Conservatism was the rule at Chrysler as the Thirties tramp to a close . One stab at radical design , in the form of the avant garde but ill - destine Airflow of 1934 - 1937 , was enough . With K.T. Keller firmly at the helm , Chrysler was determined to nonplus with the tried - and - true , and the result was the 1939 Chrysler New Yorker four - door saloon .
Chrysler ’s 1938 simulation had turned from the Airflow and Airstream designs to a transitional motif , sport a cask - shaped grille and headlamp mounted in separate pod . A wicked recessional help slice sales by about one-half . Among the framework offered was a New York Special sedan chair that customer remove to calling the New Yorker – a name that would become official for 1939 .
Ray Dietrich , famed onetime coachbuilder , was responsible for 1939 ’s styling cleaning , make out by Robert Cadwallader . Headlamps moved into the elongated fenders , and the barrel front end was replaced by a lower grille made up of vertical bars . Running display panel slimmed down , and the fastback profile help conceal the tree trunk .
A chromatography column - mounted gear lever became usable , and could be ordered with Modern Fluid Drive – an oil - filled flywheel that permitted ultra - smooth takeoffs . Fluid Drive would serve as the basis for Chrysler ’s approaching tiptoe - shift semiautomatic transmission .
No less important was the Modern " Superfinish " mental process that cut friction by adding a mirror finale to railway locomotive and material body element . The 323.5 - cid true eight , with Stromberg carburettor and Solar Spark ignition , delivered 130 HP at 3400 rpm . A high - compression package could advance output to 138 bhp . inwardly , the " Safety - Signal " speedometer expose a trio of warning Light Within : light-green below 30 miles per hour , amber at 30 - 50 , and red over 50 mph .
Chrysler ’s C-23 series consist of the Imperial , Saratoga , and New Yorker , each on a 125 - inch wheelbase . The New Yorker sedan sell for $ 1298 and weighed 3695 pounds . Two- and five - rider coupes were also available ( 606 built ) . Rarest was the rakish Victoria coupe , of which only 99 were give rise by the Hayes Body Company . A bare 239 New Yorker and Saratoga sedans were sold with an optional sunshine-roof . Two - tone brown upholstery , install in all New Yorkers , was intended to produce " eviscerate room elegance . "
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Production rose to 72,443 for the 1939 model year , but that was n’t enough to keep Chrysler from slipping into 11th position . No surprise , perhaps , as GM and Ford came out with restyled bodies , and the Loewy - style Champion contribute Studebaker into fourth billet . A aggregate of 10,536 C-23 sedan enter the salesroom .
Harvey Doering of La Palma , California , is the gallant owner of this New Yorker sedan , painted in the original Desert Beige . Hailing from Montana , the four - door was put in in the California desert before Harvey bought it in 1981 . He have a 1939 Chrysler Royal in the Forties , but never a collector motorcar .
Harvey performed the restoration workplace himself , let in replacement of interior charge plate and meticulous house painting of numerals on the back of instrument glass . The physical structure " did n’t depend bad , " Harvey notes , but required much tidy up because the fender " had been dent and not properly fixed . "
rather of Fluid Drive , Harvey ’s sedan has a conventional flywheel with " Cruise - Climb " overdrive . This bountiful New Yorker come through top honors in the four - door sedan category at the Contemporary Historical Vehicle Association ’s National meet in 1991 .
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