Classic CLASSICS: 1949 Chrysler: Wood-Bodied City & State | Company

In car or truck-starved The united states immediately after World War II, practically each dealership across the country had lengthy waiting around lists. Relocating to the head of the line to purchase a new motor vehicle was a unusual privilege accorded to only a several.

Just one wounded soldier was accorded these kinds of an honor as an injured war hero. Ace Rosner was permitted to order a new 1946 Chrysler Town & Nation wooden-bodied convertible equipped with Fluid Generate. He held the automobile only 1 year, but all through that time he turned hooked on wood-bodied Chrysler Town & Country convertibles.

Forty decades later Rosner attended an auction and saw a maroon 1949 Chrysler Town & Nation convertible cross the auctioneer’s block with only 20,000 miles on its odometer it experienced spent numerous a long time slumbering in a garage.

With the information that only 1,000 these kinds of cars experienced been manufactured, Rosner decided that he experienced to have the Chrysler — and as other bidders uncovered, he intended organization. When the gavel fell, Rosner was the operator of the 1949 City & Region convertible with a picket body.

Rosner retrieved his Chrysler and motored property. On that journey in the 4,630-pound automobile he read the speedometer cable snap at 22,887 miles recorded on the odometer. “I experienced the car or truck up to 90,” Rosner claims the speedometer can sign up speeds up to 110 mph.

The straight-8-cylinder motor produces 135 horsepower out of 323.5 cubic inches. “No one cared about weights in all those times,” Rosner says. “There is almost nothing mild on that car.” The significant rear bumper stretches from the back of the rear wheelwell on one particular facet to the other with an interruption at the rear of the vehicle where a independent shorter piece connects the two.

The rear of the Chrysler has the physical appearance of a interval motorboat. The major wood-lined trunklid is held open by two hydraulic lifts the trunk itself is far more of a properly than a normal auto trunk. Underneath the trunk is a pair of backup lights. With wood occupying all of the rear quarters, the taillights, by necessity, are mounted on the sides of the metallic rear fenders a red reflector caps each individual 1. When new, the exclusive Chrysler City & State convertible carried a foundation rate of $3,970.

It has a two-piece windshield, two fog lights on the front gravel pan and two facet mirrors that blend into the side trim. “From the driver’s seat,” Rosner suggests, “you won’t be able to see the suitable 1.” Although a pair of guards guards the rear bumper, the front bumper has four bumper guards.

As quickly as Rosner experienced pushed his 18-foot, 3-inch-extensive City & State household, he established that the all-initial car, in otherwise excellent affliction, wanted to be reupholstered. “The mice and moths experienced a good get together,” he claims. The padded maroon leather-based dashboard remained, but the tan whipcord/maroon leather-based seats had been replaced to primary specs. In 1949, Rosner points out, Chrysler City & Country convertibles ended up provided with tops of purple, black, or tan. The authentic top rated was tan, but Rosner opted for a purple vinyl best to closely match the shade of the car or truck.

The remainder of the motor vehicle is authentic, with the exception of a handful of of the scaled-down picket items in close proximity to the rear window that were being replaced by a shop in Pennsylvania.

The 131.5-inch wheelbase normally offers Rosner a comfortable, cozy trip anytime he is inclined to climb driving the a few-spoke steering wheel with a chrome-plated 360-degree horn ring. The Fluid Drive reminds him of his 1st wood-bodied City & Region convertible of a long time back.

— Vern Parker, Motor Issues