Classic cars that offer a range of possibilities usually attract interest, but that hasn’t been the case with this 1958 Chrysler Saratoga. Despite the fact it is a rock-solid driver that could be enjoyed immediately and has been listed here on eBay with No Reserve, there have been no bids. The Saratoga is located in Spring, Texas, with the auction set to open at $9,999. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder T.J. for spotting this wonderful classic.
Chrysler introduced its Fourth Generation Saratoga in 1957, carrying all the hallmarks of Virgil Exner’s “forward look” design philosophy. It occupied the middle ground within the company’s range, but sales probably weren’t all that Chrysler envisaged in 1958. Only 37,196 buyers selected a Saratoga of any description, and 14,977 chose the four-door sedan. However, it is worth noting that new car sales took a hammering during 1958, with sales volumes across the board falling by around 30% compared to 1957. This Saratoga tells a positive story because it is a rock-solid survivor from an era when Mopar products developed a reputation for rust problems. The panels are clean, and there is little more than dry scale on the floors and frame. Its original Matador Red and Ermine paint would benefit from a refresh, but the lack of rust and panel damage means the new owner could drive it with pride as an original survivor. The seller says the doors open and shut as smoothly now as when the car drove off the showroom floor, suggesting no prior history of accident damage or structural issues. The trim condition ranges from excellent to restorable, while the glass looks flawless.
One aspect of this potential restoration where the seller has given the new owner a headstart is on its interior. They refurbished the dash and wheel, with both presenting perfectly. The upholstered surfaces require restoration, but they include NOS upholstery material and a carpet set in the deal. All the buyer needs to do is locate a professional or someone handy with a sewing machine to return it to its former glory. There are no visible aftermarket additions, and the factory AM radio should provide entertainment on the road.
I wish we received some engine shots in the listing because where this Saratoga shines is below the surface. Lifting the hood would reveal a 354ci “Spitfire” V8. It sends 310hp to the rear wheels via a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission, with the original owner specifying power steering to lighten the driver’s workload. At 4,300 lbs, the Saratoga is a relatively hefty beast. That makes its ¼-mile ET of 16.4 seconds and a top speed of 122mh particularly noteworthy. This classic is a mechanically healthy car, with the seller recently rebuilding the brake system and fitting new Sears bias-ply whitewall tires. It runs and drives perfectly, allowing the new owner to enjoy it immediately while planning their strategy moving forward.
After creating a frenzy during the late 1950s, cars with fins were considered cringeworthy for decades. Today, cars from that era wear that feature like a badge of honor, and most are highly coveted. I’m surprised there have been no bids on this 1958 Chrysler Saratoga, but there is plenty of time for the situation to change. If you are a Mopar enthusiast searching for the right project, watching this auction could be worthwhile. If nothing happens in the next few days, somebody could become its new owner with a single bid. If it were you, would you choose restoration or preservation?
You know, ( old people that think they have something to say, always start with “you know”), living in Colomarado, I’ve heard my share of “what dey smokin” jokes, none of which ever have any merit, but here you have a car designed by what I would imagine, straight people, and THIS was the result? I mean, how could anyone think this would be attractive unless they were wasted? AND SELL? Makes you wonder what DIDN’T make the cut. Well, it didn’t sell, and luckily, was short lived. I have a kindred attraction to these cars, the old man had a ’59 or ’60 DeSoto, the 1st car I remember riding in. The 354 was a Poly motor, I read, only the New Yawker had the hemi. This car is collectible, merely because of it’s unusual styling, and not for what great cars they really were.
In a more sinister mode, what was that dash mounted rear view mirror really good for? Anyone?
Howard, first car I recall my Mom having was a `57 New Yawkah hardtop. She used to say she hated those mirrors because it made her feel she was being followed! Turning a corner, she’d catch the edge of the tailfin in the mirror and do a double-take lol.
Those dash mirrors, properly aimed, could give a birds eye view of middle passengers, um,,,legs.
Are you kidding me? Attractive?? I love (almost) all of the Exner cars with my particular fav’ being the 1959 Desoto. These to me are the best looking cars ever made.
Helluva lot better looking than a 59 Buick lol
I would restore cit as I have a fondness for these year cars.
The most attractive and nicest was my dads 57’ Dodge Coronet with the bullet taillights. It was a coupe and had a 354 Hemi, dual 4 barrel carbs.
Very nice car. He sold it in 65’ to buy a new Coronet .
When I got older it I tried to buy it from the older guy he sold it to but he would not sell it.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Surely you have seen some of the other monstrosities Detroit turned out in 1958. The 1958 General Motors cars, particularly the Buick and Olds were ghastly, and still are. The 1959 Chevrolet has grown on me but when it came out in ’59, I thought it was awful. The 1958 Ford was certainly much less desirable than the 1957 models. AND, you must really love the 1958 Packard!
My 2nd car was a $75 ‘58 Saratoga, after I wore out my first, a ‘58 Windsor. I have lot of memories from those cars, mostly high school lunches. Packing in 6-7 of us. Those mirrors were too low to be useful but the brakes really sucked, overheating and warping the backing plates which held the manual adjusters.
I think that a lot of the attraction to these kind of
Chrysler products is the sheer size of them.These
things are HUGE!
I still have a hard time believing you could fit this
in a tiny garage back when it was new.
angliagt, perhaps you are a bit younger than I, but there was a day I clearly recall, when ALL cars on the road were at least this big! All a matter of perspective.
A ’58 Ford or Chevy doesn’t look near this big,at least
not to me.
To be clear, more than once, the back 1/3 stuck out of the garage normally designed for a Ford Model A. All cars were big, it was the most advanced form of safety we knew, and that was partially true, as long as 2 of THESE didn’t hit each other. My neighbor as a kid, had a 1960ish Olds, that didn’t fit in their garage either.
I grew up in a town filled with pre-ww2 houses, many with a single car garage out back, and the larger houses usually had a carriage house converted to a garage. As most garages in the area were built a decade or 2 before cars became longer, the modern postwar homeowner with an older garage was faced with either adding a bump-out to the rear, or moving the garage door a couple of feet out from the main garage structure. It was either the bump out, build a whole new garage, or leave the car outside.
Here I’ve posted a photo of the traditional rear end bump-out, many others were just high enough to clear either the hood or trunk of the car. In about 1980 I bought a 1947 Packard Clipper Custom 2-door fastback that just barely fit into the garage, even with a 30″ extension like the one pictured, and as the owner had driven the car in front first, It was not possible to open the hood until I towed the car backwards a few feet.
“. . . new Sears bias-ply whitewall tires . . .”
Sears? Are there Sears still open?
And they sell those tires?
Yeah, given tires don’t age well I wouldn’t trust new old stock any more than any other decades-old tires.
I was 2yrs old in 1958.
They want fins? We’ll give em find!
I would think anyone who can tolerate a late 50s General Motors product, could surely tolerate a late 50s Chrysler product, they both flew over the coocoos nest. I say fix the interior, and preserve it.
I really like it as is, who wouldn’t?
No under hood pics ????
Having a good laugh at Howard’s “leg” comments.
Chrome apparently decent and body surfaces in good shape. I think I’d do a fresh paint. Even though it’s a sedan, what a colorful head-turner!
You couldn’t ask for a better starting point for a relatively easy restoration, with a few upgrades (A/C for instance).
These are what we used to call a solid fifteen hundred dollar car. :)
I would make an exception to my hard and fast, and always broken, rule of only two doors for this baby if it was less expensive as it needs more work than it will ever be worth.
Was it the De Soto that had the swing out front seat? HoA might know. For many years there was a guy here in town that drove the analagous De Soto..in salmon pink. At first I thought it was this car.
On the issue of garages too small for nineteen fifties cars, down the road there is a cut shingle garage with a roughly 4 ft extension cobbled onto it, dangerously sloping down where it joined the original opening. Pretty common in the back country with nineteen twenties houses.
This car and most from the Fifties scream AMERICA!……..before we imported jelly bean cars from the Far East.
I don’t really see where this car needs that much work, compared to many we see on here. I think most suburban houses built in the mid 50s on typically had garages to accommodate period autos.
And bravo and ditto to your comment on America and jellybean cars from those “other ” countries.
The swiveling driver’s seat was available on many late 50s Mopars. My mom had a ’59 Dodge and it had that feature.
For the day, with the torsion bar suspension, they handled very well compared to the Ford/GM competition, I drove a ’57 300 C, it was amazing compared to my ’56 Chevy, not just in acceleration and top speed, but ability to go around corners. And I drove a ’69 like this, not nearly as fast, but, just as good going around corners, Uncle’s ’60 Plymouth convertible was softer, but still a great car on the winding roads.
I owned a 1959 Dodge Station Wagon 361ci engine and a Torgue Flite transmission. Solid black exterior and chrome that shined like new money. Fins were hardly an issue.
There’s two photos of the engine bay in the eBay ad I just looked at. Howard’s right about that rear view mirror. I remember my Uncle George had a Chrysler convertible of this vintage. Riding in the back seat sans seat belts I could position myself so I could see me in the mirror. Mopar did a lot of things differently than the other manufacturers.
The dash mounted mirrors vibrated so much from cowl-shake they were rendered virtually useless. Just a bad place .for a rear-view for many reasons. Lack of development time meant no one was evaluating the value of being different for the sake of being different.
My first car was a ’57 Plymouth Belvedere.. a not so distant cousin to this old girl. I wanted a ’57 Chevy which was the absolute coolest ride you could have in my high school, but dad didn’t want to spend $600 on my graduation present, but he did have a “friend” who wanted to sell his Belvedere for a mere $200. So that was that. He took me to look at it and the body was straight and the paint was good, but it was burning oil and needed an engine rebuild, a new interior and new tie rods. So I sold my motorcycle (a BSA 650 Lightening) and used that to rebuild the Plymouth. A friend and I dropped a Hemi in it, I raised the rear with coil springs and jacked up the adjustable front, and seat covers and tie rods on it and we we went cruising. At the time I was pretty mad about that whole thing, but looking back on it I see the reason he did it was because he wanted to make me self reliant.. another level up from him making me rebuild the engine in my Cushman scooter. I’d post a pic of the Belvedere but I don’t see a way to do that. :-(
Beautiful for a bunch of Chrysler engineers that had all their taste in their mouths. Period correct and a boat
Most folks forget 1958 was a recession year, I remember the steel mills in Pittsburgh being shut down for about 7 months. Not much was selling, except groceries, but very few items made from steel, cars being the most notable. Washing machines, refrigerators, stoves etc. just were not being bought fue to many layoffs in the various business. 58 was also a year where the big 3 started cutting back on personnel in departments that did not build the actual vehicles. I know my dad was an auditor for GM Fisher Body Division.
This one is getting a lot of interest. I despise Patina but a nice clear coat would for me on this one.
Love this 58. I owned a black 1959 New Yorker in 1968/69.
Just fun to drive. Could smoke the rubber off the tires too!
The only cars my family had with fins were two ’57 Chevies. The first was our family car, two door 210 with no accessories, the second was the work car our father’s boss supplied, a four door 210. Uncle Dutchie and Aunt Nell though, had a ’58 Buick Special four door sedan until 1965. Cousin Bubba, son of another aunt had a new ’59 Impala two door hardtop he messed up. I had three cars with a hint of fins. Two ’64 deVilles, a convertible, and a six window sedan, and a ’63 Imperial LeBaron. I love this Saratoga, I’d have the interior done up right, and keep new paint in the future.
Beautiful as it sits, but not safe to drive on today’s highways as daily I encounter an over caffeinated soccer mom in a new Honda Odyssey late for driving her screaming kids to the bus stop, then to Walmart. Usually, she has a donut stuffed in her pie hole and phone in the other as she is tailgating me. Most drivers today should not have a license. Driving used to be enjoyable, not anymore. These 50 Chrysler products so much better looking than the junk from GM.
Awesome looking car. I’ve never seen one in person. IMHO, it’s the best looking car of this vintage, way better looking than the Imperial. Assuming everything is solid and the car is driveable, I’d be willing to pay around the asking price of $9k.