I’ve always liked the bulbous, brawny styling and “presence” of the 1946-1948 Chryslers. And this one’s been in a barn for 50 years and is being sold at No Reserve to help settle an estate. Hopefully, Ken the seller knows the family and can answer questions about this solid-looking 4-Door Sedan for interested buyers. Currently residing in Cincinnati, Ohio, this ’46 Chrysler is for sale here on eBay and had generated 28 bids as of this writing with the highest bid amount being $1,525. The seller describes the family as both “motivated and a very reasonable seller.”
Based on the photos supplied, it appears to be a pretty solid old Chrysler that’s without an engine, transmission, and rear seat bottom. What happened to those and the story behind it is anybody’s guess. The seller says it was pulled out of the barn (it rolls and steers freely), hosed off, and then he took photos of the Windsor is a variety of angles. Chrysler offered 15 attractive paint colors for their fully-sized cars including some great names and colors such as Saint Clair Blue, Catalina Tan, and Palace Spice Brown. It’s funny that Chrysler’s black was just named “Black,” and this one appears to be wearing its original black paint which is faded and looks its age. I’m not spotting any major dents or dings, exterior rust, all the trim seems to be there and the glass looks decent. Those huge bumpers and bumper guards would need rechroming and there’s a dent in the front bumper, but the massive grille looks good.
The seller mentions that the car “has rust in the driver’s floor and a few other spots.” There are photos of the floor and several of the Chrysler’s interior which is probably original. It has seen better days but I’m sure its burgundy and beige seat and door panel combination was stunning when it was new. And Chrysler’s had some of the coolest, most gleaming instrument panels in Detroit. This one is dusty but I bet it could clean up and glisten once more.
There are several photos showing where the 250-cubic inch L-head inline-six used to reside. It would’ve been mated to a 3-speed manual transmission with optional Fluid Drive. It is showing 72,331 on the odometer which the seller states are original. Chrysler’s were redesigned for the 1942 model year with fenders being more integrated into overall styling, but World War II halted production until the 1946 model year. The Window line with it’s practical balance of six-cylinder economy and refined appointments was a hit with the eager postwar car buyers. They made up 63% of Chrysler’s sales and the top-selling Windsor was the four-door sedan like this one. So, what do you think? What would you do with this rolling project?
Fix the floors, update the suspension and brakes, drop a 340 automatic in it and drive!
Makes me wish I didn’t already have my quota!
In our latest installment of “If Cars Could Talk,”…
What engine should one drop in?
A 359 Packard Straight Eight would be fun, a bored and stroked 8 liter Jaguar V 12 even better? An early Hemi, 354 or 392?
Anything but a Chevrolet engine…
I like the idea of an early Hemi. And an appropriate manual transmission. No modern carburetoon or ignition, just as if someone had upgraded the car in the late Fifties.
An exception, for safety’s sake, would be disc brakes, although upgrading to period correct late Fifties would be better than late Forties.
Although the temptation is there to leave the exterior as is, I think this grande dame deserves a new coat and a thoroughly refettled interior.
But nothing 1960 or later. Of course, if you really wanted to be authentic…an Earl Shieb paint job. 😝
I have one of these with a small block MOPAR and automatic–quite enough for a cool family sled for Sunday drives.
What’s wrong with a Chrysler flathead straight eight?
The rodents liked the interior so much they took the rear seat lower cushion to their vacation place
My second ever car was a Chrysler Windsor which I seem to remember was a 1941 Model, however, I also seem to remember that the fuel filler was accessed via the left rear tail light and yet this car doesn’t seem to have the same fuel filler. That was in 1967 so maybe my memory is not as good as I thought it was. Can anybody verify?
That was the Cadillac.
Thank you Michael, you are perfectly correct because the Chrysler was followed a long time later by a 1946 Cadillac with the filler under the tail light.
Neighbor has the more expensive model, ’48, in great condition, with a 350 Chevy engine and Hydramatic, and a Camaro front suspension, it is beautiful and hauls his Airstream with no issues. Quite a sight on the road.
A fellow I once worked with (90’s) bought one of these and flat towed it home many hundreds of miles behind a 2.2 litre Rampage. A few hours work on the brakes and a head gasket (Dodge dealer actually had one) and it was driveable. I thought the interior was big enough for a volleyball game.
If the new owner could find one, get an original first year hemi, which I think is a 241 cu. in.
IF restoring this car, I’m guessing the plating bill would be about $20K ????
I’d use an old 392 hemi,restore the outside stock with new paint and chrome,disk brakes,a/c and stereo but restore the interior as original as possible configuration but leather. Would be a cool ride
Would you let your daughter go out on a date in one?
https://youtu.be/zdRazLGhP70
My Dad had one of these back in the day, it had fluid drive , what a bomb, it seemed there was a problem with the fluid drive and he traded in on a new Studebaker , another story
Put in a motor, paint it pearl white and cruise town!
The 1946 Windsor & Windsor Deluxe could be had with either a 3 speed manual or a hydraulically operated 4 speed with a fluid coupling. A good friend in H.S. had a 1948 Windsor Deluxe Coupe with the 4 speed. It had a low range consisting of 2 speeds and a high range with two speeds. It was necessary to use the clutch to select either range. The shift pattern was a modified “H” pattern minus the lower left leg. Reverse is in the same position as reverse in a normal 3 speed. Low range is where 2nd would be in a standard 3 speed, high range is where 3rd gear would be in a standard 3 speed.
After starting out in low range (1st gear was good for pulling stumps), releasing the accelerator would allow the transmission to shift into 2nd gear accompanied by a very noticeable audible CLICK. 2nd gear was good for about 45mph. The clutch had to be used to shift into the high range. The maximum speed in 3rd gear was only maybe 5+ mph faster than 2nd gear. Again, lifting up on the gas pedal allowed the transmission to CLICK into 4th gear. The 4th gear was not an overdrive. Many drivers would start out in low range 1st gear, use the clutch and shift into high range 3rd gear. While underway in 3rd, lifting the gas pedal would have the transmission CLICK into high range 4th gear.
When in 4th gear, flooring the gas pedal would cause the transmission to kickdown into high range 3rd gear. This is a questionable feature due to the limited maximum speed in 3rd gear (about 52mph).
Frankly, I preferred the 3 speed fluid drive in my 1949 Dodge Coronet which could be shifted like and had the same pattern as a normal 3 speed standard transmission OR it could be placed in 2nd or even 3rd gear to start out. If starting in 3rd on a level road it could be driven like an automatic, no need to use the clutch when stopping and starting (0-60 in 3rd gear only was timed with a sundial).
I used to drive truck through Cincinnati on I71 from time to time. There was a big scrap yard just on the west side of the interstate with scrap piled 5-7 stories high. When through one day and believe it or not there was a dukes of hazzard body style Charger about halfway up the side of the scrap pile, could not believe it, and that was only like 9 years or so age!
A kinda nice car to have fun with, but can you use the word ‘Tranny’ and not get in trouble?
My dad had a series of Chrysler 8 cyl. cars through 1951, all with the semi auto transmission. we learned a trick to speed up the upshift in the lower range: quickly pumping the clutch after lifting the foot off the gas. You are right, not much difference between high in low range and low in high range, so a quick change into high was all that was left.
I am the new owner of the 1946 Chrysler Windsor. I was thinking finding a smaller Cummins diesel engine and drive train to squeeze into it. I don’t know. Just pondering around. Everyday I learn something new about the vehicle.
Having owned an original back in about 1956/7 I would get the original drive train back into service, cruise and enjoy. It was fast enough back then and should be fast enough for cruising today. Wonderful, large, comfortable car, and I loved the Fluid Drive gearbox. One thing for sure, you are not likely to bump into another one very often, if ever, certainly not at your local Cars and Coffee meets.
Chrysler Corp. used the same 6 cyl. flathead in the whole range, 1934 through 1959. That means Plymouth through Chrysler.
The displacement varied. I had considered using a rebuilt 1950’s Dodge truck engine with their 4 speed crash box truck transmission. You have to double clutch up and down. I had a 1956 Dodge medium truck with a 354 hemi and that transmission. A great combination. BTW a lot of 6 cyl. parts are interchangeable, maybe including gaskets and some cylinder heads.