Only five years after its founding, the Plymouth division at Chrysler rose to number three in the U.S. sales charts, trailing only Ford and Chevrolet.

Walter P. Chrysler with a 1932 Plymouth PA Sedan 

Not long after he launched the Chrysler Corporation in 1924, Walter P. Chrysler set off on an ambitious and aggressive expansion program, acquiring Dodge Brothers and founding the DeSoto and Plymouth brands. In the low-priced, high-volume field where Plymouth was positioned, competing directly against Ford and Chevrolet, the engineering and production challenges were immense, while the profit margins were razor thin. His friend Henry Ford warned him, “Walter, you’ll go broke.”

Chrysler not only failed to heed the advice; he sent Ford one of the first Plymouths off the assembly line for his personal inspection. His new low-priced brand thrived, rising to seventh place in U.S. production by 1930 and fourth place in 1931, despite a failing economy. In 1932, Plymouth firmly landed the number three spot, becoming the final member of the low-priced three, a position it would hold for most years through the next four decades. It was a remarkable achievement for a new brand.

PA Two-Door Sedan 

Actually, there were two Plymouths in 1932: the PA, essentially a carryover from the previous year, and the larger and improved PB introduced on April 3, 1932. The PB featured a larger body and a longer wheelbase—112 inches vs. 109 inches. (There was also a 121-in wheelbase PB  sedan produced in small numbers.) Styling is similar for the two models so they can be difficult for casual observers to tell apart, but there’s one easy tell. On the PA there’s a crossbar across the radiator shell to support the headlamps, while the lamps are mounted directly to the fenders on the PB. Both models included four-wheel hydraulic brakes as standard equipment, a Chrysler Corporation innovation in volume production that would not be offered by Ford or Chevrolet for some years to come.

1932 PB four 

In contrast, one area where Plymouth was a little behind in ’32 was in engines. While Chevrolet offered an overhead-valve six and Ford a V8, Plymouth offered only its trusty L-head four. A very typical design with its roots in Maxwell, Chrysler’s predecessor, it displaced 196.1 cubic inches with a 3.63-in bore and a 4.75-in stroke. But Chrysler’s engineering team, led by Carl Breer, Owen Skelton, and  Fred Zeder, continued to develop the engine, and by 1931 they had pushed it up to 56 hp at 2,800 rpm.

For the 1932 PB, the four was coaxed even further as the compression ratio was boosted to 5.5:1 and bolt-on counterweights were added to the crankshaft, allowing the four to produce 65 hp at at a significantly higher 3,400 rpm. In output ratings at least, the Plymouth was now the equal of the 60 hp Chevrolet six and 65 hp Ford V8.

1932 Plymouth PB Four Floating Power

The red line in the photo above illustrates another important advance, the Floating Power mounting system introduced in 1931. An arrangement of leaf springs at the rear of the transmission and rubber bushings high in front allowed the engine to rotate slightly on its center of mass in reaction to torque impulses, isolating engine vibration from the chassis. “The smoothness of an eight—the economy of a four,” Chrysler boasted, adopting Floating Power across the brands in 1932.  One more refinement on the PB shown above was the elaborate Burgess Silencer air cleaner, which reduced intake roar. But despite all these improvements, this was the final year for the original Plymouth four, as the division introduced a straight six for 1933.

PB Convertible Coupe 

There are some inconsistencies in the reported sales and production figures for 1932, due in part to the two separate models. For example, some sources appear to include all PA sales in the 1931 totals. However, the combined PA and PB sales for ’32 totaled nearly 121,500 cars—a fair distance behind Ford and Chevrolet, but well ahead of Buick in fourth place. For 1933, volume jumped to nearly 300,000 cars, and Plymouth was locked down as the third member of the low-priced three for another 23 years.

PB Roadster