Chrysler gave its full-size cars a major facelift in 1955, which included the Imperial which was spun off into its own division. The styling gave a prelude to what was coming with the bold “Forward Look” approach of the 1957 models. There were two station wagons offered, the Windsor and New Yorker and both carried the extra name of Town & Country. The seller doesn’t indicate the model of this 1956 wagon, so we assume it’s the lighter-trimmed Windsor which comprised nearly two-thirds of sales that year.
Tailfins became all the rage in the mid-1950s, and Chrysler was no exception. The Windsor had them and a new option was added to the list, a “Highway” Hi-Fi record player which I still don’t understand how they worked with any degree of reliability. A 331 cubic inch “Poly” V8 was under the hood of the 1956 Windsors and the most commonly ordered transmission was the PowerFlite automatic. Only 2,700 Windsor wagons were built in 1956 to accompany the 1,070 New Yorkers with the same body style.
The seller tells us very little about this old Mopar. It doesn’t run and the seller speculates that the engine needs to be rebuilt. A one-owner car, it appears to have been well-used and out of commission for some time. Photos are few and none focus on the interior, so we don’t know its condition. The mileage is said to be 9,600, which implies the odometer has turned over and stopped there. Located in Marysville, Michigan, this Chrysler can be yours for $7,500 here on Facebook Marketplace. Barn Finder “Ted” brought this tip our way!
“Highway” Hi-Fi record player which I still don’t understand how they worked with any degree of reliability – if you read anything about them – they didn’t work with any degree of reliability. The record slid into player and was pressed up against a needle as it spun. A great idea for music if the car wasn’t moving but driving – the record skipped and scratched all over the place. Plus storing vinyl in your car on a hot day was problematic…
A 9/16ths socket taped to the arm helped prevent skipping. It was a poor attempt at mobile music, but you had to start somewhere. Imagine how far we’ve come in that regard.
my step father was a Chrysler dealer and in 63 I think he brought home a car just traded in, a 62 or 63 grand prix, the car had been on the floor of the ny car show and it had a 45rpm player. it was weird. the car was cool but who uses a record player while driving?
It’s probably no more distracting than the infotainment systems in today’s vehicles.
Matthew, I’m pretty sure the record player wasn’t for “driving” … at least in the ‘ahem’ automotive sense.
The 55-56 Mopars were their best designed platform of the 50s. If I was a younger rich dude this one would find a home in my garage (yet to be built) when it comes back from the extra proficient restoration shop. Thank goodness dreams are cheaper than real life and require little more than wishful thinking.
I see a money pit here….
9600 miles, eh? Looks good,,,seriously, they can’t possibly think that. Cars like this were robbed of their hemi motors and discarded the rest when we were in diapers. The fact this car is here at all is because it did not have one. This is how I remember all these cars, even hemis. Worn out oily, rusty, dirty slugs, with a million miles, no less. It’s why people bought these, they did a lot of traveling. With the numbers sold, not many did that. It wasn’t until the suburbs of the 60s, that wagons really took hold. I don’t know what’s in store for this car. If one was looking for such a car, it would be a costly but worthy restoration. Oddly, a hemi would be a better seller, just for the name,,,hemi. As is, I see little interest.
A couple of pictures that show what the car looks like would be nice.
I love the sneakers inboard of the fins. At first I thought they might be teddy bears.
Yep it’s a Windsor – owned a 1956 wagon that was a Fire Chief’s wagon with all the stuff still there. Wasn’t a bad car and the Poly did run along with moving. It was a hard sell at $2500 and finally sold to some fireman guys for a little under that with a title.
The company that invented and produced record players for installation in cars was called “Motorola”. Get it? That’s where the name came from.
I had the same vehicle that I inherited from my uncle. I loved that car, until one day my doctor gave me 3 years to live.
That was 10 years ago. And I’m still missed I gave it away!
Sorry, I was commenting on the AMC Marlin