World Classic Autos Index > Guides Index > Chrysler 1949 - 1954
Chrysler 1949 - 1954
Royal Series
For 1949 the Royal was restyled. The car appeared tall and boxier than the previous model. Only 4 body styles were launched including a station wagon. In fact the Royal wasn’t to last long. 1950 was the last year of its production. For this year the station wagon was only offered with the long wheelbase chassis and could be ordered as a Town & Country.
Windsor Series
This was again an upgraded version of the Royal and so featured the same restyled body. There was no station wagon in the Windsor range but a 2dr convertible was offered. The long-wheelbase version could be ordered as a limo. In 1950 the Newport Hardtop was added to the range.
With the Royal dropped the Windsor now became the entry level model for Chrysler in 1951. There was some restyling of the body to differentiate it from previous models. 1952 Chryslers varied very little throughout the range from the 1951 models, a larger 6 cylinder engine was introduced for both the Windsor ranges. 1953 saw major changes in body panels. A one piece windscreen was fitted for the first time to a Chrysler model since1937. Three standard wheelbase versions were offered. A coupe, sedan and wagon, plus a long wheelbase sedan that sat 8.
Windsor Deluxe Series
In 1951 the Windsor Deluxe series was offered as a top model in the 6 cylinder range. For 1952 the number of body styles was reduced, including the coupe, traveller and all long wheelbase variants. The changes in 1953 mirrored those of the standard Windsor range. The deluxe came in three styles a sedan, convertible and a 2dr Newport.
The Windsor was dropped in 1954 and so the Deluxe was now the bottom line model. There were minor changes to grille, trim and taillamps. 6 body styles were offered including a long wheelbase sedan.
Saratoga Series
The Saratoga was an 8 cylinder powered car available only as a 2dr coupe and a 4dr sedan. As with other cars in the Chrysler range there was a minor facelift on the Saratoga for 1950.
1951 saw the introduction of the hemi engine to Saratoga and New Yorker models. The 1951 Saratoga was based on a Windsor chassis unlike previous years when it was based on the same chassis as the New Yorker. For this reason it was available with a short or long wheelbase and built in Los Angeles as well as Detroit for the first time. The 1952 was virtually unchanged and was the final year it was offered.
New Yorker Series
This was gain an upgraded version of the Saratoga. The Town & Country was offered as a convertible only in 1949, although one T & C hardtop was produced. 1950 was to be the last year that Chrysler used the inline eight engine that powered the Saratoga and New Yorker models. The Newport variant was also offered in this range. This was to be the last year of wood trimmed cars produced by Chrysler.
The Saratoga was introduced last in the year so the New Yorker was the first Chrysler to use a V8 engine. The engine was called the ‘Firepower’ and all cars powered by the V8 had large ‘V’ ornaments on the hood. The New Yorker was available as a coupe, sedan, convertible, Newport and Town & Country Wagon. For 1952 the coupe and the Town & Country models were dropped. The New Yorker for 1953 was based on the same chassis as the Windsor and therefore the body changes were similar to those of the Windsor. The same body styles were offered as the Windsor plus a 2 door Newport. 1954 saw few changes to the New Yorker model.
New York Deluxe
The New Yorker Deluxe series was first introduced in 1953 as the top of the line. The deluxe offered a convertible in addition to the standard New Yorker range, but no Wagon was offered. The 1954 model so better than the 1953 version. This bucked the trend for Chrysler whose sales were falling. Part of the reason for the success was the availability of a 235 hp engine.
Numbers
1949 Chassis Engines Royal (Detroit) 70041001 - 70572284 C45-1001 - C45-93419 Royal (Los Angeles) 65002001 - 65003000 C45-1001 - C45-93419 Windsor (Detroit) 70725001 - 70793638 C45-1001 - C45-93419 Windsor (Los Angeles) 67005001 - 67010795 C45-1001 - C45-93419 Saratoga 6772001 - 6774475 C46-1001 - C46-28838 New Yorker 7094001 - 7118581 C46-1001 - C46-28838 N. Y. Town & Country 7410001 - 7411001 C46-1001 - C46-28838 1950 Chassis Engines Royal (Detroit) 70058001 - 70079351 C48-1001 - C48-133824 Royal (Los Angeles) 65004001 - 65063318 C48-1001 - C48-133824 Windsor (Detroit) 70794001 - 70889370 C48-1001 - C48-133824 Windsor (Los Angeles) 67011001 - 67024682 C48-1001 - C48-133824 Saratoga 6774501 - 6775800 C49-1001 - C49-43041 New Yorker 7119001 - 7159341 C49-1001 - C49-43041 N. Y. Town & Country 7411501 - 7412201 C49-1001 - C49-43041 1951 Chassis Engines Windsor (Detroit) 70081001 - 70094148 C51-1001 - C51-84487 Windsor (Los Angeles) 65007001 - 65008808 C51-1001 - C51-84487 Windsor Deluxe (Detroit) 70891001 - 70952163 C51-1001 - C51-84487 Windsor Deluxe (Los Ang.) 67026001 - 67033209 C51-1001 - C51-84487 Saratoga (Detroit) 76500001 - 76511983 C51-8-1001 - Saratoga (Los Angeles) 66500001 - 66501672 C51-8-1001 - New Yorker 7165001 - 7199806 C51-8-1001 - 1952 Chassis Engines Windsor (Detroit) 70094301 - 70103232 C52- Windsor (Los Angeles) 65008901 - 65009895 C52- Windsor Deluxe (Detroit) 70952301 - 70936308 C52- Windsor Deluxe (Los Ang.) 67033301 - 67033059 C52- Saratoga (Detroit) 76512101 - 76593089 C52-8- Saratoga (Los Angeles) 66501801 - 66505363 C52-8- New Yorker 7199901 - 7217301 C52-8- 1953 Chassis Engines Windsor (Detroit) 70110001 - 70140156 C53- Windsor (Los Angeles) 65011001 - 65013020 C53- Windsor Deluxe (Detroit) 71005001 - 71050371 C53- Windsor Deluxe (Los Ang.) 67040001 - 67043434 C53- New Yorker (Detriot) 76540001 - 76585872 C53-8- New Yorker (Los Ang.) 66506001 - 66509462 C53-8- New Yorker Deluxe (Det.) 7222001 - 7245465 C53-8- New Yorker Deluxe (L.A.) 69001001 - 69003868 C53-8- 1954 Chassis Engines Windsor Deluxe (Detroit) 70141001 - 70181908 C54- Windsor Deluxe (Los Ang.) 65014001 - 65015185 C54- New Yorker (Detriot) 76591001 - 76610490 C541-8- New Yorker (Los Ang.) 66510001 - 66510937 C541-8- New Yorker Deluxe (Det.) 7249001 - 7279807 C542-8- New Yorker Deluxe (L.A.) 69005001 - 69007248 C542-8-Chrysler 1946 - 1949
Parts