(first posted 3/26/2018) Most of us have fond memories of the cars of our youth. Didn’t you just love the stuff that was in showrooms before you reached, say, the age of ten? I know I did. For many of us those cars were the ones we started driving when we got our driver’s licenses because they were usually the cheap, older cars we could afford. But how many of us get to go back and make one a daily driver in adulthood? Well I did. And I loved it.
I have been on a streak – every interesting old car I have come across and written about in recent months has been something built by General Motors. It is well known here that GM is not my automotive happy place but I consider it a part of my personal growth that I have found more than enough enthusiasm to share them here. I have even come to a sort of admiration for many of them. I still have a couple more in line, but you know that feeling when you have been underwater too long and need to come to the surface for air? Well, that is me right now. So consider this Chrysler CC a big, fat gasp of O2 for JPC.
The 1964 Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass accompanied by the author, his mother and little sister in the summer of 1965.
For as long as I can remember I have always loved the big C body Mopars of 1965-68. I was becoming a car nut in the first half of the 1960s and GM’s styling of 1963-64 set the template in my young brain for what a “modern” car looked like. Add in the fact that the first new car I can remember from Day 1 was a ’64 Olds Cutlass and that sleek but square shape became my thing.
So much so that when the ’65 big cars from GM first hit the streets I did not like their fluid new shape one little bit. Fortunately Ford and Chrysler were there to carry on where GM had left off, continuing to ape those early Bill Mitchell lines and proportions for another product cycle. I had no way of knowing then that Chrysler’s then-chairman Lynn Townsend had decreed that his company was out of the business of setting trends and would be following them instead. I now know that these cars were the perfect embodiment of that philosophy. Even if I had known it would not have mattered because these cars were what cars were supposed to look like.
A virtual twin to the Author’s 66 Fury III sedan, in color and in condition.
I grew up as we all do, finished school and got on with life. But where most of my peers continued down the path of ordinary new cars I made a U turn and went back to the same old well I had enjoyed so much in my teens. After two years I sold my purchased-new ’85 VW GTI and bought a 1966 Plymouth Fury III sedan. Not just any ’66 Plymouth, but one with an honest to goodness 20K miles on it. And why not – I was single so I didn’t have to get approval for my car purchases from anyone and could drive what I wanted to drive. And the car was very presentable, looking if not new at least like one would have looked after maybe two or three years of normal service. I got the best four years and forty thousand miles of service out of any car I had ever owned up to that time and was frankly sad when I decided that it was time to move on in 1991. The deciding factor came down to two words: air conditioning. As nice as my Plymouth was, the lack of air had become a problem.
Life got normal again with a Plymouth Colt, an ’86 Fox body Marquis wagon and an ’85 Crown Victoria as the older second car to back up the ’88 Accord that was our number one. But then two things happened. The Crown Vic got traded on a one year old ’94 Club Wagon, which became the new top dog in the driveway. And then the Accord got caught in a flash flood. It got a thorough dry-out courtesy of our insurance company, but I was afraid of the future problems from the car’s brief partial submersion. It was time, I decided, to get rid of it. An ad in the newspaper brought a flood (sorry) of calls and even after disclosing the water damage, I had no trouble selling the car. With some money in hand, I found myself in that strange and wonderful place of trying to decide what to buy next.
It was time, I decided, for something fun. An old car that I could drive daily and that would be fun to tinker with on weekends. Something practical of course (as practical as a 1960s car could be in the mid 1990s, anyhow), and something inexpensive enough that I would not feel bad about driving it regularly in our salty climate. And then I found it. The moment I saw it I knew, this was my car.
Author’s Son No. 2 getting the same view enjoyed in the Chrysler of the author’s Aunt Clara decades earlier.
I had once spent a few days around one of these on a family trip to Minnesota in the early ’70s. We went to visit my mother’s aunt and uncle who were (of course) dairy farmers. My mother’s Aunt Clara was a Chrysler girl. On this particular trip she was rocking a green ’68 Newport sedan. I remember getting assigned the center front seat when the family loaded up to go somewhere and loved that wide, expansive dash that looked so elegant. I also remember that Aunt Clara seemed to have a bit of a lead foot (though she denied it) and the way the big Chrysler always eagerly responded when she stepped on the gas.
When I had the ’66 Plymouth, I always suffered from a bit of a complex, a complex that most any owner of a big Dodge or Plymouth experienced. The car was nice and all, but it wasn’t a Chrysler. Everyone knew that a genuine Chrysler was the ultimate expression of the breed and the lesser versions were, well, lesser versions. This one that I had found had it all: Not only was it a full-on Chrysler, it was an air conditioned Chrysler. It started and ran great but had some serious flaws to address. But no matter, because . . . budget!
The odo read 14K. I knew that this was not a 14K car. But it also seemed way too nice for a 114K car. So we had a mystery here. The car had outlived two prior elderly owners. It was being sold out of the estate of the second, who had suffered a coronary while driving into a gas station and somehow put a big dent into the right rear door in the process. I mean a BIG dent. You or I might try a hundred times but we would never be able to manufacture a dent that large and deep and still confine it to a single panel and not affect the operation of the door or window one little bit. I decided that the dent was a small price to pay for an otherwise fabulous air conditioned Chrysler, and maybe I could find a good door somewhere down the road.
First, the front end needed attention. No probs, some new ball joints and tires would solve all of those problems. And as nice as the interior was, the foam in the driver’s seat had shredded so that the driver sat down on the springs. This was solved by a trip to the local upholstery shop for new foam under the original upholstery that was flawless, but for a single cigarette burn. With those two things addressed, I WAS BACK, BABY! This car was my actual, genuine, fountain of youth.
I replaced stuff like plugs wires belts and hoses on the 2 bbl 383 and commenced to enjoying my Chrysler (I still love saying “my Chrysler”). I was preparing to source some seat belts that were mysteriously missing when I pulled up the back seat cushion and found the entire set of belts neatly folded up under the seats. Yes, this was what old-timers did in the ’60s in small town Indiana. (“Damn seat belts do nothing but get tangled up and in the way!”) After about 45 minutes the belts were re-installed and I discovered that I could fasten three kiddie seats abreast in that expansive back seat. It did take a little rearranging of my garage to get the Chrysler’s expansive rear end all the way in, but I finally made it fit with two whole inches to spare. With the ’68 Chrysler and the Club Wagon in our late 1950s garage, Mrs. JPC refused to either drive either one into or out of the garage, such was the precision necessary. But I didn’t care.
Mine was even a Newport Custom, not an ordinary Newport like this blue one I found. The stainless trim around the windows made all the difference. And did you know that Chrysler added an extra inch of trim along the rockers of the Custom which brought it onto the lower doors? I may have been the first person who did not work in a body shop to ever notice this. I also knew that the front armrest and the higher quality upholstery was worth the modest upgrade to the Custom. And the seat was so much more comfortable than the one in my Fury. Yes, it was good to be a Chrysler man.
I loved the stiff, taut structure. I loved the acres of chrome plated diecastings that made up the dash. I loved the fender-tip turn signal lights and the crisp action of the Torqueflite’s shifter. I loved the sound made by the starter when the key was turned in the dashboard ignition switch. This car was everything I loved about Chrysler Corporation before there was a Fiat or a Daimler or any former Ford executives involved in it.
Was it perfect? No. I had wished mine was a four door hardtop as the roofline was so much more attractive. I will note here that I had toyed with using this car to continue my slo-mo series on four door hardtops. But the ’68 Newport part of the car swamped the four door hardtop part of the car, so . . . sorry, not sorry. I also wished that My Chrysler had been some other color combination.
Author’s sons No. 1 and 2 demonstrating the scale of the family Chrysler, probably early spring of 1996.
I didn’t mind the boring beige (OK, Sandalwood in Chrysler-speak) . . .
Not the author’s car but is the same fabric, color and approximate condition. Which would have looked so much better on a green car like this one.
. . . and I didn’t mind the two tone green interior. But together? Whose idea had that been? But there remained The Big One: that dent in the right rear door. My door was so rust free and fit so perfectly that I hated to mess with it. And the dent was way too deep for me to have gotten a decent result from trying to straighten it. Dirty Harry has been my inspiration in auto body repair: a man’s got to know his limitations. The finance committee at home had been quite generous about getting the car in great mechanical shape. However, I was never able to get funds approved for that door.
My Chrysler became a perfect second car. It took me anywhere I needed to go. A can of R-12 each spring provided a full season of air conditioned bliss, so much so that Mrs. JPC would sometimes take it on the hottest days because it cooled so much better than our R-134 Club Wagon ever had. It became the favorite car of my two young boys who relished the chance to go somewhere in something besides the MomVan. As for me, well I just felt at home. This was where I belonged. I had found my automotive home and I was a happy guy.
After about a year and a half two things happened which together sealed the Chrysler’s fate. First, My Chrysler developed a fuel tank leak. As I considered my options (with the car banished to the driveway out front) a friend called and offered to me his late mother’s 1984 Olds Ninety Eight coupe. The Olds was twelve years old and had 54K miles on it. Even more important than its excellent overall condition was the fact that it did not leak gas. About that same time, a former co-worker had asked if I knew any good “classic cars” for sale because his high school-aged son was looking for one. Well, they bought the Chrysler and I bought the Olds. A swap I immediately regretted when the Oldsmobile’s transmission required a rebuild. Actually, I regretted it even before that. Even a very nice Oldsmobile is not all that satisfying to a Chrysler Man.
The Chrysler almost came into my life a second time. My friend called after his youngest son (and Chrysler driver) had gone to college and the Chrysler was in his driveway. It was still in very good shape but needed a transmission rebuild. I thought very seriously about it and even called a transmission shop for a ballpark estimate on rebuilding the old Torqueflite. But I decided that cars, like relationships, are rarely better the second time. I passed but have had more-than-occasional pangs of regret ever since.
I am not sure I have had a car since that I carried such a deep and abiding love for than that big beige Chrysler sedan. Like my 1959 Plymouth Fury had done over fifteen years before, the Newport satisfied something deep within me like nothing else I have ever owned. And between the two the ’68 was a far better car. My Chrysler always made me think of Frank Sinatra, scotch on the rocks and other things like Aunt Clara’s homemade bread and my upper midwestern childhood. That car was my automotive home. I still wonder if I made the right decision when I refused to let it back into my life. They say that you can’t go home again. But I proved that you can sometimes at least visit.
Photographed March 16, 2014, Muncie, Indiana.
Superb shape and lovely reminisces. I don’t mind the wheels (are they called jellybeans over there?), but on prestige like this I’d prefer some radial finned tin.
That’s something that endemic with the American antique car hobby anymore: It seems no matter how original or properly restored an antique car is, there’s always the urge to install some form of aftermarket wheels, or optional factory wheels of the wrong year or brand to give a touch of the ‘crusin’ custom look.
When this started in the hobby, I don’t know, but I’ve always cited (blamed, dammit) the movie “American Graffiti” for it. Definitely, before 1973, in my early years of the hobby, there were two kinds of collectible antique cars on the road: antiques (like you’d see at an AACA show) and hot rods. And never the twain did meet. I remember hot rods occasionally showing up at the AACA shows I attended in the late 60’s/early 70’s and being told to take their piece of crap elsewhere.
Then the Friday night cruise-ins started, American Graffiti took over, and car shows and gatherings became a mixture of just about anything, including all sorts of new expressions of car culture in between the two original poles. Yeah, it’s more interesting and I can appreciate the owner’s efforts (resto-rods being the exception), but I’m still one of the restored-to-factory-original hard core. Which, incidentally, now includes restoring a ‘32 Ford to the creation that some teenager built it to back in 1965. As long as no modern parts are substituted.
Interesting to hear the history of the antique and hot rod crowds.
I’m also not a fan of aftermarket or wrong-year wheels on classics, but in this day and age I tend to look the other way, because it’s getting more and more difficult to find tires to fit the original wheels.
Specifically, a 1968 Chrysler would have come with a 28″ diameter bias ply tire on a 14″ wheel.
If you are perfectly restoring one and don’t really plan to drive it significantly, there are correct reproduction bias ply tires available. They will cost 2.5 times what a modern tire is, and wear out quicker, plus they handle like old bias ply tires.
The tallest sidewall you can get in a 14″ radial will be a couple of sizes smaller than original and the selection is down to 1 or 2 brands, especially if you want a white sidewall stripe. Also, the factory wheels are really a touch narrow for them.
So basically your options are compromise a little on the wheels and have a nice driver, or restore a perfect museum piece.
Personally, I’m going for a ride. ( As soon as spring actually arrives.) 🙂
I don’t know what they are called, I just call them slotted mags (from when lightweight aftermarket wheels were made of magnesium, so a long time ago).
Like Syke, I generally don’t like hip modern wheels on old cars. Unlike Syke, I don’t mind these. First this rusty old battle cruiser is never going to regain respectability. Second these were a common look when this was a 10-15 year old cheap used car. I think these Chryslers have enough menace in their appearance that they can pull off this look.
Those were called sprint slot mags back then and they are period correct. Back then you had the typical Cragar Super Sport mag, the much copied American Racing Torq-Thrust, and either the American Racing or Ansen sprint slot mag. I put the 14″ American Racing version on my Cougar in January 1970. The Ansen version went on my Cougar in 2010 because I needed to move to a 15″ wheel.
The new version while the 14″ sit stacked in the garage. Oh, and I did lose the spring shackles a few years later in 1974.
I’ve heard them referred to as Kidney Beans as well, I think every aftermarket wheel manufacturer had their own variant of these.
I love these wheels personally, and you never see them anymore. Even Day 2 restorations overlook these for boring Cragars or Torque thrusts. I have no problem with non factory parts when they’re period correct such as this. In fact I prefer it
That style of alloy aftermarket wheel was known as the Wolfrace in the UK and were common on cars like this TVR in the 70s
Interesting comment about always desiring a Chrysler. My Dad had Dodges and Plymouths, but always wanted a Chrysler. When he finally bought one, he felt that he had arrived.
I love those front and rear style indented in Fords and Chryslers of 60’s to 70’s.
Got a question about Chryslers, in particular 68 lebarons, how easy is it to obtain spares for these cars? from consumables to suspension parts etc. I have the chance to buy one, ( a sedan) even though its a Cadillac I want. Caddy’s seem much easier to me to get stuff for, maybe I’m not looking in the right places? I’m not in the USA so dont want to make a mistake in buying it only to discover parts are like hens teeth, car is mint and looks like a 3yr old car would, so tempting at the price its for sale at.
Thanks for any replies and soory for the hijack of thread ;-D
Generally with 1960’s american cars, mechanical parts (engine, trans, brakes, etc) are relatively easy to get since the manufacturers often used the same parts for many years on different models. The challenge would be with body parts, weatherstripping, etc. I imagine that the aftermarket for these Chryslers is pretty weak since there aren’t many left and no one is really restoring them. On the other hand a Cadillac is likely to have more aftermarket parts availability since no matter what the year there is at least some interest in restoring them.
I would search for an internet forum on 1960s chryslers and start reading and asking questions. That is where you will find the experts on sourcing parts. Those forums are also a good place to find the parts themselves.
Things like brakes, shocks, ball joints, bearings, engine parts etc are available at rockauto.com
http://www.imperialclub.com
http://www.cbodydrydock.com
A couple of resources you’ll need if you pull the trigger!
As the owner of a ’66 New Yorker, I can tell you that the commenters are correct… basic mechanicals are fairly easy, but body parts, etc. are hit and miss.
Wonderful cars whose appeal has only grown exponentially. As much as I love me some fuselage bodied Chryslers, those just don’t quite measure up to these.
The father of one of my daughter’s friends has a black ’68 base Newport. It had been that typical Chrysler green originally. Anyway, a while back he was showing it to me. Never have I seen such a tiny carburetor on an engine – particularly one so endowed with cubic inches. I’m used to looking at two-barrels on V8 engines (there’s one in the garage) but it was shocking to see the petite physical dimensions of that two-barrel perched on top of that 383.
Perhaps that was the plan – appeal to the fuel miserliness of some and up-sell a four-barrel or 440 to the others.
JP, having seen your garage that time, I was imagining trying to fit a ’68 Newport in there. Now you’ve got me imagining trying to stick a Ford van in next to it. You keep your cars waxed, so that likely helped.
With one being a van, I could skinny the drivers side up to the wall. We entered and exited the van aircraft-style with everyone climbing in through the side door. That left enough room for opening the door on the Chrysler. I think we reached max capacity with that pair.
Got a question about Chryslers, in particular 68 lebarons, how easy is it to obtain spares for these cars? from consumables to suspension parts etc. I have the chance to buy one, ( a sedan) even though its a Cadillac I want. Caddy’s seem much easier to me to get stuff for, maybe I’m not looking in the right places? I’m not in the USA so dont want to make a mistake in buying it only to discover parts are like hens teeth, car is mint and looks like a 3yr old car would, so tempting at the price its for sale at.
same as this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ6njUg80IU
Thanks for any replies and sorry for the hijack of thread ;-D
@ Cocobolo: Engine and transmission stuff should not be bad because it interchanges with a lot of muscle cars that have good parts support. Other stuff will be tough. There were not that many built and they don’t share as many other parts with regular Chryslers as you might think.
I can see a couple of reasons for the use of modern, aftermarket wheels and tires on an old car, and that’s cost and availability. As the years go by, finding and affording proper original, (or even period-correct aftermarket) wheels and tires gets tougher and tougher. There are other components, as well, with one of the most seen a very out-of-place aftermarket steering wheel to replace an old, broken one.
I guess it falls into the camp of those who want to drive their old rides, and those more willing to keep them garaged and taken out only on the nicest, car show days. If you’re going to drive it more regularly, there may be no choice but to go with current stuff.
The perfect car to drive the “15 miles to the Love Shack.”
Alas, my mind always goes to the B-52s when I see a Chrysler of this vintage…
Same here. A Newport of this vintage always makes me think “I got me a Chrysler, it seats about 20, so come along and bring your jukebox money.” I mean, that’s got to be the car they were singing about.
Same here, although I always pictured a big fuselage car in my head… yeah… a Newport sounds about right, whenever I hear that song.
The B-52’s must’ve had a thing for Mopars…
She came from Planet Claire
I knew she came from there
She drove a Plymouth Satellite
A-faster than the speed of light
Even if that thing had a hemi, I doubt it could’ve exceeded Einstein’s speed limit. ;o) – Cool song though, with a nice repurposing of Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn theme.
I have always associated these big Chryslers with the mob leg breaker played by Joe Don Baker in the 1973 movie “Charlie Varick”.
Big and tough guy with a big and tough car. And with those mags you’re not going to lose any hubcaps while running down Charlie’s crop duster biplane.
+1 for the Joe Don Baker callout.
While I prefer the early fuselage Chryslers to the four square era, they are all, as someone else said down thread, surprisingly good road cars. You wouldn’t want to slalom one of these but they are ideal for cruising down the slab.
I can’t see picture of a 1965-66 Fury without cringing just a little; my hometown had a set of these as police cruisers back in the day. It was around the time I was learning to drive so I got to interact with quite a few of our town’s finest. One learned to recognize those vertically stacked headlights at a long range.
Great film – although I learned the other night when it was on TCM that Walter Matthau hated it for some reason. Didn’t John Vernon’s secretary drive a 280SL?
In 1970 or so a friend’s parents had a 1959 Chrysler Windsor and a 1967 base Newport. My friend mainly drove the ’59, but on rare occasions had access to the ’67. I don’t think I have ever been in a car with such good visibility. Huge windows everywhere and you could actually see all four corners of the car. Always thought the fender mounted turn signals were cool. Kind of a Chrysler Corp. trademark at the time. I recall it was pretty plain inside. The step up to the Newport Custom had to be money well spent, even though it got you no mechanical ungrades. Of course I’ve always liked the “deluxe” versions of base cars, i.e. Olds Super 88, Buick Invicta, Pontiac Stat Chief.
I didn’t even *see* these when I was young and they still rolled the roads in some quantity. But today, I think they are damn fine looking. Chiseled. Elegant. Masculine.
“Everyone knew that a genuine Chrysler was the ultimate expression of the breed”
As the owner of a ’67 Imperial, I’m gonna have to disagree! 😉
JP: I felt as you did, when I discovered a ’66 Sport Fury! At the time, I didn’t need it, as I had two other cars already…but, I’d always liked the 66 Fury (my dad bought a ’65 F-III sedan) and it was such a deal, so I bought it! I’ve never been a fan of wheel covers, so I switched to Magnums (still in the family, so don’t shoot me!). Recently, I passed it along to a nephew who was dying to get it. He’s keeping it stock, except for wheels, as whitewall 225/R75 14″ tires are becoming impossible to find. BTW: My dad also went on to purchase a fully loaded Chrysler New Yorker Brougham!! 🙂
Great car! A buddy of mine had a 65 New Yorker when we were in college together. It was about 12 years old then, and in rescuable shape, but certainly weather worn. It was a great car, your looks to have been very appreciable. A fine car!
Loved the reference to your Aunt Clara! Another AC, Marion Lorne, was a great actress in BW.
Jim, a lovely homage to your automotive mistress of choice. I can so see you behind the wheel of your Chrysler, with a big smile on your face.
Needless to say, these ’65-’68 C Bodies has a spell on me too at the time when they were new (and later too, of course). They exuded so much understated confidence and capability. My “uncle” (my father’s cousin) who was my car role model as a little kid, traded his ’62 Fleetwood for a ’65 (or maybe ’66) Newport Custom sedan. I loved riding in it with him in it, as he drove like I would grow up to drive: fast and confidently, the polar opposite of my dad.
Some good friends in Iowa City traded their ’61 Rambler wagon on one of these too. Chryslers became the go-to brand with the European ex-pat university crowd in the mid 60s after Studebaker croaked and Ramblers became too dull. There were several of these among this group at the UO at the time. And then they traded them in on Mercedes (could afford them) or Toyotas.
I’ve mentioned this car before, the ’68 New Yorker I bought from my next door neighbors husband after he lost his license from too many DUI’s and a collision that was the final straw. So it came with a dented left front fender and bent front bumper corner. It was a 4 door hardtop in a light metallic green with 2 tone green interior. This was around 1984. It also needed tires, hubcaps were missing and paint was a little faded. AC inop (maybe a couple of cans of R12 was all it needed, never tried this), and transmission had a small leak at the output seal. Interior was perfect, though. Seat belts were all installed, but buried in the crack of the seats and shoulder belts had been cut off with a knife, a trip to U Pull and about 5 dollars produced a pair, though in black instead of the green the rest of the belts were, so shoulder belt was 2 tone when worn.
For $100, I figured why not? At the time I bought it I planned to pull the 440 and Torqueflite and install it in my ’70 C10 which had a 307 and 3 on tree. My neighbor had a ’65 Ford F150 his wife inherited, it was originally a 6 cylinder 3 on tree stripper but had a 460 and C6 installed, it was used with a camper that had been removed by the time my friend got it. I drove it a few time, it was a blast getting on the freeway, that baby would move out and spin it’s tires like no tomorrow. It was also really hard to steer and stop with armstrong steering and non power drum brakes. Common sense prevailed and the engine swap never happened, my truck had armstrong and manual drums as well as a 3.73 rear end which would have been too low for highway use, not to mention all the work involved and the terrible single digit fuel MPG the Ford got.
I drove it for a few months, loved the power from the big 440, that big old car was still really quick off the line. One early Saturday morning, going to work with a couple of co-workers to do inventory, as we putted down the deserted 210 freeway at 55, I floored the pedal, quickly shot up to 100, then coasted back to 55. Too bad I didn’t see the CHP car on the overpass. At least I didn’t get a reckless driving, got wrote up for 70 something, the ticket cost more than the car!
My sister who lived about 100 miles away needed a car, I loaned her the Chrysler. About 6 months later she told me a freeze plug blew and her boyfriend drove it until the engine seized, so to the junkyard it went, she got $65.00 for it. I really enjoyed driving that car, it rode and handled great for a big old barge, sucked gas like a jet as well. So I can relate to how you liked your C body, they really were impressive to drive.
Yes, for those who never drove one it is tough to describe how sure-footed these big square cars were. I routinely drove mine on 100-200 mile trips to distant counties for hearings and it just hummed along the interstate and was equally at home on secondary highways. The steering was extremely light and the power brakes were quite touchy (as they all were then) but once you got used to those things the basic chassis was really nicely set up.
I really like the square-jawed all-American looks of the 1965-68 full-size Chryslers, with the 1966 and 1968 versions being the most attractive, in my opinion. They rank among the most attractive full-size cars of the decade and are nicer looking than their Plymouth and Dodge siblings. I vastly prefer the Newport to the Oldsmobile and Buick offerings of the same years, with their exaggerated hips and ponderous front overhangs, which seem to be the feminine counterpoint to the masculine Chrysler. The four-door models in particular had some real gravitas.
In contrast, the 2-door models, particularly the 1965-66 Fury coupes, seemed to be dated compared to the Chevy (but not the very similar Ford) equivalents of the same year. I realize the full-size market was shifting in favor of four-door models in the mid-sixties as coupe buyers began defecting to the intermediates, but I can’t help but wonder whether the close-coupled styling then coming into vogue simply worked better on a smaller car.
Interesting read. In 1981, when I turned eghteen, I left Florida to stay with my dad in Delaware. Having not seen him in a few years, I had no idea what he drove. I was quite let down when he picked me up at the airport in a ‘67 New Yorker 4 door hardtop. With all due respect to JPC, I never liked those ‘65 -‘68 Chryslers. Dad said it was the absolute best car $600 could find. I don’t recall the mileage, but it was average for a 14 year old car, the rest of the car being in somewhat above average condition. The interior was nearly perfect, but the AC didn’t work. The gold painted body was straight with a few nicks, but the skirts and most of the hubcaps were in the trunk. Unfortunately; it as riding on a set of mix-matched, undersized “may-pops”. Dad had loaned it to his brother-in-law, who had hit something hard enough to bend the pointed bumper enough to damage the radiator. Dad said he cut out the four damaged cores, and it ran fine. The car did run great…for him. He really didn’t drive it much, so he let me borrow it often. My lead foot pushing that 383 cooled by that compromised radiator caused it overheat regularly, and subsequently wouldn’t turn over until it cooled down sufficiently. As much as I hated that car, my friends absolutely loved it. It rode like a dream, and the whole gang could ride. Wilmington is a small town, and dad’s car was pretty much one-of-a-kind; so dad got regular “updates” on my shenanigans from his friends who recognized it tearing around town. His complaints forced me to find my own $600 car, a ‘71 Impala 4 door hardtop, which coincidentally also overheated when driven hard…but his friends didn’t recognize it,
About 10 to 15 years ago, I had a landscape client who had owned a ‘67 or ‘68 Newport sedan exactly like the one JPC had. I knew about it because he lived a few house away from a long time client who referred me to him. I had always admired the car as it passed by occasionally, the only blemish being one hubcap missing on an otherwise pristine nearly 40 year old car. He had already traded it on a brand new Town Car, as he also owned a ‘93 Town Car, and Chrysler had long since abandoned anything that a 90 year old, “man’s man”, retired Marine Corps pilot would be caught dead in. When asked why he sold the Chrysler, he said it was having recurring engine problems, that he was sure were only minor. However, the local Chrysler dealer couldn’t seem to correct it; The service manager said part of the problem was the car was older than most of his techs, and they just didn’t understand the car. Hahahaha! That sealed the car’s fate, as far as he was concerned.
For what it’s worth, as much as I hated those ‘65-‘68 Chryslers, I was always a big fan of the fuselage cars that came out in 1969, they looked great. I don’t know if the ‘74-‘78 Chryslers are considered “fuselage”, but they were a good looking design, also. In fact, in my opinion, all of Chrysler Corporation’s full-size line up from ‘69-‘78 were very handsome cars. The ‘79 redesign was terrible. Imagine my horror, when I attended the “Blues Brothers” show at Universal Orlando, and the performers roll up in a (gasp!) ‘79 Chrysler cop car (with the huge megaphone on the roof). Man…was I disappointed.
I can see how someone might like the look of the Fuselage cars better. The problem with them for me was how cheapened they were compared to these. Chrysler threw money at this generation of C body like nothing since the early 50s. As I said the dash was this huge number of plated diescastings that was just expensive as hell to manufacture and assemble.
I did not mention the ashtray that pulled out of the dash. there were two separate ashtrays on either side of a little storage bin. The bin had a sliding lid that would allow you to sit a cup on it at the drive-in. Little features like that were everywhere in that car. The Fuselage cars lost so much of that stuff, along with the really solid feeling you got when you shut the doors. As great as they drove and looked, from the inside the Fuselage was a big downgrade.
Your comments about the “downgrading” of the fuselage Chryslers does ring true. But I suppose it applies to most all of Detroit’s conventional offerings as they transitioned into the 70s; even more so when they moved into the 80s for that matter.
I seem to recall the miscellaneous goodies in dad’s car, especially that ashtray. As far as handling was concerned, dad’s tank sucked. Even though Chrysler had a superior suspension set-up, dad didn’t believe in putting money into his cars. Like I said, it rode on a set of undersized, mix-matched, worn out, used tires. How I never had a flat, I don’t know. The rest of the car received the same care and attention to detail as the tires. Dad did a small concrete side-job, and his friend with the ‘66 F-100 had to bail for some reason, so dad was left with the problem of disposing of a couple cubic yards of dirt we “hand excavated”. It had to be gone before the concrete truck came the next day. So dad backed the New Yorker up to the dirt pile and we loaded the trunk up. We “motor-boated” about five loads out to a nearby empty lot. It got the job done. Good thing they didn’t carpet trunks back then.
I have a 73 Polara. Now if I could find a decent 1967 2 door or 4 door Newport/New Yorker I’d buy it
A good friend in high school, in the mid 1970s inherited his parents 1968 Newport.
It was medium blue, and we cruised al over town in it weekly through our high school years. Fond memories!!
That Plymouth Fury brings back a memory. In the late 1970s, a friend of mine bought a yellow 1966 Fury III 318/auto in quite nice condition. After we cruised around town smoking a joint in the car, John turned to me and said that the next thing the car needed was a nickname. I thought for several minutes then blurted out “Yellow submarine!”. His face lit up and the car now had a name.
All the talk about the big dent but not one picture. Rally wanted to see it. However, a picture of the right rear quarter full of rust but no mention of it. A regional thing? Midwest = rust = normal. West = rust = not normal
The rusty blue car was not mine, but was one I found and which provided the excuse for me to write about the one I used to own. The pictures of the beige car with little kids were my car. Today I would probably take pictures of the side with the big dent. But back then (in the era of film photography) I saw no reason to waste film on the car’s “bad side”.
As for the rusty blue car, that kind of rust is certainly to be expected on anything that old that has seen anything close to normal use out here. Most of them looked like that when they were 15 years old. I got lucky when I found mine, and the lack of rust is what always made me wonder how the car could have racked up 114K miles.
That’s it exactly, no matter what particular cars we might be talking about. It seems like—for some of us, at least—the idea of “car” is permanently attached to the cars that happen to be around us at the time of attachment, and anything that deviates much just doesn’t quite count as a car. Not a real car. Not a car that looks like what a car is meant to look like.
I was car crazy from birth. Mom said I could read the makes off their hubcaps when I was three. My earliest memory of any car is riding in our family’s Nash Airflyte.
No wonder my first car was a VW Bug and I’ve been crazy about my first-gen Sable and my current Prius. It’s the Nash Syndrome.
I agree, Mr. Stern. Quite an astute assessment of what constitutes ‘what a car should be’ for each motoring individual. To me, cars of the 1960s and ’70s are what a car should be. (I admit to having also a fondness for 1986 Thunderbirds because my Dad had one). Besides said T-Bird I can’t see myself ever buying a car from the 1980s and beyond or from the 1950s and before. I’ll take my automotive choices from those 2 decades.
Maybe a 1968 Chevrolet Biscayne or Bel Air with Powerglide and nothing else. I like the way those ’68s look, esp. the cheaper models with the 2 taillights on each side embedded in to the bumber instead of three.
Great article, JPC. I too love Mopars of this generation. Took driver’s training on a 65 Fury III (unlike many CCers, I don’t care for the fuselage cars).
My great aunt and uncle traded their beautifully maintained 1955 DeSoto Firedome coupe for a new 65 Newport 4-door hardtop a couple years before they retired and moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Ojai, California. It was a metallic turquoise. I moved to California to go to graduate school in 72 and stayed with them for part of that summer. My uncle was meticulous with his always garaged cars and the Newport, approaching 100K, still looked and performed like new. I can vouch for AirTemp: it ran icy cold on over 100 degree days, of which there many in SoCal that summer. The car had a beautiful cloth and vinyl upholstery combination that looked and felt expensive. And the interior was really spacious and comfortable. Very high quality automobile.
Unfortunately uncle had only a few more months of life that year. My great aunt kept up the Mopar tradition and bought two more Chryslers, a new black vinyl over dark green 74 Newport that was a total lemon, and a new white vinyl over electric blue metallic 76 Cordoba that served her very well until the end.
Great story.
I prefer the ’65-’66 dash, but the ’67-’68 is much nicer than anything that followed. Overall I like the ’65s best, but then it’s a toss up between ’66 & ’68.
The C body Mopars are at a nice place these days if you were to look for another. They have gained enough respect that they are no longer just engine donors for Chargers and Cudas and are starting to get a little aftermarket support. On the other hand, really nice examples are still pennies on the dollar compared to the muscle cars.
Really enjoyed this one… loved the multi-generational aspect of it.
When you mentioned Plymouths and Dodges being “not Chryslers” and lesser cars, I wonder if owners of the lower-tier GM makes expeReally enjoyed this one… loved the multi-generational aspect of it.
When you mentioned Plymouths and Dodges being “not Chryslers” and lesser cars, I wonder if owners of the lower-tier GM makes experienced the same thing in their Chevys and Pontiacs.
rienced the same thing in their Chevys and Pontiacs.
“I wonder if owners of the lower-tier GM makes experienced the same thing in their Chevys and Pontiacs.”
I was thinking about this, and don’t think so. In my experience each GM Division had such a unique personality that owners were loyal to them. I grew up around a lot of Oldsmobiles and never sensed that folks would have preferred Buicks.
But Mopars were so similar to one another and never developed the kind of brand loyalty that GM enjoyed. Much like Ford and Mercury.
I think that GM was heading in that direction by sharing engines and many mechanical bits starting in the late 70’s and early 80’s, but they were more successful at disguising the various models through different sheet metal and I/P’s. Part of my issue was that there were too many common bits/similarities amongst Chrysler products to be able to separate them from “regular” models and make them premium efforts.
Ahh, but we lowly Chevy families jonesed for those Oldmobiles. Heck, if your low option Impala was dowdy enough, a Caprice could look damn good.
Sadly, this was always my experience of Plymouth and Dodge, relative to the lesser GM makes. Outside of having a “Mopar” identity, they lacked individual differentiation and a strong sense of what a “Plymouth” or a “Dodge” was, at least in the ’70s on.
I’d agree that there are formative years when a look becomes what a car should be. Being just a few years younger, the ’65-’70 full-size GM cars seemed the absolute norm.
But, I’ll give Ma Mopar her due on the ’65 – ’68 full-size cars, particularly the Chrysler. Competing primarily with Buick and Oldsmobile B and C cars, both Buick and Olds still had a lot of creased lines in those years, particularly the ’65 – ’66 Buick Electra. Interestingly, Olds returned to these lines for the ’69 and ’70 Ninety-Eight to a considerable extent. Conservative, and maybe a bit derivative of the ’63 – ’64 GM cars, these Chryslers were still very right for their times and target market.
While the hardtops are gorgeous, all the Newport sedan needed was the Custom trim to look great – just as yours did. I always thought it a bit of a shame that the six window sedan was gone after ’66, I’d honestly have a hard time picking between a six window and a hardtop. I gave serious thought to buying a perfect six window Newport in white with a red interior – a car I regret letting get away.
Your wife deserves a serious CC cheer for your garage and fleet in your Newport days. My wife is a good sport, but I’m not sure she would have gone that far. She put up with my ’72 Pontiac Grandville for a while, and that beast used to reside in a very unusual 1921 vintage two-car garage that was miraculously big enough to just get it in with my ’87 Grand Marquis. Many of the Model T era garages had odd shed like extensions on the front or back to accommodate 1957 – 1978 era full-size cars, mine was built big enough from day 1. Like a true car guy, I bought that house largely on that garage.
The grandparents of a family on our street visited frequently in a perfect baby blue six window Newport with a dark blue interior. Wrong color, but this impressed me a lot at a young age……
I agree that Mrs JPC deserves a shout out. She was actually a big fan of the Club Wagon and put a gob of carpooling miles on it.
I’ve probably mentioned before that my mom got a ’66 New Yorker 4 Dr Hardtop. Big, comfy, and incredibly quick for a car that size. I never realized how special those big Chryslers were until we traded the New Yorker on a ’70 Marquis. The Marquis was quieter, plusher, better made… but only felt right on a straight interstate. It was a boat, in the American idiom. The Chrysler was probably as big and heavy, but it seemed happiest hammering the Siskiyous flat on our frequent trip to Oregon.
The one noteworthy thing about Chryslers of the 60s was the presence of a sneak circuit. You could turn on the flashers, move the turn signal stalk up or down, and then play the radio without using the key in acc position. Only thing was that the radio would go on and off with the tempo of the flasher.
The one noteworthy thing about Chryslers of the 60s was the presence of a sneak circuit. You could turn on the flashers, move the turn signal stalk up or down, step on the brake, and then play the radio without using the key in acc position. Only thing was that the radio would go on and off with the tempo of the flasher.
Ah yes, the sound of a Mopar gear reduction starter cranking! The “Highland Park Hummingbird” chirping of this starter is forever ingrained in the cobwebs of my mind.
Somehow other cars just seemed so bland and dull when starting up; when compared to a Plymouth, Dodge or Chrysler. This familiar and comforting warble was “standard equipment” on Mopars of the 1960’s, 70’s and even 1980’s in their pick up trucks.
One could easily discern the condition of the car’s battery and starter by how fast (or how slow) this starter spun over.
“NANG-NANG-NANG-NANG-NANGGGGG-ROOAAARRRRRRRRR!
Great story JPC, I like those big Chryslers too and that you got to enjoy two is inspiring.
Where’s our former commenter BigOldChryslers when you need him? I wonder how he is making out with his Chrysler Windsor project…
I know exactly what everyone means about “only a Chrysler is good enough”, even though other Mopars are fundamentally similar. I personally bought a Chrysler Town&Country minivan, when the Dodge Caravan in the next row would have been 99% the same. Well, the headlights were better on the Chrysler at the time (they’re all identical now) and mine DOES have a clock with hands in the dash… ??
Now that I think of it, my Dad bought a base model Chrysler Laser in 1984, even though the Dodge Daytona Turbo cost the same. Why? “Because it’s a Chrysler!”
JP, I just finally got the time to get around to reading this. Excellent read, what a great story. I can fully understand your nostalgic feelings with an old car. I guess I haven’t had the opportunity to go back in time with a new car like you have, since the most significant cars from my past are still around. However, I still long to revisit some others from the past, and may do so one day.
There is a local fellow I have see who still daily drive’s a ’68 Plymouth Fury III about 6 months a year. He parks it outside, and I see him running errands in it. The car is far from perfect, but kind of cool to see it used for regular service. IIRC he also has a ’66 Plymouth in the driveway too, but it seems to get less usage.
Thinking about your article again, JPC, you shoulda snagged the Chrysler again. I find that phrase “You can’t go home again” to be too vague. How do you know you won’t feel the same way about the Newport? Sure you might not . . . but then again you might’ve felt just plain giddy about motoring about in the ’68 again if you had bought it back. Now you’ll never know!
I know if I parted with Cheapo Falcon I’d miss it greatly. These are old cars and there’s nothing else like them. For better or worse, if you fancy old beasties you take them with their flaws and all.
Seize the day . . . get NEWPORT ’68. 🙂
I have this car!!!
If someone wants to experience a 1965-’68 full-size Mopar, they are still frequently available for sale at reasonable prices in good drivable, presentable condition. Check the AACA Forums website under “For Sale – Not Mine” section. When they turn up on other on-line sites, we repost the photos and current contact information for reference. As older cars don’t sell all that fast, if a phone number is listed, availability can be checked even a year or so later. Give it a try.
I mean, 65-68 full-size Chryslers are some of the greatest full-size American cars ever made, so who could blame you! Excepting of course, for not buying it back! Envious!
> This car was everything I loved about Chrysler Corporation before there was a Fiat or a Daimler or any former Ford executives involved in it.
Uh, Elwood Engel?
You can add PSA to that list now…