Chrysler sold more than 260,000 cars in 1970, but not many of them were drop-tops. The entry-level full-size car, the Newport, only accounted for 1,124 convertibles – and only a small percentage likely survive today. This one has been stored for 30 years, along with several other vintage Mopar’s, and is in Englishtown, New Jersey. A dealer has been called in to sell the car here on eBay where bidding has reached just $3,107.
Chrysler redesigned its big automobiles in 1969, creating a “fuselage” type of styling that would filter down to the intermediates a couple of years later. They were little changed for 1970, including the Newport. It was the starting point for a series of cruisers that included the 300 and New Yorker. While Chrysler built more than 110,000 Newport’s in 1970, just about one percent of those cars had retractable canvas tops like the seller’s car.
Little is known about this Chrysler, but we’re guessing it’s part of a collection that was found in a rather dirty and unorganized old garage. A 1970 Plymouth Road Runner appears to be one of several other dwellers in this space. The dirty burgundy paint doesn’t look bad, but there is rust popping through at the bottoms of the front fenders, rear quarter panels, and perhaps the doors. That means the undercarriage should be given a careful evaluation.
On the other hand, the black spacious interior looks surprisingly nice except for a tear in the driver’s seat bottom. Fix that and clean up the rest and you may be okay there. While the white convertible top looks okay at first, there seems to be some old duct tape along a seam which may mean there was a leak.
Under the hood is a non-running 383 cubic inch V8 (2-barrel variety) with a TorqueFlite automatic. Given the years of suspected dormancy here, there is no telling what it will take to get this car running again. At under 58,000 miles, perhaps the drivetrain will eventually respond to fresh fluids, including the flow of fuel from the tank to the carburetor. This could serve as a parts car, but why go that route unless the cost of repairs will exceed any future return.
Just waiting for the inevitable B-52 reference, LOL!! I’d prefer the GTX, though!
GLWTA!! :-)
Can you really seat “about 20” in this thing?
Looks like a solid unrestored old east coast convertible, Clean the tank and fix the brakes and get ready for summer cruising. The part with wires hanging down is just a standard dash/map light and not an A/C control as it looks like it has no east coast A/C. Looks like original paint with the selling dealer tag still on the trunk.
Someone has money to throw away. About all this car is worth is about $900 max. Then take into consideration of the labor and locating parts .Just to get it road worthy. Like under-carriage parts. You can bet. Looking at the lower rust.You can bet this car is gonna need it. the freight.Alot of peope are not in it for the money. Some like to just fix things as a hobby and something to do.These were good riding cars and reliable.
Most people who are interested in this car will look at it as a rare model that could be a very strong candidate for restoration. As someone with an interest in these old Chrysler’s there is a market for them, as time goes on and more of them are no longer able to be restored that market will grow. Having just found one of these as a barn find I expect it won’t be long before it’s in the hands of an interested person whose looking to own one of the few existing 1970 Newport convertibles.
5 digit odometer does not mean 58,000 miles. Please add a hundred to that; the sellers admits as much.
When the man said “We need a bigger boat” he may well have been referring to this one… you’d have to put money in 3 meters to park (dock) this barge! Gas mileage? HA! Right… However, if you have room and spending cash, this would make an excellent road cruiser. Top down, tunes up fun!
One of the best looking of all of the fuselage-era C-Bodies. This is a complete, bare-bones stripper. The most basic Chrysler you could buy, albeit a convertible. The paint definitely looks original. I’d be surprised if it had 58K on it…but it’s possible. The close-up shots of the engine tell another story. It looks tired and, I’m sure, it is. This is a good car to do a 440+6, 18-spline 4-speed, 3.54 Dana 60 swap and keep it stock looking…maybe some 15 x 7 Rallye Wheels. Otherwise, it’s pretty blah.
I beg to differ. My old man had The Stripper.. sedan..It barely had lights. Dark green Newport. Riding in the front seat was like the E ticket at Disneyland; whenever he took a corner you would slide all the way over and smack the driver on those vinyl seats. Never did understand why my dad bought the cars he did. The only commonality is they were strippers.
This one looks like its been marinating in water.
Too good to part out, and too far gone to economically restore. The old car “never, never land”.
My dad drove a 73 Newport. It was copper color 4 door with a really neat matching color scheme patterned cloth interior. It would have made for a beautiful convertible. The cloth solved the bench seat slide problem but it still wobbled in turns, but cruising straightaway on the turnpike, there was none better.
Not the most desirable Mopar, but a rare convertible likely deserving of restoration despite the extensive rusting and unknown engine condition.
I just bought one 1970 Newport convertible with 36000 original miles. Needs some cosmetic work And some carburetor work but drives And shift’s good.