1938 Classic Cars for Sale

47 listings Median price: $38,995 Updated daily

Buick's torpedo body previews postwar design, Cadillac Sixty Special resets American luxury, and recession reshapes the market

The recession that began in late 1937 cut through 1938 production numbers severely. Total U.S. auto output fell to roughly 2 million units, the worst figures since 1932. Against that backdrop, two cars arrived that pointed directly toward the postwar era. Bill Mitchell's Cadillac Sixty Special, designed largely without input from the established coachbuilders, eliminated running boards, raised the beltline, and treated the greenhouse as a design element rather than an afterthought. It was a genuinely modern car.

Buick showed the Y-Job at the 1938 auto show circuit. It was not a production car but it was the first dedicated concept vehicle in American automotive history. Harley Earl drove it as his personal transportation for years. The flush fenders, hidden headlamps, and horizontal grille theme it established would define American car design through the mid-1940s and beyond.

Packard and Lincoln responded to the recession by consolidating their model lines. The Lincoln Zephyr received a revised grille that many consider an improvement over the 1936 original. Packard introduced the One-Twenty and One-Ten to reach volume price points. The old separation between luxury and mainstream manufacturers was compressing rapidly.

Notable 1938s: Cadillac Series 60 Special Fleetwood Sedan Lincoln Zephyr V12 Convertible Coupe Packard Eight 1601 Touring Sedan Buick Special Model 41C Convertible Coupe Chrysler Imperial Custom Eight Lebaron Convertible Sedan Graham Model 97 Supercharged Custom Sedan Studebaker President Skyway Cruising Sedan

1938 in automotive history

Cadillac's Sixty Special, designed by Bill Mitchell and priced at $2,090, sold approximately 3,703 units in its debut year, outselling the more expensive Cadillac Series 75 by a wide margin.
U.S. automobile production fell to an estimated 2.0 million units in 1938, a 48 percent decline from the 1937 peak, with Ford, GM, and Chrysler all posting significant sales losses.
The Graham Supercharged models introduced a novel front-end treatment with a sharply raked grille that earned the nickname 'sharknose,' representing one of the more unusual styling departures of the prewar decade.

Showing 47 listings

1938 Classic Cars for Sale

1938 Chevrolet Deluxe

1938 Chevrolet Master Deluxe

1938 Ford Humpback

1938 Pontiac Chieftain

1938 Chevrolet Business Coupe

1938 Plymouth Deluxe

1938 Pontiac Streamliner

1938 Ford Humpback

1938 Chevrolet Special Deluxe

1938 Ford Tudor

1938 Plymouth Mayflower

1938 Ford Custom

1938 Mercedes-Benz 170 V-S

1938 Ford Coupe

1938 Cadillac LaSalle

1938 Ford Tudor

1938 Chevrolet Special Deluxe

1938 Chevrolet Deluxe

1938 Chevrolet Special Deluxe

1938 Oldsmobile Convertible

1938 Chevrolet Special Deluxe

1938 Buick Streamline

1938 Packard 1508

1938 Chevrolet Special Deluxe