The Chrysler Town & Country 4-Door Sedan earns itself a place in history because it was only in production for 3-years. This 1947 example is from the second of those years, and while it has been sitting unused for decades, it has survived reasonably well. Located in Roslyn, New York, the owner has set a BIN price of $22,999 for the car, or the option is there to submit an offer. You will find the Chrysler listed for sale here on eBay.
The first thing that grabs you with this car is the timber. For an original car of this vintage that has been sitting for so many decades, the timber has survived incredibly well. There are some pieces that will need to be replaced, but the vast majority will only need restoration and refinishing. The worst area is around the trunk, but a good cabinetmaker should be able to repair this. The metalwork on the car is also solid. There are a few pinholes in the trunk, but that really seems to be the extent of the rust problems. There are a few very minor dings, but these could be easily repaired. Likewise, some of the exterior chrome and trim will need restoration and re-plating, but it all seems to be present. The clip below gives you an overview of the car’s general condition.
The news under the hood isn’t so good. The engine is believed to be the original 251ci straight-six, which is backed by a Fluid Drive transmission. The engine is frozen, and while some effort has been made to free it up, these have been to no avail. It would be possible to replace the engine, but given the overall potential value of this car once restored, I would certainly be making a concerted effort to get the original running again. Naturally, after sitting for so many decades there is going to be some other mechanical work to perform, but the new owner will be getting a head-start, as the owner is including a fair pile of new parts with the car. This includes a gas tank and sender unit, a new fuel pump, a completely new braking system (master cylinder, wheel cylinders, brake shoes, and hardware), along with a water pump and sundry other parts.
When it was new, the interior of this Chrysler must have been something quite special. The carpet has recently been removed, but the owner hasn’t touched anything else inside the car. The covers on the seats aren’t original, but the rest of the interior does appear to be. The headliner has a couple of minor holes, but the thing that just grabs your attention is the dash. There is no doubt that many cars from this era had a dash that was a work of art, and this Chrysler is no exception there. Once again, the interior is basically complete and just needs restoration.
The owner of this Chrysler Town and Country makes some pretty extravagant claims about the potential value of this car once restored, and they actually aren’t that far off the mark. In 1947 there were 2,147 Town and Country Sedans built, and many of these have succumbed to a combination of rust, and wood rot. They don’t come onto the market very often today, and when they do, a well-restored example will sell for sums in excess of $130,000, while a record high of $330,000 was paid for a pristine example back in 2009. If this one, which does appear to be a solid vehicle, is properly restored, then it should be a car that is worth a 6-figure price.
Not an easy car to restore I’m sure but probably a decent deal if someone is looking for one of these cars.
These are handsome cars, but if I wanted to spend time refinishing wood, I wouldn’t have put a Trex deck on the house.
Once again Ikey, nice. My pier is Trex! Take care, Mike.
Amazingly intact, given all the mohogany/ash it has. These are nothing for the novice to attempt; let one of the upper east coast shops restore it; you are far better off in the long run. This is a guaranteed $130K+ car when done. It will take over $100K to restore, but worth every dime. These T&C Chrysler go only one direction in value: UP. You see far more cvts. than sedans, making this a rare beast indeed.
Wooden it be nice to see this car restored? You bet it wood! After looking
at the cost of restoring all that timber,
there’s the engine to consider too. Face
it folks, there just aren’t that many rebuild-
able 251s left out there. If push came to
shove, I’d use a 323 straight 8 if one were
available. Such a swap would be fesible
as the eight is just a few inches longer
than the the 6 cylinder being replaced.
The eight will bolt right up to the fluid
drive tranny with no trouble at all. Yes,
the motor.mounts will have to be changed, the throttle linkage sorted,.
and quite possibly the engine would
have to be set back a bit for fan clearance with the radiator. Other than
that, you have windsor mechanicals
with a wooden body on top of them.
That’s about as close to original as
you’d get. Or, you could go with a modern
hemi driveline, but why? Which ever way
the new owner chooses to go, they’ll
need deep pockets and a whole lot of
patience to make this car happen.
Definately not for the faint of heart or
the limited of wallet.
Need to be a competent carpenter and mechanic to restore this. But I agree with Will Fox – This car is a sure bet to rise in value.
Someone told me once that though the body is all steel underneath, the trunk section is completely constructed from wood.
Beautiful cars in person, I always stare at them a moment longer when I run across one.
OK, all I wanna know is who’s bright idea was it to start making cars out of wood? I mean hey, really? I thought we as car builders had gotten past that. After all, it’s wood for cryin’ out loud..