1964 Chrysler Newport wagon as a daily driver...cool?

My dad has a 1964 chrysler newport 9 p***enger "hardtop" station wagon that just sits, sits, and sits some more. kind of a backup vehicle in the warmer months. 2 full benches with rear facing 3rd row, push ****on trans with 361 V8, semi-restored probably 10 or 12 years ago to decent driver status

it gets driven maybe 5 times a year, and always sits outside. The weather and sitting are starting to take its toll. I was thinking about making it my daily driver come springtime.

I am a big fan of the earlier mopar wagons with the canted quads, but can a 64 be "cool?"

does the front end from a 60-62 bolt up? I imagine it would, but have never tried.

No pics of the beast as of now since its under some snow...

thanks!

 

I had a 64 Newport as my daily for a while. The 361 has a nice amount of power but I think the best mileage I got was 10 mpg. My small block powered 50 dodge close to doubles that.

 

I would drive it daily if I had it - not the prettiest Mopar, but very cool in their own right. Dead nuts dependable driver I would say.

 

Driving something that is anywhere near collectible as a daily driver is in my opinion, never a good idea. especially on the east coast with your salt, etc. The car would be ruined faster than it is now with sitting.

 

Sure they are cool,,beats the heck out of a late model import! HRP

 

I've seen 63-64's that look cool as hell, lowered on Astros. So yeah it can be cool if ya do it right, but as to your second question; No, a 61-2 is a totally different car. The nose def wont bolt up.

 

If you're only getting 10 out of it, something is wrong. Chrysler won a Mobilgas Economy Run in '61 with a 361-powered car pulling close to, if not just over, 20 MPG. 60-64's are all the same platform underneath.

I think they're decent looking cars just as-is, you could probably round up the older nose and put it on, but it would look goofy without the matching rear body.

 

A HT,9 p***. wagon. Very Cool !!!

 

just go through it with a full tune up, oil change, replace brake shoes, etc and drive it, unless you have a long daily commute.

 

My '65 Fury Wagon is pretty much my daily driver in the summer, take it everywhere!

 

Nope not cool at all so just send me your addy and I'll come pick it up. You don't want to keep something that uncool even in the driveway. ;-)

A 9 p*** wagon is way cool. If you have never riden in the back seat p***ing traffic doing 90 on the freeway you have not lived. We used to get funny looks 20 years ago I can't imagine what todays drivers would think about it but I would love to find out.

 

Cool? Yes!
Drive the damn thing, WHO CARES what other people think!

 

A bit OT but a local 'morpower' fan made a clone 300 out of a 2 dr. hung a roll cage inside ,reworked the suspension and installed a warmed up 440, he runs it in the 110 mph cl*** in the 'Silver State Challenge" he's done well with it.

 

The thought of this huge beast flying down the road makes me smile

 

tint the rear windows , lay all the seats down , instant poom room .. your prom queen will love it .. I lived in one for 6 months back in the 70's ..

 

My gramps 62 Imp tipped the grain scales at 5400 lbs. Whats that law about weight and speed???? 5400 lbs x 110 MPH = GET THE HELL OUT OF HIS WAY.

 

"Cool" is in the eye of the beholder. I'd rock it.

 

Really - you want to use the Mobil Economy runs as a benchmark? that's pretty funny, since those Economy Runs had little to do with what a consumer could expect out of a real life driving situation. Cars were cl***ified according to cost and engine size, and were selected by the AAA Contest Board from showroom floors, dealer lots, or factory ***embly lines. These vehicles were no different than the average American would own, and certified as stock. Minor changes could be made in terms of carburetor jets, timing, and tire pressures. Break-in runs were allowed, and that was when the rules were stretched. Tires were scrubbed to reduce rolling resistance, brakes worn down a much as practically possible, and support cars dragged chains in front of the race vehicle so as to have as much dust and sand enter engines minus air cleaners. Cars were impounded and sealed before the race, but despite the precautions, tweaking and break-in resulted in cars that were quite different from an everyday vehicle.
On top of that the Average speeds that they had to maintain were very low. For instance on the leg from LA to Flagstaff AZ, it 41.2073 MPH - no one is going to travel at those speeds on an open highway!

 

What's cooler, that or and Astro van??
That's *****in bro!!

 

A big ol' 9 p***enger wagon in the Silver State Cl***ic? I like the sound of that!

 

Looks to me like it would make a great daily driver!

 

run it like you stole it, very cool looking car

 

Ha! You, sir, don't live in the rust belt. Leaving a car sit outside where I grew up in Northeast Ohio would rust a car out in one winter because of the constant freeze/thaw cycle. Your only options were store it indoors with a concrete floor (preferably up on jack stands) or drive it and hit the quarter car wash every few days to blast the salt off all lower surfaces.

That is a totally cool car. Why are you even hesitating??

 

I would love to have something like that for our dragster as a push car/tow vehicle.

 

To answer the question about the '60-'62 front sheet metal on the '63-'64...

While these cars are "twins under the skin," the hoods and fenders are significantly different where they'd need to meet, at the doors and cowl.

Any hardtop wagon is cool. Fix it up and drive it.

 

I am working on a 1956 buick special station wagon, trying to wake it up from a 20 year slumber to make it a daily driver. Bruce.

 

wow !!

.

 

Well, I do know that Pontiac won it in 1960 getting around 20 as well (exact figures escape my memory - and I owned and drove daily a 1960 Pontiac, 389 hi-comp engine, 2bbl carb, and I regularly got 17 MPG out of it without really trying. 3.08 gear and I'd cruise around 65-70 with it. I remember it well because I later had an '87 Pontiac station wagon, 307, 200R4, and it got the same milage, but was way less fun to drive.

So to get only half what the economy run car got, you are either driving with a lead foot or the timing/ignition tune is way off. Or you somehow got the one car with 4.11 rear gears in it.

Clearly not from the east coast, because those of us with nice cars park them around the beginning of November and either have a new late model for a daily, or buy a 10 year old beater to use up in the salt for the snow months. Running an old car in the salt will eat it up in a few years.

I read up on these. The windshield and frame is the same. The clip will bolt up, but I don't think there is any combination of Chrysler or Dodge that has the early door skin blended to that late quarter panel. If it was a Dodge 880, it would be an easy swap though.

 

On my short list for coolest wagon ever. But I love wagons, especially 4 door hard top wagons.

 

just for clarification, that green one is not my pop's, his is maroon with a white top. other than that, pretty similar I think that green one is a 63

thanks all for the info on the clip swap, if I do end up with it as my daily driver I would probably just end up leaving it alone

he also has a built up 413 thats been sitting on a stand in the garage for as long as this wagon has been with us...might make it in the car eventually...that was the plan 10 years ago. should be good for about 450 HP he was told when he bought it way back when. that and probably 5 mpg