Peeking out of this garage is a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker sedan. In fact, this is a car that has been garaged for its entire life. That has resulted in a classic that has remained solid, and that is a prime candidate for a restoration project. It is a giant of a car, and the rear seat offers passengers all of the comfort of your average couch. The New Yorker is located in Union City, California, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. The interest in this particular car has been very strong, with 58 bids submitted at the time of writing. This has pushed the price along to $3,650 in what is a No Reserve auction. Once again, Barn Finder Ikey H has had his radar running strong, so thank you for referring this classic Chrysler to us Ikey.
The photos that the owner supplies make it a bit hard to get a full overview of the vehicle, but they do provide us with enough information to draw a few conclusions. The owner describes the car as in perfect restorable condition, and when you combine a life spent in California with the fact that it has been garaged all of its life, that all bodes well for the next owner. Obviously, the Regal Maroon paint is really showing its age, but for anyone who simply wanted to drive the New Yorker as an original survivor, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be possible. There appears to be no obvious rust in the vehicles, while the panels do look nice and straight. It isn’t all good news, because some of the exterior trim and chrome is showing some pitting and bubbling. If the next owner is looking for a high level of presentation at the end of the restoration process, then there are a number of pieces that will need to be sent off to the platers. However, that intricately made grille looks to be free from any physical damage. One bonus is the fact that all of the glass is present, and it looks as though it is in good condition beneath the layer of dust.
A giant of a car really needs a giant of an engine, and the Chrysler doesn’t disappoint on that front. What we find is a 323ci straight-eight engine, which produced 135hp. This power found its way to the rear wheels via a Fluid Drive transmission. At 4,100lbs, this was a pretty heavy vehicle. This helps to explain the fact that it covered the ¼ mile in 20.8 seconds. While it all sounds encouraging on the mechanical front, there are a couple of things that we don’t know. The most important of these is whether the engine turns freely. If it does, it might not take a lot of work to get the 323 running again. We also don’t receive any information on the condition of the remainder of the drivetrain, or whether the brakes operate.
The interior of the New Yorker could best be described as cavernous. I suspect that even the tallest Harlem Globetrotter would have sufficient legroom. The interior will need some refurbishment work, and I’m not sure how the next owner might choose to tackle this. The covers on the seats aren’t original, but not only are they in good condition, but they nicely compliment the exterior paint color. The rest of the interior trim does appear to be original, and it now looks very tired. The headliner is hanging down in spots, while there is appreciable wear on items like the armrests. However, that beautiful Art Deco dash appears to be in extremely nice condition, and I believe that its presentation would be stunning if it was treated to a good clean.
Once restored, this 1947 Chrysler New Yorker would have the “wow” factor by the bucket load. I agree with the owner that it looks like it would represent a great basis for a restoration project. I will sound a note of caution here, and that is about the potential value of the vehicle once it has been restored. The reality is that it would struggle to exceed $25,000, even if the restoration was completed to a high standard. That leads me to believe that it would be a good project for somebody who could tackle the majority of the work themselves. If they have to rely on professionals to perform a lot of the major work, then the financial viability becomes questionable. That is unless bidding remains around its current level. If it does that, then that would give the next owner some room to move, and could potentially change the story substantially.
lousy pics
I don’t think I wold restore it. the car looks good the way it is and I love the IIU license plate.
The one fear I have of these Chrysler straight eights is the cooling tube that runs the length of the engine inside the block. These are made of sheet metal and have a tendency to rust and then leak. They are difficult to get out and replacements aren’t easy to find or anything lest they didn’t used to be.
On the flip side the are so so smooth running engines
Something I learnt today and I,m 70 years old. Chrysler with a straight eight. Thanks Barney. Nice looking old car. I,d check things out on it and drive it. Nice looking old car with plenty of room and really comfortable seat. Plenty of padding.
The water tubes are readily available and I have never had any difficulty removing them.
I got to drive a ’48 back in the 70s, it was a friend’s parents.
I couldn’t see over the hood.
Best way to look at this project with the view that this car will need virtually everything mechanical replaced in order to make it run and drive as it should. If you look at it in the a light, there’ll be no
surprises when it comes to redoing all those systems. Aside from that, the car is in great shape otherwise. This car itself reminds me of the one my grandmother owned in the early ’60s. I
was 6 years old then and to me, that car
was enormous. The thing that I recall most was those huge seats that were so
soft that they could swallow a small boy
like me! Grandma used the car to haul
the cakes she baked to markets all over
town. And those suicide rear doors made
unloading all those cakes easy as pie. She would drive her Chrysler til ’65, when
she bought a ’61 Olds F-85 wagon. That
took a bit of getting used to, but at least
it beat watching Grandma peering over
the dashboard while driving that huuuge
Chrysler!
Not to be negative but it looks like the salt air did a number on the chrome. One of the negatives to a collector car being on the coast.
My Dad had one of these when I was a kid , my brother and I used to stand up on the back seat holding on the rope looking thing , and when Dad stopped we would fall forward grabbing the lap robe rope and crashing onto the floor , lots of fun until Mom got involved , remember it being a tank in the snow . Dad had trouble with the Fluid drive so he traded for a 1950 Stubebaker coupe
Where did you find 1/4 mile times for this beast?
Didn’t Miss Daisy dump one of these?
Yup, Aunt/Uncle had one around 1950-52, it was ivory or yellow W/burgandy interior. The back seat was HUGE, as was the front and it was like sitting on your sofa in your living room. I was 6-3 back then, plenty of room. The old girl had some milage, think 80,000 and was getting tired, needed an re-build, didn’t burn oil but lacked compression and W/fluid drive could hardly get away from a
traffic lite. Was a dream to drive, easy steering, and the brakes worked great.
Yup, and the weight made for a great ride. She traded it for a Buick,not quite the New Yorker.
These are so ugly, they are beautiful. Sure would love to bring it home.
Lot of car for the money!! Looks clean enough to do the mechanicals and drive!! Great for a family trip but doing 70 in this thing you’d have to give it a good long time to stop!!