I remember with fondness the Volvo 240 station wagon my grandmother owned, which seemingly was purchased solely so she could haul around her grandkids. Of course, it was used for any number of dubious purchases of Christmas decorations and other items, but that was part of the fun, too. This 1976 Chrysler Town & Country here on eBay was bought by the seller’s grandfather for his grandmother to drive, and is currently only bid to $117!
The seller says his grandmother drove it up until fairly recently, when she suffered a stroke and could no longer drive. It has been in his driveway since that time, and while far from perfect, he claims she took good care of it. It currently isn’t running and he’s not sure of what it will need, which is likely part of the reason bidding is so low.
Wagons of this vintage seem to be a tough sell. Sure, they’re cool and big and would look pretty slick lowered a bit with some torq thrust wheels, but the handling will always be subpar and feel like you’re driving a bit of a wet noodle. Plus, they’re a hassle to park and consume a fair amount of fuel – but that could also be considered part of an old-school American wagon’s charm.
The V8 has over 120,000 miles on it but the seller claims it’s never seen highway use. For a grandma car, that wouldn’t surprise me – I don’t think mine took her Volvo on anything other than county roads, but that doesn’t mean a few things were forgotten maintenance-wise. I suspect the needs list of this big Town & Country is fairly long, but if the reserve is below $500, it could be a fun distraction that can still perform light hauling duties. What do you think?
Never seen highway use typically means high levels of carbon buildup…
YUP
rather buy a car with easy hwy miles
74-77 was the last of the big wagons and Chrysler’s timing was likely a big miss, right on top of the 73 oil embargo. Beginning in 78, the mid-size Le Baron became the T & C. I always thought the 69-73 was better looking, with this final big series, reminding me of the “family truckster.” They do tow, but by today’s standards it is a heavy drinker. We used my uncles 72, to tow a 21 foot boat 250 miles or so and routinely saw 6-8 mpg. I think the wagon weighed around 5k lbs. My F150 tows about the same load, getting 14-15 over the same route. I have seen some real nice wagons at prices so low, you couldn’t really afford to restore one.
Does the seller not realize that the rest of the world uses highway miles over city miles as a SELLING point?
he doesn’t,lol
Hard to view cars like this as a “tough sell”. They are a throwback to better times in the car industry, in the days before SUV’s and mini-vans. I long to find one of these in good condition.
I can’t imagine that trying to get this jalopy back on its’ feet will result in many “better times”.
$5 says the ballast resistor on the firewall is bad.
I carried a spare one in the glove box of my duster back in my high school days.
Chrysler dealers should have put them in the glove box like they used to do with the touch-up paint tubes.
all that old foliage is an excellent rust promoter!
Man, I know they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this car is one ugly cookie. I love American iron, but this is one I can honestly say should be converted into a swing set. It is a miracle that Chysler survived this abomination.
DrinkinGasoline,
I had forgotten about that old Chrysler corp achilles heel! Now that you bring it up though, the symptoms and solution just came flooding back.
I wonder if the ballast resistor is still only $5 though.
– John
$5 was my bet amount :). Found it on-line for $7.93 with free shipping from FleaBay ! Wow.
E Bay listing says it is a 440. I sure don’t see a distributor in the front. Likely a 360? Any way to decode the VIN?
Due to its large factory bore size, short (compared to RB engines) deck height, and bottom end strength that is greater than any other production B or RB engine due to extra material added around the main bearing caps,[4] 400 B engine blocks have become a popular choice for high-performance engine build ups.
The distrib is there, these were all big blocks.
yep 400 and 440
And if those are the original alum. wheels, they look great cleaned up and polished.
Those pine needles are the worst, they block the drains and, well.
Those were wheel covers and yes when they were polished, they looked sharp. The upgrade wheels were slotted steel painted silver with center caps and stainless trim/beauty rings.
The distributor is buried but it is definitely in front which makes it a BB. This car is basically the same C body Chrysler as the 11 year older 1965 Chrysler Wagon on here a few days ago, only for less money.
Granmothers car :-)
Its big as a Zeppeliner..
No wonder i never have seen one here in Europe.
For driving it, you need a oildrilling platform :-)
I would have loved to live when they where normal Grandmothers car.
bidding ended at 1738. my pet peeve is not clearing out the leaves and other assorted trash from under the hood . that being said no need for me to go on . as classy as it could be, it needed too much work
It was BLUE car originally as well. Look at engine bay.
Reckon what the big yellow push button on the left of steering column is?
Pretty rough. Hope it went to a good home.
I bought a ’77 T&C wagon from the funeral home in Seagraves, TX in 1997 for $1000. It only had 17,000 actual miles on it. It had been converted to a first-call (removal) car by Summer Coach in Duncanville, TX. For a big wagon it got relatively decent gas mileage. I only made one long highway trip in the car. A funeral director in Coleman, TX had heard from the original owner that I had it and gave me a call, expressing interest in it. But what turned the guy off once I got there was that the car had a vinyl top. He didn’t mind the woodgrain-paneled sides but just didn’t like the vinyl. He had originally wanted to trade me his 1972 short-wheel-based Oldsmobile ambulance (still equipped) for the wagon, which I would’ve gladly done. As I’ve mentioned in other posts here, I ran a standby ambulance service in Lubbock for many years, and one of the best ambulances we ever had was a ’71 short-wheel-based Olds ambulance built by Cotner/Bevington, who also built the ’72 Olds mentioned above. I eventually sold the Chrysler wagon locally, but against my better judgment. And I should’ve waited! In 1998 I became acquainted with, and a member of, the Professional Car Society (PCS) whose members deal in old hearses, coach-type-ambulances. A gentleman who became a good friend eventually bought a ’78 Chrysler wagon that was the twin of mine except his was blue and didn’t have the paneling on the sides. When he sold it a year or two later, he got more than 3 times what I had sold my ’77 wagon. If only I had known about PCS sooner!
I won the auction on this car. I love it. The car will be shipped to norway, where I live and I will restore it. Going to Hershey, PA in october to buy some parts for my cadillac. Maybe I find some parts for this chrysler as well. Cant wait to get it here.
Huge thanks to barn find who shared the ebay ad on facebook. Thats where i found it.
Ben, be sure and keep us updated! Love to see some pictures when you get it!
Congrats to Ben on winning the bidding. Like Jamie says above, keep us posted. I’m sure you’ll like the trip to Hershey. I went there in Summer of 1999 and loved the place. They were just building a new high school for fatherless boys: something that Milton Hershey, himself, had established many years ago!
its located in Encino man !!!!!!!!!!
Somehow I am reminded of the scene in the Wrath of Kahn where they pilot the Enterprise out of Space Dock. That wagon is a BEAST!!!!! The hood alone is bigger then my Chevy HHR…!!