and you are supposed to double clutch downshifting, but it is ok going up. I might put a push button electric E brake in the truck too, the power steering is great, after a half hour of wrestling it around the first time I drove it I decided to get the kit. I got a new tranny top with new springs and I haven’t tried it yet, should be less hunting around.