In May 2011, I noticed these cars sitting together at a used car lot in Newark, NJ. You know those inner-city lots with barbed-wire fences and pushy salesmen? Yes, that kind of place; right beside modern, plasto-matic cars exceeding 150,000 miles.
My curiosity and desire to write about them prompted a closer look. The owner and his son were more than happy to meet me, until I told them that I wasn’t able to buy the cars, but might be able to find someone who would. The son escorted me out to the cars for a few minutes. I wasn’t able to sit in them or open the hoods, but I got a general idea.
Our first car was advertised as a 1940 Dodge. The car was dark blue, appeared to be in good “driver” condition and looked very close to original. This creampuff could come home with me for $19,995.
Our second car was advertised as a 1948 Chrysler Windsor. The car was grey. The body was nice and the chrome wasn’t terribly bad, but a closer look showed some modifications. I saw newer wheels, an aftermarket automatic floor shifter, dual exhaust, and a trailer hitch. I bet there was a modern V-8 under the hood to accompany that transmission.
I imagine a previous owner wanted a unique tow vehicle and something to surprise people at stoplights. I laugh when I think of the old joke about a car allegedly driven “by a little old lady, only a quarter mile (several quarter miles, actually) on Sundays.” This little beauty could jump the fence for $13,995.
I drove through the area about nine months later. The dealership was closed and the lot was empty. So I apologize if you would have liked to purchase one of these. Has anyone ever seen one of these cars? I wonder if both cars came from the same owner?
This story originally ran in the National Chrysler Products Club Journal.
1970-71 Dodge W300 Power Wagon
Vintage Dodge Bros, Plymouth, and Dinky models
1975 Dodge Charger SE: Comfy but slow cruiser
1957 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible
1940s Dodge pickup: Car Spotter #20
1949 DeSoto Custom: Car Spotter #19
1967 Dodge Coronet 440: Car Spotter #18
Car Spotter #17: 1966 Chrysler 300
Car Spotter: Imperial Crown and Valiant
Car Spotter: Dodge D-200 Power Wagon
Car Spotter: 1964 Jeep Gladiator Pickup
Car Spotter: Custom Ram Van Minivan
Car Spotter: Mopars of the Hagley Car Show
Car Spotter: C-100 California Pickup
Car Spotter: 1948 Chrysler Windsor and 1940 Dodge at a Newark used car lot
Car Spotter Plymouth Twofer: Belvedere and Horizon
Car Spotter: circa-1970 Dodge C-series medium duty truck
Van Spotter: Daily-driver Dodge B-van
Car Spotter: Plum Crazy 1971 Dodge Challenger
Car Spotter: 1971 Plymouth Fury Pursuit Car
Car Spotter: 1914 Dodge Bros. Touring Car
1951 DeSoto: Toothy-Grilled Car Spotter
Follow us on Post! It’s like Twitter, but without ads or Nazis!
Books by MoTales writer David Zatz
Copyright © 2021-2023 Zatz LLC • Chrysler / Mopar car stories and history.