I see many former Curbside Classics still chugging away years later. But this is a sentimental favorite of mine, as it was one of the first I shot almost three years ago . It was in Eugene that day (CC here), but given its unusual rust, I knew it had to be a “beach car”. Sure enough, there it was yesterday, sitting at the curb in Florence.
In that article, I said that “It wouldn’t surprise me if they (the car and its equally grizzled driver) both outlive the New, New Chrysler” Well, I don’t know about that, but at least for now, they’re still in the running.
Is that a fresh puddle under the radiator? nothing a can of Bar’s Leaks wont fix.
Solid old cars, those ’60’s Chryslers. I’ll add a shot of a slightly better-looking ’65, my old 300L as it sits in LeMay’s museum.
Here’s a rear view. 88 sticker…that would be the year I sold it to Harold.
I’m keenly looking forward visiting the new museum in Tacoma in June!
http://www.lemaymuseum.org/page.php?id=64
What a great car. I remember your original CC on this one, and was happy to see it still on the road then. It is great to see the old car still in service. Cars like this were what made me a Mopar guy. There were a lot of bad ones, but if you got a good one, it would withstand more abuse than about anything else and still keep slugging away.
The 68 Newport sedan that I drove in the 90s was one of my favorite cars ever. I really, really want another one.
There were a lot of bad ones? I’ve often heard that in the mid-60s the quality at Chrysler was good. Then it got bad again with the fuselage models starting in 69.
A number of times I’ve gone to the store and come back out to find some old guy hovering around my car. The story is always the same: When they were younger they owned a 65-68 Chrysler and it was the best car they ever owned.
If you want another 68, they’re not too hard to find. Do you specifically want another sedan?
I was over-generalizing and thinking of the whole torsion bar era. I agree that the 65-68 C body may have been the best of the whole bunch from an initial quality standpoint. Both my 66 Fury III and my 68 Newport were excellent cars.
If I got another 68, I think I would like one of the 2 doors (maybe even a convertible). But for now, too many other irons in the fire (and kids in or near college). I have been tempted by a couple around here, but have stayed strong so far.
I forget where you live. There’s a rare ’68 “sportsgrain” convertible for sale in Chicago right now for $6500. Sounds like a good driver, and has had recent mechanical repairs done. Seller says it needs some bodywork for a proper restoration.
Chrysler’s full-size cars had pretty good assembly quality in 1965, and the mechanicals were first rate. The corporation got lax with assembly quality in 1966, but the mechanicals were still quite good.
It’s interesting to read the old Popular Mechanics Owners Reports from the 1960s. Chrysler build quality was terrible in the early 1960s, but greatly improved from 1962-65. In some cases, Mopars from those yeas received better ratings from owners (meaning, fewer complaints) regarding workmanship than comparable GM cars. Things started to slide again in 1966, with more cars showing sloppy workmanship. The fuselage-bodied 1969 cars were plagued with both poor build quality and lots of mechanical issues.
I remember the CC good to see its still alive.
I toast the car, the owner, Elwood Engel, Walter Chrysler, KT Keller, whoever made the TorqueFlite a reality…
I’ll join in that toast. 🙂
Some of the best cars Chrysler ever made (in my biased opinion). It’s good to know some are still serving duty as daily drivers over 40 years later. When I saw the truncated title in my RSS feed the last part was cut off. I was afraid it was going to say that the car was put out to pasture or something.
You ought not ever shoots cars, even old ones, unless they have a broken leg.
I used to have a neighbor in my apartment in San Francisco that had one of these. In similar dilapidated state too. He always revved the heck out the engine when warming it up. Maybe so that it warms up faster. Don’t know what extra wear and tear that’ll do to the already tired engine, but then again, the engine’s already tired so…
1965 Chrysler 300L – $2500 (Not mine, just got curious.)
http://portland.craigslist.org/yam/cto/2738860941.html
These are glorious cars.
In the California Inland Empire ( Ontario ) section of Craigslist, some import-export company is selling a ’66 Newport CONVERTIBLE in so-so shape for $2500. It needs work, but it’s complete, runs, and drives. Must… fight… temptation…
Found it.
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/ctd/2681193337.html
I would look that one over closely before buying, although may still be a good deal at that price. Sizeable dent in the drivers door. Interesting rust (?) on drivers rear fender. Factory convertible tops were not available in that tan color, so that one is a replacement, and looks kinda saggy. Doesn’t appear to have a rear window. (These came with a plastic window, not glass.)
Kinda suspicious about that 300L. Is it just me, or is that price too good to be true? I mean, getting the thing in running condition should multiply its value by a factor of four at least.
Or maybe I am wrong. $13,375 obo for a nice one here: http://www.trophymotorsonline.com/Inventory/VehicleDetails/tabid/1669/company/TROPHYMOTORS/vin/C453127708/Default.aspx
The 300L that you linked has been for sale for awhile. Overall looks nice and “near stock”. Factory AC, buckets and console are all desirable. The installed exhaust manifolds were not available til 1967. Valve covers are incorrect for 1965. Leads me to suspect this is not the original engine. Carb has been replaced with an Edelbrock AFB with electric choke. Ignition system has been replaced with Mopar electronic ignition kit. The silver insert panels on the dashboard and console I’m pretty sure are not the originals. It appears that the front anti-sway bar was installed upside-down, though I could be wrong about that.
Regarding prices: Asking prices for convertibles are considerably more (25% or higher) than comparable 2-door hardtops if they are in presentable driver condition or better. Before the recession, you could not find a 66 Newport convertible that that didn’t need obvious work to be a good weekend cruiser for under $10k. The recession caused prices to come down a lot.
There is a Fury with the same paint job in this clip… http://www.youtube.com/user/jjd241#p/u/36/c-VM8i_Y8KE
In 1976, my mother bought a ’66 green Newport two-door hardtop for the unbelieveable price of $250. It ran great and was a comfy cruiser. When mom got herself a ’72 Plymouth Satellite Sebring hardtop, the Newport went to me. It got me through college and the first year of a (brief) library career before problems started. The passenger side was broadsided by a car that went through a red light; the transmission leaked; the radiator overheated and the power windows failed (plus the air conditioning didn’t work). But it still ran, after frequent top-offs of the radiator and transmission. Sadly, I sold the big boat to a junkyard and bought a ’74 Dodge Monaco, which turned out to be a great car. Wish I still had both.
To JPC & BigOldChryslers:
Our family mechanic back in the ’60’s & ’70’s owned nothing but Cryslers and one of the coolest ones was that relatively rare 1966 six-window sedan – the one with the prophetic C-Pillar glass. At the time, I had never seen that treatment before and I couldn’t find another one anywhere near our neighborhood. His was white with red interior – always super sharp – immaculate, and the polar opposite of the “mechanic’s car”.
That neat roof line of the mid-60’s Chrysler coupes really peaked my interest whenever I saw one. A neighbor down the street had one – a Dodge, I think, and it always managed to garner long stares from me. That roof line, the Galaxies and the Impalas of 1965 & 1966 could not be beat!
Cool. Chrysler called the 6-window sedans “town sedans”. My brother has a 66 New Yorker town sedan, white with blue interior. Newport town sedans are rarer. Originally they were going to ONLY offer the town sedan, but the assembly cost was quite high, so they made the regular sedan as a lower cost version for the Newport line. I read a statistic that for every 6 regular Newport sedans made, they made 1 Newport town sedan. I guess it was a good decision.
One of my parts cars was a 66 Newport town. I removed the C-pillar windows, and I can tell you there are a lot of fiddly pieces of trim and window framing, some of which is installed from inside and some from outside. I found out the hard way that the C-pillar glass is installed from the inside. Seemed a shame to cut the car up because the body was rust-free and only needed one back door replaced, but I had no title and someone had already stripped the drivetrain and the whole interior from it.
The thing I noticed about those Town Sedans is how the quarter windows visually make the car appear longer.
I agree, Zackman, those “reversed” c-pillars always catch my eye. One each coupe and convertible from the first two years, a hardtop sedan and wagon from 67-68 oughta do it… 🙂
i never liked this generation of Elwood Engle Chryslers. They look way too much like the Mercury he designed a couple of years earlier at Ford. The build quality may have been worse, but the “fuselage” bodied cars looked much more modern. A friend had a Newport beater from this era and it was huge inside, almost like a limo in the back seat, and tough as a tank. It ended up as a demo-derby racer before going to the crusher.