1948 Chrysler Town and Country Convertible
- RARE ! Factory documented Special Order FULL LEATHER INTERIOR
- TRIM 999 Special Order Upholstery
- ALL ORIGINAL WOOD!
- DUAL FACTORY HEATERS
Frame-Off Restoration Underway
Ready for the summer.... Act soon and pick your colors
ABOUT THIS Town and Country
1948 was the last year Chrysler produced the Town and Country with the full wood body. It was the end of an era, in 1949 the redesigned model had just wood trim around the doors and it was not the same. The town and country's are simply stunning cars, there is just nothing like combining the look and feel of a woody wagon into an open convertible. The Town and Country's were produced just like a coach built car os the 1930's, The body's were all hand fabricated by master woodworkers using only the finest materials. With the level of fabrication came a hefty price tag of $3395. And only 3309 convertibles were produced. Only approximately 196 of these cars still exist today. Unfortunately because of the amount of wood in the bodies many of these cars deteriorated beyond repair, never to be seen again. The T and C offered here is an excellent example of an original unmolested example with A VERY RARE OPTIONAL INTERIOR that less than 5% of the total production were ordered with.
THE CAR OFFERED HERE
First Lets decode the factory firewall ID Plate on the car
Body 3 - Convertible Coupe
Paint 30 - Noel Green (still seen on the firewall)
Trim 999 - SPECIAL ORDER INTERIOR FULL LEATHER
TR5 - Special Lights (1 spotlight)
RA1 - Philco 8 tube radio model 802
AN2 - Concealed Cowl Manual Antenna Left hand side
TO 1 - Black Convertible Top
SPEC 538S - Special Order Number Due to special order interior 999
SCHED 609 - Internal Scheduling Number
Item NO 1502 - Car #2 built on that day
Body Number 7722
This 1948 Chrysler Town and Country was in long time storage inside in a Michigan Boat Yard. It is remarkably original with only a exterior repaint of the sheet metal ( NEVER DISASSEMBLED FOR PAINT), the firewall still remains the original Noel Green. The white ash wood work is all the original wood, which is in very good condition, and should be able to be restored with no wood replacement. ( A very rare occurrence on a Town and Country) What truly sets this car apart is the SPECIAL ORDER FULL LEATHER INTERIOR. The Leather , carpets and door panels in the car are all the original interior, it provides an excellent pattern to reproduce the upholstery. The standard interior in the town and country is nice with the leather and wool seats, but the FULL LEATHER is truly opulent and stunning in a restored car. Many restored T and C's have been restored with full leather, but very few were delivered that way as this car has the documentation to show that option. The front seat was covered with a seat cover which we removed so you could see the pattern and style of the original material. The front seat could be redone, and the rear seat repaired (possibly) for an original driver. The rest of the interior is in excellent original condition, the dashboard, steering wheel and other interior components exhibit little wear and would restore up as new.
Fitted with the 135 HP straight 8 engine, these chryslers are a nice comfortable car to drive, and cruise comfortably at highway speeds.
UNDERGOING a Full Frame Off Concours Restoration (Photos and details below)
As seen below this Town and Country project started as a excellent original example of special order Chrysler
Our shop restoration begun with a complete nut and bolt disassembly of this great woody convertible with the intention to restore the Chrysler for Concours competition.
The body was removed from the chassis. THe entire frame was media blasted down to the bare metal, etch primed, 3 coats of high build primer, the entire frame was then sanded and painted with high gloss black. All chassis painting performed on the rotisserie, so no area has been overlooked. THe rear end has been rebuilt with all new seals and bearings.
Full brake rebuild, all new wheel cylinders, relined brake shoes, 4 turned drums, new brake hoses.
Full suspension rebuild including new rear leaf springs, and hangers
Engine : THe inline straight 8 cylinder motor was completely disassembled, Magna fluxed cylinder block, cylinder head, crank shaft, connecting rods, all checked for cranks and found to be excellent. Rebuilt to the highest standard, all components have been precision balanced. Bored .030 over, with new pistons, .010 under rod bearings, and .020 under main bearings, all machined surfaces have been decked true. Polished cam, a new timing chain is ready to install. Hines precision balanced. crank shaft. All hardened valve seats installed in the block, 12 new valves and guides. A Serdi high performance 3 angle valve job has been performed on the seats and valves, and all new valve springs. THe motor has received a full mechanical rebuild with no detail overlooked.
RADIATOR: A new custom $6600 radiator has been made, the chrysler core has a very specialized shape, and is costly to build.
Chassis assembly underway.
BODY WOOD:
All of the original woodwork has been striped, bleached, all necessary wood repairs have been performed, in the proper aged ash wood. Photos bellow detailing the wood work and joinery. The wood work has all been complete and is ready for final coloring, and refinishing. New door hinges have been bushed to support the weight of the heavy doors.
Metal work:
All necessary metal repairs have been performed to the body, then completely media blasted down to bare metal, and is currently being prepped for priming.
Electrical:
Rebuilt starter, generator, and all new wiring harnesses in the original cloth wire looms.
NEW OLD STOCK, Dual spot lights, and factory NOS mopar driving lights
Lots of other work done, call or email to discuss details........
