Hemi Hauler! 1956 Chrysler Town and Country
Just before cars went full-on Interstate Cruiser with 900-pound bumpers and rocketship fins, showrooms offered the stately and handsome design of this 1956 Chrysler Windsor Town and Country station wagon. The never-restored classic comes to market here on Facebook Marketplace, where $8500 seals the deal. Thanks to reader T.J. for spotting this mid-fifties family mover located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Yeah; it’s got a Hemi in it. If original, the 354 cid first-generation Chrysler V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers made 225 HP in this Windsor model, according to Lov2xlr8, while the New Yorker Town and Country managed 280 HP from a half-point bump in compression and other changes. Have you ever seen a blue battery cable?
Double overhead cams? Not so fast, friends; that’s merely the Hemi’s interesting dual rocker arm arrangement, making an overhead valve motor actuate splayed valves in the hemispherical combustion chamber. That and centrally-located spark plugs make for a unique valve cover that’s instantly recognizable to Mopar fans everywhere.
The Hemi-powered hauler spent most of its life in California, according to the seller, and I can picture a surfboard or two on top or in the cavernous cargo hold. Sadly the seller ran out of film before snapping a picture of the dashboard or front seats. The push-button transmission certainly makes an impression. Two-tone upholstery and chrome trim dress up the interior.
Body panels and trim seem mostly straight and rust-free, though it’s hard to tell for sure. Most pictures show the chrome wagon wheels, but here we see the full-sized wheel covers. Spear-like fins foreshadow the fintastic 1957 Chryslers, making the 1956 look more conservative by a landslide. If I could only have one, a ’56 or ’57 of any corporate Chrysler brand, I’d generally take the ’57, but this ’56 and the Plymouth Fury for ’56 (at least) look especially sharp with their small fins. Would you daily drive this Hemi-powered Chrysler?
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Comments
Neat car but the off road wagon wheels do nothing for this wagon.
IMO they go well with the car’s patina. That way, it looks great as it is. Put the stock wheel covers on and it’s easy to get into a feedback loop of polishing, sourcing wide whitewalls, and eventually repainting.
It’s gotta be rare as hen’s teeth!
It reminds me of Sky King’s DeSoto wagon.
The `56 Windsor didn’t come with the 354 Hemi; New Yorkers did. Windsors would have had the poly-head 301 V8 instead. This car’s had a transplant.
Back in the day you could order pretty much what you wanted.My dad owned 1966 Chrysler Newport 4dr with 440 4 bbl 3 on the tree.I surprised a lot of people with it on Saturday nights.
The seller of this car is a YouTuber
who made a 47 minute video of himself driving the car from Omaha,
Nebraska to his home in Iowa. After
he did some roadside repairs, both he
and the car made the trip with no real
problem at all. Whoever gets this car
will get a very good car they can drive
while they finish restoring it. Sure
wish that person was me!
I just watched the youtube video.
The guy who brought the car back to Sioux Falls from Nevada certainly knows what he is doing. I’m sure by now he is aware the engine might be a transplant. Great video and reminded me why I no longer try to revive old car as deteriorated as this one was.
Kudos to the seller.I’m sure he invested a ton of money into it once he got it home. Lots of fun watching him revive the wagon. I recommend it heartily!
https://youtu.be/S9PSoEDO350
That was a great video, you would feel safe buying a car off of this guy. I guess he would be honest about any rust problems, I kept seeing what looked like tape above the drivers side front roof area, I wonder if for some reason that is rusty.
I owned this car a long time ,it had a 331 poly motor but we did a hemi conversion on it with the correct parts
Why do I feel like I’ve seen this before? eBay maybe?
It looks like cargo panels are missing inboard of the wheel wells, yet it doesn’t seem set up for any. Could you enlighten me?
Off with the luggage rack and get the wheel covers corrected. This could be a beauty.
The seller ran out of film. LOL! He should have stopped by the Fotomat, and picked up another roll of Kodak.
Quit stealing my jokes.or beating me to it :)
Love this wagon wish the seller had spent some time on the inside and less on the monster truck wheels!
Must be weird to see a car you owned long ago pop up on BF. Perhaps Doug Hall above can chime in again and talk about the history of the car as he confirmed the Hemi swap. Why and when?
He was going to pick some up at the Rexall along with some cassettes for his boom box/
It wouldn’t get much rest at my place! Drive as is until rebuild time. But until I have those kind of funds I’m dreaming at best.
“Needs floor-pan work” is an ominous clue.
Big C you beat me to the punch. just wondered what the hell is film. come on now we do not see what the seller wants to hide. Film, Good Grief man what kind of nonsense is that.
Facebook prices it at $7000
In the late 1970s I had a beautiful ’56 T & C wagon, 2 tone yellow. The ’56 Chrysler wagons used the rear fenders from the previous year, probably due to the small wagon production numbers, and to make a difference between the ’55 and ’56 wagon taillights, they added the little fins. These taillight assemblies have been difficult to find for decades, even back in the 1970s.
Blue battery cable probably of marine origin or an application for two batteries in series.
They are around for sure.
We added a battery in series for our ’53 New Yorker. Carbon buildup increased compression to the point it wouldn’t turn over when hot. My mom drove it; the way I drive, I never had carbon buildup. My buddy’s granny driving resulted in his Corvair heads being pulled every three months, and it was a 4 speed.
Really think this is a handsome wagon. Very cool and original mostly
Needs more pictures
like the longish ‘snout’ & general lack of 50s era “bulgemobielness” (see tri5’n others)
But it has those bolt on fins that a 58 Packard would die for.
The car was bough like you see it. it was a good old driver car and put lots of miles on it .welded tabs on spoke rims and added he original caps. Have 3 other nice Chrysler wagons 1 55 and 2 56.Some times its neater in beater.
Doug:Didnt you say above that you transplanted the Hemi into it. I dont know when you owned it or where but somehow it ended up sitting in Las Vegas for five years if I recall what was said in the video? They are beautiful cars but I’m thinking it will be hellaciously expensive to restore the interior which is what this wagon deserves. There is a middle ground between ‘beater’ and over restored trailer queen. :)
Doug Hall,
“Some times its neater in beater.”
Well said. Back when they were simply old cars few people wanted, I used to drive 1955-66 Chryslers and Imperials as my primary transportation well into the 1980s. They were very reliable, easy to get mechanical parts for, and made great tow cars when I did mostly flat-towing of vehicles before I got my enclosed trailer and ramp truck.
My everyday car when I lived in Europe in the mid 1970s was a 1956 Imperial sedan, bought in Germany for 300DM [about $100] My best tow car was a 1962 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door hardtop wagon with dual A/C and a factory installed 300H drive train; 413 with dual carbs, and the Pont-a-mousson 4-speed gearbox.
While not a beater, a good friend owned Ike’s ’55 Imperial Derham limo, and I was the only person he let drive it when he got too old to drive. I used Ike’s limo to transport his grandson David Eisenhower along with his wife Julie Nixon Eisenhower in 1988. I also had a similar 1955 Imperial limousine used by V.P. Nixon.