Throughout the 1960s and beyond, the Newport was Chrysler’s “entry-level” automobile, though nothing about a Chrysler would be considered basic. In 1969, they built just 2,169 Newport drop-tops of which as few as 250 could have come with the Sport Grain Group option. That meant the big vehicles came with fake woodgrain side paneling like the Town & Country station wagons. This Chrysler is one of those rare cars, but it was left out in the elements for 40 years and rust has become a big problem. Looked in Ballston Spa, New York, this ragtop project is available here on eBay where $1,250 is the optimistic bid so far.
When this Chrysler rolled off the assembly line on Jefferson Avenue in Michigan, it must have been quite the sight! It was (and still is) larger than life and sporting wood paneling like its “big brother” wagons. It’s only had two owners in the past four decades, though the second has had it for just a few months. The plan was to restore the car to its former glory, but the seller doesn’t have the time (and possibly the energy and money) to do the job right. Is it worth saving? Of course, it is, as long as you have a flexible schedule and budget.
As the story goes, the earlier owner parked the car around 1984 when the convertible top went bad, and the funds weren’t there to replace it. From that point on, it sat and sat and unfortunately, that was outdoors. While the car looks like it may have been in a flood, that’s apparently not the case. The state it’s in is what happens to a dormant car when it’s out in the elements in the winters of New York State.
As the photos indicate, rust is hard at work on much of the external sheet metal (lower extremities), some of the floorboards, and the unibody itself. So, someone who knows what he’s doing in the bodywork department will be spending a lot of time correcting the ills of the past 40 years. The Chrysler still has its original 383 cubic inch V8 (2-barrel), but it’s seized though the seller thinks with more work it might be freed up. This Newport has loads of options, including a TorqueFlite automatic transmission and several power accessories, including windows and driver’s bucket seat.
Despite the passage of time and weather, the interior of this car (sans carpeting) has held up pretty well. So hopefully that means the earlier owner threw a tarp over the bad top to help protect the Mopar’s innards. The buyer will have to be okay with a transferrable NY registration as titles weren’t uniformly issued in those days. Be careful when loading this land yacht on a trailer as its ability to stop on its own is non-existent.
Ouch this baby has been wet for years in the elements.
I have seen worse and at least
its listed at a fair value with the work needed .
Engine, pans, seats rebuilt and covers, carpets, paint…
I hope this boat gets restored back to its original glory days…
Unique trim option only offed on a convertible by Chrysler and Mercury. This one is a bit rough but would be an interesting example of sixties Americana.
Criminal
My buddy picked up a woody Newport coupe back in the early 1980s for $100. It was fairly clean but it had a rusted out torsion bar mount and it ended up donating its 383 for his 66 Charger and off to the junkyard it went. Back then with no internet to even know how rare these were, it was just another big tank.
This one being a ragtop is even more scarce, but looking at the underside I’m thinking any buyer is going to use this as a parts car .
Ok here’s the way I see it the first thing needs done tear the car all the way down to the bare body. Then have it blasted so rust issues can be assessed and determined if it would be worth it to restore. Possible engine rebuild complete brake system rebuild and all lines replaced. If top is electric all components will need to be inspected. All interior replaced well you get the jist. When all the adding and subtracting is done this may just be a parts car so I wouldn’t spend to much on the purchase. Beautiful car sad to see it in this condition. Remember you can’t save them all. To the seller GLWTA. To the buyer good luck.
way too much structural rot and a seized motor to boot. yea its rare but by the time you’re done with it you will be under water. shame on first owner for letting the damage happen to it.
I’ll never understand leaving a car in a yard for decades on end because “one day I’ll do something with it”. Yeah, pull it out of the ground piece by piece is what someone will eventually do with it.
How sad to think how beautiful it was before someone let nature take over. I seldom declare a car as unrestorable but I think this one has reached that point. At least the bids have not taken it to the point where it would be too expensive to buy as a parts car. I realize that any car can be restored but this one has too much structural rust to be considered a candidate for a restoration I think, but good luck to the person who owns it when the auction ends..
As a a teenager driving a ’50 Packard, the land yacht of land yachts, I was appalled when my Dad brought home a stripper ’70 Newport with vinyl seats. When I rode with him, no seat belts, I inevitably slid to the drivers side when my Dad made a turn. I’ll never forget that,
For some reason , some moron actually stole the car one day off the streets of NYC. The police actually recovered it! The insurance company actually repaired it! My Dad drove it till he bought an ’84 Buick! New!
Gotta love the practical post war ethos of that generation. What a great example of perspective which we have seemingly lost.
This old girl is probably just a parts car at this point.
Sad to see this, but at least it is getting sold and not scrapped.
The owner should be thrown in jail for this!?!?
Why ? For not taking care of something he owns ? To most people, a car is an appliance, nothing more.
“My convertible top ripped, so I’m not going to drive it anymore. And, I’m going to leave it outdoors, for a couple decades, while I contemplate my next move.” We call these guys “car killers” in my neck of the woods.
If someone really wanted to bring this one back they could. However, it may not be worth the money. Maybe it is a project to learn how to weld.
Parts car. Someone with a bench seat 300 Hurst or other full size C-body convertible will likely pick it up for the power bucket seats, floor shift column, console, power windows and whatever else can be salvaged from the car.
Steve R
This big thing has to be parked next to a k car with the same convertible option , both truly ugly cars but to each is own
YOLO
This has kicked around the New York/New Jersey market for many years. Unless I’m wrong (and I’m not) it’s the same one i looked at a few years ago. There is more rust than sheet metal.