Big Red Coupe: 1954 Chrysler Newport Windsor DeLuxe
1954 was the end of the line for Chrysler’s prewar styling. The sides had been smoothed out over the front wheels and they had one piece windshields but they still had the bulky high roof look of the 1940s styling. The tall rounded shape gave way to the more streamlined, flatter top styling in 1955. By the early 1950s men no longer wore hats and headroom was no longer a priority. Carmakers finally noticed. Pat L found this interesting example here on eBay in Charlotte, North Carolina. This Newport Windsor DeLuxe Club Coupe certainly has a long name. Windsor was Chrysler’s low priced model and Newport designated a hardtop. It is very well equipped for its time with power steering, automatic transmission, wire hubcaps and a continental kit. The $5,375 asking price seems high. The seller justifies it because that’s how much he has spent on it. He purchased it at an estate sale in Texas so shipping is part of his cost. It had been stored indoors for about twenty years. It’s difficult to access the overall state of this car from the seller’s pictures but it looks complete and straight. The upholstery needs at least a good cleaning and much of the interior needs to be replaced. Hopefully, the bits on the floor and sill are pieces of cardboard and not rust that’s flaked off.
Here’s a peek at the front. We can see that the trim is complete but all the chrome is pitted and in need of replating. There is no picture of the engine or any overall views of the car. The seller says the chrome is nice, that “most looks like it was replaced yesterday when you clean it” after polishing out only one piece of trim which might be stainless instead.
This is indeed a hardtop with no B pillar. The white paint on the top has failed and is deeply checked with a little rust showing through. It’s beginning to look more like patina than paint. There may be hope to at least make the paint look a little better.
Here’s the continental kit. It gives you a little more room in the trunk and looks cool, but it also adds a big heavy lump on the back of the car. There’s no word on the engine other than he says he “wouldn’t think it would be difficult to get the engine running.” I guess that depends on your definition of difficult. Hopefully, it’s not locked up. I hope someone will save this car but it will take a lot of work and money, likely more than it is worth. It was beautiful when it was new with its red paint, white top, and chrome wheels. Do you think there’s any hope? Even if it ends up as an unfinished project in someone’s garage, it will be saved for the next guy.
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Comments
The posting has been deleted.
Posting deleted
Dang! The price was about right as it sold before any of us could check it out!
From what little you can see of the car it looks like a worth while project. These pre Exner cars are some of my favorite Mopars, if the circumstances were better for me this is the kind of project I’d be looking for. As for the continental package on the back I think I would customize it to follow the body contours of the car, just to clean up its appearance and to make it less bulky. Nice find!
That looks like a wire wheel in the Continental Kit and there are no decent photos of the other wheels to tell if they are wheels or wire wheel covers. It would be a good looking car if restored. I’d do the paint and skip the chrome plating cost and then make it a Daily Driver.
Probably could make a new KIA from just the steel in the bumpers.
He says that he doesn’t think it would take much to get the engine running again and yet he doesn’t even try to start it himself! Yeah, right!
Deleted, just like every Continental kit ever installed should be. These kits always look bloated and ostentatious to me. They ruin the look and flow that the designers strove to produce. There is a reason why you need to go to school to design automobiles. Please stop ruining beautiful vehicles.
This car sold on Ebay on June 3 for $3400. Wonder why it is for sale again so soon?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Chrysler-Newport-Windsor-Deluxe-/222988743338?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=OFpc4L3%252BZnDombIdm4G2AHvcPQM%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Maybe he realized that he was over his head when looking the project over OR his wife thretned to leave him… I lost 3 wives that way! HaHa
Thanks for finding the eBay posting Pete. You can see all the pictures from the “See original listing”link.
Listing ended but was not sold. $3400 must have been below his reserve.
Hard luck story about shipping. Not enough pics, price too high.
David, on the contrary, it did sell on that Ebay listing, which says “winning bid”. $3438.00. I was watching that listing in early June, wanting to buy the car to go with a ’54 Imperial 2-dr. hardtop that I own, same colors, similar continental kit, what a pair those two would make! But the price of $3400 was more than I wanted to pay for a non-running flathead six.
The price is too high, the car never came standard with a continental kit nor wire wheels, and i really get tired of Sellers who don’t really make the effort to sell the car properly.
TO BARN FINDERS:
Is it possible to be put in contact with the fellow names Steve i think, in New Hampshire who has a Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon for sale to see if it i still available? Mail to: aj,[email protected] If you can assist, thank you very
much.
Cool car.
Yeah, delete the Continental kit and those 1979 Pontiac wire wheel covers ASAP.
I did came with Continental kit.
I board the car 2 month ago .
I did find out original Continental kit , wire wheels caps , passenger mirror. Its one of about 15 factory cars like this
Whenever someone is asking too much for something because “thats what I paid for it” I generally reply “it’s too bad you got ripped off, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to.”
$3400 for this car. I’m all in! When I saw this posting, I immediately thought….close to me in Orange County, NC…could visit my daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law in Charlotte, not my Dad’s car, but a really nice close association, I’m a buyer! Posting deleted….deflated balloon. Long story…
in 1953 (I was 5) my Pop had enough for a new car. Sent Ma in to buy it. The salesmen at Heckman Motors in Croton-on-Hudson pushed a nice slightly enebriated old salesman at her, because they thought a young pretty woman with 2 little kids was no sale. Pop and friends had agreed to buy Chryslers together (the others bought New Yorkers, Pop wanted a Windsor). She agreed to pay the drunk $3,000 for a 2-tone Windsor (black on top, sky blue on the bottom). The others laughed, but when she showed the cash, she made sure that the drunk got the commission. He put over 220K on that car. It died an ignominious death when a drunken car park attendant in NYC managed to dent all 4 sides of it in a wild and crazy effort. I grew up in that car, and when I saw this ad, thought…it’s not Pop’s car, but it’s a 54 Chrysler…I’m there. What a downer.
It was listed before…yes Poncho wires BUT – Mopar did offer – optional wires – like on that Imperial of Pete’s.
About 4 years ago I had this same car, but it green with green interior. It had no brakes when I bought it. Brakes are expensive for this car: all in all with the master cylinder and brake cylinders (two per wheel mind you) I was out about $800. Mine did however drive and stop unlike the featured car, and was in better condition (it only had about 55,000 miles on it). Took awhile to sell it (a couple of non-paying Ebay bidders didn’t help) but eventually sold it for $4200, breaking even on my purchase.
I had a similar ’54 New Yorker Deluxe Club Coupe. With the B-pillar. This is a Newport hardtop. If it’s a Newport, it’s not a Club Coupe. Mine had black roof over red and the wool Scotch Plaid Highlander with leather bolsters interior. 331 Hemi. I loved that car. Had to sell it when I went into the army in 1966.