Last week I suggested that Chevrolet and Ford station wagons are hot and get a lot of Barn Finds press, which they do. Today, we’re going to stay in the realm of the BIG Three but look at what Chrysler had going on kiddie-hauler-wise back in the ’60s with this 1962 New Yorker Town & Country. Considered to be as “original as they come“, this hardtop Mopar is located in Oxnard, California and is available, here on craigslist for $6,100. Thanks to local_sheriff for this find!
So, there are things here to consider like this New Yorker’s hardtop body style on a four-door station wagon. It’s pretty unique though not the first as GM’s Buick Division tried the same thing in the mid-fifties and there may be others but the Buick comes immediately to mind. The other is the goo-goo eyeball headlights. Quad headlights, at this point, were traditionally in a horizontal, side-by-side alignment and then, perhaps it was Pontiac, that went with an over/under arrangement. I never gave consideration to stopping the twist at 45 degrees before making the complete vertical flip. Lincoln did it in the late ’50s and it made for, in my humble estimation, a really screwy-looking design – this one is only marginally better but it’s passable. And then, what’s in a name? Do you think “New Yorker” would fly as an auto model name today? Imagine what it might conjure. It has been done with other locales like Catalina, Bel Air, Malibu, Tahoe, Ventura, Biscayne (Key Biscayne?) et al and worked, but I guess it depends on the geography that is being depicted. Something like “The Bayonner” or “The Camdener” probably wouldn’t fly but Hyundai and Kia have had success and pulled off the model by geography gig with the Palisade, Tuscon, and the Telluride – so very western!
In addition to this New Yorker hardtop, Chrysler offered a Newport four-door wagon with a traditional B-pillar but the panoramic breeziness that is offered by the New Yorker is way preferable. Sure, some will grouse about rollover safety, well, probably not in 1962, but how often can you trip 4,500 plus pounds of Detroit iron and send it cattywampus? Possible? Yeah. Likely? No. The listing images aren’t that revealing but the seller states, “Needs work & TLC as well as new tires, has some rust on bottom of rear passenger door, floor pan by tailgate other than that floors are pretty solid“. Some of the trim is missing but the long piece for the driver’s side rocker is included in the sale. There are some dents, contusions, and weak chrome but all-in-all the exterior is fair – it certainly doesn’t look like it has led a Brooklyn or Manhattan life!
There is no image of the engine, a general pet peeve, but this wagon is said to run and yard drive. Research indicates, and assuming that the original powerplant is still occupying the engine room, it should be a 340 gross HP 413 CI V8 tethered to a push-button activated TorqueFlite automatic transmission. There’s no mileage claim so an inspection, and maybe a yard cruise, will help a prospective buyer make a complete powertrain viability call. The seller uses the euphemism, “needs a gone thru to make it roadworthy“. Good luck with the “gone thru” part, whatever that means.
The interior speaks for itself. The seller advises, “Interior is shot but can put a Mexican blanket over it“. Maybe if you can find a lead-lined one. That interior looks like it may be fostering stuff that the CDC hasn’t yet classified. Yeah, it’s rough but the tres cool Chrysler steering wheel and instrument panel look pretty original and intact so that’s a big plus.
The seller concludes with, “Bought with intentions to build, but pandemic, no space & other priorities forcing sale“. Those other priorities may be the realization that this New Yorker will need a lot more than originally assumed. And when it comes to station wagons, the interior adds a whole nother dimension with which to contend. Still, there’s a workable base here and if one is up for the challenge, the result will surpass the more commonly found Country Squire or Caprice, wouldn’t you agree?
Jim, in reference to the “goo goo eyeball headlights,” you forgot to mention the 1959 Buicks. Full size Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth wagons of this era all looked very similar in the back.
This would be an excellent candidate for a restomod.
I don’t believe any ’61-’64 Chrysler wagons had a full b-pillar.
They did indeed. It was left to the Newport line, and the entry level models at that. You could get a hardtop Newport wagon also.
Do you have a source? Chrysler brochures for 1960-1964 do not show or mention a pillared wagon, the “Standard Catalog of American Cars” lists only 6- and 9-passenger hardtop wagons, and I can find no images of a pillared ’60-’64 Chrysler wagon anywhere. If such a beast exists, it’s very obscure, indeed.
I think that CCFisher may be right. When I wrote the post, I was convinced that the Newport wagon, that I spied in the Chrysler catalog, had a B-pillar but upon second review, it doesn’t.
I did find the attached ’61 Plymouth Sport Suburban (It’s mistitled as a Newport) that is so designed but it’s not a Chrysler. The ’63 Dodge 330 and 440 models look like B-pillar designs as well, as does the ’64 880, but again, none are Chryslers – close but not quite.
JO
@Jim – easy mistake to make when you consider that a ’62 New Yorker wagon is basically a ’61 Plymouth with a Chrysler front end and different trim. That was Chrysler’s hurry-up solution when the completely new Chrysler planned for 1962 was abruptly cancelled.
A guy I knew in the service told me one rainy night in the jungle, that he “became a man” in the back of one of these. I laughed (quietly) and asked if perhaps his present circumstance had made him a man. He said that it wasn’t even close, and the back of that wagon was a helluva lot more fun too. Never liked these things, but when I got back to the better world and saw them again, I always got a little chuckle by seeing them.
Awesome looking car! Assuming parts are available, this would make an awesome restoration.
Nice work Jim. No “long roof” nonsense or “pillarless wagon” garbage.
‘It’s pretty unique though not the first as GM’s Buick Division tried the same thing in the mid-fifties and there may be others’
Yes, Rambler Ambassador, Mercury.
“In addition to this New Yorker hardtop, Chrysler offered a Newport four-door wagon with a traditional B-pillar but the panoramic breeziness that is offered by the New Yorker is way preferable.”
You get it, Mr ODonnell. A “convertible” with all it’s openness and looks with metal roof protection.
It’s stunning to have seen so many writers struggle with this very specific type of body configuration.
Your description is precisely why so many were sold.
Thanks for the write-up.
One of these appeared in Hemmings about a year ago after a full restoration on a solid unit. I believe it sold for about $120k. Good luck finding trim parts, I hope it is saved.
Looks like someone scooped it up, posting is deleted.
“Screwy looking design”? How dare you. :-) Those are referred to as canted headlights.
Hard to find 1961 Chrysler New Yorker not far from my home.
Mopar wagons are very cool !! Enjoy your cool cars friends !!!
Here is a better picture of the rear of the Chrysler wagon
That is a beast !
I’ve been looking for one of these Chrysler wagons for years. Where is this one?
This car brought back some great memories. In the early 1970s I found one of these, same color, sitting in a driveway in Silver Spring, MD. It had 1967 license plates and clearly not been on the roads for years. The car was locked, so I couldn’t get inside. The car was loaded, including power windows & seat, dual A/C, leather bucket seats, and the rare Pont-a-mousson 4-speed! I had made numerous visits but no one was ever at home, so I ended up pushing my business card thru the side window glass edge and my card settled onto the front seat.
About 1978 I got a call from a guy who said he found the card. He told me the car was bought new by his father who had ordered the car specifically because he wanted a big powerful car to tow a large boat with trailer. His father had spent the last 15 years of his life in a nursing home. He wanted the car gone “right away” because he was selling the house, and I bought the wagon for $100.
Brought it back to the restoration shop on my ramp truck, and after unloading it I opened the hood for the first time. Under the hood was a complete Chrysler 300H 413 engine with the dual 4-barrel carbs, even had the twin gold air cleaners! From what I figured out, the original owner wanted the most powerful wagon available to tow his very large boat, and so he ordered this Chrysler New Yorker wagon with the optional 300H drive train. I also was able to see the odometer clearly for the first time, it was showing under 15,000 miles! I used the car as a long distance tow car with my flatbed car trailer before selling it to a local Chrysler collector. Wish I had it today!
Great story, Bill. Once again it seems you and I traveled/walked/stalked similar old car paths in the 1960s-1980s. We were separated not by geography but by our age. I was a teenager in the early ’70s, but by 1976 had my first vintage car (1959 Ford Sunliner) procured in the same way as your wagon. I dropped a note in the car which was parked next to the YMCA in Alexandria in sad shape but complete. Owner called me just as I got my learner’s permit and offered to sell the car for $50 but I would have to replace a radiator hose and battery.
I was using the wagon [with trailer] to bring a 1937 Packard 8 sedan up from Richmond, VA around 1982. We were heading north on I-95 and I was slowly passing an older pickup truck going slow in the right lane. As we were passing the truck, the driver looked over, and laughing, started accelerating.
So I dropped the Chrysler into 3rd gear and floored the gas. That Chrysler 413 didn’t complain at all, and we quickly pulled away from the truck. The guy riding with me said the truck driver’s mouth turned from a smile to an open mouth of surprise! That probably cost me a gallon of fuel, but the end result was worth it!
Should have kept that wagon, but back then it was just a 20 year old car few people wanted.
Little Cars,
Responding to an update on this thread, I re-read your comment above about owning a 1959 Ford Sunliner. Did you ever know a guy in close-in NO VA named Charles, who had a Turquoise and White Skyliner? I ended up with the car after he wrecked it.
I was a lone wolf with my ’59 Sunliner, Bill. In the pre-internet days most of my acquaintances were met through written correspondence regarding Hemmings advertisements. I didn’t know anybody locally who had a Skyliner but years later the Skyliner club did their annual meet in Alexandria where I saw a lot of nicely preserved ones. That color combination you mention is a good one!
I remember the Alexandria Skyliner National meet very well. I was the long-hair & bearded guy who presented the seminar on diagnosis and repair of the top mechanism.
Please indulge me yet again Bill M — tell me what year that show was held in Alexandria? That was the last show I went to with my father before he was no longer mobile enough to roam parking lots and show fields. I believe I traded in my 59 for $950 credit on a newer Pinto in 1977ish.
Little_Cars,
Back then I was attending car shows damn near every week during summer months. The retract club’s national meet info only goes back to 2006. I can’t narrow it down any closer than to suggest it was between 1978 and 1981.
There was a 1961 New Yorker wagon sitting in a field outside Anaconda, Montana in the late 90’s. White. Dead straight and rust free. The farmstead it was at seemed to be abandoned, but I put a note on the wagon anyway in hopes of hearing from the owner but never did. I’m sure it’s long gone now, but still want one of these.