1955 was a watershed year for Detroit in regards to styling, new engines, dazzling colors and interiors, and sales. A record year with almost eight million automobiles sold. By comparison, the 1954 Chrysler looks frumpy compared to the all new “100 Million Dollar Look” Chrysler for 1955, the first year of legendary designer Virgil Exner’s “Forward Look.” This very rare, low-production Windsor Deluxe convertible has been in a small collection for the past 15 years and is looking for a new home. It’s located in Clayton, NC, and is for sale here on eBay for an asking price of $29,500.

Joe the seller doesn’t offer many details about the car or the car’s history. He claims it’s had “one repaint, the 301 engine runs very well, the transmission shifts smoothly, and it drives very well.” Options are listed as power windows, power brakes, power steering, automatic transmission (Chrysler’s brochures really touted the new “Fingertip PowerFlite Range Selector shift lever located on the instrument panel), dual remote spotlights, and wire wheels.

The blue and white dash and interior presents well and I don’t spot any cracks in the steering wheel. I don’t claim to be a ’55 Chrysler interior expert, but the choice of blue seat and door panel material doesn’t look original to me. If I’m wrong, I apologize. The carpet looks faded and the white convertible top looks presentable but it has two small slits that are detailed in one photograph. I’m not sure how old the repaint is or what it would score on a 1-to-10 point scale. There are some rock chips on the front, but, overall, this beautiful beast presents very well, is all there, and doesn’t show any rust.

Although offered in 1954, six cylinder engines were dropped by Chrysler in ’55. Nothing but V8’s would do for the all-new Chrysler lineup. This Windsor is powered by the 301-cubic-inch overhead valve V8 that was described as using a debored Hemi block and new “Polysphere” semi-hemi heads. It’s horsepower when new was listed as 188. The seller claims the mileage is 91,000, but it’s not stated if those are the original miles.

Chrysler, like many other makes in 1955, had a very strong sales year, selling nearly 153,000 cars. Of that, 98,874 were Windsors but only a scant few 1,392 convertibles left the factory. This rare survivor still looks impressive after all these years. It definitely has presence. In promotional materials, Chrysler described their all-new 1955 Windsor Deluxe as “…a big car…broad and solid, yet strikingly graceful in every clean, lovely line.” I’d have to agree with that sales pitch.