With paint and an interior that the owner describes as being 9/10, this 1939 Dodge Luxury Liner Deluxe Sedan does present incredibly nicely. It is a car that appears to want for little, except for a new owner who will cherish and appreciate this pre-war classic. Located in Polk City, Florida, you will find the Dodge listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of $12,500, but the option is available to make an offer.
Dealing with what remains unseen at this point, the owner provides some nice, clear photos of the floors and the trunk, and they look to be spotlessly clean and free of any rust issues. Similarly, all of the panels are in nice condition, with no evidence of rust or rot. The paint has a fantastic shine to it, while the external trim, chrome, and the glass, also look close to perfect. There really is little to fault with the presentation of the Dodge, and I think that it’s a car that would attract plenty of attention wherever it went.
Isn’t the dash a great looking thing? The lashings of chrome is a feature that you simply won’t see today, but in a bygone era, it was a mark of luxury. Even though the Dodge brand had a reputation for producing austere and affordable cars at this point in time, the company wanted to make potential buyers feel special. It was features such as this additional chrome that attracted buyers to the brand, and the Luxury Liner helped push Dodge into fifth position in the 1939 sales race.
The rest of the Dodge’s interior also presents exceptionally well. The trim material isn’t original, but the pattern is actually surprisingly close to that which was used in the 1941 Luxury Liner. However, the colors were usually more subdued than this Blue. The carpet also isn’t original, but if you aren’t too hung up on a car being 100% original, it is just a nice clean interior that is ready to be enjoyed.
Under the hood of the Luxury Liner, we find a 218ci flathead 6-cylinder engine. Backing this is a 3-speed manual transmission. The 1939 model year also brought with it some notable improvements from Dodge, including coil-sprung front wheel independent suspension on the Luxury Liner Deluxe. In its advertising literature of the time, Dodge also made mention of the benefits of the cast iron transmission casing, and how it provided superior sound insulation over a steel unit. The engine and its surrounds present quite nicely, but I would be inclined to improve the appearance of some of the newer wiring that is present in the engine bay. The car has undergone plenty of recent work to improve both reliability and safety. This includes new brakes, a new clutch, a new battery, and the electrical system has been upgraded to 12-volts. The result is a car that starts easily, and that runs and drives really nicely.
If you are on the hunt for a classic car where all you want to do is slide behind the wheel and drive off into the sunset, then this 1939 Luxury Liner holds a world of possibilities. It isn’t perfect, nor is it completely original, but it is a solid car that presents very nicely. For what it is and the condition that it is in, it represents a very affordable classic.
I like it. The perfect choice to have for those short grocery getter trips when its not practical to fire up the DuseySJ. A very good driver! And…………it is B l u e.
To bad it’s a four door Dodge. Great car tho.
I don’t understand the 4-door hate. You may or may not but I bet most of the people who snub classic 4 doors drive something modern with at least that many.
I don’t hate four doors It is a fact that are not as desirable to collector’s as two door models. My current project is a 63 Ford wagon hope I’m around long enough to finish it.
It’s O.K. TimS. I hate 2 door cars. I suppose it’s just a matter of choice.
I guess it comes down to whether you buy a car to enjoy it or to impress folks because it’s cooler somehow. Many cars do look much better in 2 door form but old prewar cars like this are also cool with their suicide doors.
Ya but it’s a suicide rear door 4 door car so that cancels out it being an ordinary 4 door. Nice car.
What a great name for a car model, “Luxury Liner”!
Seriously, Jerry? An interior as nice and as spacious as that, with those “spare doors” hung suicide style and you want to grouse about it?
How great is this? Not a basket of parts and not some garage queen sitting on her throne 24 hours a day. Something you can enjoy driving, enjoy looking at and make your car friends jealous for very little money. The perfect car trifecta!
BTW, I knew this was a familiar image. Look up Edward Kienholz’s sculpture “Back Seat Dodge ‘38” (1964)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Pre war style, four door comfort, column shift room up front, flat head inline six smoothness. This car checks so many boxes for me. Going to be in Orlando in a couple of weeks. If it hasn’t sold plan on looking at it.
Want to see and drive cars before buying.
And with rear suicide doors -The Dodge is much cooler than if it was a two door.
Period.
Jeeeezzz – – Jerry is sure getting a bashing over his comment about To Bad Its Not A 2 Door.
Lets let that rest – – -he’s got enough bruises already (LOL)
I was at a show and shine yesterday and a fellow who is a major restorer to the 10’s+ 41 Chrysler Woody, Station Wagon etc.) had his 1948 Chrysler Saratoga (2 Dr Sedan – – – he has a few 4 door restored vehicles of the era in his fantastic collection) full laccessory load like dual (left and right) spotlite / mirror radio, completely restored immaculate vehicle there. Out of 135 registered cars it received more attention than rat rods, camaros mustangs chevys etc. ads did the Lincoln. It was a day of all of us appreciating the vintage cars that showed up including two tall T’s one bone stock the other hot rodded.
Point is – – – – IMHO All old vehicles regardless of year make model etc. are someones cherished project (unless they’re a flipper)
I for one appreciate all the vehicles – – -some more than others of course.
I once owned a 1942 Mercury (american Model) back in 1960 – – – all original 30.000 mile car – – – damn I wish I still had that rare beauty. ( amongst others that have escaped from me).
Oh yes it was a 4 door too – – one of the other members in our car club had a 2 door which was lowered and custom upholstery. wisjte
Fair price for what you get. After seeing
some real basket cases here for the same amount of money, this is a real treat! I could really have someone drive
it back to my house in Winter Haven with
no worries! I believe Johnny Carson
drove one of these too.
What a nice car. I don’t mind the minor deviations from original, most guys who could spot them are long gone anyway. I hope it’s not modified, just leave it as is. Looks like a very nice turn-key classic at a good price.
Believe the dash should be woodgrain, not body colour. A lot of cars from this era have had the woodgraining done away with. While it is a lot of work to disassemble the interior bits to redo it, the woodgraining is not that hard to do. I redid my 1939 Plymouth in my basement over a winter. If you are going to restore a car to the level this one seems to be, it’s a shame not to do the interior to the original specs. It is a beautiful car though.
A little detail I loved about these cars was the little lighted jewel on the speedometer pointer that changed color the faster you drove. Iirc, it was green up to 35 mph, then amber to 55 mph, then red from then on. I think Plymouth also had that feature.
My 39 Plymouth also had it.
Beautiful car and the price is good.
Excellent condition and a very fair price. It looks like all it needs is a driver.
Sweet Dodge
but
only worth 6 grand
The value depends on a lot of factors. Had a ‘40 Hudson. Loved that car. Bought it for $7,000 which was the listed value. Over the next few years spent about as much on little things such as suspension parts, clutch, alternator, and so on.
This car might have a listed value of $6k and have all the needed parts changed and a fantastic paint and upholstery job. To me that would make it worth more than the listed value since I intend on driving my cars a few times a week so they need to be in good shape.
To me the only things I wish different is that I like broadcloth upholstery and the painted wood grain on the dash.
Doesn’t all the wiring have to be replaced when going from 6 to 12 volt?
Higher voltage uses smaller gauge/diameter wire. You are okay
I seem to remember somebody telling me or reading somewhere about a car that was converted to 12v and the brake light bulbs started popping when the brakes were applied.
Yes, bulbs and radios need to be changed, resistors need to be added. There are several well documented changes that happen when changing the voltage. Personally I like the sound of a six volt starter and never had a problem with it. Only reason I ever saw in changing the voltage was to get some tunes.
I converted my ’51 Buick Super, which had previous to my ownership, been fitted with an alternator. I suffered with starting problems all the time so fitted it with an 8 volt battery that was South African made. The charge rate had to be raised to 10.4V so that while the engine was running at least 8v was going into the battery, and never had a problem thereafter.
Wow I love it !!!
Looks like a ready-to-drive car in great condition. Not sure it’s worth the asking price I but I do know I won’t be able to get my 36 dodge sedan to this level for that price.
I don’t understand this statement “cast iron transmission casing, and how it provided superior sound insulation over a steel unit”
Cast steel? Because my 36 sure seems to have a cast transmission case.
I may have missed something in my 50+ years of wrenching on cars, trucks, earthmoving equipment, and ships, but I’ve never seen a steel vehicle transmission, cast or otherwise. This is just sales misinformation.