1954 Chrysler New Yorker C63-1 news, pictures, and information

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Club Coupe
Chassis Num: 76591721
Engine Num: C542-8-34296

The La Carrera Panamericana lasted from 1950 until 1955 and was one of the most fiercely contented events on the motor racing calendar. Many of the United States and European manufacturers sent factory-backed teams to compete in the grueling event. The course was very demanding and rough meaning only the most worthy were able to finish the race.

The La Carrera Panamericana race has been revived in the 1980s. It is now an annual event, run in the fall, and has returned to being one of the premier road racing events in the world.

This 1954 Chrysler New York has been fully-race prepared and competed in the Carrera Panamericana Retrospective. It finished third in the Original 1949-1954 class in 1999 and winning the class in 2001.

This car was built to racing standards by Lem Tolliver in San Luis Obispo. It is fitted with a highly tuned 331 Hemi engine with electronic ignition, a 727 Chrysler transmission, a modern steering box, highly modified suspension, and a Ford 9-inch rear end. There is modern safety equipment including a fuel cell, 4-wheel disc brakes, window nets, and a roll cage.

This 125 mph monster was brought to the 2008 Gooding & Company auction held in Pebble Beach, CA where it was estimated to sell for $80,000 - $110,000 and offered without reserve. The lot was sold for $68,200 including buyer's premium.

The Chrysler New Yorker has faced amazing success and popularity in the four decades it has remained in the auto industry.

Introduced originally as the New Yorker Special in 1938, the name was eventually simplified to the New Yorker. America's longest continuously used nameplate, the New Yorker has kept this title for the entirety of its 58 years of production.

In 1939, Chrysler began to manufacture vehicles in Mexico and until the early 1960's manufactured nearly the same models being produced in the US.

Until its discontinuation in 1996, the only competition that the New Yorker faced was the Chrysler Imperial, which outranked the New Yorker in size and price.

The Imperial was sold as the Chrysler New Yorker Brougham from 1976 to 1978 after Chrysler's Imperial brand was discontinued in 1975.

The original New Yorkers came with big-block V8 Fire-Power engine, the first V8s to be produced by Chrysler.

This massive engine was referred to as the early Hemi engine due to its hemispherical combustion chambers.

Replaced by a 33-cid Hemi V8 following its second year on the market, the New Yorker was improvised to provide better airflow and fuel/air mixture ignition. This new design also reduced thermal energy loss and improved airflow which made the engine more efficient.

Launched in 1979, an upscale sub-model of the New Yorker was created in the Chrysler Fifth Avenue. This occurred when the nameplate was shifted to the Chrysler R platform.

Redesigned with a squared-off body, the New Yorker continued to be one of Chrysler's best-selling models.

It continued to keep the original V8 engine, and offered a model that featured rear wheel drive. The Fifth Avenue Edition also featured a two-tone being finish which further accentuated the leather trim interior, exclusive opera windowns that opened along with the rear doors, and a landau vinyl roof.

Jessica Donaldson

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