1969 Chrysler Newport 2-Door Hardtop 383 V8

Bahama Blue Metallic is a gorgeous color and fitting for a vehicle located this far up in equally gorgeous British Columbia, Canada. This 1969 Chrysler Newport 2-Door Hardtop is posted here on craigslist in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, and they’re asking $6,500, which I’m assuming is Canadian dollars. If so, that would be $4,719 in U.S. funds. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Tony P. for the tip!

There’s something peaceful, smooth, and comforting, and yet at the same time, somewhat sinister about this car for me. Not sinister in a bad way, although what other way is there for a word that literally means evil or menacing? Maybe sinister isn’t a good description, maybe I mean tough, that’s more like it. Like you just know this car would be a brute on the street. A gentle giant, or how about… Ok, enough of that. I think this is a beautiful car, especially in this 2-door hardtop body style. I wish the seller had included a photo with the windows down.

The Fuselage-body fifth-generation Newport was made from 1968 for the 1969 model year until the end of 1973, and the trunk looks long enough to store a pontoon boat and have enough room left over for a Subaru Justy. It’s a shame that they don’t include a photo inside that giant space. I wonder if it needs some help with the hinges on the driver’s door; it appears to be sagging a bit, or maybe that’s just the trim that’s sagging. The seller says the body is in excellent shape for the year, and it sure looks perfect in the photos. Hagerty is at $5,100 for a #4 fair-condition car and $8,600 for a #3 good car.

The interior may be another story. There are exactly three interior photos, and they’re all extreme closeups like the one above. Something must be going on in there for it not to be shown as well as the exterior is, and there’s no mention of the interior condition in the listing. From what the three cropped photos show, it looks great, so I’m not sure why better interior photos aren’t included. This car has “optional textured vinyl seats” with a bench in front, according to page 17 of this brochure, but otherwise, this appears to be a pretty base-level car with no power windows, AC, etc. They show a few underside photos, and it looks fantastic.

This one is equipped with Chrysler’s 383-cu.in. OHV V8, and I believe it’s the two-barrel carb (a four-barrel was optional), which had 290 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque when new. Passing through a TorqueFlite automatic, they say it “runs and drives,” which isn’t super confidence-inspiring, but at least it runs and drives. The engine compartment looks good to me, other than the blue tape. I’m not sure what it’s for, and there appears to be some blue paint sprayed in that area onto the wiper arms. Any thoughts on this Newport?