Imperial Home Page -> Imperials by Year -> 1939 -> Spotter' s Guide
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This rare 1939 Chrysler Imperial station wagon is one of the more elegant examples of the woody wagon. It was the first Chrysler with headlamps recessed into the front fenders. Engine is a 323.5-cubic-inch straight eight rated at 132 horsepower. View the Story of this Wagon |
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Check out the Story of this Imperial Limousine |
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1939 Imperial Victoria Coupe, formerly owned by Jack Pinsker. Car is actually pale cream-colored. |
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A special turret-top coupe with a rear "split window" look was built by the Hayes Body Corp. and known as the Town Coupe. Hayes Body Corp. supplied 1,000 Town Coupe bodies to Chrysler. Since 264 DeSoto Town Coupes and 134 Chrysler Town Coupes were made, it can be assumed that the remaining 602 cars were Dodge Town Coupes. |
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More information on these coupes can be found in the December 1977 WPC News, page 20-22 |
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Another Derham creation is the seven passenger Touring Car,
pictured here, similar to The Imperial Parade car made for the King &
Queen's visit to Canada & the United States in 1939. The car was equipped with hand buffed leather interior & side curtains for inclement weather. This Car is owned by a collector near Olympia Washington, and these pictures we're takend in August 2000 |
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Chrysler did not produce a Convertible in 1939, However among the seven Custom Imperial chassis-cowl units sold, Derham did produce a beautiful convertible sedan. |
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The 1939 coupe was built in three styles. The 2 passenger
Business coupe which had luggage space running from the rear of the trunk
floor to the back of the drivers seat. 35 Imperial 8 Victoria Coupes, (See
Above), with the Hayes body were produced. |
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I have also seen an Imperial "Opera" coupe, not referred to in the book. It has jump seats behind the Drivers seat that are similar to the NY'er Club coupe. These were reportedly included in the total coupe production. |
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Items of interest in the 1939 production were, the 1939 was
a one year model run, dis-similar from the 38's & 40's. No convertibles
were built although a sunroof although roof option was |
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Derham-bodied 1939 Imperial Designed for a Mr. Watkins Quoting
from "70 Years of Chrysler", Crestline Publishing, George H. Dammann,
Author. (1974) Describing the "Mr. Watkin's" Imperial the author writes, "Proposed, but apparently never built was the interesting sedan by Derham. It was designed for the 144-inch wheelbase Custom Imperial, and would have used the forward portion of the standard body for a base. However the rear section would have been of quite formal line, almost in European tradition. The car could have been built in 5 or 7 passenger form, with or without a divider window, according to customer order. But, there appears to have been no orders. |
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On describing the Coupes, I failed to mention the steering
wheel in the spotters guide is unfamiliar to me, though it may be for the C22 Royals. The imperials I have seen have the "Banjo" type steering wheel. |
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39 Coupe Owned By Bob Siemens |
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Grille |
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Dash |
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Jump seat in Down Position |
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Jump seat in Up Position |
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Dash of 39 Imperial Sedan |
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Steering wheel of 39 Imperial Sedan |
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Clock of 39 Imperial Sedan |
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Gas, Amps, and Temp Gauge, next to Speedometer 39 Sedan |
