Chassis number: 11083536

Walter P. Chrysler created his new automobile company in 1925. In similar fashion to Alfred P. Sloan's business concept, Mr. Chrysler also would create a product lineup with little overlap or cross-brand competition. Customers could move up the Chrysler family as they progressed up the economic ladder. The first step on Chrysler's ladder was the 'low price' Plymouth brand. Other 'steps' included Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler. During the Great Depression, Plymouth would carry the other marques and by 1940, it had earned a reputation within the industry as a car of supreme reliability.

Plymouth's all-new 1940 offerings were lower and wider, and it had 18 percent more glass, internal door hinges, twin tailights, sealed-beam headlamps, and a synchronized transmission.

Plymouth produced 3,126 'woodie' station wagons on the 1940 DeLuxe chassis. This particular example has been given a cosmetic restoration, including a refinish of the body in Regal Maroon. Power is supplied from a six-cylinder L-head engine displacing 201.3 cubic-inches and offering 84 horsepower. There is a three-speed column-shift manual transmission with four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

by Dan Vaughan