Plymouth Special Deluxe

The Plymouth Deluxe was produced from 1946 to 1950 in a variety of body styles that included 2 and 4 door sedan, 2 door coupe, 2 door convertible and 4 door station wagon.

This was one of the first PostWar Plymouths to come, and was offered in two trim styles, Deluxe and Special Deluxe. The first car, a Deluxe rolled offthe line on October 22nd 1945, while the first Special Deluxe followed it four days later. Plymouth claimed over fifty improvements over pre-war cars, including the electric starter, stating “You don’t grope for a starter button or pedal or pull a choke, you simply turn the ignition key – and the engine starts.”

A single engine choice was offered - a 3.6 litre (217 cubic inch) in-line carbureted six. The engine was rated at 95bhp for 1946-1948 models, and 97bhp for 1949-1950 models, and drove the rear wheels through a three speed gearbox to a leaf-sprung rear axle. The car featured a 6-volt electrical system and vacuum-operated wipers.

The 1949 model we have here has an interesting history in that it was previously owned by Dr. Neville Fernando. The current owner Eranjika Jayawardena was one of Dr. Fernando’s patients as he was their family doctor. Jayawardena fondly recalls seeing this car at the doctor’s premises on each visit and falling in love with it. “This was the very car he used to drive to Parliament in, when he was an MP!” recalls Jayawardena. When Dr. Fernando planned to sell the car as he had no space for it, Jayawardena was one of the prospective owners but declined as the price was too high for him at the time. However, as fate would have it, the car was destined for his garage and in 1998 it took its place.