West Coast Classics are proud to present this extraordinarily rare and truly remarkable southern California survivor in impeccable unrestored condition 1956 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country 4 Dr 6 passenger Wagon with its original 354 c.i. (5.8L) ‘Firepower’ engine generating 280HP matched to its original automatic transmission!
Highly factory optioned with the following:
Music Master T&C Radio: $101
Four Way Power Seat
Power Windows: $125
Power Pilot steering: $97
Power Brakes
Solex tinted windshield: $20
White sidewall tires
Excluded from the Town & Country Wagon was the factory Airtemp air conditioning system because it was a packaging issue, the 1956 Airtemp system was a massive, heavy unit primarily mounted in the trunk area, utilizing large plastic ducts that piped cold air up to the rear package shelf. Because the Town & Country was a station wagon with a folding rear seat and open cargo floor, there was no trunk compartment to house the bulky system without completely ruining the wagon's utility.
The 1956 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country Wagon is a highly coveted milestone vehicle among classic car and MOPAR enthusiasts, prized for its mechanical innovation, styling, and low production numbers.
This particular example is a rare nearly all original southern California survivor, owned for many years by a local family and which we recently acquired from their estate. It was always garaged in a climate controlled facility and regularly exercised by its careful caretakers.
We serviced the car prior to sale to ensure turn key ready driving with a new brake master cylinder, wheel cylinders, front and rear brake shoes and brake lines and hoses, rebuild the carburetor, and mechanical fuel pump. The engine has excellent compression, new engine and transmission mounts and flushed and clean fuel tank.
Historical Significance:
The FirePower Hemi Engine: It was the first year for the 354 cubic inch (5.8L) Hemi V8, a foundational generation-one powerplant pushing 280 horsepower.
Virgil Exner Design: It featured the iconic "PowerStyle Design," bridging the classic mid-century lines with Chrysler’s era-defining, sculpted tailfins.
Status Symbol Utility: Unlike utilitarian, entry-level people-movers of the era, the New Yorker Town & Country was a premium, rolling luxury status symbol.
Pushbutton Driving: It debuted Chrysler's dash-mounted pushbutton mechanism for the PowerFlite and newly rolled-out TorqueFlite automatic transmissions.
Rarity:
Production Count: Only 1,070 units of the New Yorker Town & Country Wagon were built for the 1956 model year.
Survival Rate: Because station wagons were heavily used as daily utility haulers, few survived; experts estimate that fewer than 40 to 50 high-quality examples exist today.
The Premium Premium: This wagon was the second most expensive model in Chrysler's entire 1956 New Yorker lineup, sitting just behind the convertible, making it a rare choice when new.
Collectibility:
High-Value Potential with Cross-Market Appeal: It actively draws overlapping interest from station wagon purists, 1950s Americana collectors, and Mopar Hemi performance enthusiasts.
