In 1966, the Chrysler Windsor was the Canadian-built equivalent of the Newport model in the US. Unsurprisingly, Windsors were built in the Windsor, Ontario plant. Unlike today where vehicles are assembled from components manufactured all over the world, these cars were substantially “Made in Canada” from Canadian-made parts. The ink was still fresh on the Canada-US auto pact, which would soon change that arrangement, and 1966 was the last year for the Windsor model name.
Canadian magazine ad featuring the Windsor 2-door hardtop.
According to the original owner, my Windsor 2-door hardtop was a factory-ordered car, but the deal fell through, and so it wound up on the dealer’s lot. The colour was Saddle Bronze metallic, with matching interior. The drivetrain consisted of the base engine, a big block 383 2-barrel with 9.2:1 compression, rated at 270hp. This was mated to the venerable Torqueflite 727 3-speed automatic, and 2.76:1 “economy” gearing in the differential. Inside was the standard column shifter and bench seats. Options included power steering and brakes, AM radio, clock, rear window defogger, fender-mounted turn signal indicators and an accessory light package.
The original purchaser was a gentleman from Georgetown, Ontario, but it was primarily his wife’s car. She only drove the car around town, so every week or two he would grab the keys and take the Chrysler out on the highway to “stretch its legs.” It was “restored” (to a not particularly high standard) and repainted in the mid-80’s, shortly before it was sold in 1988.
My Windsor and my brother’s New Yorker
The car changed hands a few times, finally being acquired by another older gentleman whose family bought it for him as a surprise. They mistakenly believed it was the same car he had owned in his youth. At that time, the front frame rails were getting rough, a common problem with fullsize Mopars of this vintage. He welded sheetmetal patches over the holes and called it good. In 1999, he gave the car to his grandson.
Picture from the 1999 Auto Trader ad for my Windsor.
The grandson drove it just long enough to get it covered in winter road salt. He liked to drive around in second gear to hear the engine wind-out. It had also developed some mechanical problems. Between the broken distributor vacuum advance, choke that was stuck part-way on, and the burned exhaust valves, the kid’s fuel bill must have been horrendous. There were also maladies in the suspension and brakes. I don’t even know how he actually drove the car with all these problems.
Just bought my car (Feb, 2000)
However, before this individual could ultimately destroy the car, fate intervened in the form of a minor carburetor fire. It was just bad enough that the venturis partly melted. The engine would still run, but not very well. He took it to a shady used car dealer in Toronto and traded it on a Dodge Colt. The dealer didn’t even wash off the road salt before taking the picture which ran in Auto Trader. The asking price was $3000.
Two Windsors: My brother briefly got our Dad’s Chrysler roadworthy (2003 pic)
In December, 1999 I spotted the ad in Auto Trader. My dad’s 1966 Chrysler Windsor sedan project car sat languishing in his garage, virtually untouched since 1991. A more in-depth look at my dad’s Chrysler is a story for another day but at the time, it was obvious that it was going nowhere. I reasoned that he should buy another Chrysler with a better body and transplant the drivetrain from his car, which was still mechanically excellent, into it. He humored me as far as driving to Toronto to check the two-door out. The dealer never did wash the road salt off it, nor did he move any cars out of the way so we could actually test drive it. He started the engine briefly, but it was only running on 7 cylinders and filling their shop with acrid exhaust smoke. I told him this was no $3000 car. He asked me what I thought it was worth and I replied $1500. We left, and that was that.
Mom’s summer car: 1992 Buick Roadmaster
I had recently graduated from school and had started my fulltime Engineering career. My dad wanted me to buy my mom’s summer car, a 1992 Buick Roadmaster. I had encouraged my parents to buy it in the first place and still liked the Roadmaster, but it was just a stand-in for what I really wanted: a 1966 Chrysler. After coming to that realization, I called the dealer back and started haggling to buy the Windsor for myself. He strung me along for a long time, hoping to find a bigger sucker no doubt, but ultimately I got the car for $1600(+tax) certified and “legally” ready to drive. This was in February of 2000, just before my 25th birthday. After handing over the money, the dealer admitted I was the only person that had been seriously interested in the car. Several others had come to see it, assuming it would be about the size of a Coronet, and were immediately turned off when they saw how BIG it was.
Installing cylinder heads (July 30, 2000)
My Dad was very supportive, which was great because I quickly started to think I had made a poor decision. We diagnosed and tended to the immediate mechanical problems. Aside from the burned exhaust valves, which we would tend to the following summer, my Chrysler was “mechanically” ready to drive! It was still winter, but there was a long dry spell and the roads were clear of snow and road salt, so I had an opportunity to drive the car for a bit before parking it until spring.
Visiting a friend’s farm (Summer, 2000)
Shortly after buying my Windsor, my dad gave me some useful advice: Don’t tear into the car and disassemble everything, or you’ll get overwhelmed and discouraged, and the car will likely wind-up a basket case. Fix one thing at a time and return the car to a drivable state as soon as possible (my own family history is replete with examples of what can happen otherwise). This advice has served me very well over the years, though sometimes it has meant spending more money in order to reduce downtime.
Stopped at the Swigart Museum on the way home from Carlisle. (2007 photo)
Initially my Windsor was my summer daily driver. I would park it occasionally to work on something, but it was always back on its wheels in short order. Until 2006, I didn’t have a garage to work in. I paid for indoor winter storage, but the car wasn’t accessible to work on when in storage. I took it to lots of car shows and cruise nights as well. The furthest I’ve driven it was to Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the annual All Chrysler Nationals car show and swap meet.
Interior (2013 photo)
One of the first things I did to personalize my car was swapping in a set of factory-correct bucket seats and a floor-shift console from a Chrysler that was being parted out. I had the seats reupholstered to match my saddle bronze interior, and installed everything myself in the summer of 2001.
1973 Chrysler New Yorker parts car (2001 photo)
My next big modification was front disc brakes in 2003. To that end, I bought a 1973 New Yorker Brougham parts car. Disc brakes specifically from a 1973 C-body Mopar are the preferred upgrade for older C-bodies. They are almost a bolt-in upgrade, and are much easier and cheaper to maintain than the Budd discs which were optional in 1966. I also acquired the correct wheel covers which would have been fitted to a 1966 Chrysler with disc brakes.
Ye olde 383. Canadian-built big blocks were painted red, not turquoise.
I made some mild performance modifications to the engine, but the original 383 was getting pretty tired. When we had had the cylinder heads off, my dad honed the cylinder walls and found they were pretty badly worn. By 2003, they had finally gotten to the point that there was considerable blow-by and the exhaust puffed a hint of blue oil smoke.
The beast on the dyno (2004 photo)
Not content with a stock rebuild, I decided that a performance engine was called for. I opted to buy another block and only swap engines once completed. I read everything I could get my hands on relating to building high performance engines, and had a good idea what I was getting into. I acquired most of the parts I would need from the classifieds, swap meets and online.
Installing the new engine (2004 photo)
I had never built an engine before though, and still had no garage to work in, so I ultimately contracted a reputable performance shop to do the machining work, assemble the engine and break it in on their dyno. Then my brother and I performed the engine swap in my driveway in the summer of 2004. We bolted it up to the stock original 727 transmission.
One mile to go! (August 20, 2005)
The odometer rolled over 100,000 miles back to zero in August, 2005. The day was particularly memorable, as I was on my way home from the New Hamburg Moparfest, the largest all-Mopar car show in Canada.
In 2006, my wife and I bought a house in the country, finally giving me a garage to work in! I keep one of my Chryslers in the garage at home over the winter to work on. I store the other one elsewhere in the winter, but always have the second bay cleaned-up in the spring to make room for it to come home. Some winter projects on my Windsor have included swapping the cast iron exhaust manifolds for a set of headers, replacing the 2.76 rear gears for 3.23’s with a Dana Suregrip, and modifying the transmission with a shift kit and part-throttle kickdown module.
The original front subframe: A bad case of tinworm.
Mechanically the car was just about where I wanted it, but with so much power on tap, I was getting worried about my crudely patched front subframe. The old bodywork repairs were starting to look shabby as well. When I discovered that one of the body mounts had rotted out, I decided that the time had come to replace the subframe and restore the bodywork. This would be a huge undertaking, for which I had been planning and collecting parts for years.
1966 Chrysler Newport parts car, front subframe unbolted.
The front subframe of a C-body Mopar is removable; it bolts to the unibody structure. I had acquired a couple of 1966 Newport sedan parts cars with excellent subframes. Both cars had originally come up from the US, and were in very good condition, aside from a tree having fallen on one of them.
Preparing front subframe
My project for the winter of 2010 was to refurbish one of my good front subframes. After disassembling the front suspension, I took it to be chemically stripped at a shop that specializes in such work, and had it powder coated. Then I reassembled it with brand new heavy-duty everything. I temporarily added some drum brake assemblies so I could bolt-on a couple wheels to move it around.
I had gone about as far as I could without tearing into the car itself. I was apprehensive because this would be a multi-year restoration, and my car would be immobile for much of that time. I reflected on the absurdity the entire endeavor; it would be cheaper to buy another Chrysler instead and use mine for parts, much as I had tried to convince my dad to do back in 1999. For a variety of reasons, I resolved to stay the course and restore my Windsor. I began the next phase in October, 2011.
To be continued… eventually.
 
A great story and a great long-term project. When first skimming through the pictures, I wondered – a Windsor with discs and bucket seats? I’m not sure I have ever seen an American Newport equipped that way, Chrysler buyers were pretty conservative folks back then. Then I read the story and saw that you had done some add-ons.
It is nice to read a story about someone who doesn’t view an old car through the cold lens of dollars and cents, but who will put money into an old car that is loved like an old friend. Here’s hoping you get your Windsor back on the road soon.
There have always been differences of equipment between US and Canadian versions. I always wonder why you never saw a New Yorker in Canada without power windows. The same goes for Buick Electra, Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight or Cadillac deVilles. Perhaps the manufacturers or dealers just assumed they would be preferred options and didn’t import them without. I still think it strange seeing one of these with roll up manual windows always assuming the electrics were standard equipment..
Makes sense that, for the senior models not built in Canada and subject to the tariffs (pre-auto pact), if you’ve gotta pay extra, you might as well get a fully equipped deluxe model.
BTW, my Grandmother had a ’69 Chrysler New Yorker (in Missouri); ordered it with the TNT 440, but . . . . crank windows. She didn’t have power windows on any car until her very last; an ’86 Mercury Grand Marquis and that’s only because they didn’t come without them.
BOC, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Putting so much time and effort into keeping a car on the road, especially one that wasn’t pristine when acquired, is a terrific – if expensive – thing to do. I applaud you for doing so much of the work yourself; I didn’t on the Galaxie due to lack of talent and patience.
The fact your car is a Windsor, when so many automatically think this is a Newport, has got to be a lot of fun at the shows you’ve attended in the U.S. This also adds an element of distinction.
A lot of Canadians don’t know that there was ever a Chrysler Windsor model either, including my former insurance company. They said they had no listing for a Chrysler Windsor. I asked them if they had a listing for “Newport”? They did, so that’s what it was written up as.
Can Big Old Chrylers contact me ……. Ron Barrie Ont , 705 728 2376
Hi Ron, I didn’t see this until now, but we have already spoken by email. 🙂 Good luck with your restoration!
I really feel a pang of jealousy when I read about hands-on restos. Thanks for this story BOC. Superb car, superb colour. Can’t wait for the rest of the story, I’ve had my sob and now I want a happy ending. Don’t keep us in suspense for too long. Cheers.
I hope the story has a happy ending too! 🙂
Pretty freaking cool. Nice car and nice story.
I love this story. And I’m glad you stuck with your Windsor and treated her right.
+1 on that. Great to see there’s still people out there who aren’t afraid to get dirty, and who are willing and able to stick with their car for the long haul.
Excellent documentary on your long term project thus far. Kudos to you for your staying power in restoring the old girl. When your last chapter is penned, I do hope you will indulge us all with a final tab for all your efforts. This is not meant to be impolite, but…………..
too many “resto” articles written over the years fall short, and always seem to conveniently leave out the deep pockets required to restore vehicles to their former glory and leave readers with new found energy and enthusiasm that they too could pull off such a feat. Which of course is part of the selling feature for said article. Oh, but that might dampen their enthusiasm and take the wind out of their sails.
When in reality, probably 90% of the readership will never be able to accomplish same, either with patience and/or funds required.
That said, this is not to take the glow off your project, but to highlight one of the huge short comings of some “resto” write ups. Just a pet peeve of mine.
I’m not going to state a grand total, unless you’re buying the beer. 🙂 It’s not surprising that turn-key restos done by a shop come in at $100k plus though. I realized at the onset that I was going to have to learn to do a lot of things myself if I was going to afford this hobby. As with many things, you can save a lot of money if you don’t have to pay for someone else’s labor.
For example, I restored my grille from the best pieces of 3 grilles, one of which I had shipped up from AZ. I spent about 40 hours polishing, masking, painting and assembling the finished grille. At shop rates, this would be a $4000 grille!
Rechroming costs have gone up a lot. The two remaining local chromers quoted $800 to $1000 per bumper to rechrome. It was cheaper for me to take the bumpers down to a shop in NY. Decent bodywork and paint is expensive too, partly due to material costs and partly labor costs.
Chroming, bodywork and paint are things that the hobbyist can’t usually do, at least not well. Totally different set of tools and skills than for mechanical work. That’s where the popularity of “rat rods” first came in. Hobbyists focusing on what they CAN do themselves, and ignore the stuff they can’t do to keep the project costs down. A friend of mine was a rat rodder before rat rods were cool. He’s done some really neat stuff on a shoestring budget.
Much enjoyed reading the tales of your ’66 Chrysler Windsor. Great write-up and photos. The picture of the 1973 Chrysler New Yorker parts car looks like a dead beached whale! But yeah, I have always loved the styling of mid to late 60’s Chyslers. I think your dashboard is one of the best ever. Look forward to seeing updates from you on your build/restoration. Keep up the good work.
Don’t forget that on this vintage of Chrysler, you can run the accessories without the car keys. Turn on the flashers, move the turn signal either right or left, and step on the brake pedal. Now the radio and wipers will work, although intermittently. The famous Chrysler sneak circuit.
Great story! I admire your tenacity.
@BOC I absolutely LOVE your car! Mopars were all my family had, by the time I started driving, and is the brand that I am most familiar with. My current flock consists of: 1966 Sport Fury, 1969 Dodge A-100 Sportsman Van, 1970 Dodge Charger 500,1973 340 Challenger, 1974 Dodge Challenger. I know that they are getting hard to find (outside of specialty tire shops) but these big luxo cars look best (IMHO) with whitewall tires. Kudos to you for following your heart!!(I’ve been there!) 🙂
I agree about the whitewalls, but the car is currently wearing 235/70 tires up front and 245/60 tires in the back, which don’t come in whitewall AFAIK. They are actually white letter tires, but I think that white letter tires don’t look good on Chryslers, so I had them turned in.
Great start to the story! I particularly like the local photos too 🙂
And very good advice on tearing the whole car apart, I am living proof that it doesn’t work, there could be a good CC article there too.
Better weather coming soon
I only included one picture of a recognizable landmark though.
Are we due for a CC on your Bug project soon? 🙂
Well, photo anyway. I grew up on Stoney Creek Mountain and used to ride my bike past the Starlite on the way to Devils Punchbowl. Sad to say I’ve only seen one or two movies there.
Thought the photos with water might have been Crooks Hollow.
No VW CC yet, it’s still packed away in the garage. This year for sure.
I do remember the “sneak circuit” on my buddys 66 Coronet. Brake lights were always an issue with the Coronet. I wonder if it was related.?
Anyway great story. Being born and raised in Southern Ontario, I know the tin worm, only too well..I agree that we do have our own unique vehicles here in Canada,. My particular passion is Canadian Pontiacs {Chevyac}.
Maybe some day????
I can’t wait for part two.
Hey Mikey! Perhaps you can give me your perspective on this; I understand throughout the 60’s in the pre-pact years, Pontiac dealers up North would carry the U.S. models. I know I’ve seen Canadian Pontiac ads that list the complete lineup of both series; the Canadian 7000s and the U.S. cars. Were the U.S. models mainly special order or, like a Grand Prix or Bonneville, did they serve as ‘halo’ cars that attracted people in, but drove out in a Laurentian or Parisienne?
I know in the case of Chryslers, there were Canadian built Chrysler 300’s which were basically Windsors with a 300 front clip. They still had the Windsor roof and taillights, and there was also a 300 4-door sedan which wasn’t available in the US. In 1966 the US-built 300s were called the “300 Sport” in Canada and available for additional cost.
From the 2013 interior photo. Are you planning to make the exterior color red?
You got me. I was hesitant to include that one because it foretells the next installment, but it’s the best interior picture I have.
I got tired of everyone calling it my “brown car”, and since the whole thing is being repainted anyhow, I figured I’d change the colour to something I like better.
It’s a metallic maroon, but sometimes shows up really bright on camera. The actual colour is an 80’s Cadillac colour called “Autumn Maple Firemist”.
Beautiful story, and you’ve got us all hooked with that “to be continued…” cliffhanger.
I love the ad that you included. “The Easiest-to-own Chrysler?” That’s a much different tone than the ads down here in the States. I believe the contemporary U.S. ads were along the lines of “Longer, Lower, Wider! Better Than A Trophy Wife!”
In conclusion, I’ll confess that I’m quite shocked by that garish red engine block, and I don’t want to hear any excuses.
Actually, Mike (Actually Mike), I’ve seen ’65 Chrysler Newport print ads that would say the same thing “easiest to own Chrysler” as well as a 1963 television commercial telling prospects that “Newport is the easiest way to move up to Chrysler.”
Yeah, you’re right. I just found an old brochure that uses almost the same slogan to describe the ’67 Newport. Now about that red engine block…
Sorry Mike, that is the correct colour. At that time, big blocks assembled at the Windsor engine plant were painted red, not turquoise. Also, the power steering pump and pulleys should be red, not black as in US cars. It’s a Canadian thing. 😉
Great read and car,I love the C pillar on these for such a big car they are very graceful and elegant
What a great story and fantastic story. I do love the Canadian specific models.
Good on you for being to stick with one car and care for its needs. I’ve gone through quite a few vehicles but I think I’m finally ready to fully sort my current one
When I saw the engine on the dyno, my first thought was why have it breathe through those old manifolds? You were obviously thinking the same thing. I love the modifications. The buckets look great and I’m sure you’re glad you put the disc’s on everytime some fool stops short in front. Please keep us posted. Anything with two doors of a certain vintage should be saved by someone.
Those are “HP manifolds” that came on 1967-69 high performance big blocks (Chrysler TNT, Plymouth Commando, Dodge Magnum). These are considered halfway between regular log manifolds and true headers in terms of flow.
I would have stuck with them, except they didn’t play well with the angled spark plugs on my aftermarket heads. I was constantly burning boots on #7.
Hey, wow, a “real” restoration on a “real” car! The bucket seat console changeout probably transformed the driving dynamics of that Windsor and it looks great too. I like the approach being taken and cannot wait to see Part II.
So many restorations involve the owner sending the car to XXX shop to do the body, sending the engine to XXX machine shop to be rebuilt, etc. Reading an owner’s posts about how “he” restored his car on some of the forums is a bit boring when all the guy did is pick out colors, buy Chinese repop parts and pay others to actually do the work.
It pains me to send anything out not only because of the cost — there’s just something about knowing “I did it all myself” that’s so self-satisfying. “Learning by doing” is fun for me even when things get broken & ruined. Working on & fixing up these beautiful old machines is as fulfilling to me as driving them around.
This is great stuff BOC, thank you.
I love the car and the story, and I have the highest respect for your abilities, especially your willingness to always learn more. I hope someday to point my barge west and meet you in person. Can’t wait to see what becomes of that winsome Windsor!
So many great photos in this article! The first one in particular needs to be in the next “CC Calendar”, just incredible!
Thanks for an entertaining read about a real and very worthwhile labor of love. I could admire that gauge cluster all day!
” Don’t tear into the car and disassemble everything, or you’ll get overwhelmed and discouraged, and the car will likely wind-up a basket case. Fix one thing at a time and return the car to a drivable state as soon as possible.”
This is the same advice I always give on the IH forums, particularly to those with their first project vehicle. Usually it means the vehicle will give the owner much more enjoyment and actually get to a better state quicker because actually driving it keeps the enthusiasm high.
Looking forward to the rest of the story.
As the owner of an old car, let me say +1 to that advice.
Doubly so for the Cornbinders, since finding parts can be tricky at best and impossible at worst.
You just have to know where to look. The only one I’ve ever had a problem with finding parts for were brake parts for my 1510 but that wasn’t that bad as NAPA had wheel cyls and a Brake house in Portland had the master cyl and had it to me the next day. The majority of common parts are available at NAPA. For the oddball stuff it is just a matter of calling one of the Light Line dealers who have access to a number of reproduction and NOS parts and many have a large stash of used parts as well.
Having rebuilt several cars from bumper to bumper I really enjoyed your story it is a major undertaking if you do it yourself but the finished product is very worthwhile no matter what it is.
Great looking car, great story, sound great advice.
and a great line as well ” …..were in very good condition, aside from a tree having fallen on one of them”
Tree fell across the back and roof. The guy I bought it from jacked the roof back up so he could drive it.
Towing it home.
Nice car!
Nice story. It is always nice to read about somebody saving a old car and restoring it to its glory. Oddly enough, I would have probably taken the Buick Roadmaster and kept going with that(but I like the Roadmaster a lot)
I cannot wait for Part 2
Im a Mopar guy (69 Charger, 71 Road Runner, 71 Satellite, new Challenger) and I didn’t know about the Windsor.
Great story, great write-up and a great car!
Great story and great car! Ive heard of the Windsor but never really knew it was a Canuck thing. Keep that beast rolling, man. 2-door hardtops are in short supply, they just aren’t making them anymore, and really NO Mopars are a dime a dozen in the first place.
Great article from me also. I can relate to the keep it on the road mantra, my car went off the road for a few minor things, life intervened and 8+ years later I nearly had it back prior to Christmas only for a cooling system drama to raise its head, I just got the new water pump the other week. Not long now, the aim is to have it ready for Easter.
“I reflected on the absurdity the entire endeavor; it would be cheaper to buy another Chrysler instead and use mine for parts,”
This may be true in the short term, until the ‘new’ car ends up having its own needs a few years down the track even if it has already been ‘restored’. Better the devil you know.
Love your ’66 Chrysler. Gold paint was a trend hasn’t aged well on some cars from this era, but it really looks great on this design. Wondering what kind of mileage you were able to get with the 2.76:1 rear end. My father had a ’66 300 in a similar color during the gas crisis in the ’70s, and though it was obviously the prettiest car he’ll ever own, he swears it was also the thirstiest.
My dad also has a ’66 Windsor with the 383 2-bbl. and 2.76 gears. The best he ever got was 25 MPG(Imperial), all highway miles. My conversion calculator says that would be 20.8 MPG(US). I’ve never got that high with my car, a combination of today’s gasoline formulation and me not being able to go easy on the gas pedal for an entire tankful.
Back when I had my 68 Newport (2 bbl 383) around 16, maybe 17 mpg was the best I could ever get on the road, and around 11 around town. Admittedly, it needed a little attention paid to the carb, but I don’t think these ever got much better. I remember my car-mentor Howard bragging once that he got 16 out of his 72 Newport (400 V8) on the highway. It seemed pretty impressive for back then.
Great car and write up! Best of luck with your current project!
I’ve got to echo the “great old car” and “great write-up.” Really appreciate seeing all the photos. I especially like the interior now with the buckets and console.
Great story. I like the gold, but you can’t go wrong with a dark red C-body 😉
From ’65-’68, there were a couple good Chevy Impalas, and Pontiac had some stellar cars, too. But aside from those, no one did full-size like Elwood Engel and the concave sheet metal 2-door Chryslers.
For that reason, it’s tough to disparage anyone going to the expensive of restoring one. Not exactly going for the big money at auctions now, but, someday, it might actually have been worth the trouble.
Really needs those whitewalls, though.
I actually grew up about twenty five miles from the Swigart Museum. I kick myself for having never gone in. Now, I live in Wisconsin, but it’s on the list for the next time I go home to PA.
Great tale. I own a 66 2 door hardtop as well. Mi t green white top and white bucket interior. 383 h.o. 323 posi, posidual stainless and power windoesIt has been a monster but I have pretty much done her up to ‘nice’ but not showroom condition. Now I have no proper and convenient storage and she has to go I want about 9 Gs for it. If you know anyone with a yen for one I’d appreciate hearing back.
Hello gentlemen , here’s my project . If you have body parts for sale , I ‘d like to be your new friend … lol
Careless lady hit me and her insurance wants to screw me. They value it at $2300 I’m very upset
But very cool story. I was headed for same direction, and the car was going to be a surprise for my kid when he turned 18.
Ouch! That’s painful to look at! Hope things work out with your insurance. If you keep the car and are going to fix it or part it out, let me know either way.
Still fighting with insurance, I had it appraised at $3600. Think I’m going to end up in court. I plan on keeping it and finish restoring it. I know the history of it since it was new and it means to much to me to do anything but restore it.
Hagerty has mine insured for 30,000
Great story ! Nice to see another 66 Windsor 2dr HT that is being loved and cared for. I have a Windsor 2dr HT that my dad ordered in 1966. It’s very special to me because he actually let me talk him into the hardtop instead of the four door sedan and let me pick the color ( black with a blue interior ) which was a big deal for a 16 year old kid. I’ve driven the car for 50 years now and it has just turned over 130,000 miles. The motor ( the base 383 2bbl ) has never been out of the car and still gets well over 20 mpg on the highway, but does need a litre of oil about every 1000 miles. It’s mechanically stock and still has the original paint and interior due to spending most of its life in a garage and only being winter driven for the first 7 years of its life. The car cost $5049 when new and I still have the bill of sale. I love it!!!
My original 1966 Chrysler Windsor
I have. 1966 Chryslerwindsor 2 dr for sale in Manitoba call me 2047547383. Hasn’t ran since 1998 I just squires it from a job I was doing.
My father had one of these Windsors. Purchased new and was a one time only experiment away from Oldsmobiles. It was junk. It was delivered and in the shop almost right away with a leak in a brake line. The rubber brake line passed through an inner fender or something without a grommet and of course wore through in no time. I remember the old mans boss being wild about it especially since the old man had a very heavy foot and 5 kids at home. Another time the spring came off the accelerator linkage and the default position was wide open throttle. My mother was driving at the time and had the presence of mind to shut the thing down rather than ride the brake. It was a pig on gas and was sent back to the dealer to do something about the gas consumption. What the stealer did was change the speedometer gear to make it seem like the gas mileage was better but it didn’t take to long to figure out what the fix was. While in the shop for the gas consumption issue the 63 Olds that was traded for the no good Chrysler was the loaner. The old man felt the 63 with 150,000 miles on it was in much better shape than the 66 with 50k miles. By December of 67 there was a 68 Delta 88 with a 455 in the driveway. Much better car than the Chrysler.
Hi I have a 1966 Chrysler Windsor for sale in Winnipeg, Manitoba
my husband had it running last year but it needed a frame so he bought a second one.
He has passed away and sadly his dream to restore his parents (original owners) car went with him as he knew how to fix anything.
I will be putting it up for sale on Kijiji soon once I get more details on it and get the photos done.
Its a red, two-door and just such a nice retro feel to it.
Our email is kingcon@mts.net if anyone is seriously interested
July 24, 2021