YELLOWWOOD STATE FOREST — Of the 610,954 Plymouths the Chrysler Corp. manufactured in 1950, one ended up abandoned by its owners alongside what is now a horse trail through a rugged state forest in Brown County, Indiana.
A Detroit-built, once-blue, top-of-the-line 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe, to be exact. Hammered Steel Sheets
The same car manufactured in Canada was called a Dodge Kingsway. Someone wrote me and said the car reminded him of a Kingsway his uncle owned a lifetime ago.
We've been trying to ID this car for a few weeks now, and 15 of you did some research and pinned it down. Congratulations! Alas, there is no prize.
Last week in My Favorite Ride:15 readers correctly ID mystery car in Yellowwood State Forest
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Plymouth sales in 1950 surpassed the previous record set in 1937, but Chrysler products remained third in line sales-wise behind industry leaders Ford and Chevrolet.
The Plymouth Special Deluxe was produced from 1933 to 1942, when production took a war-time break. Plymouth started making the car again in 1946, and manufactured the last of the line in 1950. From 1941 on, the Deluxe models offered two trim levels: the Deluxe and the top-of-the-line Special Deluxe.
A car advertisement from 72 years ago shows a smiling woman waving a yellow-gloved hand from the driver's side window as she sails along in a blue Special Deluxe, one like the rusted heap Shari Frank showed me on a hike on Yellowwood's YZ trail back in February.
The ad suggests taking a demo ride in this "great car," which offered value, the convenience of ignition-key starting, safety rim wheels and the comfort of a feature called "Air Pillow Ride."
The rear-wheel-drive, six-cylinder car had a three-speed manual transmission and drum brakes. The car weighed 3,100 pounds, cost about $2,000 and averaged 16 miles to the gallon.
This old Plymouth had a top speed of 80 mph; it took 19 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph. My 20-year-old Honda Accord accelerates to 60 mph in half that time.
I'm including a few excerpts from the dozens of replies I received while trying to identify the old rust bucket of a car. It's been a fun ride, and thanks for coming along.
Looking for the first time:On the trail of solving an old car mystery
From Mark Tonn: "Concerning your mystery car, it is most likely a 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe. It is similar to the 1950 Chrysler, but from the pictures of the rotted shell you provided in your article, the wheelbase is smaller than a Chrysler, ergo, a Plymouth."
From Gary Teate: "Further evidence appears in the left rear fender photo, which shows a portion of stainless trim just forward of the wheel opening. The shape of the upper portion of this trim appears to be unique to the 1950 Plymouth only. Note that although the stainless trim strip located above the wheel opening is missing on the mystery car, the mounting holes can be seen as well as a ghost outline of the trim."
From Bob Marriott, who stayed up till 4 a.m. sleuthing and sent me pictures of said 1950 Plymouth: "First one shows the rear fender molding, and the trim below the windows, and the divided back door window. Second one shows the tail light, and that there is a visible door pillar between the front and rear doors, with its own little short piece of trim."
He had more: "It also shows the gas tank filler, which is evident on the left side of your picture. The rear roofline matches your first picture. Next screenshot shows a T-shaped steering wheel, along with the door pillar and its molding."
He suggested someone go out with a paint marker and label the relic as a 1950 Plymouth. I'll do it.
If any doubt remains, there's this from reader Mike Penry, who deciphered the numbers on the metal ID tag riveted in the drivers' side door panel. "The car is a 1950 Plymouth."
He used the serial number 12619598, which is found in the range 12384501 to 12627867, to determine the following information.
The car is the 235,098th of 243,367. Year: 1950. Make: Plymouth. Model Name: Special Deluxe. Model Code: P20. Plant: Detroit. Engine: 6 cylinder, 217.8 cubic inch, L-head. Wheelbase: 118 1/2 inches.
Aged Copper Sheet Metal Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967