Trio Of Chrysler Town And Country Woodies

Now here’s an intriguing opportunity. An 82-year-old owner has decided he’s never going to get around to restoring his three 1950 Chrysler Town and Country coupes, so he had a buddy list them on Facebook Marketplace in Greenwood, Louisiana, for $18,000 all in. These are exceptionally cool cars, highly collectible, and to have three of them together is an embarrassment of riches. From the photos, it would appear that the expedient thing would be to restore one of the cars, the example parked on the left, and use the other two as parts cars. That one example (below) retains its wood paneling, and what appears to be a pretty decent interior and engine. The driver’s door is open, possibly because of structural issues? But maybe the rarity and value of these T&Cs dictate preserving all three.

Town and Country models existed before World War II, but this particular model’s history starts in 1946 with a four-door sedan and convertible. The wood body frames were made of white ash, with mahogany veneer panels bonded to underlying steel. The hefty price in 1946 averaged $2,609. The first year, 2,169 were built.

The ’48 T&C four-door sedan was the last in that body style. The convertible continued, with one of the few changes being that the Honduran mahogany wood panels were now DI-NOC vinyl.

The ‘49s finally got new post-war bodywork, and a new, longer 131.5-inch wheelbase (based on the New Yorker). Note the near-contemporary Cadillac convertible in the background of the photo below. The owner had other unfinished projects.

And the 1950s coupes like this one were the last true Chrysler woodies, though, as mentioned, the side panels were simulated. Windshield washers were now an option! Classic.com doesn’t have a price for the 1950 Chrysler T&C Coupe (because none were sold), but the similar 1949 goes for $57,943 in average condition.

Given this, a price of $18,000 for all three, assuming the one car is as decent as it looks, seems like a pretty good deal, leaving some available cash to invest before the buyer is upside-down. And what an elegant result!