Plymouth was a late-comer to the truck market, entering the fray only in 1937. It didn’t stay long at the party, either, ceasing production in 1941. Sales were disappointing in all but its first year; only 6,073 Plymouth trucks were made in 1941. Not even a restyle in 1939 could boost its popularity; customers apparently didn’t like the overbearing fenders and high-domed hood. Today, these trucks are appreciated for their beefy looks and rarity. Here on craigslist is a 1941 Plymouth PT125 half-ton pickup for parts or restoration. The asking price is $5,000 and the truck is located in Troy, New York. We have T.J. to thank for this great tip! There’s plenty of work ahead if a buyer wants to restore this vehicle, but at least it doesn’t have much serious rust, having been in dry storage for fifty years.
The grille is a spectacular design feature, but this one will require a deft hand. The chrome trim that heads up the center of the radiator shell to surround the insignia is missing. Trim is notoriously difficult to come by, unfortunately. The headlamps were moved to the tops of the fenders in ’41; one of them is missing. But at least one cowl lamp remains. Then there’s the “shop truck” patina. An electrical contractor named Jerry apparently once owned this truck, and the painted advertisement on the door is cool. But is that worth saving this truck?
The seller says the engine is likely stuck. This should be a 201 cu. in. inline six-cylinder with a single Carter carburetor, making about 90 bhp. The transmission is a three-speed synchromesh manual. Low gearing in these trucks means they’re happiest at about 50 mph. The radiator is missing, a fact that might just determine the destiny of this truck: it either gets an engine swap or it donates parts to other restorers of Plymouth trucks!
The interior needs considerable attention. The seat back is down to the springs. Fortunately, there wasn’t much to these interiors in the late 1930s and early 1940s, so depending on how rigorous a buyer wants to be, maybe a decent cleaning and seat reupholstery would suffice. Meanwhile, the seller is asking $5,000 so the buyer can have the privilege of spending plenty of time, money, or both resurrecting it. These can be gorgeous when restored but seem to sell in the mid $30k area at that level of finery. Maybe this one has to go for parts? What do you think?
Great find and writeup, looks like a great project.Price is several thousand more than I would pay. Love the 4×4 holding down the clutch pedal.
not uncommon to have something holding clutch pedal down ,keeps clutch from sticking to flywheel
It’s a major restoration but it’s far from scrapping, or using as a parts truck. Or, using for a resto-mod. The last one is just my own bias opinion. It seems to me that the Plymouth used the same front grill as the Canadian Fargo. The brightwork is somewhat different.
Now for the engine: It takes a lot for me to give up on an engine; I’ve unseized and rebuilt some hopeless-looking projects, however, that engine was so widely used as a general powerunit that it is still fairly common. I wouldn’t hesitate to use something out of a combine. In fact I know of two old Mopar-types that are running 265s out of a Massey Ferguson Super 92.
Bottom line here: It’s going to be a lot of work but it’s still worth the time and effort. There are some parts still out there and lots of help with various online associations and even Facebook.
Plymouth pickups were made in the same commercial factory as the Fargo and Dodge pickups, woody wagons, sedan deliveries. They were all identical except the nameplate.
I understood that Fargo trucks primarily came out of Windsor but there were some built in Detroit. Kind of interesting in that Dodge and Fargo trucks were built in Windsor, within spitting distance of Detroit. But the CDN trucks would be running the longer engine block. It could be a major nightmare if you were a mechanic in the border region that dealt with vehicles from both sides; you knew the value of a tape measure.
BAT right now has a fully restored black one up for sale. Beautiful, wish I could afford it. This truck could be too, but not at that price. Seller should be reasonable and offer it at a no reserve auction, that way the price is realistic and maybe the truck will get a chance to live again, otherwise is is just going to continue to rot.
Had one on the farm when I was a kid. It never had brakes the whole time dad owned it. That’s all, no long-winded story nobody cares about, or moaning about someone hot-rodding it instead of restoring it. Have a nice day.
Would this be considered “badge engineered?”
Love these old trucks actually learned to drive in 39 model hopefully someone will bring this old girl back to life
Having owned similar trucks of this era, I’d quibble a bit with the author’s claim that they’re “happiest at about 50 mph.” Indeed, they’re almost topped out at that speed. In my experience, “happy” for one of these would be less than 40 mph.
Sorry these old things are worth restoring at today prices go find one restored for 10k
TCI chassis, 392, your choice of transmission and leave it crusty
Motor siezed windows cracked interior needs work. Price it at $250.00 and some one will buy it and restore it.
these are barn finds,need work,if you can,t fix anything buy a new one, 250 what are you smoking