1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe

Michigan

$20,495

Vehicle Details

Make

Plymouth

Model

Special Deluxe

Year

1948

Mileage

12,345 miles

Exterior Color

Black

Transmission

Automatic

Drivetrain

RWD

Fuel Type

Gasoline

Engine

440 big block

Condition

Good

Description

1948 Plymouth Hot Rod. 440 big block, 727 automatic. Runs and drives great! Older build with some bumps & bruises 'character'. I'd drive it anywhere. Runs very smooth, and never gets hot! condition: good cylinders: 8 cylinders drive: rwd fuel: gas odometer: 12,345 paint color: black title status: clean transmission: automatic type: coupe odometer broken

Plymouth Special Deluxe Buyer's Guide

Full guide

Jim Vasquez

Hot Rods

1939–1950

~3 min read

Updated Apr 2026

The Plymouth Special Deluxe was Chrysler's answer to the depression-era family car, honest, durable, and available with enough style that you didn't feel like you were settling. Today it represents the most accessible entry point into pre-war and early postwar American classics.

This guide covers

✓ 8-point inspection checklist

✓ Common issues & what to avoid

✓ In-person inspection guide

✓ Market pricing by year & condition

✓ 4 FAQs answered

✓ History & fun facts

Read the Full Special Deluxe Buyer's Guide

Plymouth Special Market Overview

Based on 24 Plymouth Special listings currently on ClassicCarsArena.com

Listed Now

$24,193

Avg. Asking Price

1942–1950

Year Range

Price Position on Our Site - Average Range

This car: $20,495

Low: $5,495 High: $86,495

Transmission Distribution

Automatic 33% ◄

Manual 50%

Condition Distribution

Excellent 8%

Good 13% ◄

Fair 8%

Data from ClassicCarsArena.com listings Browse all 24 listings →

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Plymouth Special Deluxe Buyer's Guide

Jim Vasquez here. The Plymouth Special Deluxe doesn't get the hot rod reverence of a Mercury Eight or the concours spotlight of a Lincoln Continental, but it has something neither of those cars can offer: accessibility. These were working-class cars when they were new, built to carry families rather than to impress, and they've aged into honest, affordable classics that reward the buyer who appreciates substance over status.

I have a specific appreciation for the Special Deluxe because the kustom culture that I love drew from every corner of early American cars, not just the premium brands. The Plymouth flathead six was tuned and customized by builders who didn't have Mercury money but had the same skills and the same dreams. Some of the most interesting early kustoms were built on Plymouths and DeSotos because the builders worked with what they had.

What to Check Before Buying

✓

Lower Door Rust , Probe lower door skins and rocker panels, these rust consistently on pre-war and early postwar Plymouths.

✓

Floor Pan Condition , Check floor pans from underneath and inside, corrosion at sill welds is common.

✓

Flathead Six Cold Start , Start cold and watch for white or blue exhaust smoke, white smoke indicates coolant in combustion.

✓

Head Gasket , Check oil for milky contamination and coolant for oil, head gasket integrity is the primary engine concern.

✓

Brake System , Identify whether original cable, hydraulic, or upgraded brakes are fitted, verify function carefully.

✓

Body Style Confirmation , Confirm the body style (Tudor, Fordor, club coupe, convertible) for accurate valuation.

✓

Convertible Top (if applicable) , On club coupe models, inspect the top fabric and mechanism, replacement is expensive and specialist work.

✓

Glass Completeness , Check all glass for cracks, curved pre-war glass is difficult and expensive to source.

Common Issues

Lower door skin and rocker panel rust on unrestored examples. Floor pan corrosion, especially at the door sill welds. Flathead six cracked heads from overheating events, replacement castings exist but require sourcing. Hydraulic brake system deterioration (pre-war cars may have cable brakes converted to hydraulic). Rubber seals and weatherstripping degradation. Convertible top mechanisms and fabric on club coupe models.

What to Look For

Inspect the lower body seams and door bottoms for rust, pre-war cars rust in these locations consistently. Check the floor pans and firewall area for corrosion. Verify the flathead six starts easily and runs without excessive smoke, a warm engine with white smoke from the exhaust suggests a cracked head or leaking gasket, which can be expensive on a 75+ year old casting. On convertible (club coupe) body styles, inspect the fabric top and the mechanism carefully. Verify the body style is correct, the pre-war Plymouth was available in multiple configurations.

Price Guide

1939–1942 Tudor sedan (pre-war): $6,000–$15,000 for drivers. Pre-war convertible/club coupe: $12,000–$28,000. 1946–1948 Special Deluxe: $5,000–$14,000. 1949–1950 sedan: $5,000–$13,000. Period-correct custom builds add significant premium depending on build quality. All-original, low-mileage examples command 25–40% premium.

Did You Know?

Plymouth was the third-best-selling car brand in America throughout most of the 1930s and 1940s, behind Ford and Chevrolet, a dominance most people don't remember because Plymouth faded dramatically in later decades. The 1939 Plymouth Special Deluxe was equipped with a "Safety-Rim" wheel design to prevent tire blowouts from causing immediate loss of control: Chrysler marketed this as a safety feature three decades before safety became a mainstream automotive selling point. The Plymouth flathead inline-six was so reliable that some taxi companies used these cars for over 500,000 miles on original engines.

$20,495

1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe

Michigan

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