Looking somewhat like a kit car, or truck, Powell made two interesting four-wheeled vehicles in the 1950s that used 1940s chassis and drivetrain technology. It isn’t hard to wonder why that formula didn’t work in the long run, but I’m glad there are still a few around today. It doesn’t get much more fascinating for me than this 1957 Powell Sport Wagon, there weren’t many of them made in the last three months of production. Thanks to Mitchell G. for the tip!
It’s hard to tell the exact year of this Powell pickup or “Sport Wagon” because the chrome trim isn’t installed and we don’t even know if any trim comes with this truck or any other extra parts. The Powell brothers – Hayward and Channing – began making radios in the mid-1920s and found that the inexpensive radios sold much better than the expensive ones did, which was not too surprising. They made several other radios and were successful, but by the mid-1930s had moved to scooter manufacturing.
During WWII, they helped with the war effort and after that moved to small motorcycles, and once again helped with the war effort for the Korean War in the early 1950s. After that, two-wheelers were off the table and they moved onto the Sport Wagon in 1955. It’s hard to believe they only made them until March of 1957, but one big reason for that is they were designed to use the chassis and drivetrain of the 1941 Plymouth. There were around 1,200 made in total, just over 1,000 pickup models, and around 150 station wagons.
If this is a 1957 model, it’s well worth restoring as it’s rare. I know, “Just because something is rare doesn’t mean it’s valuable…” but yeah, no, this one deserves to be restored and to be in Scotty G’s Museum of Oddballs, soon to open (2039…). You can see that it needs pretty much everything inside and out, but it’s a very simple design and it looks straight and rust-free for the most part, at least from what photos the seller has provided. They don’t show a rear view and I’m assuming the pull-out “drawers/fishing pole holders” are gone, but I could be wrong. Many more photos are needed if they expect to wrangle up a serious buyer for this Powell.
Here’s what should be a 1941 Plymouth 201-cu.in. L-head inline-six, which should have had 82 horsepower. It should be backed up by a three-speed manual with a column shifter sending power to the rear wheels. The seller doesn’t give any information as to the condition of any of the components or really anything, other than this one was in storage for 50 years and just pulled out. It’s a shame, this could have been a legendary listing with such a rare vehicle, but there are only six photos in their craigslist ad, and this truck is in the Walnut Creek, California area. They’re asking $8,000, and here is the original listing.
Interesting, thought I knew just about every 30s through 60s auto nameplate but this one is new to me. What peaks my curiosity is the chassis/drivetrain–
a 1941 Plymouth. Did Powell just salvage pre-used components or did they utilize new-unused frames, drivetrain and related suspension parts? How would a “new” automobile with “used/reconditioned” parts be classified–
new, re-assembled, salvage? Anyone know?
I seem to recall that they bought up ’41 Plymouths from used-car lots and junkyards, repaired what didn’t work and added the new bodies. Production ended when they couldn’t find any more donor cars.
How they were registered, I don’t know.
Thanks, Ray. Maybe someone else knows more they can tell us.
They bought the used frame and drive train. Rebuilt all the components and sold as NEW 1956-57 Powell Sportwagons. Produced around 1000 trucks and 300 Wagons. Around 100 trucks exist according to the registry,
I currently own a 56. There is a Facebook group with a good following.
They used junkyard parts, cheap and easy access. This model and the wagon, SUV or whatever you want to call them were designed to be cheap utility vehicles. Wasn’t that common to have two cars in the driveway way when they were selling these. Believe it was California so doubtful any new got east of the Mississippi. Throw a modern drivetrain in it and have a ball at the local Get together.
There is a handful that have made it past the Mississippi. Those probably came this way over the years, not when new, They were selling for $1000 new while a new Chevy or Ford was around $1600. I doubt they could have sold them competitively if they were shipping them across country.
I have one that I take out to a few shows. I have only had one person say that had actually seen one in person. Quite the conversation piece, but unfortunately rare doesn’t translate to valuable.
I was in a car club many yrs ago where the President’s last name was Powell. He swore he was related to the brothers. In his back yard he had two (2) of the P/U’s in poor shape, but definitely like the one for sale. Lost track of him after I moved.
Scotty I’m looking forward to your museum when it opens in 2039. I have no doubt it will have some epic oddball vehicles.
Whoa, this is creepy. I no sooner get done saying Powell used Plymouth mechanicals on the ’39 post, and one shows up. The unexplained wonders of BarnFinds, I suppose. If there ever was a candidate for the “generic” car, Powell would have to win. It looks to be fabricated in a garage, and I believe it was in Compton, Cal. from 1954 to 1957. They say they ran out of ’41 Plymouths, and I bet a few ’39-’40s got in there too. It sold for around $1,000 new, hundreds less than a Ford, and was touted as the 1st car to sell for under a grand. ( $998) Options were limited, and I believe Powell remained a regional make, hence the location of this one. I never saw one in Beer City.
The hilarious, yet kick below the belt Simpson episode, where Homers long lost brother Herb, ( Danny DeVito) is the president of Powell Motors in Detroit. “Pow, pow, Powell makes a powerful car”, and naturally, Homer ruins everything and the plant is sold to an Asian firm, Komatsu Motors. They don’t say who Powell Motors was, but you can figure it out.
SG, could you move the starting date to the museum up a few years? By 2039, most of us will be pushing daisies,,,