1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe

A well-preserved New Mexico car that was fully restored cosmetically in 2001! A bare metal repaint and all new interior were fitted! An original example with factory issued...

A well-preserved New Mexico car that was fully restored cosmetically in 2001! A bare metal repaint and all new interior were fitted! An original example with factory issued 217.8ci L-Head Straight 6 engine and 3-speed manual transmission! Wonderfully sorted and a great cruiser! Hard to find originals like this anymore!

After World War II, Plymouth entered the post-war market with two Model Series lineups consisting of 6 different body styles. The entry level De Luxe, or the upscale Special De Luxe were hot sellers at Plymouth showrooms, much because of pent up demand for new cars was at an all-time high! With no new cars being built during the wartime effort, many Americans were stuck driving their aging vehicles from the late 1930's. Sales from all manufactures soared, with nearly 7.5 million new cars finding garages through 1948. This is quite the achievement considering construction material shortages, and rebuilding the manufacturing facilities themselves took quite some time. Only subtle changes were made to the Plymouth design from the pre-war examples. These included a revised grill and relocation of the parking lamps, as well as a new hood ornament with the Plymouth ship visible in clear plastic set into a chrome molding. Wraparound front bumpers with overriders were standard equipment for the Special De Luxe. The rear center brake light was enlarged and raised higher on the trunk, while most of the body side moldings were now thinker, and smoother looking, around the entire car. A remarkably classy automobile without question, and one that was undeniably faithful to their owners mechanically!

Offered here is 1948 Plymouth Special De Luxe 2-Door Club Coupe finished in very striking Marine Blue over Gray-Blue broadcloth interior. Under the hood lies its original 217.8ci L-Head Inline 6 cylinder engine producing a modest 95 horsepower and 172 lb. ft. of torque! This is mated to a 3-speed column-shifted manual transmission and 3.90:1 factory axle ratio. Features include a Motorola pushbutton AM radio, dual outside mirrors, Model 36 MOPAR Deluxe heater/defrost system, rear reverse light, engine oil filter, Coker Classic G78-15 wide whitewall tires, and trumpet horns!

Our P15C Special De Luxe example offered here was cosmetically restored while still with its New Mexico owner in 2001. The nearly rust free body would be stripped to bare metal before receiving minimal body preparation, primered and block sanded three times, completely sealed, then painted in a base coat clear/coat fashion. Photographs of the process were provided with the sale of the vehicle. New rubber window seals, fender piping, and door weather stripping were all replaced for new. The car would then receive all new wiring from front to back by Painless Performance Products Inc. This allowed for a new fuse panel, all new cloth-covered wiring, and addition of turn signals. It remains positive ground with a 6-volt generator charging system. New interior carpet and upholstery were installed.

Much of the mechanicals were left alone until more recently. This included a new, rebuilt Carter Carburetor by The Carburetor Shop in 2007, brand new clutch assembly installed by A-1 Transmissions in 2016 with resurfaced flywheel, new front inner/outer wheel bearings, grease seals, & dust caps in March 2018, rebuilt starter & new battery May 2018, and a full service to include rebuilding of the steering box in December 2019 by the St. Louis Car Museum in December 2019 for the current St. Louis owner in preparation for sale. It is a delightful cruiser and runs quite well! More importantly, it represents very few examples that have yet to fall into the hands of a custom shop to become a street rod. It's remarkably well preserved, and a very honest original! If you are looking for a stellar post-war Plymouth, we feel this is about is nice as they come, especially at this price! Feel free to call with questions or to schedule a chance to review it in person!