Two styling cues helped distinguish the 1961 Chryslers from the year before and the year after. They had slanted dual headlights instead of horizontal ones as with the ‘60s, and the wild tailfins of the “Forward Look” Chrysler products would be gone for 1962. This ’61 Newport 4-door sedan was recently donated to a national charity and is in Orange, California. While the body and interior are fairly good, it’s going to need some mechanical help to be a dependable runner. This Mopar is available here on eBay where the no reserve auction has reached just $2,700.
Not a lot is known about this land yacht from an era before the Beatles would become a household name. The base engine in the Newport was the 361 cubic inch V8 rated at 265 hp, one that we assume is under the hood of this charity case. The engine runs, but only with a lot of coaxing and when fed off an external gas can. The fuel pump needs to be replaced and the entire delivery system may need to be flushed out. The to-do list also includes the need for a new starter and the seller says the engine “needs work” but we don’t know if that goes beyond the ills already known. The car is equipped with Chrysler’s pushbutton automatic transmission.
The odometer reads under 72,000 miles which could be accurate given the overall condition of the car. These unibody Chryslers were not known to be rust-proof, but the body of this one looks reasonably solid, an indication it may have spent a lot of time indoors. We’re told that the passenger door does not open, so we don’t know if it’s simply stuck or there is a deeper problem.
The black and white cloth interior looks acceptable for its age, but it does have some wear that would need attending to eventually. Once the car gets to running right, the tires might be the next item on the fix-it list as about 70% of the available tread has already been used up. The seller can supply the buyer with a clear title from New Mexico, the same state as on the license plates. In good condition, these cars are can be a $20,000 proposition, so this Chrysler could turn out to be a nice acquisition for someone looking for a car from the last days of the finned wonders.
These cars had one of the wildest instrument clusters of any car .
That’s true Frank. And it’s one of the things that attracted a lot of people to the car in the first place. At the time it made the car look very “futuristic” to those people who were really into that sort of thing at the time. I’d sure like to see one of these in a two-door with the small block Hemi and a Torque Flight transmission backing it up.
When the Newport came out if had a 3 speed on the floor. As standard equipment I remember I looked at one.
In a two-door with a Hemi and that floor shift then, you could without spending a lot of money on a car with a decent body, produce a pretty healthy street rod.
My growing up best friend ‘s Dad bought a brand new 1961 metalic blue two door chrysler newport same motor manual 3speed on the floor. We’d be sitting on our bicycles at the stop sign up the street waiting for his Dad to cruise up the street where we would be waiting in anticipation. He would never disappoint us burning one wheel rubber around that corner with that 360 howling. These wonderous incidents got me intrigued and when I turned 17 ended up with a brand new SS 396 4speed . Loved those times growing up.
I had a neighbor about 10 years ago that used one of these as his winter beater so his newer car, a newish Camry, wouldn’t get rusty. The Chrysler was in really good shape too! He didn’t take it well when I called him a moron lol.
SOLD for $4,750.