What is there not to love about an affordable business coupe? This ’46 Plymouth looks to be fairly straight and clean. It is not currently running, but the seller notes there is a spark issue. On the verge of running we think this Business Coupe would make someone happy at $5,900. Find it here on craigslist out of Madison, Wisconsin.
Appearing in decent condition, we think this Plymouth is on the verge of being a running and soon to be driving project. Lack of spark seems to be the issue with this Business coupe, but this could certainly be sorted out. With a little elbow grease and time you could be cruising in this cool Plymouth.
The interior is nice, not appearing faded, rotted, ripped, or torn. The dash and steering wheel look great, as well as the door panels. There is a modern center console, and the seat appears to have a blanket on it, so its condition is unclear. But overall this interior is nice. Looking clean and straight the body looks great. There are no immediate flaws with the body work, or with the paint. Perhaps with an in person inspection the flaws would be more apparent. The chrome and glass looks very nice as well. We are unsure what the story is on this Plymouth Coupe. We don’t know if it’s been restored, or is a survivor, or a preservation. All we know is that we like it.
Business coupes are always a hot commodity, and this one looks like a fun project in very reasonable condition. The price seems fair on this coupe, and we are thinking it will sell sooner than later. Would you buy this Business coupe? What would you do with this Plymouth?
I would retrofit an A/C in it, and make it my daily driver. I’m in business.
“not currently running” could be hiding a multitude of mechanical problems though.
i.e. engine knock, worn rings, excessive smoking, etc.
If the motor turns there’s a good chance it could be made into something reliable. They are reasonable to rebuild and if not a substitute shouldn’t be hard to find. You could even go up to the longer block without attracting too much attention. I like this car and wouln’t mind taking it on if it weren’t for too many projects and too little time.
Everybody selling a four door sedan, two door sedan, and in this case a “CLUB” coupe likes to call their car a “business coupe”.
THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS COUPE. That would have 2 less windows.
This is a business coupe. The ’46-’48 Plymouth Club Coupe had larger quarter windows. Plymouth didn’t have a 3 window business coupe until ’49. Pictured is a Club Coupe, you can see the larger windows.
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Drop a slant six in it and make a reliable daily driver.
Nothing “unreliable” about these little flatheads. As long as you keep the revs down around 3,000 they will run (almost) forever. Very easy to rebuild and the only minor drawback being accessing the tappets for valve adjustments. Once you’re used to the procedure though, it’s not bad at all. An overdrive would be neat, but I don’t recall ever seeing one in the Chrysler Corp lineup from those days. “No spark”? Replace the rotor, cap, plug wires, points, condensor and plugs. Why wouldn’t this already have been done?
That’s why I was voicing my suspicions about this.
Bad knock? Just arc the points til she won’t start.
No problem.
Barn find guys posted this at 4:17am. Don’t you guys ever sleep? Thanks for all your work. Great site.
Not a good value. The market for a car like this is in the $4,000 neighborhood. You have about $2,500 in work and a lot of labor to make it a reliable and safe driver.
These engines were so tough and reliable that Chrysler used them from 1938 until 1959 in there cars and trucks. They continued to produce them for industrial applications such as fork lifts until 1972. I think that it would be the wrong move to take that engine out and replace it with something else. As for reliability when this was new it was a daily driver so why not now.
Agreed – buy an Offy 2 x 1 intake, get a finned aluminum head and reground cam from Edgy and split the exhaust with a second dump from Rusty Hope. If you want more cubic inches from the 218, swap in the rotating assembly from a 230. It worked then and it works now.
That’s what’s in store for my ’41 Special Delux (except I picked up a 230 to swap for the ’41’s 201 ci flathead).
By the way,three years ago I paid $4500 for my car, a running but worn early ’90’s amateur restoration of a 2 door sedan that only took a new wiper motor to pass inpection. Granted, most people prefer the coupe body style, which can run the price up a bit.