Living in an area where we are surrounded by water on the coastline, there has been no shortage of boats being rolled out on trailers at the warm weather inches its way back (sad to say, New Hampshire’ites got a cruel reminder the other morning that winter is not done with us.) That being said, I sometimes wonder if I chose the wrong hobby by investing in vehicles, since cruising the open water appeals to me as the ultimate expression of fun in the sun. If you can combine the two hobbies – well, that would be the ultimate manifestation, wouldn’t it? That’s why this 1972 Chrysler Conqueror here on eBay caught my eye, and it even comes with the trailer.
The seller says the boat looks fast even sitting still and I’m inclined to agree. The cockpit is free from frills and appears as driver-(or captain) oriented as any Mopar muscle car from the same era. The similarities between the Conqueror and vehicles like the Challenger and Charger are no accident, and the seller points out that some of the striping and decals on the boat are near identical to what you’d find on the hood of a Challenger or the tail panel of a Charger R/T. The carpets are a little funky, and the seller admits they could use replacement. You’ll have to like the color blue, as there’s a good helping of it throughout the insides. If the seller is right and this is the original color, it should be retained – and then pulled by a suitable Dodge 4×4 wearing Petty Blue paint!
This fuel cap is a direct shout-out (or should I say, a shot across the bow?) to the boat’s affiliations with the powerful Mopar brand. Based on my research, I believe for this boat to be OEM-correct that it should have a Chrysler 105 outboard motor attached, but sadly, this example makes do with a 1988 Evinrude 88 b.h.p., four-cylinder 2-cycle powerplant. I would throw it back to our Chrysler fanatics to get a sense on how difficult it is to track down a genuine Chrysler outboard, as this vintage speedboat deserves a sympathetic, period-correct restoration. The original details are too unique to let it slip further away from authenticity; then again, I’m a die-hard purist. Heck, even the trailer is purported to be a genuine Chrysler unit.
Here you can see the aforementioned striping similar to what any significant Chrysler Corp. product wore proudly on its hindquarters. The fact that it survived after all these years is impressive, but given there’s no damage to report and the hull is said to be in good condition, it seems likely this Conqueror lead a sheltered life before its current owner lost interest. The price is only $2,500 which seems like a bargain to me; however, as the saying goes, the best days of boat ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. I’m sure there’s plenty of re-commissioning work to be done to get this boating artifact seaworthy, but in this case, the juice could be worth the squeeze.
Sexy boat, look at that hull, i bet it’s fast (and maybe a tad squirrely) This is a fun boat, imagine if you could restore that gorgeous blue metal flake!
Our family had a Chrysler boat back in the early eighties and it had a Mercruiser inboard/outboard motor on it because the Chrysler motor had failed. Chrysler marine motors had a bad reputation back then because they were unreliable.
It was the short lived Dana Outdrive that probably required repowering
Chrysler Marine Motors have the reputation of being Bullet Proof
There is still a ton of them out there
Chrysler Marine ceased production in 1991
B.O.A.T. –
Break
Out
Another
Thousand
With a boat this old that looks to have spent a lot of time outside, I would be very concerned with wood rot and weakened fiber glass. The interior is very cool. I don’t think it would be to hard to source a Chrysler outboard. I would probably stick with the Evinrude though. I always thought the Chrysler motors looked like white toasters on the back of the boat. Very boxy. Just paint the Evinrude to look like a Chrysler if it’s a concern. Being newer and an Evinrude, it probably would be more powerful. Cool Find.
it sure does look good but would need someone who knows boats to do a PI. great find.
I bought several older fiberglass boats mainly late 50’s and early 60’s http://www.classicglastron.com/gl-values-rarity.html to restore thinking that since wooden boats were so popular and going up in price that cool fiberglass boats would do the same. Guess WHat? Not so Much. I was upside down on expenses before I even fixed the fiberglass. Tough Lesson but cool boats.
Dingalings it’s a boat …… That’s in another stratosphere
I must say, while I’m very familiar with Chrysler outboards, I never knew they made boats. Apparently, by the ’70’s, they made over 40 different models, including 3 sailboats. There were a bunch of different engine applications, and to put an Evinrude on this is just wrong. ( a friend did have an Evinrude boat, with an Evinrude on it) While I had a Johnson “anthead” V-4 motor ( very similar to the Evinrude), it was a great motor, but this should have a Chrysler. Chrysler outboards were made in Hartford, Wis., near my parents lake cottage. They were made at the old Kissel plant, which became Elgin motors, then West Bend, then Chrysler, then Force, and finally, was bought out by Mercury. Not sure why someone would bash Chrysler outboards, as they were very popular in Wis. and were very good motors. Cool looking boat, but as others have noted, the 2 best times when buying a boat, is when you buy it, and when you sell it. Boats generally suck a lot of gas ( not unusual to go through 12 to 15 gallons a day) and couple that to the gas guzzler vehicle it takes to get you to the water, they fell out of favor for the PWC, which is a lot more fun, and unless you live on a lake, big boats are not the best. Cool find. Love the color.
LOL 12 to 15 Gallons a day of gas, What can you drive on water that would only burn 15 gallons? My grand kids can go through 150 gallons over a 2 day weekend and really would go through even more if I would keep putting it in the jetski’s.
You should consider giving them a canoe.
As someone mentioned look out for wood rot. The fiberglass will be cored likely with plywood. I’ve never cared for carpeting on the deck of a boat. Count on putting in a floor at least and likely stringers as well. Figure $1000 and several hard weekends to make it sound. Cool boat though.
A Boat is a hole in the water you throw money into.
Along about the middle 1960s, Chrysler acquired a Texas boat manufacturer and that’s where “the line” came from . . . as I recall. New car owners manual packets had a small brochure on boats and an expanded AirTemp residential a/c line (not just for cars anymore! We had a large window unit, back then.
Locally, there’s a Chrysler outboard engine made into a curbside mail box container. The housing was artfully hollowed out for the mail box. Looks pretty neat.
The boats were pretty neat looking, when new. AND the perfect addition for a Chrysler enthusiast to pull behind their car or Dodge pickup. “All in the family”.
Okay, I have to add my two cents.
I’ve owned several boats over the years and what I have learned is this. Tri hull boats are very rough on waves. As in beat the dental work out of your teeth. Other then that, they are very stable and nice riding boats.
@Texas Tea: Its not a tri-hull. Its a roundish-vee hull, very shallow. The chines are just styled funny up at the front where they don’t even touch the water.
Somebody, after a second look, I have to agree. My Tri hull boats did go almost all the way back and had more depth. Thanks! I learn something new all the time.
I’ve owned one of these boats for years (since about 1987). Its gone through a number of restorations.
First off, they didn’t come with the chrysler 105, they would have shipped with the chrysler 135. The gearing, gearcase, and propeller on those engines were SO inefficient, that you’d get better performance from a modern 60, along with less weight and WAY improved fuel efficiency. Note that newer engines actually measure power differently as well — the old ones (and the mercury Force brand that came out of chrysler as a “budget” brand held out in the old way until its demise) measured power from the crankshaft like a car. Newer engines measure it from the propeller shaft.
I’ve got a ’94 Yamaha 130 on mine, which in Chrysler terms, would be north of 200. I’m a bit under propped at 21 pitch and suffering from aluminum flattening out, so have to pull back at 55 mph. I briefly had a 175 (!!!!) with a stainless 26P on it, and the hull would go really squirrely if you ever got it in your head that you wanted to see 60. Fun for 2 seasons, but then I had saved up for a new boat for the 175. The 130 is actually the 4th engine to have been mounted on the boat. The first was obviously the chrysler 135, followed by a 1975 Mercury 115 (so that chrysler didn’t last very long), then briefly the HPDI 175 while saving up for a boat, and then the “got it for free after a hurricane” 130.
Regarding the boat itself; the floor in these hide water logged foam. Lots and lots of wet foam. You’ll need to take the cap off (essentially split the boat in half along the seam behind the bumper strip), rip out all the floor, wet foam, stringers, and transom. Lay down a new heavy biax on the hull, and replace all the rotted wood. Leave drainage paths from all of the different hull sections into the bilge area. Do NOT replace the foam. If you want foam supplemental flotation, flip the cap upside down and add it there. That’ll keep the boat from sinking if you take on water, without giving you perpetually wet foam to rot out the new wood in the hull, or weigh you down.
After rebuilding, these boats are a BLAST. Very light and nimble.
I have a 1971 within original 1971 120 on it a friend of mine his father was dealer for the Chrysler boats that’s how I got one it has been in my family for almost 30 years
There is a guy in providence ri he race these long ago he still has some parts and engines Andys Chrysler 401 4three4 one0eight5 he’s an old timer so his hours change at random good luck with the boat
I own this exact boat. All orig. w/trailer. All Vin’s intact. 120 hp outboard Chrysler motor, orig.