Looking at a 1942 plymouth deluxe

[MarcDeSoto]

13 hours ago, desoto1939 said:

The car hobby has changed, yes it has and the older pre war and after war II is no longer of importance to car collectors any more.  I have seen this slow decline over the past 32 years just from attending the Hershey swap meet.  The car hobby has changed to the Hemi cars and high performance cars and trucks, BUT these cars are so OVER PRICED that they will also lose there appeal because the market keeps changing.  So you buy a Hemi Cuda for 100k then you are afraid to drive it because of the cost then it sits and deteriates in condition over the next 10-15 years and now you lose money on the car.

 

So buy what you like run the hell out of the car and have lots of fun and enjoy the hobby so one mans pleasure and price that they can pay for a car is not what you will pay, but the idea is that we have saved another car from the crusher, another person joins the hobby and the hobby continues and maybe this gentleman has a son or daughter that wants to get involved with the hobby.  This a positive thing not a negative thing just because of what someone else wants to pay for a car. Its the continuation of the hobby and then enjoyment of the hobby.

 

Rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.com

Definitely true!  Just for kicks I looked up the current prices for the 1972 Plymouth Duster I bought for $400 in 1982.  They are selling for 30 to 45K!  Although most of them have the 318 or 340 Mopar V-8, and mine had a slant six.  

[desoto1939]

Marc:

 

So true about the cost of antique cars. A lot of the guys are older and gew up when things were cheap and now they can not get ahold on the current prices that sellers want for their cars.

 

On this car that is for sale the current owner might have paid 3-5K for the car and wants to get some money back on his investment when you think about what he might have put into the car just to brake even.

 

Just going to Hershey I have slowly seenthe increase in prices. The cost of a site is $90 and I remember when it was cheaper than that.

 

Rich HArtung

[Los_Control]

11 hours ago, MarcDeSoto said:

They are selling for 30 to 45K!  Although most of them have the 318 or 340 Mopar V-8, and mine had a slant six.  

I would not think to harsh of them, we had to have a few clunkers in our paths to allow us to appreciate the real gem the slant 6 is.

 

 

[Radarsonwheels]

Wow I went camping this week and just got home and found all this good stuff to read. Lots of good back and forth about values, and some great nuggets of model year info, accessories, and desirability.

 

I know from messing with cars and bikes for 20 years that driveline work is fun and can be cheap or expensive depending on what you are trying to do, but body work, chrome, and paint can be crazy money and you’ll never see it come back in the sale value unless it’s a rare car or something. 

 

So here’s the skinny- I have a 2010 harley road king that I bought to ride after a nasty accident in 2012- months in bed bla bla bla. Super easy bike to ride while healing up. I was always a shovelhead guy. I like building motors, playing mr. Potato head with the old 4-spd frames and making choppers, baggers, bobbers, hotrods. 

 

The roadking is perfect but I don’t put miles on it much any more and have another older bike that’s more fun around town and more interesting as a mechanic (not all computerized everything)

 

The guy with the plymouth is interested in a trade. 

 

I really want a panhead but people think they’re gold now. The roadking value (spent 12k used at the dealer, now worth more like $6500 if I want to sell it) is in the toilet and I want to leverage it into a toy that is fun to maintain, will hold a value over 5k and doesn’t start out as a project. 

 

I am going to go look at this car. The big plusses for me are the straight body, decent paint, chrome and interior, and suicide doors. 

 

If the title is good and proper and everything works, and there are no rust bubbles or rot around the wheel wells- y’know like a really nice survivor- then I will strongly consider doing a trade. He’s gotta see the bike too but a late model harley is kind of a known quantity and mine is garage kept and clean. 

 

The cool thing is that even though I really dig mopar engineering history, old cars, and driving 3 on the tree, it is not a rare or valuable car. I don’t care so much about what it’s worth and I will get the enjoyment of being transported to another time in a classy ride. I’ve had uglier old cars too- an UGLY 49 packard with a gorgeous straight 8 that I sold, and my current hotrod 54 dodge pickup which is a great looking design but in sorry shape. I actually really like the looks of this car and the average dummy doesn’t know the difference between a caddy and a packard from the 40s. The car has nice lines, a driveline I’m familiar with, and plenty of room. 

 

BUT I can’t lose my a$$ on this. I realize my harley has depreciated and that’s ok. I rode the hell out of it and it doesn’t owe me anything. If this car is really clean and pretty I can teach my wife how to drive it and my commute is short so I can drive it around a lot if I want not just sundays. 

 

Anyway any more info is totally welcome- sounds like it looks like a later example so I’ll want to check out the title and vin plate for sure

 

In the meantime here’s a couple more pictures

[keithb7]

Way, way for fun to maintain than a Harley! In my opinion.

 

 I too have had both.

 

How bad you’ll lose your a$$? Well that depends. If you want it to be a daily driver for you or your wife,  I’d tend to think you’ll likely lose more money. compared to if it was driven as occasional pleasure use. You’ll end up putting more money into repairs, upkeep, and maintenance if you need daily driver reliability. 

[Adam H P15 D30]

Hey Radar,

 

Just a few thoughts and my point of view when buying old cars.  The way I see it is there are several factors that determine a car's value to both the seller and buyer.  Also, depending on where you are in the country/world greatly effects the price of old cars.  Out here in CA that is a $6500+ car all day long 4 doors and all, probably more.  Not sure what your Harley's value is out here though as I ride foreign bikes   If you drive the car and like it, buy it...  $6k isn't like shelling out $65k and it is probably an even swap give or take a grand.  I've bought every one of my cars on a whim.  If I sat down to think about it first, I would probably have no old cars.  If the deal and $$$$ make sense and I like it, I buy it.  Never use maintenance or upkeep as a calculation on return on investment, if we did this hobby would never make sense.  Oh and don't forget there is always someone out there that paid half of what you paid for a like car making you feel like you got ripped off, ignore them.  I hope you get it, enjoy it and drive the wheels off of it!

 

Adam

Edited November 20, 2019 by Adam H P15 D30

[Plymouthy Adams]

as more pictures come forth so will the 'presumed' value of the vehicle.  The interior is midstream representation and the knobs are ALMOST all there, missing lighter one bad knob on left, interior showing fraying....so that leaves open the question yet of how well the engine compartment, trunk and undercarriage may appear for if someone slights the interior, it is hard to imagine them throwing time and money in the hidden compartments.   These cars have a few areas that are notorious for rust and the extent and manner of repair will also reflect greatly on the overall value.  How is the headliner, while not a great expense..it is a semi headache and a time eater if  you do this yourself.  I would not dwell much on a few cosmetics if the underlying structure and panels were repaired correctly or still has original bones in great condition.  The overall drivetrain can get costly if the engine suffers some knocks, low end groans or lower compression readings or overheat issues.  Charging system can go either way 6 or 12 and to me have the same value if in good working order.

[Andydodge]

Radar..........as others have said the value of the car is really only something that you can decide, but those interior pics show a reasonably well kept original car.....sure there is some fraying of the windlacing around the doors and the seat sides but the seat looksfine, dash is nice and clean, overall it comes down I suppose to comparing the Harley to the car.........at present the harley is still a relatively common bike, nice to ride but unfortunately it will only go down in value over the next few years before it becomes a collectable, but the car is a collectable now, albeit maybe not as valueable as other body styles but in some cases you'll get more looks simply because it IS a 4dr, they have been viewed as parts cars for years and were never really considered anything else, but now it IS nice to see a well maintained, original one that does indeed bring back memories of prior family times as these really were the family car...........whatever you decide only you can make the decision but for me, I'd vote for the more doors......regards from Oz...........andyd

[allbizz49]

If you and the seller are happy with the deal, go for it. It doesn't sound like you're worried about resale, just want a nice old car to drive. 

[MackTheFinger]

On 11/20/2019 at 2:05 PM, Radarsonwheels said:

So here’s the skinny- I have a 2010 harley road king that I bought to ride after a nasty accident in 2012- months in bed bla bla bla. Super easy bike to ride while healing up. I was always a shovelhead guy. I like building motors, playing mr. Potato head with the old 4-spd frames and making choppers, baggers, bobbers, hotrods. 

 

The guy with the plymouth is interested in a trade. 

 

I really want a panhead but people think they’re gold now. The roadking value (spent 12k used at the dealer, now worth more like $6500 if I want to sell it) is in the toilet and

 

A 2010 Road King for $6.5k is about right, some go for a little more but most go for less than that. The entire later model motorcycle market is terrible unless you just want to buy something to ride.  IMO if that's a nice car and it's something you can just take off down the road in it wouldn't be a bad trade. 

[YukonJack]

6500.00 seems kinda low on a 2010 Road King unless it's got a lot of miles on it. If you're happy with the idea of a trade, go for it. 

[hi_volt]

The interior of that Plymouth looks original to me.  It seems to have the correct brick color leatherette trim and seat cloth.  Looks like a well kept original survivor from the photos posted so far.  If the rest of the car is in similar condition, I think it's a pretty fair deal.

[mrwrstory]

Coupla thoughts,.....

$6500.00 is not a lot of money these days, nor is $4000.00

If your looking at a straight across trade and the bike has lost it's appeal, just go for it and relish the new adventure.

If $6500.00 is too much, (in some's opinion) just amortise the diff. into the years of new fun,...like $500.000 per year for 5 years.  Less than playing golf or bowling ?