A 1932 Plymouth PB Three Window Coupe is just about ready to hit the road for the first time in six decades.
The Plymouth, now owned by Lonnie Moss, originated from the region and has had many owners, but it has not been on the road since 1965. Moss, just a small part of the coupe’s history, is going to be the one to put it back on the road with the help of his grandson, Zachory Zamora. They planned to turn the key and start the ignition on Thursday, July 10, but the stubborn car unveiled a few electrical problems, prompting Moss to say, “These cars are never done.”
“Well, they say if it was easy, everybody would do it,” Moss said of restoring the Plymouth. “Yeah, but there aren’t many people as stupid as I am.”
Moss, located in Heisson, just north of Battle Ground, has quite the collection of “oddballs,” but the 1932 Plymouth, a half-year production model, is definitely a highlight.
“The fact that it’s such a rare car was really the incentive for me to buy it,” Moss said. “I’m really into oddballs. I’m not a Chevy guy or a Ford guy, although I do have a Chevy Impala and a Ford Thunderbird or two, but I have a bunch of oddball cars. And this one, you know, I like the orphan cars that nobody else seems to like.”
Moss has owned the car for a couple of years, and his 65 years of experience as a mechanic for the sake of fun will lead to both relief and reward when the car’s engine starts up any day now. Moss said the work won’t be too difficult, but the dash will have to come out, and some internal electrical work will have to commence.
“The starter motor doesn’t turn over when you turn the key on, and it’s all stuff that’s kind of expected,” he said. “That’s the thing about them, OK, they’re never done, even when you’re driving them, they’re never done.”
Finding parts for the half-year production car has been a major pain, he explained. One time, Moss was searching for the correct garnish moldings.
“Somewhere along the line, one of the four owners before me lost the garnish moldings, and this is a half-year car that was only built in the last half of 1932, and in ‘33, they changed the body style,” Moss said, “so parts for this are just exceptionally rare. So I advertised for the better part of two years looking for some garnished moldings, never could find any, except I shouldn’t say that, I found a guy over in Wyoming that responded to my ad, and he said, ‘I’ve got a set that I might sell.’”
Moss went ahead and offered $800 for the garnished moldings. In return, he was told the offer was way too low. So Moss then offered $2,000. In return, the Wyoming gentleman said, “nah,” and that he wasn’t going to sell them anyways.
So, Moss decided to make his own, and he believes they turned out better than the originals since he used mahogany. During the process, Moss installed modern amenities, including powered windows and other features.
Once he completes the 1932 Plymouth PB Three Window Coupe, Moss will move on to what’s next in his collection of cars at various stages of their road-worthiness.
