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Business Man’s Coupe: 1939 Plymouth P8

1939 Plymouth P8

The seller of this Plymouth admits it has seen its fair share of Canadian winters, which I assume can’t be a good thing. It looks complete and wears a good amount of patina, and by that I mean rust and peeling paint. I really do like the looks of these old Plymouths and I can see why a business man would have wanted to drive one of these! This one has plenty of problems beside the rust, its engine is seized, but I think it deserves a second chance at life. What do you think? You can find this winter survivor here on eBay in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. So any takers?

Comments

  1. Avatar Mark S

    Being a Mopar fan so of course I’m going to love this little coupe. For a car in the Canadian rust belt that is 77 years old it’s looking pretty good. As for the engine it might still be salvageable. I’d start by putting some marvel mystery oil or some diesel down the spark plug holes followed by some soak in time to see if it can be freed up. If not I’d hand the engine off to a rebuild shop and get it rebuilt. As for the body it’s not that hard to tig in or mig in new metal where required. This is another example of a car that can be DYI restored on a budget to a nice driver quality status. I think it would look great in a gunmetal grey and black fenders.

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  2. Avatar JW454

    pat•i•na (ˈpæt n ə, pəˈti nə) also pa•tine (pəˈtin)

    n., pl. -ti•nas also -tines.
    1. a film or incrustation, usu. green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamental value.
    2. a similar film or coloring appearing gradually on some other surface, esp. as a result of age or long use.
    3. a surface calcification of implements, usu. indicating great age.
    4. a term now widely used buy owners of rusty, or worn out vehicles in an attempt to increase interest in an automobile that needs to be scrapped or a complete restoration for the purpose of increasing a sale price.

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    • Avatar Mike H.

      You ought to contact both Webster and Funk & Wagnalls to have that definition updated.

      Seriously. It needs to happen. Maybe then its use will stop and honest descriptions in advertisements may begin. “Good patina” would later be replaced with:

      “Rusty and neglected, the paint has long since stopped shining and the body will require a full and expensive restoration with significant metal replacement where the body and frame have rotted away to nothingness.”

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      • Avatar Ed P

        Agreed

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  3. Avatar Dairymen

    Replace “patina” with “rust” everytime and all of a sudden those vehicles don’t look that good anymore.

    Like 1
  4. Avatar gord

    he’s looking for 3400 cdn per this ad (about 2k us)

    http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/barrie/1939-business-mans-coupe/1165237343?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

    bit high… i bought an earlier businessmans coupe for 1500 , barn find, had an interior and ran… but… to each his own

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  5. Avatar Geoff S.

    Is EVERY CAR a potential Rat Rod?! Why not just a nice restoration, or a resto-mod. Rat rod suggests to me that it’s beyond restoration, and one step from the junk yard.

    My crabby opinion.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Mark S

      Totally agree I’d much rather see cars like this referred to as Good DYI restorations candidates that can be done on a budget.

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  6. Avatar Doug Towsley

    While I agree some terms are over used “Old School” and have gotten to be annoying,
    Remember in 1980s and 1990s the over worn cliche “Lets touch base?” Patina DOES have its place and is useful in certain situations. The well meaning but incredibly stupid citizens who thought they would clean up some statues and ornamental metal work some years back not understanding it took years to develop the “patina” that was intended.
    I have sold for a nice tidy profit take off parts from restoration projects, people want that well worn and abused finish for certain projects. Shiny and new just does not always appeal and some will pay a premium for parts with that,.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Wait for it……
    “Patina”. Decorators, remodelers, marketing experts and trendy designers also pay a premium for aged and (sorry) Patina in barn wood, timbers, wooden beams and misc hardware. Same with antiques, memorbillia, and period accys. Old oil and shop signs are just one example, but I had some old tools and was astounded what people paid for them until I saw them in their new setting.

    My buddy comes over from Germany. Buys an old truck, stuffs it full of vintage motorcyles, parts and misc old junk and then ships it back to Europe. He does quite well doing this and pays for a nice vacation and vintage vehicle shopping trips here to the US. At Veterama,. One of Europes largest swap meets (or the UK term Auto Jumble) He had a 1960s Chevy panel delivery up for sale, RICH with patina!!!! The Germans went crazy for it. I will have to ask what is a typical German translation for the word Patina. But they went on and on about it. Jah! look at that! It is an old warhorse and wears its wounds and character well! He had multiple offers and sold it for a large sum. The new owners want to preserve its……….wait for it……Patina. And make it reliable and useable but preserve its appearances.

    As to “Rat rod” that too is a relative term. It can take many variations and has been well into the overused category for some time but regardless the important thing is that something as cool and old as this car is, as long as it does not get scrapped its all good to me.

    I have a 39 Plmouth coupe, Mine is much rougher than this one. Not a viable resto candidate. So it WILL live again! A Ratrod rich with patina!

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  7. Avatar Mike Williams

    I heard that Canada doesn’t allow the export of old cars.

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  8. Avatar Doc

    Slam it, stuff a 331 Hemi w/727 auto hi stall converter loose as a goose, 391 gear rear end and go racing!

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  9. Avatar Bill in Canada

    Mike: don’t know where or how you heard that Canada does not permit the export of old cars. Totally untrue! With our dollar value they are being snapped up.

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  10. Avatar Lion

    Yes, I have sold an old car into the states from Canada. Just be sure you check first.
    I got screwed by the US border guys who made me go through a broker after telling me on the phone there was no problem bringing it down as it was not running and considered an antique. Do your homework first.

    Like 1
  11. Avatar Mike Williams

    Maybe I should have used the term “antique car”

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Doug Towsley

    I have sold multiple vehicles INTO Canada with no problems. It may have changed recently but last ones were 5 years back. We made multiple copies of bills of sale, Title, and had notarized bills of sale. One also had a Oregon DMV Vin inspection, another had a Calif. state police inspection paperwork one was just bills of sale and title. We called ahead to the border crossing and faxed the paperwork ahead so everything was waiting there as well as buyers had physical copies.
    I and several friends have ALSO purchased vehicles IN Canada and again, NO issues crossing the borders. Depends on who you get, some took one look and waved us thru,. Others did an inspection and hemmed and hawed at the paperwork and in the end sent us thru.
    We have bought several vintage and antique motorcycles as well up in Canada and used shippers and no issues whatsoever. Sailed right thru.
    The ONLY Issue I will caution you guys about is avoid ANY appearance you do this much. They often will try to get you to say you are “Commercial” which is a whole different kettle of fish. Then they want to charge taxes coming and going. Focus in on and stick the story of “Aw Shucks, im just a crazy guy who likes old vehicles, NOPE, dont ever sell anything, NOPE not a business, and its just a rusty old piece of junk.”

    When i got to Canadian swap meets, especially if bringing back parts with VIN numbers (Engines) I bury them on the bottom. Put the rustiest crap on top. If its over $400 then it triggers tax paperwork, so hint hint……I always say,..which is mostly true. I came up to promote our club and vintage museum, and did not intend to buy anything but lost my mind and bought some rusty old crap,. 99.9% of the time no ones going to know values. So what did you spend? Uh,,,, Probably around $250. Now a car like this is a little more complicated but dont over complicate it. Truth is most of the worlds population does NOT care about this old junk and only us nut jobs care at all.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Rob

    I’d like to buy it only to Put some clear On it and drive it just the way it is … a good old car…

    Like 0

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