CLASSIC TALE: 1935 Plymouth Evokes Memories Of Depression-Era Childhood

Jonathan Horowitz attributes his admiration for 1930s era Plymouth automobiles to his parents. After struggling through most of the Great Depression without a car his parents were finally able to purchase a new 1938 Plymouth.
 
Horowitz says that car was traded in on a gunmetal gray 1939 Plymouth. That 1939 Plymouth served the family well during World War II. "I learned to drive on it during the war," Horowitz says. Soon after his father came home from the army the Plymouth was sold in 1948. It was gone, but Horowitz had never forgotten the trusty Plymouth.

 
More than two decades passed when in the autumn of 1969 Horowitz saw an ad in the local paper for a 1935 Plymouth for sale in nearby San Carlos, Calif.
 
Horowitz telephoned the owner and arranged a meeting at a garage in Redwood City where the car was stored. "It was an unlighted garage and the owner removed a tarpaulin to reveal a dusty, musty, gunmetal gray, four-door Plymouth," Horowitz says.
 
The story behind the Plymouth was that the family member who was the original owner had died and no one else in the family had wanted to drive a car with a stick shift. The gears of the three-speed transmission were selected via a long-handled shift lever sprouting from the floor.
 
Horowitz recalls the owner saying, "It probably wouldn't start now." However, he had driven the car into the garage 12 years earlier in 1957. Of course, the Plymouth was only 22 years old then.
 
Upon inspection by flashlight, Horowitz found the Plymouth completely original inside and out. "The odometer showed about 44,000 miles." Horowitz reports.
 
He gave the owner a deposit to hold the car for a day and returned the following day with the remainder of the cash for the advertised price.
 
"I spent the next two evenings after work installing a new battery, a new fuel pump and a temporary externally mounted fuel tank because the fuel in the gasoline tank had turned to tar," Horowitz says.
 
Finally, the 201.3-cubic-inch, inline six-cylinder engine started and Horowitz set off on the 12-mile journey to his San Mateo home with his wife trailing behind in her modern car.
 
With the jury-rigged gasoline tank feeding the 82-horsepower engine through the carburetor under the oil bath air cleaner, the trip was going fine until the police car behind turned on the dreaded lights. The curious officer explained that he merely wanted a closer look at the car! He never seemed to notice the secondary gasoline tank.
 
There was a lot to admire on a car from 1935. It had all-steel construction with the exception of the fabric panel in the roof. Additionally, four-wheel hydraulic brakes were standard, as well as independent coil spring front suspension and rubber engine mounts which provided what was advertised as "floating power."
 
Documents that came with the car indicated that it was purchased new at the James F. Waters Plymouth agency in San Francisco. The base price for a 2,815-pound, four-door trunk back sedan was $685 -- big money in 1935.
 
Horowitz hadn't owned the car long when he was approached by a young man who said he could make the Plymouth appear as it had in 1935. The shop in south San Francisco removed the fenders, plus all of the external parts and found the parts to be rust-free. The mostly undamaged body panels were straightened and the entire package was repainted in an attractive two-tone gray reminiscent of the Plymouths that Horowitz remembers from his youth.
 
"Over the years," Horowitz says, "I had the car repainted, replaced the 6.00x16-inch tires. Replaced brakes, master cylinder, 6-volt battery and gave it the in-a-garage storage that its age deserves. You can tell it is almost 75 years old," Horowitz adds. "It's as basic as it could be, and I wouldn't touch it," he says. "I've changed it as little as necessary."
 
Fluid capacities are 15 gallons of gasoline, 3.75 gallons of coolant and 5 quarts of oil. A single wiper suspended from above the driver's side of the windshield is ready in case of rain. The windshield can be cranked open at the bottom.
 
Horowitz acknowledges that his Plymouth is simple to work on and the 113-inch wheelbase enhances maneuverability. Most importantly, however, is having a Plymouth similar to the cars that his parents once owned.
 
"Most of the interior is original," Horowitz says, "including the smell."
 
"How lucky can you get?" he exclaims.

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