One day, we’ll wake up and all the postwar Chryslers will be gone; however, that day has not yet come. As of now, they seem to be coming at us from all corners of the United States; I know that I’ve written about several of these sturdy old Mopars over the last few months, and this one may clean up better than you’d expect given its “tucked away and forgotten” appearance. It’s also an upscale New Yorker with its big straight eight, making it a little more uncommon and quite a bit more powerful. Our barn finding overachiever T.J. found this one squirreled away on Marketplace in Anoka, Minnesota, with a $7,500 asking price.
Clearly, the primary reason to buy a New Yorker is its big 323-cubic-inch “Spitfire” straight-eight engine. Just about any straight eight is musical; the sound alone makes this a car worth owning. I’ll often sit on the rear bumper of my straight-eight Buick Special just to listen to it burbling away at idle. The big Chrysler uses a flathead architecture to make its 135 horsepower, breathing through a two-barrel Ball and Ball E7A1 carburetor. You may not find it surprising that this engine “ran when parked.” The battery, however, doesn’t look too old, so there’s hope (or maybe someone hooked up a new battery in an unsuccessful attempt to get things underway again). As usual, a few messages to the seller may answer a lot of questions.
The interior could use an appointment with your local detailer, but the seller says that it’s in good condition aside from “one hole in the headliner.” Given its barn-stored situation, I’d allot some of my “get to know you” time for a little mouse hunting. The steering wheel has a few major cracks, as you might expect from a 77-year-old steering wheel, and you can see the “Fluid Drive” clutch pedal in this shot, too.
The Club Coupe was the second most-popular New Yorker bodystyle behind the four-door sedan, selling 10,735 copies. You might think that the Windsor Club Coupe would have outsold the New Yorker by a huge margin, being that it was nearly $400 less expensive, but it wasn’t quite such a landslide: 26,482 Windsors found buyers. Apparently, a lot of folks wanted to hear that straight-eight thrum. This big Chrysler is a legitimate barn find, but the dust might be the worst of it, and there’s air in the tires, which is a good start. It will certainly need some work to get it back on the road, but you could have a truly majestic reminder of our immediate postwar years for a reasonable price, especially if you’re handy with cleaning supplies and can make an engine run. It can be tough to sell a non-running car; do you think this one has a shot?
I’ve had a Danbury Mint ’48 Chrysler Town and County for years. ( wish it were the real one). These not only had beautiful lines on the ouside, but the interiors also were beautiful too. The dash boards, especially the chrome, the steering wheel, everything was very nicely designed.
I could be wrong, but I have a feeling there’s still a beautiful shine to be had under all that dust. Again, I could be wrong here. But this old Chrysler sure looks solid.
@Driveinstile
I have a 1/18 scale die-cast T&C in a tan-ish gold. Love that model and the real thing.
Something about a ’48 Chrysler is commanding. Maybe it’s the huge front end, whatever it is this is a sweet car.
Is the Danbury a 1/24 or 1/25?
I agree, those Chryslers had a strong presence, inside and out. The Danbury Mint model I have is a 1/24 scale. The burgundy with the mahogany wood just goes together.
@Driveinstile
It’s the only photo I could find of my die cast
@ Angel I always thought the wood highlights the body lines very nicely . Thats a nice one you have.
No matter what someone’s personal feelings are towards cars like this, the market is moving on from cars of this era that don’t have a strong following. These are good looking and will draw attention at a coffee and cars, but so will many other 2drs from this era. This is a $7,500 starting point to a project, you might get lucky and get it to run and drive without having to put in much time or money, but you’ll still have to deal with an unknown amount of rust and any other issues that invariably pop up with a project that’s been sitting for an extended period of time. Unless a potential buyer has their heart set on this particular make and model there are better deals out there for those willing to put in the time and effort.
Steve R
At the upper end of my drive and have fun price range but the ad says it’ll run on ether. A lot of elbow grease, clean the fuel system, check the brakes, tune, hoses, fluids etc. drive and smile.
Seeing this car reminds me of helping
my Grandma deliver cakes and pasteries to grocery stores around town with my cousin Mike. You see, my Grandma ran a small bakery out of her house for years after Grandpa died from scarlet fever in 1933. And the car she used was a beast of a ’47
’48 Imperial 9 passenger sedan. That
thing was huuuge and built like a tank. I recall that she could put several wedding cakes in that cavernous trunk and many more cakes ride in the rear seat or on the floor which was covered in hisqueen
plastic to make clean up a snap. When I could, I’d stay overnight with my cousin and then go with Grandma
the next day to deliver said cakes and pasteries to their assigned stores. Now Grandma was on the short side. And how she managed to drive that tank of a car, I’ll never know. I would go on to help her make deliveries long
after she traded the Chrysler in on a new Olds F-85 wagon in ’62. When I started fixing cars at church, I’d ride by her housé after school and my cousin and I would still help her make
her rounds every few days or so. I finally had to give it up when I started
playing music over the road in 1970.
She would retire from her baking business in 1986 after 53 years and pass away in 1991 at age 91. What I wouldn’t give to have a car like Grandma’s Chrysler.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Kenneth.
I’ll second that!
Based on your description of Grandma, I would give anything to have “her” back. Great car too.
For the asking price you would think rolling it outside and washing it would attract more buyers. It’s kind of a rare car in the coupe form but I can’t believe all that dirt is going to draw the collectors.
I’m definitely not a Mopar fan. That is anything built after 1960. I do love this Chrysler though and would love to park it in my garage, but I’m in the process of building a new house after my old house was destroyed by fire last year in North east Texas. Not my residence but the house my late wife and I lived in for 15 years.
Anyway I now find myself desiring cars I can’t have, but the dream still lingers on.
I sure hope someone buys this car and takes good care of it.
God Bless America
Getting rid of the mousy occupants isn’t such a big problem. You don’t have to hunt for them. Just throw a handful of moth balls around in the floor, trunk and engine compartment. They’ll pack their bags and leave.
My Dad had a 48 4 door what a boat , my brother and would stand up on the back seat and when Dad would stop the car we would yell accident and fall down on the floor grabbing the lap blanket rope on the way down, Mom would then yell stop that or Ill show you guys an accident ,good memories !!
Grandma’s Imperial did too. And by today’s standards, very imposing. Climb into that car, and you sat on seats that looked as though someone moved your sofa into the car. Once you got going, you would float down the road as though you were riding on air. Would you win at the stoplight grand Prix? No, probably not. But these cars had a ride better than my’50 Packard limousine and my ’66 Cadillac Calais 4-door hardtop put together. And they had a sense of class about them that no other car could match. And Angel, I think your
model is painted Champagne Gold as
it closely resembled the paint job on
a ’94 Taurus wagon I once owned if that helps out any at all. If you can find the book Retro Ride by Tony Swan, there are illustrations of a New
Yorker ragtop that are nothing short of fabulous. And the color and detail
are just wonderful. As an artist, the ads that Mr. Sean used in his book made me both marvel at, and envy the artist who made them. And that only made me want to do better at making my own prints. If I live long enough, I might get as good as they were, but I doubt it!
Angel, Angel, Angel. You’ve done it again dear! You always challenge me to come up with something better than the last print I might’ve made. And after looking around, I can indeed
make a print of this car too if you like.
All I can say is that your shipping tube
is getting fuller by the day. But that’s
fine with me. Others see what I make for you and before I know it, they want
one too! Thanks honey for being such a good friend to me💋
Love the Chrysler, Kenneth, but I’ll stick with the two I already reserved. As soon as I get my apt I’m hoping to send you a m.o. to turn my 2nd bedroom into a car showroom.