I’ve been wanting an old American car for years and thanks to the legendary Stephen Walter Gossin, I’m finally pulling the trigger on a classic. Soon, I will be driving about a thousand miles out to North Carolina to rescue a 1948 Plymouth Special DeLuxe based only on Gossin’s pictures and videos. I have no actual idea what I’m doing and I’m excited about it.
Most of our readers know that I’m a caretaker of several unreliable German cars. However, I’ve long had a soft spot for vintage Americana. I’m the kind of person who would love to take some old American iron down Route 66. Sadly, now that I have driven most of Route 66 and discovered that there isn’t a ton of the original road remaining, I now know my dream can’t happen the way I picture it.
Still, I dream of hopping behind the wheel of a car much older than I am and just setting off toward the sunset. This is why a lot of Mercedes’ Marketplace Madness contains vintage American cars. Those are cars I’d love to hit the blacktop in! David Tracy gave me a taste of my dream by letting me drive his old rusty Valiant around Detroit.
I didn’t care that the windshield threatened to frost over and the old Valiant had relatively few horses left in its stable, it was one of the more memorable drives in my life. I need another hit of that classic car driving.
At the same time, I’m an avid viewer of Vice Grip Garage. I’ve been watching Derek Bieri rescue old cars for longer than I’ve been writing professionally. I’ve been a VGG fan for longer than I’ve even known my wife. In addition to my dreams of driving a fantastic vintage American car, I’ve long wanted to get one back running again with my own two hands. Thanks to Stephen Walter Gossin and a fella in North Carolina, it’s time to make dreams come true.
The Car
So, Gossin has found a compound of old cars out in North Carolina. There are enough cars out there that each of the Autopian staff could have a car of their own to save. While many of them are vintage American steeds, the elderly man who owns them also had his hands on cute French cars and even a German motorcycle.
Each of these cars has a story, as does the man himself. I still don’t really know the full details yet, but you bet both Gossin and I will tell you everything because the stories of a car’s owner are just as touching as the car itself.
For now, what you need to know is that the guy is a real enthusiast and loved these cars dearly. However, the man’s health is declining and he’s no longer able to keep his beloved fleet alive. The vehicles parked on his property haven’t run in around five or seven or so years and nature in North Carolina is trying to reclaim them as their own.
Gossin and I want to continue the stories of at least two of the cars. You’ll hear about his rescue in time. I’m not going to spoil any of it because it has more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan film. For now, let’s look at what will hopefully be my loot in a week or two of time.
What you’re looking at here is a 1948 Plymouth Special DeLuxe. Production of the Special DeLuxe started in the 1930s as the upmarket sibling to Plymouth’s lower sixes. Like much of the rest of the automotive industry, Plymouth paused production after 1942 to aid in the World War II effort.
After the war, production of civilian models ramped back up. The vehicles constructed immediately after the war had minor updates, but were otherwise pre-war cars. That didn’t stop America’s automakers from finding ways to drum up interest in their vehicles. Plymouth said its post-war models were “Four Years Better Than Before” and that it was “Chrysler Corporation’s Number One Car.”
Plymouth was particularly proud of how quiet the 95 HP 217.8 cubic inch L-Head straight-six was and how reliably it started with just the flick of the ignition. The automaker also said it moved the spark coil to the top of the engine, allowing for shorter wires to the distributor and better spark.
Then there’s the design, where Plymouth touted the vehicle’s stainless steel trim and grille. The hood ornament is also interesting as it is a mix of chrome and plastic. Stepping up to the Special DeLuxe added sun visors, a glove box, full windshield wipers, and neat third window vents for four-door sedans, which had sweet rear-hinged doors.
The one out in North Carolina seems like a great project. Gossin has been on the ground with a camera and found a lot of good news. Yes, the car has all kinds of dirt, grime, and growth on it, but Gossin tells me the body is remarkably solid and the frame underneath also looks really good. You can tell that the owner loved this car and tried to keep it in tip-top shape. He couldn’t find any obvious bad rust and even the floor appears to be all there. This isn’t like a Midwest car with structural carpet and a Swiss cheese frame. I bet one good wash will bring out something pretty decent, too. Even the white wall tires are still holding wind.
Of course, not everything is perfect. Gossin tells me the car is missing a headliner, the dashboard is pretty worn, and the overall interior is a bit past its prime. But you know what? I’ll take putting in a new headliner and having the seats recovered over trying to fix a frame with holes in it. Something else promising is the claim that the vehicle last ran five years ago. This isn’t like a true VGG-style rescue where the car hasn’t run in three decades. I wouldn’t be surprised if cleaning the carburetor and the fuel tank gets it running again.
Oh, I’m getting excited again. I asked Gossin to go ahead and lock in that car for me. I don’t care that I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, I want it. This is the gangster-looking classic I want to finish this summer driving.
The Plan
Alright, so I like making plans. They rarely go as I expect, but at least I tried, right?
Gossin is putting the pieces together for the car he wants to save from the compound. Again, I’m not spoiling the details, but when all of that work is finished, we’ll both descend onto the North Carolina property to liberate our chosen cars. Jason will be joining us for an awesome Autopian crossover episode.
Now, I’ve never purchased a car that doesn’t run, so this is new territory for me. My wife recommended we do things exactly as Derek from VGG does. If you’re not familiar with this strategy, I’ll explain. Derek often arrives on location with a bunch of tools and the expectation of driving the vehicle hundreds of miles back home. He is then forced to get the car working just good enough to drive the 500 or 800 or so miles back to Tennessee.
It makes for a high level of entertainment and is inspiring, too. Derek’s cars often feed fuel from boat tanks placed in passenger floorboards and stop with brakes cobbled together.
I’m not sure I want to go that nuts on my first-ever car rescue. Derek knows what he’s doing and he also often has places to store a car if it doesn’t make it all of the way home. If we broke down in that Plymouth we’d be stuck who knows where for who knows how long. The car’s located in Garner, at least 865 miles and over 14 hours from home. The routes served up by Google Maps change every time I look up the drive, so I’m expecting somewhere around 900 miles each way.
My plan is to come down with a truck and a U-Haul car hauler, and then hand the fella $1,000 for the new-to-me ride. I might try to get the Plymouth started just for giggles, but it’s coming back home on the trailer. In case I can’t get the car started right there, I’ll be bringing a trailer ball-based electric winch. I’ve watched David suffer with come-alongs for long enough to feel like I’ll take my chances with an underpowered electric winch. Besides, I’ll have Sheryl and Stephen to help the winch along, too.
From there, I’ll bring the Plymouth back home, where it’ll get a deep clean before I even pop open the power barn. I already have a space picked out for the Plymouth — the one previously taken up by a nightmare Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon — where I’ll turn some wrenches. With luck, maybe I could get the car running and driving before the end of the summer.
Speaking about getting the car running, I recently discovered that the Special DeLuxe is not only a 6-volt car, but the electrical system is configured in such a way that the vehicle’s ground is positive rather than negative. From what I can tell, this will mean needing to be careful with what I’m doing under the hood, but it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker. I should be able to convert the car later on, anyway.
So, that’s my plan. I’m going to drive down, hope to load this vintage iron onto a trailer and clean it all up back here in Illinois. I don’t want to go crazy with modifications or anything like that, but to enjoy the Special DeLuxe as the classic it is. This car has a story and I want to preserve it. It’s even going to be put into a garage for the first time in years.
Am I Missing Anything?
Alright, here’s where I turn things to you.
I’ve rescued plenty of barn-find motorcycles to have a decent idea of what I’m doing, but I’ve never done this with a car before. I’ve also never owned a vehicle older than 1972, either. As I want to be as prepared as I can be, I want to know what I should consider. Am I missing anything in my plans? Is there something I need to know about a car from the 1940s?
Regardless of what happens, I’m stoked. I’ve been planning this trip for about three months now and it’s finally about to happen. I’m going to own my first truly old car! Big thanks are due to both David and Stephen of course. With luck, you’ll spot me driving around Chicagoland in more than just Smart Fortwos and crusty VeeDubs.
I love old American iron like this too, and would love to have one one day. My ideal is a ’53 Chevy sedan, as that’s what my grandmother drove from 1953 all the way up to her death in 1987. There’s one here in Chicago that I’d probably buy in a minute if I knew it was for sale and if I had any play-with-cars money left.
A car like this is really simple, and not hard to work on. You already found out about the 6V positive-ground electrical system. It may have left-handed threads on the left-side wheel studs – I think Chrysler started doing that just before the war. Change all the fluids, drain and replace the gas, maybe rebuild the carb, check the brake shoes and wheel cylinders, lube the chassis. Not a lot to it.
Steven, what else does he have? Any early 50s GM cars?
8 total cars, all Plymouths and DeSotos from ’46-’48. Mercedes is taking the best one (it was driven to its parking spot right before the pandemic), but the next-best is a “ran when parked” Fluid Drive DeSoto for $500. Comes with an extra engine and transmission, generator, wheels, radio, etc.
The seller is legit and is a true Autopian. He doesn’t have long in this world and is very honest, truthful about the condition of each car/part and has a very limited need for cars or money. It’s sad, but we’re fulfilling his wishes in a way so that these cars aren’t scrapped unceremoniously.
I’m super fired up and pumped for Mercedes being able to make a small part of her dream come true!
The elderly gentlemen that owns the property is in the sunset phase of life and has keys and titles for all cars shown in the background. $500 each and they’re all complete, are rust-free Southern cars, a few will run (with fresh gas/carb clean/fluids) and all glass/bodies are good/solid. The guy has a shed with a teal BMW Boxer bike, vacuum tube radios, spare engines, transmissions, wheels, boxes and boxes of parts, etc. for these cars.
The goal is to prevent as many as possible from going to the local scrapyard. If any Autopian friends are nearby and have $500, excellent taste in cars and a sense of adventure then come join us!
If I may ask, what can you tell me about the BMW bike?
And are the contents of the shed for sale as well?
It’s teal, it’s complete, it’s been sitting in a shed on the property for years. The owner was an NYC motorcycle cop that used to be an officer of the 2-wheeled police escorts for those famous enough to warrant one.
Everything is for sale, since the owner will be moving to an assisted living facility shortly. He and I talked for hours and he is looking for Autopians such as us to take over where he’s leaving off with his collection.
All my social media contact info is in my profile and on all my articles – message me and I can send picts. Prices are stupid low since money has a lesser meaning in that stage of life. He just wants to see them go to folks that can appreciate them.
I am SSSOOOOO tempted and I am not far away in VA. But, I love my spouse more than cars!
That thing is going to look great when the work gets done, but that is a heap of work.
Well, I now have my weekend plans. Time to gather up some cash, a funnel, some Marvel Mystery oil, my tire inflator, and a ratchet and socket set.
Remember, Mopar used left hand thread lugs on the driver’s side (left) up through ’75. Not sure when that started but there is a very good chance the left side wheels are held on with left hand fasteners.
We expect to see wrenching videos Mercedes, and don’t spare us the bloody knuckles. I’m in for the ride. In fact a damn good clean, detail and polish will be half the work done. Nice shoutout to Derek too. Autopian should be asking him to be a contributor to this great site. He has a lot to offer. I can just see him and David wrenching together for shits and giggles.
Plan for a conversion to 12v. When I did it on my 53 jubilee tractor the starting of it got sooooo much easier. I know that a tractor conversion is much, much easier than a full car, but I think it would be worth it if you actually plan to drive it
I’m really looking forward to following this one. I too have always had the vision of finding an old, inexpensive, yet solid, simple rig, like this to play with, and turning it from a turd into a “Goin ta town rig”. I awlways pictured something two-tone from the era of tailfins.
I am also a fan of VGG, and have certainly applied a few of Derek’s techniques. I love watching him try to get these crap cans down the road, in a semi-legal fashion, and back to his lair in TN, to try and figure out what to do with them.
I love to watch, but honestly don’t think, just trying to get it to roll over, then hopping in and trying to drive it home, would br near as fun as Derek to makes it look. I think the trailer is a very smart idea. It should be much more fun to learn with, it in your own gagra than on the road, and under the gun.
This feels like a thing that would be awesome to get in touch with one of the ‘old car rescue’ Youtube channels aside from Vice Grip Garage – Junkyard Digs, or Pole Barn Garage would be cool to see too! That’d be a huge help and it would be fun to watch trying to resurrect your awesome new Plymouth ride!!! 😀
The suspension is definitely not what you’re used to, except for maybe the bus. I once bought a Mexican (all the screws were slotted, all the nuts were square, and the non-working speedometer was in kilometers) 1957 Chevrolet 3100 pickup with plans to restore it, but between the kingpin axle and the bias-ply tires (with inner tubes!) it absolutely sucked at anything nearing highway speeds. I wasn’t comfortable with speeds above 45 mph. I had to drive it home 300 miles and I stayed to the back roads and off the interstates. I kept it for about 5 years until I discovered that the only true way to fix the poor handling would be to swap out a Dakota or S-10 front frame. I briefly thought about putting the cab and box on a Trailblazer chassis (similar wheelbases) but gave up on that and sold it to someone who wanted to restore it.
Very cool! My next door neighbor has a ’40’s Plymouth convertible (don’t know the model) similar to yours. It’s been very nicely restored and is a great car. God luck with the project!
Awesome find and good luck!! Is it crazy that I want to wash that car soooo bad? It would be so cathartic.
This will likely be the easiest car you’ve ever cobbled back to running condition given your love for whacky complicated European unicorns.
Wow, what a find!!! Congrats, Mercedes!! The story makes this car extra special.
And I think it’s super awesome that Autopians are helping this fellow out…it’s sweet that he still cares so much about his cars. It reminds me a bit of my grandfather; he kept a ’64 Galaxie 500 that didn’t look like much to most people, but I’m pretty sure he knew that my dad would take care of it. (Dad ended up restoring it.)
I think the big challenge with this… is… well, a lot of it is just age. I had a mechanically inclined friend pick up a car a lot like this, it was a plymouth sedan, about the same era. It never went anywhere. Compression was down on a few cylinders, and that meant either finding a new engine (good luck) or rebuilding the existing one ($$$). The community for that car was practically nill, as most of the people that ran them have passed. Parts were a huga PITA.
I personally would not have bought this without a compression test. If it doesn’t start, but cranks, easy peasy grab one from any auto parts store. If it has good compression, you’re golden. If you want to be fancy, buy a nice leakdown and a portable compressor and air tank. That will help you really figure out if the engine is healthy, and any blowby will show up either in the oil fill (rings) intake (intake valves) or muffler (exhaust valves).
Imma be real. This car is neat, but there are a LOT of sedans out there, very much like this one. My point? Do the compression test at a minimum before you hand over the cash. If it fails, give the guy $100 for his time, and walk away. Find another one.
The thing with sedans or any car where there’s a greater supply than demand, is that it’s very very very easy to end up way underwater. I know money isn’t everything, but it is something, and I bet there are bunch of other sedans that look close to this for around the same price. Just shop around before you go, to find some backup plans. Good luck!
I think this is worth more time than a rusty rotten BMW, so you have my blessing.
I wouldn’t try to start the car on the spot. Maybe it works, but if it sat so long then fuel might have gone bad, oil might have receded from places it should have been and leaks could have drained stuff that should not have drained.
Fuel degrades
Oil degrades
Coolant becomes a mess
Just take the car, don’t start it. Don’t start it.
Back home, remove the old fuel, remove the old oil, old coolant, flush the whole system, do a pressure test on the cylinders and the coolant system.
It is an OLD car. The BMW you have is old (and swiss cheese) but this car is even older. It requires more attention. I don’t claim to be smarter than others, but if you really want to make this work then spend more time on the preparation. It could save you from having to find Very Old parts and spending A Lot Of Time to replace them.
I’d soak the rings in ATF for a few days too. Spin it over by hand if possible. Then unplug the ignition, disable fuel pump, spin again with everything lubed up. Wait a few days. Do it again.
Then do a compression test at a minimum, leak down is worth a lot more imho.
I wish you the best of luck. Playing with a flathead seems cool to me.
Congrats! I have the 1948 Dodge version of this car I’m getting running and one thing I found is that the brake drums are damn near impossible to find online. There are some kits available to convert the fronts to disk brakes if you want to go that route. Otherwise just about everything for the brakes and engines are readily available.
Mercedes, I know you’re got a lot of projects, but those cars (from what I can see) are a steal for $500 each! Plus, he’s got titles! Look, they aren’t making any more of these cars and deals like this never happen. If you’ve got room, get 2-3 of them. You can make money just by cleaning them up and flipping them!
This is interesting to me as my family had a Plymouth Special Deluxe tucked away in a barn for years. About a decade ago we explored restoring it but ultimately sold it.
I also just purchased a $2,000 1990 Chevy G30 short bus a few weeks ago. I was told it was running, but didn’t know much beyond that. But due to the unknown weight of the bus, I made the decision to gamble on driving it 2 hours home. It ended up handling the trip very well, only thing was stopping to top off the oil about halfway.
Disconnect the wires for the radio before you try to convert it to 12V neg,…but I would just leave it positive ground – it worked fine like that for most of its life!
Great advice!! That car has an old vacuum tube radio. I used to repair them, that’s how old I am!
“I should be able to convert the car [from six-volt positive ground] later on, anyway.”
It’s your car, so it’s your call. Still, I used to have this ’37 Plymouth:
https://live.staticflickr.com/7011/6830618645_9c37181365_c.jpg
which was stock and which I used as a daily driver for several years. Aside from the styling there’s not a lot of underlying difference between this and a ’48. The six-volt system is perfectly fine. In general all of the stock systems are perfectly fine, as long as they’re maintained reasonably well. The parts situation is pretty good, too, so I would argue against changing things without a significantly compelling reason for doing so.
Yup, and converting the gauges to 12v I heard is quite spendy.
Mercedes, this is intended as kind advice for your mental health and not as criticism. I hope you take it in the best possible way: Please know your limits. As far as I know you have more vehicles than David, and much of your fleet is in a broken state. With a history of selling and replacing vehicles rather than fixing them when they break, I’m concerned you are likely biting off more than you’re ready for.
Please sell some of your existing fleet. It will provide extra funds for this project, will cut down on the number of other projects weighing on the back of your mind, and will let you dedicate more physical and mental space to this project car.
Having been there myself, a project car is much more enjoyable when it is your primary project and you don’t have a ton of other projects in flight or lurking on the back burner.
You’re pretty much on the money. Though, almost everything I own runs and drives. David’s the one with the stuff that can’t move under their own power. 🙂 But you are still right, so my wife and I do plan on ejecting some of what we think is dead weight. Coming soon to a Facebook near you:
The U-Haul camper: Nothing’s worked out with it. The camper was supposed to be the launch vehicle of our dedicated RV subsite, but that’s been put on hold indefinitely. We were also supposed to do a wrench-a-thon with it and Jason’s Dodge camper. And…yeah. I’m not sure we’re ever getting around to the U-Haul or the Dodge.
Edit: Also, buying vehicles when drunk is a baaaaad idea!
A Genuine Stella: I’m not even supposed to have this one. I used it to teach Sheryl how to wrench on a motorcycle and then just forgot to get rid of it.
Sheryl’s E39: Sheryl’s insurance rates recently doubled after our friend totaled our Prius. Long story. At any rate, the cost to run the E39 has doubled and at the end of the day, it’s still a rusty German car with new problems popping up on every drive. It’s time to say goodbye.
I also want to sell the 2012 Jetta wagon. There’s nothing wrong with it (I just dumped $2,000 into making it perfect) but I have no need for two of them. But it’s sort of stuck in a legal issue at the moment so I have to wait.
And to show myself how serious I am, boom!
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1004466247702510
Edit: Holy crap, a camper became one of the fastest sales I’ve ever made.
Congrats on the quick sale! I feel a lot more confident in your upcoming project knowing you’re cleaning house to prepare. Looking forward to seeing the upcoming absurdity!
A Torch/Mercy/Stevie G crossover episode! Yes!