To be clear, I don’t want to see this Newport become a lead sled – but the seller put that idea in my head. The low stance, slab sides and somewhat intimidating nose would make this a compelling conversion to a street-tough cruiser. But the Newport was such a pretty car when new, I could just as easily be convinced that this one should be restored. Find it here on eBay with an opening bid of just $900, no reserve and no action as of yet.
The car is part of an estate clean-out and the seller contends it is quite solid. Featuring a 383 paired to an automatic transmission, this sharp hardtop has an awesome coating of surface rust that may be worth preserving if you’re into the “rat rod” look. The windshield is damaged but at least all the glass is there, and I’m always reminded that you could lay out a three-course meal on the trunk lid of a Newport. It looks like the seller has a few other vehicles that could be up for grabs; what do you see?
The interior has held up well enough for a car presumably in storage for many years. The seats will need to be re-upholstered and the carpets (or what’s left of them) need replacement. Mopars of this era always had such stunning dashboards and this one is no different; fortunately, it appears most of the switchgear is still present and the dash isn’t too badly damaged. Some trim is missing from the door panels but it looks like the jambs are free of major corrosion.
For 1965, the 383 became the standard engine for the Newport and kicked out a healthy 270 b.h.p. The transmission should be a fairly robust Torqueflite automatic, though the standard transmission was a 3-speed manual column shift (can you imagine hustling this car through the gears?) No, the automatic is the perfect match for a cruiser like this, and although I miss the push button transmissions of the previous years, there’s a lot to like here in this cheap Newport. How would you restore it?
I owned one just like this in the early 70’s but mine was fancier. Yellow with a white leather interior and a 383 4bbl carb. Was a very good car.
“No action yet”? But it has “patina”.
An estate sale? Ah yes, yet another dude bites the dust that kept telling looky-loos “I’m going to restore that someday, so not for sale”. Maybe we should start burying people in their rusting projects so they will have all of eternity to work on it.
Lots of those sort of old codgers out there. Using a walker or electric scooter to get around their stuff. But they’re going to restore it someday. They would be better off selling with the condition that when it is restored the buyer has to come back and give him a ride in it. Ain’t much, but better than nothing.
Like Billy Joel once sang: “You can’t drive a car with a broken back, but at least you can polish the fenders.”
I’d rather have the green with white top car in the backgrounds in first photo? Or see how bad the Olds in front of it is. Weren’t they called Dynamic88 or wasn’t a model called a Holiday?
I found this article in Old Cars Weekly on Dennis Tipton Auto Sales. Seems like an interesting life spent collecting cars.
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/a-lifetime-selling-collector-vehicles
This must be the guy!
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/a-lifetime-selling-collector-vehicles
Wow, that thing has been sitting for a LONG time — look at the battery. LOL
Low equipment level on this one but it does have full tinted glass and factory A/C so that’s nice. Probably power steering as well but not power brakes.
I’ve owned and driven a few of these mid-60s c-bodies over the years. 66 Fury with 318 poly, 65 Monaco with 383-4bbl, 65 NYer with 413, 65 Polara with 383-2bbl, 66 NYer with 440, etc. Great riding and driving cars, all of them.
“15 miles to the Love Shack”
Very cool car, not often seen these days. It’s been there in the dirt for quite a while it seems so the floor and trunk are probably a distant memory. Looks complete but it would be expensive to bring back. I’d like to see it freshened up to original but it’s cheaper to modify. Good luck to the winning bidder.
Very stange to see one with no power brakes. I had a 1966 wagon that I bought as a cheap truck. It did not have backup lights but it had spun stainless blank out plates Lights would have been cheaper.
Check out the rear overhang. Jacking up the back with a bumper jack until the very top of the jack was a thrill.
It is not rare to not have power brakes.
Remember these cars were ordered at the dealer how the buyer wanted them.
If the buyer was of a certain age, he might not have trusted power brakes.
I have in my possession a 1963 Fury that I bought from the original owner.
She told me when her husband ordered the car she had to talk him into the power steering, but she couldn’t convince him to get power brakes.
So the car ended up having power steering, air conditioning and power windows, but no power brakes.
Well said about jacking these up, did that on the side of the 101 in my 66 Newport heading back north above Santa Barbara, having just bought the car the day before in Orange County. I was so sure something was gonna give, but with about 2″ of teeth left on the jack the tire was off the ground. I just couldn’t see how the physics added up. 1&1/2 years and 14K miles later, I would say this is the best car I have owned, even with it’s non-power brakes. Great driving cars.
Did the car shake every time another car passed it on the freeway?
That has happened to me.
It was a very scary situation.
I’ve had several 65 Chryslers, all great cars, this one looks like it needs serious money, I’d probably be crazy enough to do it anyway; it’s a perfect driver. Funds do not permit now.
I had a 1967 Newport 4 door hard top given to me that was a very nice survivor. 383 2bbl. A/C power everything and it all still worked. It had lived in car carport under a cover in a humid part of central California. The mold got into the paint and it was so soft you could make a dent with your fingernail. Luckily, I live in the high desert in Nevada. So after rebuilding all the hydraulics, fuel system and installing new tires. (narrow white walls) I left the car out in the sun for six months trying to harden up the paint. Once I got tired of waiting the buffing started. It took 5 days of being very careful. And the paint came out almost like new. (I don’t know the color name but kind of a cross between champagne and violet. ) Great car for cruising Hot August Nights in. Also a great car to park along the street and watch the other cars cruisin’. We could get 7-8 people sitting on the fenders and trunk lid to watch at the same time. Great party car. “Should have kept it!”
i bet the trunk and floors are in great shape. these items rot out from the top not bottom. probably has 1/2 undercoating on it like my 66 sport fury does. what makes it so quit on the road. i,m always thinking of putting one of these dashes in my fury
First car I bought on my own was a ‘66 New Yorker w/440 4bbl. My sister had a red ‘66 Newport w/383 2bbl. At the same time. I put on a set of NOS Montgomery Ward bias ply tires my dad had in the barn😬 and drove it. It had a super safe all metal dash😐 and and a power bench seat. I threw on a cherry bomb muffler(loved the stickers that came with them). Couldntbkill that car. This was the late 80’s.
T C, you didn’t tell us what killer burn outs you could do with that 440 .
Well, to be honest, this is the last car I would think of as a “lead sled”, or slammed, for that matter. We all have fond memories of cars like this, but let’s face it, unless it’s clean,( and I’m sure you could find a clean mid-60’s Chrysler around) who is going to spend thousands of dollars to get this car right. You can get a clean Imperial for under $10g’s. Zero bidders so far, would substantiate that.
Rather have the 55 hardtop