Can Someone Identify This Car

[40desoto]

While visiting Philadelphia this weekend I noticed a wall mural of what I believed to be a 1940 Desoto.  Can someone confirm the make and year of this car?  Plymouth?  What I found interesting is that the License plates state 1932. 

 

Im California they provided year specific plates for each year.  Did that mean that you get a new plate every year or you keep the production year plate and they just issued you a yearly tag? 

Edited April 7, 2013 by 40desoto

[Dave72dt]

In my state, the plates can be transferred from one car to another when traded.  That cuts down on the number of  plates that need to be stamped.  If the plates remained in good condition, you could go through several cars with the same plates with the initial year marking on them.   Trucks, have the load raring coded into the numbers so they don't transfer.

[TodFitch]

Some artistic liberties there. That does look like a Mopar but from about 1941. If that license plate is supposed to be saying "California" then it sure seems to be an odd format and California swapped out all tags every year back then so a 1932 plate would be totally bogus.

 

In that era California issued new plates every year alternating between black letters on yellow (or orange) and yellow letters on black. So cop could tell at a glance that you had last year's plates. Odd years had the black background while even years had the yellow background.

 

Later it they decided to save money by issuing tags every few years with metal tabs for current year registration. The last time they did a full switch out of all plates was in 1963, which being an odd year had the black background. All plates issued then and since are still "current and valid" for use as long as the car has had it's registration paid each year.

[hansen]

Looks like a Dodge 1940 

[Andydodge]

Yep, thats a 1940 Dodge........heres mine........

[40desoto]

Yes. Thats it. I did notice the thick chrome trim round the top of the grill and up the hood that was a lot thicker than my 40 desoto. But very similar gril. Mthe car had 1932 Pensylvania plates not California

[John Reddie]

It is a 1940 Dodge and if you look at the window frames, they are rounded on the corners like the one that Andy Dodge has. This indicates that it is an export car because if you look at photos of American made models, the frames are more square and they would have a one piece rear rear window rather that a split one.

John R

[Andydodge]

John, I couldn't see the 2 piece rear window but you are right about the Oz cars having that......a more easily seen pointer is the 40 Plymouth style parking lights above the headlights and the small, almost squat front overiders and Plymouth straight bumper........andyd 

[B-Watson]

The rounded side windows were only used on the Australian-built 1940 Plymouths, Dodges, etc. Bodies were supplied by R.J. Richards and as they had tooled a new body for 1939, a completely new body for 1940 was out of the question.  Thus RJR took the 1939 body and gave a the new front end along with rear fenders and tail lights.   The body kept the 1939 roof, doors, windows, split rear window and small trunk lid.  RJR used that body through to 1948.  Detroit and/or Windsor shipped chassis units to Australia.

 

The rest of the world used Detroit- or Windsor-built complete cars or CKD units. 

 

A wide plate was used in some American states into the 1950's. 

 

Interesting that an Australian car was used as a model for a mural in Philadelphia!

[BobT-47P15]

I wonder if the 1932 could indicate the year the restaurant was founded. 

 

Maybe the artist just happened to find a picture of an Australian car to use in doing the sign. 

 

......mysteries of life.

[Andydodge]

There were 2 distinct 1939 Dodge & Plymouths here in Oz.......I have never seen anything official but I assume they might have been a 1st/2nd series..............anyway....I have definately seen both a 1939 Dodge & 1939 Plymouth with the 1939 square headlight front sheetmetal BUT with the 1938 style body shell, ie, with the bump in the boot/trunk area.........these also appear to have had a floor shifter still............then I have also seen the 39 style front sheet metal on the same basic body shell that my 1940 car has with the "smoothed" rear body......and these 2 nd series as I call them have a column change..........and btw its TJ Richards, or TJR..........lol..........andyd   

[B-Watson]

There were 2 distinct 1939 Dodge & Plymouths here in Oz.......I have never seen anything official but I assume they might have been a 1st/2nd series..............anyway....I have definately seen both a 1939 Dodge & 1939 Plymouth with the 1939 square headlight front sheetmetal BUT with the 1938 style body shell, ie, with the bump in the boot/trunk area.........these also appear to have had a floor shifter still............then I have also seen the 39 style front sheet metal on the same basic body shell that my 1940 car has with the "smoothed" rear body......and these 2 nd series as I call them have a column change..........and btw its TJ Richards, or TJR..........lol..........andyd   

 

T J Richards - should know this by now!

 

Sounds like the first series was the same as the Plymouth and small Dodge in North America - new front end on the 1937-38 body.   The new 1939 body was used on the larger Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler models but was never used on the Plymouth or small Dodge.  A brand new body appeared for 1940 and was shared by all in North America.  (Australia did a rework on the new for 1939 body.)  And then that was followed by a new, larger body for the big Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler for 1941.   The 1940 body was used by Plymouth through to 1948, with a reskinning in 1942.   Three new bodies in three years.

 

Interesting that the new 1939 body was used on later production Plymouths and small Dodges in Australia.. 

[Andydodge]

Bill, in general all TJ Richards assembled mopars whether Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto or Chrysler from the late 30's appear to have used the same body shells within each year, with obviously different front sheetmetal, fenders,grilles & badging, etc .....or at least that appears to be all thats survived.......lol.........as I mentioned I have seen 2 distinct body shells used in 1939 Dodges & Plymouths, to be honest 39 DeSotos & Chryslers are few and far between, they may have been different.........as for 1940/41's as I have had a 1940 Dodge since 1969(an Oz coupe then the 4dr sedan that I still have) and they have been what I have really concentrated on, but I cannot recollect any 1940 De Sotos & only 2 or 3 1940 Chryslers, one of which was a straight 8 and possibly an Imperial allthough it was such a wreck I don't remember (it was mid 1970's) and the other is a rodded 1940 Chrysler Sedan(seen as recently as 10days ago at the Nats) which definately has the same body shell as my Dodge..........its a real pity that there is no book that covers the pre war Oz mopars.......Eddie Ford who publishes Restored Cars magazine has been compiling stuff to bring out a book on Oz mopars for at least 15yrs without publication still..........and then theres a book by Gavin Farmer that came out about 3 yrs ago on Oz mopars but really only post WW2 and Valiants in particular.........and with lots of errors.........lol...........so unfortunately we here in Oz are the 3rd cousins..........twice removed.......lol............regards,Andy Douglas