Appearing to be wearing Consort Blue Metallic paint, this 1968 Chrysler Newport Sportsgrain Convertible is one unique car. The wheels aren’t stock, of course, but this car is so inexpensive right now that for anyone wanting to turn a lot of heads at the next car show, this is it. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Pompano Beach, Florida, there is no reserve, and the current bid price is just $998.
Those wheels have to go ASAP, but otherwise, this very rare special edition Newport with Di-noc woodgrain on the sides is as cool as it gets in my world. Chrysler only made 175 of them for 1968 in convertible form and 965 hardtop versions. They came back in 1969 but so few sold that Chrysler reportedly didn’t even keep records of how many sold.
We have seen a few of these unusual cars here at Barn Finds over the years, and as rugged as this one is in spots, it’s my favorite mainly because of the color. If you’re going to go bold, go bold, don’t mess around with a tan car with woodgrain on the sides. This is a fourth-generation Chrysler Newport under that fake wood and they were made from 1964 for the 1965 model year until the 1968. Yes, the 1969 Sportsgrain option was on the next-generation fuselage Newport.
The seller gets a gold star for providing a ton of great photos of almost everything but the underside. There is work to do everywhere as you can see, but overall this really looks like a nice, very-doable project. There are no power windows, power locks, or power seats on this car, which is a little unusual. Although, the Newport wasn’t the top model for Chrysler. The seats look pretty nice both front and rear, and the trunk will hold a half-dozen friends for Drive-In night. The seller has a new top still in the box for it as the convertible top on it now is ripped. A very nice touch. This one is very tempting. If I didn’t just spend double this amount to have a 1966 Mattel Stallion bike chromed… (sigh)
The engine even looks clean, how is this car less than $1,000 so far?! This is Chrysler’s 383-cu.in. OHV V8, which should have had 290 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque from the factory. It sends power through a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission with a column selector to the rear wheels. At over two tons, be prepared to count to 10 before hitting 60 mph, but that’s not what this car is about. A 440 was also available, which took it down to 7 seconds. This one runs and drives but should be transported home and checked out before driving it. Have any of you seen a Newport Sportsgrain edition in person?
With 8 days to go I think the Mopar guys and gals are laying low till the end. It is pretty cool and looks to have minimal cancer. It will be interesting to see how this auction closes.
Yes, that is a very good price, as long as it runs good and isn’t hopelessly rotted underneath. I’ve never seen one of these, either. Neat car!!!
I love Chrysler. Drive a sick 300 today. But that is the most awful looking convertible in Automotive History.
I had two of them 68 Chrysler Newport and 67 Chrysler Newport back in the Day
Strangely, I have seen 4 of these. I did not realize their numbers were so low. The one that was not moving also had few power options, the others I saw while driving, two in the Bay Area and one in the northeast. Cool cars with the sculpted bodies. This one’s wood grain is still looking a lot better than the others, which I saw 20-30 years ago. I still can’t understand why one would order fake wood on a convertible.
The company was hoping to go for a Town and County look. Mercury also had a car like this in 1968. It’s di-noc,so it doesn’t need as much car as real wood. Looks cool to me, although I’d rather have the Mercury Parklane model.
Back in the summer of ’68, I was going on a camping trip with my family heading to Baker Lake in NW Washington state north of Seattle, and on the way we passed through the small town of Concrete and I saw one of the 965 1968 Sportsgrain hardtops built. It was parked on the street in front of somebody’s house, and it was covered with light gray cement dust (like all the other cars and trucks in town) from the cement plant that the town was named after. I never saw that car again or another one since. I now know why I didn’t ever see another because I now know how rare a Sportsgrain is, thanks to Scotty G’s informative writing. I believe the cement plant in Concrete closed for good the following year after I saw the Sportsgrain. In 1991 all the exteriors were filmed in Concrete for the major motion picture “This Boy’s Life” starring Leonard DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro and Ellen Barkin. The film was the biographical story of the life of writer Thomas Wolfe, and set during his childhood in his home town of Concrete circa 1958, because the town was virtually unchanged some 30 plus years later
I think you mean Tobias Wolff. There are also the novelist Thomas Wolfe b.1900 and Tom Wolfe b.1930, a sociologist and author/reporter. An easy mistake to make as the web has some confused and conflated info regarding who wrote what. Still, we’d all be clutching our pearls if someone misidentified an engine, so only fair to attribute the right work to the right author! (or was it just spellcheck working its magic?) Best Wishes
Very cerebral, credit where credit is due.
Mercury had the Park Lane convertible with wood panels in 68 also! Better looking! One year too!
What a great car. Chrysler always had their own look. Love it or hate it you knew what it was I’ve always been a Mopar man. If my garage was bigger I’d have to have it. And a set of magnum 500 wheels wouldn’t be out of place.
I’ve never seen one of these. Only “sportgrain”on the side of a station wagon. What a great Cruiser this would make!
My first car was a 68 Newport Convertible in pale yellow, 383 Magnum as it was a Dr ‘s car who needed the power to get to the hospital quick. Wish I wasn’t so reckless and fool hardy in 1975. Hit a tree and it was gone!
Planes, Trains and Automobiles 1968 staring: the subject car, Douglas DC-9, EMD-E and Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis (if they were together).
A beautiful and interesting toy.
Bid is $2800. now,,still not a bad driver~~ BUT not for my world~~
I have a similar one in Ne Pa. that needs a new home,,
Wow..
The 70s and fake wood panel.
Now i get why so much weed was smoked
My aunt and uncle who lived in Windsor Locks, CT bought a sportsgrain hardtop in the summer of 1968. It was what we used to call avocado green, which as you all might remember, was the popular color scheme back then.
My first car was a 1968 300 convertible in 1975 after graduating high school. It cost $950. Had to work and buy it myself, as the parents hated it. 318, but very quick and fast & smooth & quiet. Drove it until I bought my first new car, a 1980 Chrysler le baron , also with the 318. Much less fun to drive for 6 years. Sold the 300 for $900 to a teenager excited to own it.
For some reason I really like that front end on it.
A friend of mine in the suburbs of Philly had a ’68 Newport convertible Sportsgrain, but his was Yellow. He used to drive it around in the late 1970s when I would come visit him.
There was another one in the Fredericksburg, VA area last year, for sale.
The current bid is $5500 on eBay. Come on, B.F. update.
LOVE it America has so many sweet rides. Almost every day on BARN FNDS I fall in love.. SAW a 36 chevy pickup yesterday in Castle Rock, big block and all the goodies , NOW that is what I want someday before I turn 100.
Nobody else noticed the electric fan behind the grille in front of the radiator? Does this 383 have a running hot or overheating issue that has to be addressed?
I would like to buy the car as is I live in Michigan my name is Steven Rucker my number is 313-452-2619 I will pay to get it shipped to my home
hello ? not sure who this comment is to ~~?
Steven,
The car is for sale on ebay, check just under the first photo, there are the words “here on eBay”, hi-lited in red. Clicking on those words should take you to the ebay ad.
I’ve never seen a woodgrain ’68 Chrysler convertible. I wonder how many were produced.
My Dad had a 1968 Chrysler Newport Custom four-door sedan with 383/automatic and full power everything!
It came with its own zip code, but boy could that thing move. I learned to drive in that two-ton tessie and took my driver’s test in it. Believe it or not, parallel parking it was a breeze, since it was basically a rectangular brick! All four corners were clearly visible.
Auction update: this beauty sold for $8,375.