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 1961 Chrysler with a connectionJump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [50 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Forward Look NON-Technical Discussions -> 1955-1961 Forward Look MoPar General Discussion | Message format |
imopar380 |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 7219    Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | Shawn Smith, owner of this car contacted me through the WPC Club email last spring and sent me a photo of his beautiful Windsor. He had asked me if there was any way to find history or build records on the car, which is a Canadian built model. Unfortunately all the Canadian records of the era were destroyed so at that point I couldn’t give him much help. However, I asked him if he could send me more photos and a story on the car because I wanted to feature it in our newsletter. Finally in December he sent me some more photos of the car and his restoration story. One of the photos he sent me was of the car prior to restoration. Seeing that photo brought back a flood of memories, and I immediately knew quite a bit of the history that Shawn had been seeking regarding the car. . I immediately recognized the car as one that was originally from Victoria, and actually bought new here I met the original owner in the early 1980s, but I had first seen the car quite often starting in the mid 1970s when I first started working downtown and driving around in my 1960 Dodge Polara, (which Ron and Jean now own). The owner was Mr. Ernie Protheroe, and he lived in a condominium just across from Beacon Hill Park at 250 Douglas. One day, forward now to around 1985, I somehow happened to actually meet him as he was coming back to the car at Mayfair Shopping Centre. We got to talking about the car, and I noticed he was missing the driver’s door lock cylinder and I mentioned that I could supply him with another one. I ended up doing that for him. He told me some history – that he always had the car serviced at Dunsmuir Shell Super Service at the junction of Fort St. and Yates, and he also told me that he worked at the Legislative buildings before he retired, which was within walking distance of his condo. He also told me he had a 1969 Dodge Dart GT parked back at the condo underground parking, but I never did see that one. I eventually lost contact with Ernie and the car over the years. He was probably in his late 70s or early 80s at that time. I noticed the car for sale on line a few years ago but didn’t follow up on it. Now Shawn has found it, restored it and joined the WPC Club and our WPC Region. SO Here is Shawn's Story on this lovely 1961 Windsor: "It all started with my wife. Up to last December, I owned 2 pristine classic vehicles, a 1959 Chevy Apache, and a 1966 Chrysler 300. Between my wife and I, we had 4 vehicles and 2 garages. One day, my wife said to me that she would like to downsize and simplify things in her life. How she was going to do that, of course, was up to her. Being a person who likes to practice non-attachment, I gave some serious thought about what she said, and started to warm up to the idea of applying her idea to my life. Finally, I decided to jump on board, and downsize myself. Concerning my classic vehicles, I decided to pare down to one. Recently, I had really developed a strong appreciation for the 1961 Chrysler 2 door hardtop. I decided to sell the Apache and 300 and search for a 61 Chrysler (which was a challenge, because they are very hard to come by). I started the search immediately. I have been fortunate in the past, that when I have made my mind up about something, things fall into place fast. Right off the bat, I found a 61 Chrysler Windsor on Kijiji, located in Bragg Creek Alberta. I drove up on a Wednesday to take a look at it. It was all pretty much intact, little rust, with a few extra spare parts. It had the rare dubonnet paint colour (for 61 only), P.S.,P.B, factory dual exhausts, all the full wheel covers, and radio delete. The owner said he had inquiries from all over, including Sweden. After some dickering, we settled on a price, and onsummated the deal. The owner was nice enought to trailer the Windsor down to me that Saturday ( a 120 mile drive), and I paid for his gas and lunch. Upon first seeing it, my wife was not overly enthused, because it looked a little worse for wear. I didn't mind, because I knew I was going to bring this puppy back to life, in a way that she would be impressed. Within a couple of months, I sold the Apache and 300, and was unencumbered now to get the Chrysler back to it's former glory. Over the following 9 months, I did my 'duty' of reviving this Virgil Exner classic. Amongst other things, I brought the 361 motor back to life, reupholstered the seats (the door panels and headliner were in great shape), installed new carpeting, installed a new gas tank, rear springs & shocks, re-did brakes, fixed and installed a supplied Flight Sweep trunk lid, refurbished the steering wheel, installed a supplied new dash pad, got the supplied clock working and installed it, and on and on. Lastly, the biggest item was painting it in it's original Dubonnet colour. As well, I changed the roof colour to white, to have a two tone car. Now, the little lady is tickled pink. During the restoration, I was still driving the Windsor around town, in between the fix-ups. Having a classic car, I feel it is meant to be shared and enjoyed by others, in turn, making them feel good - and that is exactly what has happened. I literally cannot go anywhere without receiving very positive reactions and comments. I get guys who roll down their windows at stop lights, and yell at me, 'What a fantastic car', or old ladies stopping me and 'ordering' me 'you can just park that gorgeous car in my driveway sonny'. It has been a terrific pleasure sharing this vehicle, and I am grateful to Mr. Exner for doing such a wonderful job." Edited by imopar380 2019-01-01 5:39 PM (ShawnSmith1.JPG) (Shawnsmith2.JPG) (ShawnSmith3.JPG) (ShawnSmith4.JPG) (ShawnSmith5.JPG) (ShawnSmith6.JPG) (shawnsmith8.JPG) (shawnsmith8a.JPG) (shawnsmith13.JPG) (shawnsmith9.JPG) Attachments ----------------  ShawnSmith1.JPG (118KB - 384 downloads) Shawnsmith2.JPG (108KB - 379 downloads) ShawnSmith3.JPG (125KB - 380 downloads) ShawnSmith4.JPG (105KB - 343 downloads) ShawnSmith5.JPG (107KB - 400 downloads) ShawnSmith6.JPG (109KB - 368 downloads) shawnsmith8.JPG (93KB - 365 downloads) shawnsmith8a.JPG (127KB - 372 downloads) shawnsmith13.JPG (79KB - 368 downloads) shawnsmith9.JPG (81KB - 366 downloads) | ||
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| 60 Imp |
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   Location: North Australia | |||
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| imopar380 |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 7219 Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | This is prior to restoration. (shawnsmith12.jpg) Attachments ---------------- shawnsmith12.jpg (158KB - 372 downloads) | ||
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| R41HP |
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Veteran Posts: 256 Location: Chicago | |||
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| Viper Guy |
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Expert Posts: 2008 Location: Branson, MO | |||
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| imopar380 |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 7219 Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | |||
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| 59Firedome |
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Regular Posts: 57 Location: Gooding, ID | Love the 2-tone looks of this Windsor, really emphasizes the Exner lines and touch. Looks like a '60 flight sweep deck lid, which I like better than the '61 as it doesn't protrude so much and is more flushed with the rest of the deck lid design. I'll be doing the same thing with my '61 New Yorker when the time comes, as I have a couple of '60 deck lids laying around  | ||
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| imopar380 |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 7219 Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | Actually both the 1960 and 1961 flite-sweep deck lids were exactly the same stamping for the lid, the difference being that the 1961 wheel cover protruded more which made it look higher. There were way less 1961's buit with that deck lid compared to 1960. Also, the Canadian 61 Chryslers used the same wheel covers as the 1960 versions with a very minor and almost un-noticeable change. Can you spot the difference between the 1960 wheelcover (bottom pic) and the 1961 Canadian wheel cover (top pic). Difference is where the brushed/satin area is - on the 60 it's the area outside the center piece, and on the 61 the outer area is polished, and the center is brushed/ satin. Also, the "slats" around the perimeter of the cover were painted argent on the 60, and white on the 61 Canadian version. 59Firedome - 2025-03-03 9:45 PM Love the 2-tone looks of this Windsor, really emphasizes the Exner lines and touch. Looks like a '60 flight sweep deck lid, which I like better than the '61 as it doesn't protrude so much and is more flushed with the rest of the deck lid design. I'll be doing the same thing with my '61 New Yorker when the time comes, as I have a couple of '60 deck lids laying around :) Edited by imopar380 2025-03-12 7:44 PM (61-decklid.jpg) (61-wheelcover.jpg) (60-wheelcover.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 61-decklid.jpg (80KB - 223 downloads) 61-wheelcover.jpg (26KB - 225 downloads) 60-wheelcover.jpg (69KB - 236 downloads) | ||
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| 59Firedome |
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Regular Posts: 57 Location: Gooding, ID | Yup, that's what I was talking about, the protrusion of the wheel cover itself on the 61 vs the 60. The 1960 version looks more integrated into the deck lid, and IMO looks better that way (53761082253_c6d290e11f_o.jpg) Attachments ---------------- 53761082253_c6d290e11f_o.jpg (216KB - 216 downloads) | ||
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