I've heard of these things, but I never ever seen one. Between 62-64, after they axed DeSoto, Chrysler was doing some screwy things, like chasing police car sales and stripper loss leader manual trans Newports. I don't know if this is the real deal - the only way to tell is if the pushbuttons are absent and there is just a block-off plate, but you can't see that in the pic. https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/d/manassas-1963-chrysler-newport/6936382731.html
You can learn something new everyday. Always thought Chysler Corp went to the bottom with just their Plymouths and Dodges. But then we did not see new Chryslers in our neighborhood.
Also I would have thought on the bigger manual cars the shifter would have been a three on the tree type of arrangement. That shifter looks so Valiant. The transmission hump looks made to order for that shifter. Regardless manual or not. That car doesn’t look like the owner needed a lot of time to study the options list.
Yeah Bill - I thought the same thing - you'd wonder if the take rate would be enough to justify the engineering for the trans hump in the floor. I guess that probably the dead giveaway that this is legit.
That is very interesting! I kind of like the idea of it having a 361 and a stick. Too bad it's not a 4 speed. Price seems a little high to me, assuming it is a bare bones/low option car. It's hard to tell what kind of shape it is in from the single photo. Looks solid, but the red primer could be hiding rust.
I think on what literature I've seen on these, that is the correct setup on the floor with that shifter. Kinda rather downmarket for a make that was touting "No Jr. Editions" in their ads poking at Merc, Buick and Olds.
You might be on to something Bill. Other than a ‘62 Imperial I had for a while. I’m not that conversant in those Virgil Ex Mopars. I just could not imagine ordering one of those big whales with manual.
Some more info/pics http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/ch...wport-361-v8-manual-3-speed-on-the-floor.html https://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopa...-newport-3-speed-big-block-stick-shift.40776/
It's a shame they painted over the original white with that awful burnt red. I have always liked these era Chryslers. I bet it was a good looking car before the "new" paintjob.
My father got a job as a bookkeeper for a septic tank company back in the '60's, to supplement his retirement income. The boss got him a '59 Catalina flat top for a while, then a white '62 Grand Prix, until it caught fire one morning. The third car was a white '65 Biscayne 4 door sedan with turquoise interior. The boss had the thing painted orangey red, to match the trucks and equipment at the business. Didn't look good, but the guy was super to our father. Back during the last year daddy worked for him, 1974, daddy got sick and was hospitalized for a few weeks. By then, Mr. Ashton, the company owner, had lent him a '73 emerald green Impala four door sedan. Our mom called the man one day and asked how soon he wanted it back. He told her to keep it, he signed it over to daddy and they kept it for at least ten years, had to have rust work done on the top once or twice. The nasty tomato red Biscayne had a six cylinder, three speed on the column, manual tuned radio, and factory in dash air conditioning. I'd love to have that thing, I don't think many of them existed with that combination of "accessories". That Chrysler was definitely odd.
Remember, back in those days, you ordered your goodies separately, and usually had a car 1-3 years on average. So the original Biscayne owner likely preferred economy over power, and was used to column shifters.
