There is a car for every season, and summer is the season for convertibles. As the snow thaws and the weather warms, one might have just enough time to get this 1967 Chrysler Newport running and ready before peak cruising weather hits. This diamond in the rough is located in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, is advertised here on Craigslist, and is up for auction here on the Hurley Auctions online bidding site (lot 2018). At the time of writing, the bid rests at $2,230, but the gavel doesn’t fall until March 26. Many thanks to T.J. for the tip!
Design-wise, 1967 was the year that the Newport received its distinctive concave sides, differentiating it and the Chrysler 300 from their more slab-sided C platform brethren. Engines included the base 383 cu.in. with either two or four-barrel carburetors, with the 440 as a option. From the VIN, we can see that this Newport left the factory in Jefferson, Michigan, with the 383 and the two-barrel, which was rated at 270 hp. The original owner did opt for the three-speed Torqueflite automatic, as well as A/C– though not, apparently, the FM radio.
In terms of condition, there’s a lot left up in the air by the photos. It’s entirely possible that the paint is mostly solid under the layers of dust and assorted nastiness. It being Pennsylvania, the lack of any pictures of the underside of the car is cause for some concern, though the condition of the engine bay shows promise. This and the interior would seem to indicate that this car was well-cared for over the course of its life. Sadly, this does not include any recent time on the road: the last registration sticker is dated 1976. Thus, any potential buyer should be ready for, at the very least, the complete list of all the things that need attention or replacement on a car that has sat for forty-five years.
There’s a lot of opportunity here, depending on the final price. The dedicated Mopar guy will find a lot to love in a car that could be, once sorted, an excellent top-down cruiser. Though few would ever confuse it with a real pavement-chewing street machine, properly tuned and with the right exhaust, the 383 can be relied upon to produce a very satisfying V8 burble, and is a very well-known engine with a huge number of after-market options. The late Sixties styling is bound to attract attention in a time when, sadly, it can be difficult to tell Ford from Mazda at a distance. All together, and with a caveat in place for hidden rust, I’d say it definitely shows potential. Now it only remains to see who will take on the task of bringing it back to life.
What on Earth is that brown stuff on the right front fender?
I have not examined the car in person, and thus cannot say for certain. But I suspect that it may be poop.
Barns are full of animals, some who are supposed to be there and some who aren’t.
Just hope there is not rodent poop on the inside.
This looks like I may be a diamond in the rough. Someone apparently, did take care of it. I’ve brought a few back from a similar environment and rats and mice built nests throughout the interior as well as in parts of the frame. She definitely needs a thorough cleaning inside and out and don’t be shy with the pressure washer. Bet she’ll clean up nicely. Good find
Interior appears to be in decent shape, but I can smell it from here lol.
The body also appears nice, the paint very well might clean up.
I am concerned about the shape of the undercarriage. But if that is solid, this might not be that bad to fix.
I am certain it will need one of everything mechanically, but it is still a simple car, nothing real complex (again…as long as the underbody isn’t Swiss cheese).
These are unibody, so if it is rusty, it is nothing more than a parts car. Buyer beware!
I’m pretty sure that assembly was in Detroit at the Jefferson Avenue assembly plant, not Jefferson Michigan
The fellow that wrote the description covering the 1967 Chrysler Newport convertible did make a small error. He says the location of the Chrysler assembly plant is Jefferson, Mi. The plant is on Jefferson Avenue and almost downtown Detroit. I grew up in Detroit. Went to the Univ. of Detroit and was middle management for Kelsey Hayes for many years. My father worked at this assembly plant and when I was 15 i got a tour when they had an open house, At that time I saw 1955 Chrysler products being produced
Back in the early ’70s I had a ’67 Newport with the 383 and 3-speed automatic. For fun I poured some gas through it going up a mild grade on a rural road. It shifted into 3rd gear at 93 mph. Serious horses under the hood in my opinion.
I applaud BF for featuring a car like this. I really like the C-body Chryslers from this era as you all probably know. I have two of them. They are fantastic cruisers: comfortable, smooth running, powerful, and very well built. The design work by Elwood Engel et al is classic mid-60s.
Now let me bitch about classic car culture: It seems that classic car culture in “Murica” has been summarily condensed to about 7 cars….Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, GTO, Charger, Tri-5 Chevys and Chevelle. It’s all you ever see at car shows any more. It’s boring (at least to me) at this point, having seen every Mustang on this planet twice over.
As I drive my 67 Newport Custom or 65 New Yorker to shows on Saturday mornings, people on the street are amazed and delighted by the cars…so many thumbs up, conversations at the gas stations, etc. It’s amazing how much interest the cars get from ordinary folks. Then, once I pull in to the classic car show, not one other car guy could be bothered to stop and look at the cars, let alone inquire about one of these majestic machines. My feelings aren’t hurt, I just wonder how “classic” car guys can only focus on one model. I love them all…American, German, Japanese, French, English, all of them.
My buddy here got mad at me for complaining about so many of the “usual” cars at a show just last night. Later, I thought….if HE went to every show and there were 20 C-body Chryslers from 1965 at EVERY SHOW, wouldn’t he get tired of looking at THOSE time after time? OK, that’s my rant for this evening.
I know what you mean Rex. I had a 1977 Fury. It was a plain-jane 4 door, not perfect, but not terrible. At the time of the incident I am about to describe, it was my non-winter daily driver. It was a rare car, being a 3 on the tree.
I pulled into an all Mopar car show. I paid the admission fee and parked.
An older guy who was at the show with a beautiful looking Challenger got off his lawn chair & walked over to me, looked my car over, and said to me something to the effect of “I don’t know why they let beaters like this in the show. This should be in a junkyard”.
I have never gone back to that annual show since. Frankly, I hope the club that sponsores that show every year dies out.
I agree with HC, this looks like it would wash up nicely and wouldn’t take much time or money to have it on the road soon. The top doesn’t look bad, either which saves a lot of money. $2510 currently. There are some cool cars, trucks, tractors and other knick-knacks being offered that’s worth checking out IMO. A decent looking ’73 bug is at $630, ’66 Dodge truck at $1510, ’28 Whippet at $2610, ’88 F-150 at $2510, ’64 Corvair Conv. at $142!
You can really lighten these land yachts up by upgrading the upper part of engine with alluminum, Intake, heads and a 4 barrel carb and a petronix dist module and get much better fuel efficiency. Done the same with Ford 390s and Chevy small and big blocks. This Newport looks like a great car.