Chris and Linda Cushman's stunning silver 1934 Plymouth coupe is literally a rolling piece of history. The unrestored car shows only 27,000 miles on its odometer and its pristine condition confirms those numbers.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
From any angle, the '34 Plymouth PE DeLuxe business coupe is an impressive exercise in automotive styling.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Yes, the Plymouth offers wide-swinging "suicide doors," which were very popular during the early-to-mid-1930s.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The dashboard was designed with twin oval pods, which could be reversed on the factory floor to build the car as a right-hand drive model for export. Note the beautiful faux wood-grained metal garnish molding above the dash.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
This is the radio control head, with a small round dial and a pair of knobs for volume and tuning. The radio set itself can be seen to the right, under the dashboard.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Rated at only 70 horsepower, the flathead 6-cylinder engine was the weak link in Plymouth's engineering in 1934, so it was replaced with a slightly stronger 77 horsepower engine four months into the model year.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A closer look at the engine bay reveals the vacuum assist unit that provides clutchless on-the-go shifting, essentially giving the coupe an automatic transmission once it is in motion. It could be disabled by a dashboard button, returning the car to conventional manual transmission operation.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Standard business coupes were equipped with wire wheels, while the upscale PE DeLuxe models got these stylish body-colored "artillery wheels." These are fitted with 6.00x16-inch Firestone bias-ply wide whitewalls.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The longer 114-inch wheelbase of the PE coupe meant a correspondingly longer hood. Designers filled the extra space on the side panels with a pair of horizontal vents that could be opened to aid in engine cooling.
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The functional spare tire carrier features an access door to check the tire pressure of the spare, as well as a locking hubcap.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
At first glance, the Cushmans' '34 Plymouth coupe appears to have been treated to a top chop, but the all-metal body is completely original. Chris Cushman explained that the low-profile roofline was achieved by having a higher beltline on the body of the car, which still affords plenty of headroom inside.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The only body parts showing wear were the front and rear bumpers, which were removed, straightened and replated in 1988. The DeLuxe model carried a taillight on each side emblazoned with the brand's name.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Small styling details abound on the Cushmans' Plymouth, like the fins atop each of the headlight buckets.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Plymouth's once-standard Mayflower hood emblem sails along at the prow of the '34 coupe. Chris Cushman says these emblems often were broken, due to their placement and fragile design.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Illustrating the kind of loving care that the Cushmans' coupe has received over three-quarters of a century, the original grille had only to be cleaned off and shined up to look this good.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the 1934 Plymouth business coupe, with its gorgeous styling, independent front suspension, clutchless on-the-go shifting and hydraulic brakes, is that it didn't take the car-buying public by storm.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Chris and Linda Cushman with "Sophie," their much-beloved 1934 Plymouth business coupe.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
No, this isn't a damaged ignition key. It is supposed to have that bend in it. The "Z key" was another unique touch found in the '34 Plymouth.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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