Acquiring his 1946 Plymouth De Luxe coupe didn’t cost Jim Currier Sr. a penny. But it did cost him his 1955 Chevy. He swapped it with a friend for the Plymouth five years ago.
“The Plymouth is easier to drive; it has power steering and power seats,” said Currier, who lives in Beacon. “It cruises right along compared to the Chevy, which was all over the road.”
He did have to put a little money into the Plymouth to “straighten it out.”
“I added new exhaust and headers,” Currier said. “I’ve been working on it a little bit at a time.” The car now has disc brakes up front.
Except for the paint, which was done in the 1960s (including the flames), the exterior of the car has changed little since it was built nearly 80 years ago. “The fenders, hood and body are all original,” he said.
What now lies beneath the metal is a different story — one that pays homage to each of Detroit’s Big Three car manufacturers.
The Specs
Assembly: Highland Park, Michigan; San Leandro, California
Total Plymouth production: 242,534
Engine: 218 cubic inch in inline 6-cylinder
Horsepower: 95
Transmission: 3-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic drum
Body: 2-door coupe
Passengers: 2
Curb weight: 3,037 pounds
Top Speed: 79 mph
0-60 mph: 20.7 seconds
Fuel economy: 18 mpg
Cost: $1,089 (about $18,000 today)
The original Plymouth inline six-cylinder engine has been replaced by a Chevy 327 cubic inch V8. The rear end came from an Oldsmobile and the front end from a Chevy Camaro.
Inside, the center console is from a Cadillac. Vinyl bucket seats from a Ford Explorer replaced the original fabric bench. Modern gauges, including an electric speedometer, adorn the dashboard and there’s an AM-FM stereo. A sporty GT steering wheel replaced the oversized Plymouth original, and the three-speed manual transmission has given way to a three-speed automatic shifter on the floor.
Currier said the single, four-barrel carburetor is “enough,” and that he gets about 13 to 14 miles per gallon using high-test gasoline. He hasn’t driven the Plymouth much over 70 miles an hour. But he’s not afraid to take the coupe on the road; it attracts many admirers at car rallies as far away as Syracuse and Lake George.
Currier is a regular at the Tuesday evening cruise at the I-84 Diner in Fishkill, where he also shows up in his 1973 Volkswagen Thing, 1959 Chevy Apache pickup or 1947 Ford Rat Rod.
