The seller says that this 1975 Chrysler Town & Country wagon is in “near new condition” and it’s hard to argue with that. At over two-and-a-half tons, nineteen feet in length, and having a 440 V8, this is one big, beautiful, and very thirsty car. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Long Beach, California and the current bid price is $7,100.01 but the reserve isn’t met yet.
Chrysler was caught off guard as most car makers were when the oil crisis hit in 1973, along with the resulting gas shortages and price increases. These behemoths are not MPG-friendly at all. Most new 4×4 pickups and SUVs get better mileage than this Town & Country does but that isn’t the point of owning a vintage vehicle, is it? Not many of us buy vintage or classic vehicles because they’re cheap to operate unless we’re into vintage EVs or something. Otherwise, buy what you like and use it, life is short enough as it is.
The sixth-generation Town & Country wagon (isn’t that redundant?) was made from 1973 for the 1974 model year until 1977 and they were all four-door wagons based on Chrysler’s C-body platform. They were, for all intents and purposes, a New Yorker wagon. As a heads up on the condition, the seller has owned this car since 2010 and they had it repainted in the original blue color and had new woodgrain applied, which is unfortunate. I mean, it’s fantastic and looks like new but it would have been nice to see the original condition as a reference. I bet some of us wouldn’t have minded some faded paint or woodgrain? Thoughts?
The interior photos are a bit disappointing given the nice exterior photos but this one appears to have dark blue vinyl which was the standard interior material, although a cloth and vinyl would have also been available at no cost. The seats do look great both in the front and rear and the rear cargo area could swallow up most household loads and a few board feet of lumber, too. The seller provided an underside photo and it shows some light corrosion and some weeping around the differential but it looks great for being over four-and-a-half decades old. If I’m understanding the seller’s timeline correctly, this car was originally purchased in San Jose, CA, moved to Arizona where he bought it, and then drove it back to southern California.
There was one engine and one engine only, at least size-wise. Chrysler’s 440 cubic-inch V8 powered this car and I’m assuming that it’s the California emissions version that would have had 210 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque. The seller doesn’t say how it runs but I have to assume that it runs as well as it looks. Have any of you owned a Town & Country from this era?
Wow, I love it!
I think this one seats “about twenty, so come on and bring your jukebox money!”
“Big as a whale and about to set SAIL”
My Aunt Betty worked for the Lake Champlain ferries (in the office). In the early ’80s she had one of these, and a free pass on the ferry for herself, her car and anyone in it. One time when other relatives visited from out of town we fit 8 adults/teens and 6 younger kids in it to go to Ausable Chasm.
Of course it was just a short hop from my grandma’s house to the docks in Burlington and an even shorter one from the docks on the NY side to the parking lot/visitor center, and all us kids plus most of the grownups got out of the car on the boat!
Not long after, she sold it and bought a new Ford Escort. Owner of the gas station she always used told her half-jokingly he had to let a guy go because she was buying so much less gas.
Loved the story from MLNLP
I remember seeing one of these Town and Countrys for sale with the rear AC unit in addition to the front. Always wanted to find one equiped with it and all the other offerings.
Nitpicking here, but… whenever these old wagons are painted the shop paints the bottom of the spare tire slot body color- it rarely was- was mostly blacked out. Would’ve loved to see it in all its unrestored glory.
This would be great for one of the Brady kids.
I wonder if this was the start of “The Queens Family Truckster” …
What a beautiful shade of blue this is!
These big old wagons bring back fond memories for me: on vacation, mom dad in front, younger sister and brother backseat, older brother and me in the WAY back, facing backward, waving at other drivers. Him torturing me, me being goofy. Didn’t know about how dangerous that location in a car actually was. But still here.
Good write-up Scotty, including words of wisdom: “buy what you like, and use it.”
“Vintage EV’s”, ? You mean, like from 1920? I recently saw a newspaper entry, or maybe it was a flyer, showing EV charging station locations in Chicago circa way back then. Goes around, comes around, I guess. Otherwise, I suppose it won’t be long until early Teslas become collectible??
Nice Town & Country.
Now that’s a driver.
10.3 mpg combined per automobile-catalog. And all that fuel squeezed out a whopping 215 horsepower. To put that into perspective, you’d need to buy a 1,577 horsepower Bugatti Chiron Super Sport to get that kind of gas mileage in 2022!
Terrible mpg. Worked on these new in 75. Glad to see the white plastic battery insulator that came from Chrysler. With gas at $5, a stupid waste of money.
Do you like anything? I have rarely read a positive comment from you.
Looking at the profile view, I’m struck by how much it reminds me of the side view of a mid-‘90s Chevrolet Caprice wagon (i.e. the whale), particularly from the C-pillar back. Perhaps a late ‘80s GM designer reached back to a Chrysler design for some inspiration? :)
I agree. I see the resemblance from c pillar back. On another note, Of course this car is impractical for today’s driving conditions and needs. One doesn’t buy this because it makes sense financially but because it brings back memories and harkens back to a different place in time.
Growing up we had a 1976 exactly the same color of blue inside & out. It was a 400 ci though & was rough on MPG as I remember. It rode good going down the interstate @ 75- 80 but was a dog other than that.
I bought a new 1971 Plymouth Grand Suburban Wagon with the faux wood paneling…the paneling peeled the clear plastic overlay (or whatever it’s called) within 2 years and looked terrible. So seeing new vinyl woodgrain on this does not hurt my feelings in the least. Never going to be a truly valuable classic but would be interesting at local car shows I think and definitely would look nice towing a matching color Glastron boat of same vintage.
Whoa, the seller added a $35,000 buy-it-now price! There’s an hour left and the bid price is $12,600 so this one is not even close to their reserve yet.
I would think 12-15K is about right for this car.
I mean, I love it, but but in the big-wide classic car milieu, is a ’75 Chrysler wagon highly desirable? Probably not 35K desirable. I’d like to own it for 12K.
Ended, highest bid $12,700 reserve not met and relisted.
I wonder if these are even bigger than the ’75 full size GM wagons. lol
Here’s a link to the new listing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/225064957517?ViewItem=&item=225064957517&vxp=mtr
I am trying to answer the question if this 1975 Chrysler wagon is bigger than a GM wagon. I know this: The Chrysler “C” body car will weigh 5,000 + pounds. This will be 500 pounds more than a GM wagon of this same vintage. I had a 1975 Imperial, it weighed 5,300 pounds.
i love the wagon alot my dad use to have a 74 plymouth with the same body just diffrent lights