|
|
|
Exceptional original car with original wood and new mahogany panels. Original leather interior, new black canvas top. Highly original car restored only as needed and ready to enjoy immediately.
This 1949 Town & Country convertible offers an all-new body style that was revamped in 1949 to reflect the trend towards longer, lower, and wider styling. It has been restored as needed over the course of its life, but never required a full frame-off restoration, a testament to the great care it has received from the very beginning. The black finish is correct, and contrasts brilliantly with the ash and mahogany woodwork. Of note, this car wears genuine mahogany panels on the doors in place of the original Dynoc veneer. The owner, a noted Town & Country historian, found that reproduction vinyl wood decals are vastly inferior and to get the car to look right, he chose to do it the old-fashioned way. The ash framework is also original and wonderfully preserved, having been refinished just a few years ago. Paint and chrome are outstanding, and this has never been a rusty car or in need of body panel replacement.
This car matches the advertisement model inside as well, where you’ll find the original yellow leather upholstery. It was re-dyed a few years ago to freshen it up, but the hides themselves are vintage 1949 and in outstanding condition. Correct new black carpets were installed more recently, and the contrast is striking. Things like the door panels, leather-wrapped padded dash, and particularly the back seat also retain their original materials. The instruments are housed in a single pod ahead of the driver, as was the fashion at the time, and they are crisply rendered and fully functional. All the chrome remains bright with sharp details, and accessories like the heater and radio are fully functional. A newer black canvas top still looks like new, and offers a small glass rear window in place of the original plastic curtain. In the trunk, you’ll find original sisal carpets, a matching spare tire, a full set of manuals, as well as a black boot for the top.
Mechanically, the 1949 Town & Country was largely carryover, including the 323 cubic inch straight-8 engine. In this car, it has likely never been apart, and the engine bay presents in exceptional original condition with bright silver paint on the engine, proper “Spitfire” spark plug loom, and oil bath air cleaner. It starts quickly and easily and settles into a powerful-sounding idle with eight cylinders purring away. It’s linked to Chrysler’s famous Fluid-Drive transmission, a curious blend of a manual transmission with a torque converter, but in practice it’s quite easy to drive around town. On the highway, the big eight cylinder stretches its legs and can cruise effortlessly at modern highway speeds. The chassis was undercoated decades ago, so there’s absolutely no rust on the frame or floors, although it is not detailed for show. It has been mechanically maintained by experts for decades, so it runs, steers, and stops as it should, and thanks to recent whitewall radials, it has the moves of a much younger automobile.
Meticulously maintained and always given the service and upgrades it required, it remains a first-class example of the last of the woodies. Call today!
For more details and photos, please visit www.VintageMotorCarsUSA.com.
|
|
STOCK/INV. NUMBER:
132207
|
|
