Giant Chryslers

[lloyd3]

It's funny what you're drawn to during quiet moments. I've got a copy of last August's Hemming's Motor News next to the hopper and the cover is about station wagons from the early 70s. Big ones!  My father always seemed to own a station wagon. Used it for everything you would use a pickup truck for, and haul kids to boot. He leaned towards the Ford stuff, but he was equal opportunity, as we had quite a mix over the years.  From Hemming's, I graduated to YouTube and all the postings there about cars (mostly ones for sale on some dismal lot somewhere, but some funny ones like "redneck car shows"). I had forgotten about all the varieties of wagons, bigger and smaller, that have been so completely replaced on our modern roads. Minivans seem to have filled that void, but they are nowhere as varied as the wagons were. Chrysler built the biggest, without a doubt. Some of them (the "Suburban" variants come to mind, seemingly built by every Mopar branch) were absolutely enormous. All seemed to have either 383s or 440s, all had third row seating, and many were nicely appointed.  Some have even been modified to mimic the muscle cars they share some genetics with, like Roadrunner wagons (from Satellite base cars).  A few years ago you couldn't give one away. Now they seem to have a following?

[moparjohn]

As an owner of a late 69 Chrysler wagon, all I can say is that they ARE cool, have all the goodies from R/T type cars (less Hemi) and can carry lots of stuff or tow a trailer. So they are big, and mature minded. a blast to own in there own right. MPJ

[RallyeMike]

Early 60's were even better     Also modified to mimic the muscle cars with an HP B engine, 4 speed, and 3.91 sure grip. Surprisingly lighter than the the later cars though at only 3500 lbs considering it is 37 feet long and fins off a petrified killer whale.

[charge69]

RalleyMike:  I have never seen a 2-door station wagon 1960 Plymouth before now!  That would be an awesome ride!

When I learned to drive it was in a 1950 Plymouth with a 6 cylinder and a "3-on-the-tree".  When I got my license at age 14, my Mother had a 1960 Plymouth Savoy with a 225 slant-six and a push-button auto.  I drove the hell out of it!

[RallyeMike]

Considering it's girth, it's hard to believe this one originally came with a 225 and three on the tree also. They are fun to drive..... for a awhile.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

it is 37 feet long and fins off a petrified killer whale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmPdt4IK9Yo

[Mopar4me]

I can remember riding around in a Chrysler Town and Country when it wasn't a minivan

[lloyd3]

And, to most folks a "Suburban" is a GM product.  The wagons are neat for a number of reasons, but sheer size is the most obvious.  For some reason, "big" looks really good to me at the moment. There's a fellow in Alberta that is a huge fan of early Mopar, and more specifically, Virgil Exner's work, but he's equal opportunity. His videos on YouTube are very-much like revisiting my adolescence and early adulthood (I grew-up in the shit-poor Boonies, too!) in that very-little money is involved and absolutely everything he works on needs just about everything. Posting as "Coldwarmotors", his dialog and attitude are surprisingly lighthearted and refreshing, and he takes you along on his adventures to find and recover what he essentially considers to be rolling art. He and his buddies dig basket-case cars out of remote Canadian fields and back lots, load them on his trailer, drag them back to his own pseudo-junkyard car-collection, where they are summarily returned to running condition using nothing but refurbished and repurposed parts. I learn something every time I watch one.

[GreenMachine]

And, to most folks a "Suburban" is a GM product.  The wagons are neat for a number of reasons, but sheer size is the most obvious.  For some reason, "big" looks really good to me at the moment. There's a fellow in Alberta that is a huge fan of early Mopar, and more specifically, Virgil Exner's work, but he's equal opportunity. His videos on YouTube are very-much like revisiting my adolescence and early adulthood (I grew-up in the shit-poor Boonies, too!) in that very-little money is involved and absolutely everything he works on needs just about everything. Posting as "Coldwarmotors", his dialog and attitude are surprisingly lighthearted and refreshing, and he takes you along on his adventures to find and recover what he essentially considers to be rolling art. He and his buddies dig basket-case cars out of remote Canadian fields and back lots, load them on his trailer, drag them back to his own pseudo-junkyard car-collection, where they are summarily returned to running condition using nothing but refurbished and repurposed parts. I learn something every time I watch one.

I like that guys videos too, I've only seen a handful of the "will it run" videos.


https://www.youtube.com/user/coldwarmotors

[lloyd3]

It's fun to see the Canadian variants of some of these cars too. Names I've never heard before. Acadians and Mayfairs? Another thing that surprises me is how indestructible some of the drivelines are out of the late 50s and early 60s. I see six cylinders in a new light now. There is beauty in simplicity after all.

[triple_green]

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/5341834438.html

Check this out!

[RallyeMike]

That car used to be in Fairwood a block from my folks house. Now its right up on the hill at the MLK/I-5 interchange in Skyway.

Believe it or not, he also has a bright yellow one just like it! Its a hard driveway to miss.

[triple_green]

Is it a real Daytona or SB wing?

[RallyeMike]

That I don't know.