The 1955-56 Chryslers had the “hundred million dollar look,” according to the marketing pundits. These were large, graceful cars that had a more dynamic appearance than the competition. This certainly was true of the hardtop coupes, like the 1956 Chrysler Windsor. Mostly a solid car from Texas, the seller’s auto has found its way to a lake in Newfield, Maine and is offered here on eBay where bidding is hovering at $3,750 and the reserve hasn’t been met. It’s going to need a full restoration, but has a sound foundation to start from.

The full-size Windsor was part of the Chrysler line-up from 1939 to 1961 (in the U.S.; in Canada, it ran until 1966). It was often positioned between the Newport and the New Yorker in trim and engine selection. In 1955, all Chrysler cars were restyled by design guru, Virgil Exner, and took on the look of the all-new Imperial that became its own division. All Chrysler-branded cars for ‘55-56 were built on the same chassis and had standard V-8 engines of varying displacements. The ’56 Windsor came with a “polyspherical” overhead valve V-8 of 331 cubic inches in displacement.  It was good for 225 or 250 hp depending upon set-up. The most popular transmission choice was the 2-speed Power-Flite automatic with gee-whizz push-button controls. 86,000 Windsor’s were made for 1956, including 22,000 2-door hardtops like the seller’s car. Thanks, AllPar, for the production stats.

While the eBay listing sometimes refers to this as a New Yorker, it’s a Windsor. But given the level of trim on this car, the differences have to be minimal except for the engine (the New Yorker had a 354 Hemi V-8). The seller found this car in Texas last year, shipped it to Maine, but registered it in New Hampshire. The body is straight and the frame good, but there is some rust present in the quarter panels and trunk. The floor have previously been repaired. All trim is present and sound, while the bumpers rate either fair or good, depending on which end of the car you’re looking at. The tail light lenses are dry and cracked, but the glass is all good. The gold/white paint combination are not original colors, with traces of yellow and blue apparently under the gold.

While they look good from we can see, the leather seats are discolored and cracked in some places. The dash pad has fallen victim to the Texas sun, as well. The carpeting and door panels have been pulled out and they will need replacing. The car has the rare factory air conditioning option, which Chrysler was new at doing with the big vents coming out of the panel behind the rear seat. I always wondered if the backseat occupants froze while the front seat occupants burned up. We’re told all the hardware is present, which would be expensive to otherwise replace.

The big 331 motor runs, but only off a can of gas is used, so perhaps work is needed with the fuel lines or gas tank. You can check that out from this video that the seller has provided. For now, this car is just a roller, as the brakes aren’t good either, but the parking brake will hold it in place. The tires are ancient but will hold air and the wheels sport later Cadillac wheel covers, but three originals are in the trunk.

The seller intended to restore the car, didn’t get around to it, and doesn’t have the room to store it indoors. It would be a shame to leave it outside to the elements. So, it’s ready to go to someone else to pick up the gauntlet. A graceful beast like this would bring $35,000 in top form, according to Hagerty. Maybe more with the rare factory A/C. If you assume this one is in fair condition, $12,000 is the projection. So if the seller’s asking price isn’t too high, you might not go broke restoring this once-beautiful machine.