1960 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country on 2040-cars

1960 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country wagon

Here is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Chrysler history.  This is something that is not going to come along every day.  In 1960 Chrysler built a total of 624 Town and Country wagons in the six-passenger form.

This car has a short history of prior owners.  I purchased the car in September 2001 from a collector in Oregon.  The gentleman that acquired this car found it parked inside a self-storage facility.  He worked through the owner of the storage facility to meet the owner.  The car was owned by a man and his wife.  They purchased the car in Texas then subsequently moved to California.  The husband passed away in 1985 and the wife could not part with the car since it was her husband’s prior form of transportation.  So she placed the car inside at the self-storage facility.  There the car remained until 2001 when the man from Oregon finally convinced the elderly widow to finally sell him the Town and Country wagon.   He brought the car home to Oregon and then decided he had too many projects and listed it for sale in Hemming’s Auto News in September, 2001.  A friend knew that I was looking for a 1960 New Yorker Town and Country wagon contacted me, and the rest as they say is history.  After a couple of calls I was now the owner of a New Yorker Town and Country wagon!

I took delivery of the Town and Country in late September 2001.  It had not been running for over 16 years but it did not take much effort to get the mighty 413 to start.  I connected a fuel line to a gas can, installed new plugs, points, condenser, drained and filled with new oil, and after some precautionary turns of the engine to move that new oil around, I gave the car a prayer and it started.  That was quite an exciting event.  There would be life again for the New Yorker!  Then the real work began.

This was a very solid car to start with for a restoration project.  Being that it came from a mostly dry climate, and not exposed to the corrosive effects of salted roads of the rust belt, there was minimal metal work that needed to be done to restore the body of the wagon.  Small patches were installed on the very bottoms of each rear quarter panel and a new floor for the spare tire well was the extent of the metal work to replace rust issues.

The wagon was the subject of a complete dismantling and restoration.  The car certainly had been used but was not abused.  It truly showed its age and being a wagon probably worked a little harder over the course of its life.  So a complete refresh was warranted to bring it back to its full glory.

The car was originally painted Alaskan White with the option blue cloth/vinyl interior.  The color combination was not all that exciting to me, and since the car needed to be gone through, I decided on a more appealing color combination of Iris Metallic with the mauve cloth/vinyl interior.  This is a correct 1960 only Chrysler color pallet.  And as the pictures will show, it is a very appealing color for the Town and Country.  There will not be any other like it at any car show you attend.

The car was treated to a complete dismantling and preparation as part of the restoration.  The body and paint work were professionally performed.  PPG base coat and clear coat were used for painting of all surfaces.  The interior mauve paint color was laser scanned from a donor car to obtain the correct tint and luster for the interior painted surfaces.  All the upholstery is new old stock (NOS) obtained from SMS Upholstery in Oregon.  In 1960 Chrysler used black dash pad and black carpeting with the mauve interior color.  Headliner cardboard panels are white.  The interior colors work to create quite an inviting space and visually exciting.

All mechanical systems were completely disassembled and rebuilt to as new condition.  Engine was sent to a professional company for rebuilding.  The actual mileage of the car was not known as I found the speedometer cable disconnected.  The odometer was showing 59k miles and I would guess that to be 159k – but I don’t have any confirmation as to the actual miles on the car.  As I said the original 413 was professionally rebuild.  The transmission was professionally rebuilt.  The front and rear suspension was professionally rebuilt with all new bushings, parts, springs, shocks, etc.  Brake system is completely new.  Name the system and I will tell you that it has been gone through, rebuilt, or replace.  Instrument panel and main wiring harness – brand new reproduction installed!   This Town and Country has been structurally and mechanically rebuilt.

When I went through the restoration with the car I found a lot of NOS parts search ebay or swap meets.  Timing was on my side as I found a lot of the electrical parts and switches to make sure that all of those pieces were as new and as fresh as possible.  All of the chrome was refurbished, replated, or replaced.  Glass is original to the car.

The Town and Country was a very limited production car in 1960 with only 624 six passenger models built that year.  This car had only the standard New Yorker options when sold new.  Those options include:

413 cubic inch engine with Carter 4 barrel carburetor

·         Torqueflite 3 speed automatic transmission with push buttons

·         Power steering

·         Power brakes

·         Power windows

·         Power tailgate window

·         Power seat

·         AM radio

·         Heater/defroster

·         Cloth/vinyl interior

·         Clock

Since I was doing a complete restoration I wanted to complete the option list for this car had I been able to order one new in 1960.  Since the New Yorker Town and Country was the most luxurious station wagon produced in 1960, I wanted to complete the option list and installed the following:

·         Dual air conditioning

·         Auto dimming headlights

·         Auto pilot

·         7 button seek/scan radio with foot control

·         Power antenna

·         Power door locks

·         Swivel seats

·         Child proof rear door locks

·         Right hand outside mirror

I think the only optional accessory I did not include with the restoration is the mirror-matic automatic dimming rear view mirror.  Every other optional accessory I obtained for this car.  It truly is one completely optioned New Yorker Town and Country wagon!  All of the accessories have been working.  Air conditioning has been charged with the old style R-12 Freon so the system blows nice and cold.  Auto pilot is a wonderful accessory for cruising on the highway.  Swivel seats are nice and comfortable and having that center arm rest is a real advantage for driving comfort.

I am selling my Town and Country because I have recently lost the storage for my cars and I do not have another place to store the car.  The time has come to let it go to another caretaker who can keep and complete this gem.  There are a few things let to make the restoration of the wagon complete.  The final under hood detailing and application of decals, and the installation of vinyl covering and metal trim in the rear cargo area.  The installation of vinyl on the wheel wells is something that I was intending to have done by an upholstery shop, but with the loss of my storage and no place to work on the car, I am not going to get that completed.  This could be your gain.  All of the difficult parts searching, major project work, and long hours of dedication have been done.  Now you can take this beautiful car and run it across the finish line and enjoy cruising to shows and the awards circle.

This car has been restored as close to original factory build as I could do.  Many NOS parts were sourced and used in the project.  There were only three deviations that I allowed myself in doing this project.  They include:

·         Mopar electronic ignition.  The modules and things have been discreetly placed in the engine compartment to minimize the look of a modern car – but you have all the advantages of no points to deal with!

·         Power antenna.  This is an after-market unit as Chrysler (to the best of my research) did not have a power antenna available for front fender installation.  The antenna switch is concealed in the glove box.

·         Front disc brakes.  I purchased and installed a system offered through AAJ brakes for this vintage of Chrysler.  Along with the disc brakes there is a dual master cylinder to improve braking safety.

I have put approximately 1200 miles on the car since the driveline was installed and I was able to get it back on the road.  It has been extremely rewarding for me to take a car from not running to almost show ready – and have someone truly enjoy the luxury and prestige of Chrysler’s – and the industry’s – finest station wagon from 1960.  Here is “The car of your life, for the time of your life!  1960 Chrysler.”

1960 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country wagon

Here is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Chrysler history.  This is something that is not going to come along every day.  In 1960 Chrysler built a total of 624 Town and Country wagons in the six-passenger form.

This car has a short history of prior owners.  I purchased the car in September 2001 from a collector in Oregon.  The gentleman that acquired this car found it parked inside a self-storage facility.  He worked through the owner of the storage facility to meet the owner.  The car was owned by a man and his wife.  They purchased the car in Texas then subsequently moved to California.  The husband passed away in 1985 and the wife could not part with the car since it was her husband’s prior form of transportation.  So she placed the car inside at the self-storage facility.  There the car remained until 2001 when the man from Oregon finally convinced the elderly widow to finally sell him the Town and Country wagon.   He brought the car home to Oregon and then decided he had too many projects and listed it for sale in Hemming’s Auto News in September, 2001.  A friend knew that I was looking for a 1960 New Yorker Town and Country wagon contacted me, and the rest as they say is history.  After a couple of calls I was now the owner of a New Yorker Town and Country wagon!

I took delivery of the Town and Country in late September 2001.  It had not been running for over 16 years but it did not take much effort to get the mighty 413 to start.  I connected a fuel line to a gas can, installed new plugs, points, condenser, drained and filled with new oil, and after some precautionary turns of the engine to move that new oil around, I gave the car a prayer and it started.  That was quite an exciting event.  There would be life again for the New Yorker!  Then the real work began.

This was a very solid car to start with for a restoration project.  Being that it came from a mostly dry climate, and not exposed to the corrosive effects of salted roads of the rust belt, there was minimal metal work that needed to be done to restore the body of the wagon.  Small patches were installed on the very bottoms of each rear quarter panel and a new floor for the spare tire well was the extent of the metal work to replace rust issues.

The wagon was the subject of a complete dismantling and restoration.  The car certainly had been used but was not abused.  It truly showed its age and being a wagon probably worked a little harder over the course of its life.  So a complete refresh was warranted to bring it back to its full glory.

The car was originally painted Alaskan White with the option blue cloth/vinyl interior.  The color combination was not all that exciting to me, and since the car needed to be gone through, I decided on a more appealing color combination of Iris Metallic with the mauve cloth/vinyl interior.  This is a correct 1960 only Chrysler color pallet.  And as the pictures will show, it is a very appealing color for the Town and Country.  There will not be any other like it at any car show you attend.

The car was treated to a complete dismantling and preparation as part of the restoration.  The body and paint work were professionally performed.  PPG base coat and clear coat were used for painting of all surfaces.  The interior mauve paint color was laser scanned from a donor car to obtain the correct tint and luster for the interior painted surfaces.  All the upholstery is new old stock (NOS) obtained from SMS Upholstery in Oregon.  In 1960 Chrysler used black dash pad and black carpeting with the mauve interior color.  Headliner cardboard panels are white.  The interior colors work to create quite an inviting space and visually exciting.

All mechanical systems were completely disassembled and rebuilt to as new condition.  Engine was sent to a professional company for rebuilding.  The actual mileage of the car was not known as I found the speedometer cable disconnected.  The odometer was showing 59k miles and I would guess that to be 159k – but I don’t have any confirmation as to the actual miles on the car.  As I said the original 413 was professionally rebuild.  The transmission was professionally rebuilt.  The front and rear suspension was professionally rebuilt with all new bushings, parts, springs, shocks, etc.  Brake system is completely new.  Name the system and I will tell you that it has been gone through, rebuilt, or replace.  Instrument panel and main wiring harness – brand new reproduction installed!   This Town and Country has been structurally and mechanically rebuilt.

When I went through the restoration with the car I found a lot of NOS parts search ebay or swap meets.  Timing was on my side as I found a lot of the electrical parts and switches to make sure that all of those pieces were as new and as fresh as possible.  All of the chrome was refurbished, replated, or replaced.  Glass is original to the car.

The Town and Country was a very limited production car in 1960 with only 624 six passenger models built that year.  This car had only the standard New Yorker options when sold new.  Those options include:

413 cubic inch engine with Carter 4 barrel carburetor

·         Torqueflite 3 speed automatic transmission with push buttons

·         Power steering

·         Power brakes

·         Power windows

·         Power tailgate window

·         Power seat

·         AM radio

·         Heater/defroster

·         Cloth/vinyl interior

·         Clock

Since I was doing a complete restoration I wanted to complete the option list for this car had I been able to order one new in 1960.  Since the New Yorker Town and Country was the most luxurious station wagon produced in 1960, I wanted to complete the option list and installed the following:

·         Dual air conditioning

·         Auto dimming headlights

·         Auto pilot

·         7 button seek/scan radio with foot control

·         Power antenna

·         Power door locks

·         Swivel seats

·         Child proof rear door locks

·         Right hand outside mirror

I think the only optional accessory I did not include with the restoration is the mirror-matic automatic dimming rear view mirror.  Every other optional accessory I obtained for this car.  It truly is one completely optioned New Yorker Town and Country wagon!  All of the accessories have been working.  Air conditioning has been charged with the old style R-12 Freon so the system blows nice and cold.  Auto pilot is a wonderful accessory for cruising on the highway.  Swivel seats are nice and comfortable and having that center arm rest is a real advantage for driving comfort.

I am selling my Town and Country because I have recently lost the storage for my cars and I do not have another place to store the car.  The time has come to let it go to another caretaker who can keep and complete this gem.  There are a few things left to make the restoration of the wagon complete.  The final under hood detailing and application of decals, and the installation of vinyl covering and metal trim in the rear cargo area.  The installation of vinyl on the wheel wells is something that I was intending to have done by an upholstery shop, but with the loss of my storage and no place to work on the car, I am not going to get that completed.  This could be your gain.  All of the difficult parts searching, major project work, and long hours of dedication have been done.  Now you can take this beautiful car and run it across the finish line and enjoy cruising to shows and the awards circle.  Car is for sale locally so I reserve the right to end the listing.

This car has been restored as close to original factory build as I could do.  Many NOS parts were sourced and used in the project.  There were only three deviations that I allowed myself in doing this project.  They include:

·         Mopar electronic ignition.  The modules and things have been discreetly placed in the engine compartment to minimize the look of a modern car – but you have all the advantages of no points to deal with!

·         Power antenna.  This is an after-market unit as Chrysler (to the best of my research) did not have a power antenna available for front fender installation.  The antenna switch is concealed in the glove box.

·         Front disc brakes.  I purchased and installed a system offered through AAJ brakes for this vintage of Chrysler.  Along with the disc brakes there is a dual master cylinder to improve braking safety.

I have put approximately 1200 miles on the car since the driveline was installed and I was able to get it back on the road.  It has been extremely rewarding for me to take a car from not running to almost show ready – and have someone truly enjoy the luxury and prestige of Chrysler’s – and the industry’s – finest station wagon from 1960.  Here is “The car of your life, for the time of your life!  1960 Chrysler.”