The Radiator Cap

LEON & BRENDDA’S 1934 PE PLYMOUTH TOWN SEDAN—CONT.
and the next day the listing had disappeared. Early in September I saw another Plymouth,
with a striking resemblance to the one I had seen in January, come up for sale. I phoned
the owner and discovered that it was the same vehicle and that sadly he was selling it as
his failing eyesight meant he would soon lose his driving licence. Brendda and I made a
quick trip to Turakina Beach, south of Wanganui and made the purchase.
The trip home went very well with the car sitting in top gear all the way and generally
keeping up with everything else on the road.
Our Plymouth is an older restoration, perhaps 1970s. The colour is very similar to the metallic
turbine bronze we had on our 1974 CJ Limo. I’ve since discovered that Chrysler were
using metallic paints in 1934 so it could well be one of the four factory colours of the year.
It has come up well with a cut and polish. During restoration, some of the refinements including
the roll-down vented front side windows and the crank-out windscreen had been
removed. The engine was reconditioned in 2014 and appears to have driven less than
3,000 miles since then. The steering, while very light, has quite a lot of end-play which I
want to remedy but apart from a minor issue or two, such as the wiper parking in the driver’s
line of vision, it is a comfortable and enjoyable vehicle to drive. Unlike our Model A
with its keyless entry, everything on the Plymouth locks – the doors, the fuel cap, the
trunk, and the spare wheel - and each lock has a different key!
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