1932 Chrysler Series CH Convertible Sedan

In the early 1930's post-depression era, all of the luxury marques were intent on broadening their image with slightly smaller designs. It was Walter P. Chrysler that would introduce the sporty 135-inch wheelbase Imperial. This new, lighter-weight model was indeed smaller, but certainly not small.

All Imperials were built in limited numbers as they represented the top tier at Chrysler. In order to remain competitive, Chrysler introduced a smaller version of its luxurious flagship in 1932. Two distinct series were available, the Series CH and the Series CL, riding on 135-inch and 146-inch wheelbases respectively. Both used the same 384.8 cubic-inch, 125-horsepower L-head inline eight-cylinder engine introduced in 1931. Chrysler boasted of the model's performance, which was quite exemplary for the era: a cruising speed of 96 mph and 0-60 mph in 20 seconds. Production CH bodies came from Briggs while most CLs were fitted with custom coachwork by LeBaron.

The CH was available in four body styles, the rarest of which is the convertible sedan with just 152 produced. Dual side-mount spare tires, leather seats, an external trunk, floating power engine mounts, a v-configuration split windshield with separate opening panes, and front and rear carpeting were included in the $2,195 price. Standard equipment included hand-buffed leather seats with matching kick panels and a leather door, matching carpets in the front and rear, storage pouches in the rear doors, a top boot, twin sun visors, a painted dash with a damascened instrument binnacle, dual side mounts and a trunk.

The current owners acquired it in 2014 in central Pennsylvania. It had been stored for many years and was in very poor condition, missing some key parts. After extensive research, a four-year restoration was undertaken and has recently been completed.

A total of 1,393 CH Chryslers were built.