More of our current collection

Our '56 Imperial Sedan,Wadsworth, was purchased new in December 1955 by Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Ward of Sand Springs, OK.  Over the next 29 years, Mr. Ward pampered his Imperial, using it sparingly, and amassed only 62,000 careful miles.  He passed away in 1985 and the car remained in Mrs. Ward's garage, unused, for 12 years. In August 1997, the slightly faded but still majestic two-tone green Imperial was acquired by Ohio Chrysler collector R.C. Young.  After trying unsuccessfully to return the faded paint to its original luster, Mr. Young had the body stripped down and beautifully refinished in its original colors of Mint Green and Surf Green.  The interior, which is entirely original, was pristine, the upholstery having been covered in plastic since new.  And the best part -- the factory-installed air conditioning works perfectly! In fact, the back seat can double as a meat locker! With over a dozen cars in his stable, including another '56 Imperial, Mr. Young reluctantly advertised this magnificent example of Chrysler's flagship in the November '99 Hemmings Motor News.  When I happened upon the ad, I thought the Imperial would make a nice 50th birthday present for myself.  Phone calls were made, photos were sent, and I was off to Toledo, Ohio.  The results are here, before your eyes!  Other than some brake work, a carburetor rebuild and a new set of whitewalls, Wadsworth is as I found him.  Why the name Wadsworth?  Well, at over 19 feet, he's quite a 'longfellow'! One of the shows we've displayed Wadsworth at was the Walter P. Chrysler Club's national meet in Parsippany, New Jersey in July 2001.  We left the meet in early afternoon, rather than staying for the awards banquet.  Imagine my delight and surprise when I received a package in the mail (8 months later!) containing a second place plaque -- not bad for a basically unrestored, regularly driven car!!

Virgil as we found him at Shirey's Auto Sales -- dull, dirty, with 16 year old Michelin tires

4 days later, all polished up with a new set of Firestone whitewalls.  What a difference!

Virgil is our recently (Feb. 10th, 2001) acquired 1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, and is my daily driver.  1978 was the New Yorker Brougham's final year of production and also the last year for the Chrysler big block V8s in passenger cars.  Big is the key word here, as Virgil stretches almost 19 1/2 feet and weighs close to 5,000 pounds!  He's a 66k mile 1-owner original car, with just about every bell, whistle and gadget you could imagine.  Equipment includes Auto Temp II air conditioning, tilt and telescope steering wheel, dual 6-way power seats, power door locks, am/fm stereo with 8-track player, and plush Corinthian leather upholstery.  Virgil was originally purchased by Margaretta Stone at Gundaker Chrysler-Plymouth in Belmar, NJ on July 24th, 1978.  Ms. Stone kept the car for 22 years, trading it in for a new Dodge in the summer of 2000.  The Dodge dealer then wholesaled this late 70's lux-o-barge to Shirey's Auto Sales in Dover, Delaware.  Originally, Mr. Shirey (who is also a collector) was planning on keeping the car for himself and bringing it down to his winter home in Florida.  However, he decided instead to bring his 1980 Mercedes to Florida and released the car for sale.  I came across the car while searching on the internet for large, late 60's to mid-70's vehicles (talk about getting into trouble shopping on the internet!).  Mr. Shirey e-mailed some excellent photos to me, and I pretty much bought the car based on those.

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