Oldest known Plymouth to be auctioned Aug. 7
You don’t see them too often, but there are a few Plymouths here and there and you have to look for them. A sharp eye will spot a minivan or…
You don't see them too often, but there are a few Plymouths here and there and you have to look for them. A sharp eye will spot a minivan or a Neon or, if you're really sharp (and a little twisted), even an old K-car bearing the Plymouth name. Hard to believe, but it's been almost ten years since the last Plymouth-badged car was produced and they are disappearing fast.
At the other end of Plymouth history is the first Plymouth model (technically
"Chrysler Plymouth"), the Model Q, built in July 1928. On Aug. 7 of this year, what Scribner Auction Ltd. identifies as the oldest-known Plymouth Model Q to remain in existence — the 287th built — will be sold to the highest bidder. The Alberta-based auction company identified the Plymouth as serial number GP028L and states that Plymouth Owners Club membership secretary and treasurer/Plymouth historian Jim Benjaminson has verified this car as the earliest known Plymouth.
The auction company's pictures show the car to be solid and largely intact, but probably not nice enough to leave as-is. There is paint missing from the rear and front of the car, the windshield is broken, the fenders appear to have a "spray bomb" primer job and that's just the start. However, the car runs and it certainly appears to be worthy of restoration, earliest Plymouth or not.
So, what will it bring? "First" and "lasts" are hard enough, but "earliests" and "oldests" are even harder. With the possibility of one or more of the 286 earlier Plymouths coming to light, this car may not remain the eldest Plymouth forever. Still, I'll generously estimate (some would say very generously estimate) this car gets a high bid of $12-15,000. Hopefully, its new owner is a Plymouth Owners Club member or becomes one.
Pix from Scribner Auction Ltd.
Box 3226
Wainwright, AB T9W 1T2
Phone: 780-842-5666
www.scribnernet.com
The serial number of the Plymouth. Awful short bu today's standards. And where's the UPC bars?
By the way, the May-June issue of The Plymouth Bulletin (publication of the Plymouth Owners Club) is particularly good, and not just because an Old Cars Weekly story appears in it. There are neat pix of a Peking-to-Paris 1938 Plymouth with an unusual fastback body (Australian perhaps?), the 1935 roadster and 1947 coupe of a New Zealand member, and a member's adventures in a 1931 Plymouth two-door sedan. The Plymouth Bulletin is in the top eschelon for content among the hundreds, if not 1,000-plus publications we receive for Golden Quill competition. If you collect or just have an interest in Plymouths, the publication is a requirement.
RELATED RESOURCES
Decode MoPars with the HEMI and Wedge V8 Factory Casting Number and Code Guide, 1951-1999
Read the Standard Catalog of '50s Chryslers
Identify cars with the American Car Spotter's Bible book
Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942
Get Plymouth values with the new 2011 Collector Car Price Guide
Angelo Van Bogart is the editor of Old Cars magazine and wrote the column "Hot Wheels Hunting" for Toy Cars & Models magazine for several years. He has authored several books including "Hot Wheels 40 Years," "Hot Wheels Classics: The Redline Era" and "Cadillac: 100 Years of Innovation." His 2023 book "Inside the Duesenberg SSJ" is his latest. He can be reached at avanbogart@aimmedia.com
