Made almost continuously from 1940 to 2016, Chrysler’s Town & Country has been known by generations as one of the ultimate family haulers around. Over the decades it was made in station wagon form and even in minivans, a term that I’m fairly sure wasn’t around when this 1966 Chrysler Town & Country was made. This mostly-original T&C can be found listed here on eBay in beautiful Palm Springs, California where, yes, I should have moved after high school. The current bid is $6,100 but the reserve isn’t met yet.
What a great looking car. The paint is showing the effects of the sun, much like more than a few Palm Spring residents are. For some odd reason, vehicle patina seems to be more acceptable than human patina does. That’s one of those nagging questions that we’ll probably never find an answer to. I don’t see a bad angle on this car. I’m a huge fan of the angular fourth-generation Chryslers, in general, and a Town & Country wagon would be outstanding. They were the only Chrysler wagon in 1966 and this would be the last year before a mid-generation refresh for the fourth-generation Chryslers.
Now that’s a grille. This car looks like it’s in very nice condition despite the faded paint. The seller doesn’t mention any rust on the body at all but they do say that there is some in the spare tire well, as is to be expected, even for a car living in an area that only gets less than, gulp, six-inches of rain a year! Now that’s dry.
The seller mentions that although the body is nice, the eight-passenger interior is the big draw with this beauty. It’s super unfortunate that they don’t provide any photos of the rear seating area or the cargo area, but the rear passenger seat looks as nice as the front does. There are also no engine photos, unfortunately, but it has Chrysler’s 383 cubic-inch V8 which in standard form had 270 horsepower. It runs great and this car has had a lot of recent maintenance so it should be one of those cars that you just get in and drive. Are there any former or present Town & Country owners out there?
A guy across the street had a sedan version of this, but with the “magnum 500” wheels. I don’t know if the wagon has the same bolt pattern. It would dress this wagon up.
I also wonder if some Maguires #7 (I believe that is the product) would help bring back some of the finish …some. it can only do so much.
Or the later 15 x 7 “Road Wheels” which were used on the Chrysler ‘C’ bodied cars; I’d just repaint and cruise! GLWTA! :-)
An 8G CA license plate. Can we say flipper and dumbass with dollar signs in their eyes? Pass.
I absolutely love this, it’s a Mopar-gasm. As with the other US makes of this 60s era, this is a very high-water mark for Chrysler.
Excellent design(Elwood Engel), great build quality (those Stroh’s-drinking men and women of Hamtramick), and that rock-solid combo of a 383 and a Torqueflite, it was perfection. Freeze America right there, because well, it was a lot better at that particular moment in time. Then came Nixon.
Reminds me of my Dads car growing up it was a 1967 Dodge Polara same body style slightly different grille and taillights.
My brother could surprise a few people at stoplights with that 383 and it would do burnouts for days (the one legged kind)
Sadly is succumbed to the New England salt before I got to drive it but it was replaced by a 1972 Coronet wagon of similar girth but a 318 that I gladly drove when I got the chance
Seats eight? If you ask the B52s, it seats “about twenty”!
I had a 1966 in the mid 1970’s. I wanted a cheap truck and went shopping at the back rows of new car dealerships. I was offered two 1965 Dodge’s , one black over red and the other red over black, but I had to take both.
My criteria; large, fake wood, and a roof rack. My 66 lived in a rental garage. The barn style doors wouldn’t quite close, but a chain and padlock worked. It served it’s purpose for two or three years, but I traded it on a new Fiat 124 coupe. I ask for and got 5 cents a pound times 4500 or so. I paid $300.
The car had 14 inch wheels. I later had a Nissan Hardbody with 6 lug 14 inch wheels. The Chrysler had stainless steel plates instead of backup lights. The wiring was there and the plates probably cost more than the lights.
That was the most fun shopping for a used car I ever had. Three or four dealers tossed me keys and said “they are out there by the dumpster”.
Had one of these in the 80s. Took the front end from a ford bronco slapped it on with a 6” lift and tada big foots little cousin.
I owned a ’66 Town and Country for my first car about 30 years ago. Unfortunately it was extremely rusty due to New England roads and I sold it after 3 years of ownership. At that point it had well over 200k miles on the original drivetrain. Probably my favorite car I’ve ever owned and the mid 60’s Chryslers are some of the best cars ever built. The wagon in particular is one of the best looking wagons ever made. This is a 9 passenger car, not 8. It was either 6 passengers or 9. This one has the identical optional black vinyl bucket seat interior as mine. Seats are supremely comfortable. The passenger and cargo capacity is nearly endless in these!
My friend had a 1966 sedan and used it as a submarine in a flooded underpass in 1972. Tow truck arrived and my friend found his way to the completely submerged car with its headlights on, attached the hook and towed it out. Put it on the lift, drained all the fluids took the carburetor apart put it back together and drove it home. There he opened all the doors and took a garden hose and started spraying everything from the headliner to the instrument panel, seats and floor. Had to replace the engine a few years later but it still runs.
I’ve had one, a ’65, loved it, if I had the room I’d jump on it.
I had this car in yellow for a college car given to me by my uncle if I could get it out of the back yard field . It was easy and with new tires , off I went. It probably won a few demolition derbys after I sold it because there is no other common car ever to be so overbuilt. When I jacked up the rear with the bumper Jack high enough the get the tire off of the ground the front was almost off the ground! The lugs were left threaded on that side and copper coated . What a beast .
I had a Town and Country too ! It was a 2010 and ….oh forget it…..
Now that’s a car!! If we ever get back to building proper cars again we’re gonna need a bigger planet….
It’s funny you say that hatopork. I park my ’63 Riviera in parking lot, and it’s proportions are a lot smaller than modern cars. You wouldn’t think that, but the modern 4-door cars aren’t much shorter than the Riv, but they are a lot taller. Modern cars have bigger wheels, higher trunk, higher roofs. They’re bulky. The Riv is sleek. Sure, that Chrysler wagon is big, but so is a Ford Expedition.
And, so many people are driving pickup trucks now (lawyers and accountants driving planet-mashing F-250s), that my Riv and Newport are really smaller than most vehicles out there nowadays. Another interesting factoid: My Riv weighs in at around 4000 pounds, which is less than the 2020 Mustang.
My 1965 Mercury Comet is slightly higher than a relative’s Hyundai Sonata, but within an inch or two of another relative’s Toyota Tacoma in length and width.
Wow! Is this a BEAST! I absolutely love this old girl! I wish I were in a spot where I could buy it, but alas, sometimes life sucks lol. It’ll be better in a couple years, then look out! I’ll be buying these up like a crack head in a dope house again, potentially to the point of nearing bankruptcy (just like in the past lol).
Beautiful T&C Wagon, seen a good number of these over the years, but this is the first one I have seen with bucket seats! Seems to be nicely optioned, and maybe LOTS of claybar, Meguiar’s #7, and some other “gentle” paint restoration work, will bring back the blue finish. Hope it finds a good home.
i drive a 2001 Town & Country. My wife bought it new and after 8 or so years decided she wanted a smaller, cuter, SUV. At that time we were emptying the nest and I was going for my first Corvette. We planned to keep my Mustang Convertible as the beater car and sell off the van.
In a flash of what can only be termed Divine Intervention I told her, “We should be keeping the van…”
Sold the ‘Stang to the neighbor’s daughter, kept the van and now after 20 years it’s still one of the nicest cars we’ve ever owned. Minivans are avoided by young women of child-bearing age for the stigma of the Mommy Car but they are among the most brilliant of all automotive designs – a station wagon that you can walk around in.
Much as I love my T&C I would trade in a heartbeat for this 1966 version. What a nice car!
My dad had a’66 T&C he took delivery of in April 1966. Maroon exterior and matching interior, mostly standard equipment with no A/C and no roof rack. It was gorgeous. He had some nice vehicles in his life but he said the’66 was one of his favorites. Parted with the’66 in August’69 for a ‘69 T&C with A/C and other upgrades.