When I think of woodies I instantly think of wagons, but there were a few non-wagon cars that combined wood and steel. This 1950 Chrysler Newport Town & Country is one of the best examples of a woodie that isn’t a wagon; it also happens to be one of only a few ever built. It has been hiding in Birmingham, Alabama for a number of years. If you’ve been looking for something special, this might just be the find for you! Have a look at it here on eBay.
When I think of Chrysler, the first thing that comes to mind certainly isn’t innovation, but at one time, the brand was ahead of the curve when it came to new technology and design. They introduced the first steel roofed woodie wagon, the first pillarless hardtop coupe, and the first production car with disc brakes at all four wheels. This might be the only coupe to have all three features at once, making it quite an interesting machine! I’m particularly fascinated by the disc brakes, which were designed by H.L. Lambert and function a little different than your modern disc brakes. Instead of a caliper that clamps down on the disc, the ones on this coupe utilize two discs per wheel that expand away from each other. When the driver pressed on the brake pedal, the twin discs spread apart and made contact with the inner surface of the brake housing to create friction. While they worked great, they were complicated and expensive to build, which explains why the system never went mainstream.
The T&Cs were Chrysler’s top of the line models and were quite nice inside and out. This coupe looks simple on the side, but when it was new this would have been a luxurious interior. It looks to be in good shape, although the steering wheel has cracks and a few missing pieces. The seller claims it has only seen 19k miles, which could explain the condition of the interior. Finding parts for this one could be tough, so hopefully everything is still here. I would want to inspect it closely for missing pieces and possible rust issues.
It appears that this car has been stored in a carport with a cover on it, which has helped protect it a little. It’s too bad that the seller wasn’t able to provide it and the car next to it a more protective environment, but at least they offered them some protection. Speaking of the car next to it, it appears to be a woodie convertible! I’d love to see more photos of it and hopefully it will be offered for sale in the near future! I love the looks of this coupe and I’d love to have it, but what about you?
I love it! This would be an expensive restore but the value on these is high.
Depending on the condition of course, the starting bid price sounds too steep to me.
how is that an expensive restoration?
Once again I learn something new. I thought all Town&Country’s were ragtops.
I think there was also a one-off 48 or 49 T&C pillared coupe that was built for a Chrysler exec (IIRC; from a Collectible Auto someone hasn’t returned to me yet). It was recreated by a couple who also had a hardtop.
Too bad they did not have a V8
This has been featured somewhere before. It pops up on EBay from time to time. Not a good year or model for Town and Country
For 1950, there were 700 T & C 2dr HTPs made, 599 Royal T & C wagons and 1 New Yorker T & C wagon.
For 1949, there were 993 T & C convertibles.
For ’46 thru ’48, there were 7 T & C HTPs, 8368 T & C convertibles and 3994 T & C 4doors.
i too wonder why both cars are not inside a building. if they are worth the kind of money the seller wants he needs to do a better job of protecting them. i also wonder why they are not for sale at a high line auction. great finds
This car looks too good to have been stored in Birmingham humidity for all those years, even under a cover.
I never knew that Chrysler made a Newport T&C. I thought that the T&C’s were all based on the New Yorker.
I wonder if production on ’49 and up models was down? I seem to see more ’48 and older T&C cars then the newer ones. Nice car and a worthwhile project, a good one to see on the road again.
That Town and Country next to it was offerred for sale and has a new home in Connecticut.
These were offered to me as a package, but I could only accomodate the ’49 T & C.
The seller is a sincere person, a nice guy. He has apparently owned these for quite a while, but financial conditions and guilt about lack of proper storage etc. are forcing the sale. The top of the hood got hit by a falling tree, the advice was to leave it and let the new owner handle it.
“Drives like a new car. Hasn’t been started in 7 years.” ??????????????????????????
I guess he drives it while it’s being towed by something else.
Maybe he meant the last time it was driven?
The 46-48 T&C convertibles were the most popular of all of the Town and Country cars.
Only if you equate popularity with the number of cars the factory decided to build. Just because an automaker decides to build them and in the end, lowers the price enough to sell them, as they all do, does not necessarily mean they were popular with their owners. A lot of those cars were very disliked because after a short while the wood creaked (they were convertibles with little body stiffness and a long wheelbase) and the tops leaked. And because they were converts and therefore mostly southern sold, the wood finish went bad quickly I the southern sun. Well sold? Yes. Most popular? Not by a long shot.
That thing is beautiful—something I never thought I would say about a ’50 Chrysler!
The T&C cars of the 40’s were fair weather cars for the wealthy. Average people could not afford them, and anyone who could afford one should have been able to afford a garage to keep it in, and another car to drive when the weather was foul.
I have only seen wood on estates/wagons, never on a car like this. Weird. Not sure whether i like it though however it would certainly be an unusual car to own.
A 1948 four door and a 1950 like the barn find car.
Note to self. Don’t try to load two pics on one reply.
Here is the 1950 model like the one for sale.
Those cars were almost a piece of artwork on wheels.