Welcome to V Garage! The dumbest Auto channel in all of YouTube But honestly, I don't feel very stupid buying this. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It's a 1946 Chrysler Town and Country convertible and I got it because we are quite literally having an extinction level event When it comes to the collectors of these cars. they're all being sold off as the owners pass away, the museums being closed, the cars being sold off.

and that's why I was able to get this for about half of what it sold for 10 years ago. This would have been a sixf figure car at one point, and it certainly isn't that anymore. So that's good news in the sense that I'm able to buy one of these for an affordable price. But it's also bad news because the enthusiasm for these cars is literally dying out and there's not enough of us to replace them.

So what's the future when it comes to antique collector cars? Hopefully we're able to get some more fresh blood into this hobby because these cars, they have a lot of appeal and not just because of looks. And This Town and Country especially is a very, very special car. I Bought this 46, Town and Country the king of the Woodies at an auction where an entire Museum was selling off their collection and it was a rare circumstance where the seller, the person who actually built the collection was there to see it off. Usually it is families that have inherited this big collection or a museum and not enough of them are interested in continuing the museum.

So they sell off all the cars and take the money. So it's nice in the sense that the man that built this collection was there to see it off. but still, the prices. A lot of them went for below their estimat including This Town and Country which it's hard to believe because of how beautiful these things are and how nice they are to drive.

You're probably noticing that I don't have to shift this thing very much and that's because this has fluid drive basically a four-speed transmission and I'll show you how it works here I do have a clutch on the floor which I'm using right now. This was pretty revolutionary when it came out out in the early 40s. So I do have a clutch, but I also have a torque converter. so now we are in the low gears I can go from 1 to two where it shifts much like an automatic see it just shifted in the second.

and if I want to go into my high gears there's three. same thing if I want to shift into fourth, I just let off, wait a second slight click and I'm in Top Gear and this thing's good for 80 85 mph, uh, 110 horsepower out of the straight 8 and that makes this car from 1946. be able to drive at modern car speeds, but its other party trick is you come to a stop and you can stop without putting the clutch in because it still has a torque converter. Basically you only need to use the clutch and the gear selection when you first start it up and putting it into the gear or shifting from the low gears to the high gears.

Otherwise, you can drive around mostly like a normal automatic transmission which people living in. New York Living in San Francisco Living in the cities in the 1940s, taxi cab drivers. this was a major godsend and a pretty Invincible beefy transmission to boot versus some early automatic, so it was a game changer. I'm going to pull off and turn around and I'm holding the camera with one hand and in a very old car it would normally be a problem.

This thing doesn't have power steering, but it's not as heavy and cumbersome as you would think. Same with shifting, putting it here into reverse and that straight eight power really good torque. I'm not going to do a burnout in a car from 1946 and also so because it's been sitting for a very long time. That's the one thing about Museum cars and what they announced with these that they've been sitting for a very long time and they're going to need basic service.

So when I do go for Speed in this Chrysler which is capable of here we go 40 50 This was when we start buffeting these old tires, they are very much out around 55. that's 60. Uh, quite dangerous. And also when I hit the brakes, it does pull pretty hard in.

One Direction Uh, that's something that needs to be looked at by the car wizard. We're going to need tires. We're going to need brake attention. There's a few little leaks and things, but overall I'm so happy because this car is driving so darn well.

But really, that's because there is not a lot to go wrong on these things. They're so simple, there's very little to break on these things, and it's very easy to figure out when they do. and so refreshing. In an era of modern cars where you need computers to hook into everything to talk to different modules and figure out what has gone wrong in 1946, it's about the fanciest car money could buy, but pretty much anybody could work on it.

and well, it has wood. Yeah, lots of wood in its construction, which I shall show you on a tour of this beautiful Chrysler Town and Country But before we start the tour I Would like to thank Betterhelp for sponsoring today's video I Use Betterhelp to find a therapist last year and they helped me understand myself better and work through some issues. The last year for me was was very chaotic and my better health therapist certainly helped me have new. Clarity When it came to all the problems I was having and the happiness I have now is a direct result of that Now I Know there's a stigma when it comes to asking for therapy, but there shouldn't be I Started seeing a therapist on Better Help and it did help me a lot better.

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They actually did a little too well and matched me with another Midwesterner who's also really into cars, so they certainly understood me in the therapy sessions and these sessions you'll be able to schedule at a time that is convenient for you people. spend hours in the gym every week week, so why not give your mind the same kind of attention? Over 4 million people have used Better Help to start living a healthier, happier life. So if you think you might benefit from therapy, consider betterhelp, click the link in the description or visit Betterhelp.com Hoies! Clicking that link helps support this. Channel and it also gives you 10% off your first month of better help so you can connect with a therapist and see if it helps you.

Now check out this amazing Woody When the Town and Country was first unveiled in 1941, it was marketed much like a crossover or SUV would be today, a car perfect for the city to get around. Very practical, very elegant and beautiful, but also tough enough to handle a trip out into the country off-road for a hunt or whatever people did in the 1940s and all the 41s in early 42s were barrelback station Wagons is what they called them seven passengers something I would picture a mountain lodge owning and they were called Barrel backs, not just because of the shape of the car, but also because a lot of the structure the body of the car was made out of wood. Now, like I said, they made these in 1941 and a bit in 1942, but that all stopped because of war production. Us involvement in World War, II and the Town and Country didn't come back as a production car until the 1946 model year.

Now, a lot of cars didn't have many changes over that period of time. Five years had passed, but there was no research and development in advancing the cars during that period, so the cars came out mostly looking the same. Chrysler though had a huge Advantage because just prior they had unveiled that incredible fluid drive transmission so it was already a pretty Cutting Edge car at the time, but still. They did make some improvements to the nose here.

and what a front end! On the 1946 to 48 Town countries, we have something kind of unique to these cars is the three Dagmars right here. one right in the center so you can bump cars along. this one ALS has the optional fog lights which were Mopar accessories. Back then you can see the Mopar badge is riveted on there, but also the grill comes to a beautiful Point as well, giving a solid line all the way across.

On the 41s they had these piano opening hoods where they open sideways on these it opens like a traditional Hood but that hood ornament there also splitting the car in half. Just gorgeous and without the wood just looking at the front end and the drivetrain on this thing. I Have always loved these cars enough that I owned one. a Chrysler New Yorker from 1949 a four-door sedan that I bought for 4500 bucks.

It's one of my earliest YouTube videos when it came time to sell I sort of did a promotional video and my delivery. well, it wasn't very good. It's actually quite embarrassing. This is new to my inventory.

It's a 1949 Chryler New Yorker It has the spit Tire straight 8 with the fluid Drive semi-automatic transmission. Uh, it's a beautiful uh original Survivor car A great indry level classic car that is going to stir loads of conversation when you pull up to a a cruise in or car show. So I do have a familiarity with these car cars and at the time 10 plus years ago I never could have imagined owning a town in country because they were so expensive. This was a major collectible at one point a style icon and I lusted after it so much that I even would buy the substitutes like a Jeep Grand Wagoner which wasn't real wood.

and then of course that Chrysler Town and Country the Learon the K car that made me so mad I eventually buried it now I was able to eventually buy a real Woody a 1951 Ford Country Squire a Woody Wagon a beautiful car flathead Ford V8 but it did feel like a dinosaur when it came to the driving experience. It had a three on the tree without overdrive so 5560 the car was just absolutely screaming that three on the tree pretty primitive and the car just felt crude and cheap. This Chrysler it is the opposite of that that silky smooth straight eight. Just absolutely wonderful and plenty of power and torque.

That transmission I keep talking about really is a wonder and the interior quality is, well, well, just incredible on this car. The art deco gauges with Chrysler's Crown here just look absolutely amazing. I have the police spotlights as well which I think is pretty cool. The side view mirrors such an elegant almost looks like sculpture and then you go here and look at the speaker Grill oh my God it's just gorgeous and the Motorola stereo.

it does turn on and make some noise eventually once the tubes warm up, but it doesn't work. Also this early automatic climate control I have never seen before it's not functioning but I assume that's what this is to change temperatures 80, 70, 60, 50 some accessory I don't think this was Factory You can see the steering wheel as well, just beautiful with that logo and the fluid drive and the horn. well quite imposing when it works. Come on there, it is another Spotlight on the other side and that crown and just look at the detailing in this door panel.

This was a very expensive car in the 1940s and the quality and the detail show. now. a few of my friends have looked at this car and were thinking it isn't a total complete restoration. A lot of this seems original.

this interior at least this finish here. It has the right kind of patina to be original and this car actually left the factory as a red car. And look at the inside of this door panel right here. It's red.

The car obviously was repainted black, but when they did that, they probably just took the wood entirely off the car and didn't buy repainting that inside door panel. which would also mean and it seems totally believable that this wood is original. Now, the structure of the door is actually wood. This isn't something that's just tacked on.

They actually use these in the construction in the frame of the door. You look at the inside here. Yeah, that is totally wood Ashwood to be exact. and there is a metal skin right here that they put the mahogany inlay over and it continues here into the back.

This is something that car manufacturers were getting away from already in the mid to late 1940s. This was purely a style choice and boy, what a choice it was because from the back it looks almost like a yacht on the Italian Riviera like it's a Crisc or a Reva or something. and you see this latch here. This is going into the wood because this trunk lid.

once again, this is an entirely wood structure. There is nothing metal in the frame of this thing. and the trunk is another spot that looks suspiciously original. at least the way this leather has worn.

And this horsehair carpet right here and you pull it back and there is a little bit of that original red paint. So quite a mystery here. I Didn't get any information on the history of this car when I bought it, other than it's been sitting in a museum for a very long time. But look at the back end of this thing.

The rear quarter View is really where it's at, even though the front is beautiful the back. it's just stunning with that real wood and there's more labeling on the back here. Fluid: Drive in the third brake light and Town and Country down here. this illuminates the license plate.

Everything has a purpose, but they adorned it with plenty of bling in 1946 to make it just an absolutely stunning car. Now what isn't Factory are these wheels? These look like an aftermarket wire wheel that you could buy with new. Coker Tires which I sorely need again because this one has been sitting for so long. But personally I like it I think it looks really good I wouldn't switch it back to the dog dish hubc caps and why don't we take a look under the hood of this thing.

It's just so pretty. it's ridiculous. So there is the straight8 the Spitfire as they called this back in the day, which made very little sense because that was a British fighter in World War II and this being an American car. obviously an engine spits fire, so it makes sense in that way.

But it's not British but a nice twery smooth straight eight something I Have always loved, but in the older cars say something. with a manual transmission. like an old Packard or Dusenberg you have a nonsynchronized gear box, so shifting it. even the guys that are really good at it grind the gears and it is a lot more effort to drive versus this with that fluid drive.

A really nice experience so you get the best of both worlds and this one does look very very stock. underneath. a lot of the wiring appears to have been replaced, which is good because you don't want the car melting down, but then there's a lot of stuff inside electrical wise that doesn't work. And one obvious thing on this side is the heater core.

This is the coolant from the engine would go in and out to heat the cabin. It's been disconnected, cut off, probably started leaking. so something to address there if I ever want heat. I'm also kind of curious I need to look up what bolted to this? Maybe it's missing its entire heater system, but what isn't missing is its original oil bath air filter right here.

instead of a paper air filter like we're used to today. There's a screen in here in a bowl of oil and the air flows through it and it catches all the dirt and keeps it from going into the engine. A pretty cool system they call an oil bath system and that is still retained here. We'll do a deeper dive mechanically with the Car Wizard, but when it showed up, it was leaking, a little bit of coolant and it's still dripping out.

I Just need to tighten this up a little bit more from the coolant drain and it appears to be leaking a bit from the oil filter. It does drip some on the ground now. It still retains its old school 6volt electrical system which is the 6vt battery here and you can see the ignition system here once again looking ancient but working really well. And I'll start it up just so you can see how smooth and wonderful this engine is.

It's always easy to start, pops right over, sometimes it feels like there's not enough voltage getting to the starter and it'll click like the batteries did. I Don't know if it just needs the wiring cleaned up, the contacts or whatever, but when she's running so smooth, so sound. I Am very lucky in that sense and very lucky that the transmission shifts as well as it does. Obviously that's all been gone through at some point.

The accessories a lot of them don't work like I said the radio, the heater. but the lights. they do come on well I say they do. actually this one's burned out.

the highbeam works, but the fogs do as well looking so gorgeous on this thing. And the tail lights? well I do think they come on, maybe maybe not. Uhoh. So we do need some work back there.

But one thing that does actually work on this car, which is a small miracle in itself, is the top, which is power operated in 1946. Just wrap your head around that, a total dinosaur of a car made out of wood with an old school pre-war straight. A And it has a power operated top that is really simple and works super well. It's this little lever right here, a switch, which you pull.

Come on, Honey little bit of stage fright here. Come on. We were out driving in the cold so it might be struggling a little bit. So I'm going use my foot here to work the switch while I pull on it a little bit here.

Come on there we go. That woke it up. Just needed a little bit of help to get started. but now that it's going totally fine coming down 1946 Tech Right here.

Bam. You just pull it down into these indents on both sides, screw in the top and you're off. So simple, so a bit of atrophy obviously from this car sitting for so long, a few electronics and things to sort out. But overall I am so so happy with it even as is.

It drives so nice and that's why Chrysler Marketed this car as so Easy to Drive in 1946, A woman could handle it no problem. A bit of an edgy thing to say nowadays, but back then it really was a thing. These cars could be very difficult to drive and cumbersome, and this one feels a lot more like a modern car than it does an antique. even though well, geez, look at it.

And the price. I Paid $58,000 for it at auction, which was below its auction estimate and I think a total bargain. It's a trend we're certainly seeing as more of these get offered from Collections and museums and getting dumped flooded into the market that they don't reach their estimate. But it's not just the Chryslers it's just about anything.

something unique like a Cord 810 or 8812. Those were very unique cars for the time. front-wheel drive, four-speed manual transmission overdrive that was controlled by vacuum. The shifts it was still a manual, but it a little itty bitty shifter.

Uh, those are not bringing near what their estimates thought they should and in years it keeps getting lower and lower and lower. Also, the mid-50s Packer Caribbeans With that innovated suspension system sort of an active hydraulic suspension and a really cool look, they're bringing lower and lower money under their estimates. But even General cars General antiques like a modela. they're worth half of what they were 15 20 years ago because young people like me just aren't interested in them and the Boomers my parents.

They want cars obviously that were cool in their era. Growing Up So In The late 50s is where that begins for for them. So the fin cars like a 57 Chevy Still very strong going into the 60s, with the muscle cars the 70s, that kind of stuff still going strong and Gen Xers and Millennials like me. As we start to make more money, we're running the same thing: cars that were exotic in the 80s and 90s, we're seeing an explosion and growth and values there.

Meanwhile, these old dinosaurs, the prices continue to drop. Now there are certainly exceptions, especially with the blue chip highend collector cars which as the rich get richer, they continue to get more expensive like a 300, SL Go Wing or the right years of Dusenberg or Packard or an old race car. Obviously, those are getting even more expensive, but the second or third tier collectors like this, Well, they've gotten more affordable to where I'm able to buy it and I am absolutely thrilled to own this car to go through the process of sorting it out and making videos for you. It's actually kind of dumb when you think about it because this isn't a very good investment longterm compared to a lot of the other radwood era cars behind me.

But honestly, I don't care. That's not why I buy cars I'm so excited to own this Chrysler and I'll probably lose money if I ever sell it. but I can't imagine it's look at that wood. it's the King Woody Thank you so much for watching.