Do you notice anything unusual about this 1976 Chrysler New Yorker? In addition to the twin scoops, a “Hurst-Equipped” badge, available on an Internet near you for $19.99, decorates the Chrysler’s rear. Vehicles adorned with badges and doo-dads from other cars, leveraging the magical properties of double-faced tape, populate High-School parking lots across the country, and perhaps around the world. Enthusiasts can decide for themselves whether the modifications improve this car or render it incongruous, but forget all that. This car has a genuine (though almost certainly not original) four-speed floor shifter! Thanks to Rob who spotted this stick-shifted monster coupe from Spring Hill, Florida, listed here on Tampa craigslist. Though nifty and unusual, the $16,500 asking price still suggests a fishing expedition, and not the kind that involves a cooler of Coronas on the Gulf of Mexico.
The post describes this New Yorker Brougham as “Hearst Equipped,” so perhaps, instead of the Trunk Monkey, Patty Hearst may leap out of the boot with a machine gun to put tailgaters in their place. Say what you will about whoever pumped up this luxo-barge with a high-performance muscle theme, but plenty of Chryslers have blended muscle and style. Plus, let’s face it, take away the floor shifter and we wouldn’t be talking about it at all.
No upholstery options this boring grace the beautiful original sales brochures. Take a moment and check out the latter, along with other details on these fine vehicles, at imperialclub.com. This car appears on numerous web sites, some of which show a better view of the silver trim ring that’s replaced the original column-mounted automatic transmission shift hub. Personally I don’t care whether the car came with a clutch pedal or not; it’s the most interesting thing about this ride, and I’d love to take it for a spin. Having converted my Dad’s 1995 Chrysler LeBaron convertible from automatic to five-speed, I can respect the spirit of this swap.
All New Yorkers packed a mighty 440 cid mill in ’76, though you could get the same body in a Newport with a 400. The 440 made a not-so-mighty 175 HP and 300 lb-ft torque, numbers easily increased with an application of dead Presidents. The painfully short 16-word description says nothing about the motor, but who knows? It *might* have had a wicked rebuild. More stickers appear in the engine compartment, so when you pop the hood at the burger joint, all your buddies will remember that Chrysler is built by… well… Chrysler. Surely a stick-shifted New Yorker of this vintage appeals to a narrow range of buyers. It only takes one buyer, someone not looking for *this* car specifically, but willing to pull the trigger. With that in mind, do you see $16,500 here, or some other value?
Concrete proof that the war on drugs is failing!
Unicorns do exist
This unicorn is a goat wearing a party hat on its nose.
This car would be cooler if the owner had chosen to go the sleeper route. Ditch the stickers, and plastic emblems, keep stock looking wheels and dump the chrome in the engine compartment. Hardly anyone would notice it then, but those that did would be the ones that matter.
Steve R
Even with the add ons it still screams “C’mon granny, drive me somewhere!”
What no rich corinthian leather? That”s a deal breaker
forcbodiesonly.com Go there and search, you’ll find out all you ever want to know about this New Worker by the guy who created this beast. BTW, there is no such thing as a 1976 Imperial.
The previous owner has a youtube video on it. Says he paid 8200 and sold it for 5k
I owned that car and the 4 spd was done by Stan who lives in Florida. There is a video of it on YouTube.
So tell me, did you put the hurst stickers on the car?
a for sure CP on jalopnik
Nothing says “I have been smoked in” better than the collection of little tree air fresheners decorating the shift lever.
A Hellcat unicorn that shoots rainbow flames out it’s butt!
Well now, that’s one solid looking engine there, the 4 speed thing is neat for sure, but an automatic of the screech/bang type would have been just fine in a big barge like this. It’s different, it’s no doubt interesting, and it will get you plenty of attention, but it is expensive. For me, loose the hot rod wheels and it would be more in character.
Pretty odd combination. Like a Lincoln or Caddy with a 4 speed. I’d have to think whoever wanted this car with a 4 speed, probably aging, wanted a cushy ride while still rowing through the gears at every stoplight. I’m sure that got old after a while, especially with the new in-laws in the back seat.
Shoulda kept making full sized cars with standards…. 4 on the floor new yorker Im in
It is a very likeable vehicle, very nice. I personally like the 4 speed conversion and I am an older gentleman. Getting closer to that century mark. Drive it on special occasions only. Can get tired of the 4 speed driving it all the time. Would be great to kick it in the rear every once in a while. Price?, that’s another issue.
Maybe the customizer wasn’t trying to build a cool car, maybe he was trying to be a comedian…
One of a kind but a little ambitious on the price.
I saw this car at Sumter this weekend ,cool car ,don’t want though .
That’s one goofy looking car.
If memory serves, the right fender mounted signal light, for the driver’s benefit, comes on when the carb opens enough to drop the vacuum far enough. So, 40 years ago this was already making the oil barons smile. I imagine you’ll spend more on gas than on purchase, in a short enough time.
The builder really missed an opportunity here….should have used the pop-up Air Grabber hood scoop!
if your going to this much effort, then swap out the front seat for buckets and console. I agree…should have left the stock wheels on it.
Doubt that 4-seed is original for 76. In 1955 when Chrysler started there 300 Letter Series, Seven, 300 letter cars were delivered to top dealers across the country, with 3 speed floor shift transmissions . None are known to exist. maybe?
this car was created by a Mopar nut in Wisconsin, there are videos on you tube, the 440 was VERY strong when he owned it, I’ve seen this car with my own eyes and it is very well done! Who knows if it still is equipped with the engine he built for it, but it does look like it.
This vehicle didn’t leave the factory with a stick shift.
First of all, beginning in 1973, all cars sold in the US had to have specific drive train combinations certified for emissions and fuel economy. This is one reason why so many vehicles were [and still are] not available with manual gearboxes. This car was only available new with an automatic. There should be a yellow sticker on the top of the radiator support listing the drive line specs. Either it says it’s got an automatic, or it’s gone. Same thing for the “Certicard” if it’s still there, it will list the drive line specs in numerical code.
Second; It’s got Cruise Control. If you got a Mopar vehicle with cruise, you got an automatic transmission, NO EXCEPTION. This was for 2 reasons; if you pushed the clutch pedal in while the cruise was operating, it would redline the engine in seconds. And without the torque converter to smooth out drive line surge, a Mopar cruise unit will keep surging up & down because of the speedo cable twist. I know from experience. I put Mopar factory cruise control on my 1973 Dodge van with stick shift, it never worked right because of speedo cable twist. A friend of mine in Detroit was a tech engineer with Chrysler, and he told me about the cable twist & why I kept having the problem.
Great and informative comment Bill M, thank you. I would like to toss a couple pennies in on one matter, and that is the evolution of the B block.
While these motors were smogged and de-tuned to 8.2 to 1 CR, The block castings themselves appear to be quite robust compared to their predecessors. I cite the addition of reinforcing struts on the outer walls of the crankcase. I believe the metallurgical quality had improved as well. If anyone has built one from this area, kindly weigh in.
I admire what the fellow did as to the four-speed swap. It’s just a lot of fun to drive a huge machine with a manual . . .wouldn’t give a rat’s rear end whether it was fast or not . . .it’s just way cool and would be a neat experience. And I’d never tire of it unless there were a lot of uphill stop and goes, but that’s the same with any stickshift car. Just have some fun with it.
“Very limited production” so is this clown trying to sell this as factory equipped as it sits??
I don’t know… there’s something I like about it… But it certainly isn’t the price.
I love Mopars, I love Imperials, I love New Yorkers. But $16.5k for this…..there are a ton of other cars or trucks out there in that price range that in my opinion are much cooler than this. A 4 speed does not increase the value by $10k.
Very True.
I particularly liked this body style, but the lack of leather seats is a disappointment. I can’t imagine a dealer stocking one without leather, so this could have been a special order by someone who wanted to save a bit of money, but cut the wrong option–the leather seats. The wheels almost cry to be removed and replaced with some more correlated with the body style. The price is where the owner’s head is–in the stratosphere. $5000.00 would leave enough to “leatherize” the interior and be in it for under $10K–which for the right kind of guy would be a good deal and his pride and joy.
I like it for some reason. Hopefully a 1969 or 1970 440 TNT got dropped into it! had a buddy with a ’70 New Yorker 4door Hardtop with a 440 TNT. It would any Mustang, Camaro etc. all day long in stop light drags! Was hilarious!
Since seeing this article, I felt it was finally time to step forward. I am the person who converted this New Yorker to a four speed transmission.
The car you see featured here is not the car I built. It has been modified.
When I sold the car it was 100% bone stock in appearance. The doodads, bling, appearance mods, etc, were done by a subsequent owner. Also, the heavily built 440 was bone stock in appearance. Again, I see modifications that make me feel that the engine is not the way I built it. Overall, the 4 speed conversion was as correct as it could be save for the hydraulic clutch required due to space limitations.
The reasoning for converting the New Yorker is complex but a lot of it had to do with when I came of age in the 60’s when a full size RWD 4 speed was the Ultimate. Think of the 4 speed BB, Impalas, Galaxies, Bonnevilles, Wildcats, etc. Most of you young’ns wouldn’t understand. Today, you have many late model Crown Vics with 5 and 6 speed conversions.
I am not happy with the current state of my New Yorker but I have only myself to blame because I made the decision to sell it. I shouldn’t have.
So, there’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Stan Paralikis
Sebring, FL.
Hi Stan! Thanks for your comments, and congratulations on building a very unique New Yorker. The quintessential New Yorker, Frank Sinatra, would have appreciated how you “Did it your way!” We can’t expect future owners to become caretakers of our work. Personally I prefer your version, but we all have different tastes. Thanks again!
Even though this would make no sense to most people, if an owner told me that the way they built the car was very important to them and that they’d prefer it to stay that way, I would feel honor-bound to keep it that way out of respect for their feelings. I’m a car guy with feelings too.