“A Beautiful Car…a BIG CAR…The Finest Car in the Medium-Price Field!” reads an ad for the 1954 Chrysler Windsor DeLuxe. And that wasn’t even an eight-passenger sedan like this 1954 Chrysler Windsor DeLuxe is. The seller has this BIG CAR posted here on craigslist in Colorado Springs, Colorado and they’re asking $7,995. Here is the original listing. Thanks to T.J. for sending in this tip!
For 1954, Chrysler dropped the base model Windsor so there was just the Windsor DeLuxe. Next in line were the New Yorker and New Yorker DeLuxe. This car looks imposingly huge but truthfully, it’s not as big as it seems. A late-70s Lincoln Town Car is a few inches longer than this one is and those were “only” six-passenger cars. This one will fit at least eight people and if it’s drive-in night, all bets are off – a dozen at least.
The seller gives basically no information about this one other than it has 539 miles which I’m assuming is at least 100,539? They list the “serial number” showing that this car was built in Detroit but other than that we don’t know really anything about it at all other than what’s shown in the photos.
The Windsors were restyled for the 1955 model year which is when the Imperial broke out on its own. Power steering was a $177 option for this car and given the length (just over 19-feet), width (6.5-feet), and weight (4,500 pounds), that would have been $177 very well spent in my opinion. We don’t know if this car has that option or anything else but it appears to need some sprucing up inside.
That back seat room though! What I wouldn’t have given to have this car back in the band days. The jump seats are folded up in the above photo and in this photo, but here is a photo with one of them folded down which gives at least two extra seating positions. I don’t have a clue what I would use this car for but it would be fun to own. I love driving but man, I wish I had a driver.
The engine is behind that radiator somewhere and it should be Chrysler’s 264.5 cubic-inch L-head inline-six with 120 horsepower – the last year for a six in this car. Does it run? Not a clue, the seller doesn’t mention that at all but I’m betting money that it runs fine given how nice the car looks overall. Any thoughts on this big Windsor DeLuxe? What would you use this car for? Camping? Driving your friends around? Getting the band back together?…
Love Shake baby.
stupid autocorrect
Shack?
How did the song go? I got me a Chrysler-it’s as big as a whale
What a cool car.
Shack, I was drinking again.
The original stow and go!
Suicide door? Must have been part of the 8 passenger package. Hmmm. I would have guessed a red ram hemi under the hood in ‘54.
This is why I like Barn Finds. Learn something new every day.
I’d know I’d be messing with the original but I’d do the interior in really expensive leather.
Why don’t they just call it what it is: a limousine or taxi. It has 3 on the tree, which was an unusual configuration for 54. Most were automatics. Also, as a Windsor, it would have had the Spitfire 6, not the hemi V8 of the New Yorker. Strange to put the smaller engine in such a large car. I’ll bet it weighs in at over 5K. Interesting too that the taillights are different from the standard sedans (perhaps like the Imperials ???). The rear window of the sedans were wrap-arounds.
Eric,
As someone who has a serious interest in, and owned & worked on hundreds of long wheelbase [LWB] cars, from a Ford Stageway 8 door airporter, to a Rolls-Royce James Young limousine, let me try to shed some light on basic LWB descriptions.
Except for German and/or French language vehicles, a limousine is a sedan with a division window between front and rear compartments. They can be 5 or 6 passenger sedans, or the LWB versions with a 3rd row of seats. In German [and French to a lesser extent], a regular 4 door sedan is a Limousine, and a 3 row sedan is a “Pullman”.
A LWB sedan is generally understood to have 3 rows of seats, but no division window. In Europe, it’s a 6 passenger, in America, it’s up to 9 passengers. This Chrysler meets the latter definition.
LWB Taxicabs: Until 1950*, the NYC Taxicab regulations required all city cabs to have the capability of handling a minimum of 5 paying passengers, but none allowed in the front seat area. Very few taxicabs outside NYC were LWB cars, most were regular sedans. This was usually due to the NYC cabs having small 6 cylinder engines and rear axle ratios exceeding 5.00/1, as no city street speed limit exceeded 25mph! *Note sure of the exact year, but I think it was 1950.
That said, a common sight out west was the use of LWB sedans [and a few LWB limousines purchased as used cars]. These were usually ICC regulated, running the old stagecoach routes between cities. They could be identified as ICC route cars because of huge roof racks and evidence they’ve done half a million miles or more before being put out to pasture. Many were also equipped with massive tow hitches, as they often towed enclosed trailers for additional passenger luggage or shipping parcels. This Chrysler is simply too nice to have been an ICC route vehicle.
90% of all 1950s American postwar LWB sedans were sold new to funeral homes. The other 10% were typically used by airport taxi service companies, larger corporations for private livery use, private schools [like the Milton S. Hershey School], or financially secure larger families.
It’s my opinion that by offering far cheaper versions of what was basically a postwar Chrysler Imperial Crown limousine, in New Yorker, Windsor Deluxe, Desoto and Dodge variations, many potential Crown Imperial buyers opted for one of these cheaper LWB sedans or limousines. The average American didn’t know the difference! But for Chrysler, the ability to amortize far more LWB body and chassis units, probably made the decision a good one.
Now I recall VAGUELY from the sister model the Desoto Suburban, some body parts were carryovers from the first generation post war cars. It does sound like a taxi. I know Packard made a similar eight passenger six cylinder package for the taxi market.
Kim,
I’m pretty sure this Chrysler was never a taxicab. Every taxi from the 1960s on back that I’ve seen or have seen photos of, was literally worn out. This car likely came from a funeral home. It’s simply too nice.
Packard did offer a special LWB Taxicab thru 1950. About 1978 I met and interviewed Mr. Bob King, who with his father, operated the commercial sales division of Packard, known as “Packard Federal Corp.” Bob said these LWB taxicabs were only available to the New York City taxi fleets.
Only 1 example of these LWB NYC Packard taxicabs is known to exist, it’s owned by my friend Roger Lamb in Illinois. Roger also owns a 1948 Packard taxicab, and a 1947 Packard taxicab. I was a rider in the 1947 when the Packard club visited South Bend a few years ago, and we were allowed to drive on the old Studebaker oval high speed test track. While it took a long time to make it to it’s top speed, with 5 people in the car it achieved 85MPH, due to the installation of a Packard overdrive, I created a video of this feat on my phone and would post it here if it was possible.
Here’s another interesting [but worthless] piece of information: All New York City cabs had to have their trunk lids welded shut unless the spare tire was carried there. If the spare was inside, then the rest of the trunk area had to be covered so no luggage could be put in the trunk. This was to make sure a driver didn’t forget and drive off with a rider’s luggage. So all NYC taxicabs had an external fold down trunk rack to hold passenger luggage.
I have a friend that owned one…same as this. He called it a Limo. Silver with new red interior. Eventually sold it on Ebay and it was shipped to France. Fund car!
I have a friend that owned one…same as this. He called it a Limo. Silver with new red interior. Eventually sold it on Ebay and it was shipped to France. Fund car!
914Shifter,
Last year I found a YouTube video about a town in central France where a huge rolling vintage car show takes over the entire town for a weekend. There are several shots of a silver ’53 or ’54 Chrysler LWB car involved in the show! It shouldn’t be too hard to find the video, so tell your friend to check it out!
Maybe sold. The Craigslist listing is gone.
A little more checking. Now for sale and a much higher price.
https://www.importautosalescs.com/view-inventory
$17995 More pictures including engine bay, trunk. Too bad a radio was installed. What an interesting car. Never seen one.
this at some point this was repainted and they did a good job. only place i see is on the door lach on the door frame on car not the door itself. that would not have paint on it as it would be put on after paint at plant and this one does. also by door kick plate it looks like black is showing . black would be most likely color for this car with a brown inside.
Looks older than a 54. More like late 40s?
No, Bill, this is definitely a 54. We had a 54 Windsor. That’s the correct front end and dashboard for a 54 (which were distinctly different from the earlier models).
I was thinking the same thing, Bil. Chrysler was slow on restyling their cars. Luckily 1955, and 1963 were banner years for redesigning automobiles.
It reminds me of Mr. Cunningham’s Desoto from the back. I wonder if they were the same in a regular sedan. That back seat is awesome. That would have been a date car until your girlfreind’s father saw the car. Then you’d be dead.
Glenn,
In 1978 I was driving a 1942 Henney-Packard hearse in which the casket table had been removed and the rear area padded & carpeted. I also stuck a couple of beanbag chairs in the back too. Went to pick up a date [we were college age], and when her dad saw the hearse, he really did insist I give him and the missus a ride around the block! I don’t think they had any idea of what was going to happen later that evening!
Was picked up every summer day for camp in a car like this. It was owned by a cab company. Years later saw lots, 1967, in Israel. They had been re-powered with diesel and were the most common taxi, called a sherut.
Was picked up every summer day for camp in a car like this. It was owned by a cab company. Years later saw lots, 1967, in Israel. They had been re-powered with diesel and were the most common taxi, called a sherut.
Those folding jump seats were common in old Checker Marathon cabs as well. Possibly this was made for sale to taxi fleets.
Yes, 10.000 USD higher, the seller told me, when I asked if it’s driveable…to make export to Europe easier…not anymore at Craigslist now ..STRANGE…and it’s a four speed, fluid drive 2 speed and overdrive for both first and second gear.. and additional 495 USD dealers fee was said
Now that is a driver .How cool . Don’t see to many of those on the road .
Very interesting and unusual Chrysler. This truly a Windser Deluxe (six cylinder, etc.) but has a New Yorker Deluxe grill. This same body was utilized to produce the New Yorker and Imperial eight passenger sedan and limousine. Leaves me wondering why the different grill?
“I got me a Chrysler, it’s as big as a whale…”
A very cool car for the time period ; I’d see these in almost every movie filmed in 1955 in NewYork city posing as taxi cabs…..yellow cab I think.
The kind of car that quietly says “Get out of my way.”
Who could possibly sit on the rear seat with a jump seat deployed in front of them? I don’t believe a grown-up could.
Jimmy,
About 50% of rides on LWB cars with jump seats do not involve the use of jump seats, and only about 3/4 of the remaining rides where the jump seats are in use, are for short rides [for example; from the church to the gravesite for funerals]. For short rides it’s not really tight. However I can’t imagine riding in an old LWB car from [for example] Denver to Santa-Fe, on a dusty ICC route with a driver & 8 passengers & no A/C!
That said, I’ve owned many different vehicles with jump seats, and even with my 6’2″ 250# body size, I never felt cramped anymore than in a similar sedan. For example; my 1953 Packard Patrician sedan vs my 1953 Henney-Packard 7-passenger sedan. In some cases, the LWB version legroom with the jump seats in use, was better than the standard sedan. In this example, it’s my Vanden Plas Princess limousine vs my Austin Princess Series II saloon.
These folding seats were also called by another name: Occasional seats. Most of the vintage 1930s thru 1960s limousines I’ve owned over the past 50+ years, had minor wear on the back seat surfaces, while the jump seats had little to no wear, simply because they had minimal use.
Bill,
Thanks for the info.
Wow! I have never even heard of these cars. We had a ’54 New Yorker Deluxe most of the time I was growing up, but I never knew about the Windsor in this configuration. Great find!
Too bad the price jumped by $10K. At $7995, I was considering it.