Mike Wiedmer

Thank you for your replies. I have purchased Bill Hirsch hogshair and am having a carpet made at a small out-of-state shop. I should have the carpet in a week or two. I will report back on our progress.

Thank you both for your replies. I do have a sample of Hirsch hogshair and that is the material I hope to use. Unfortunately, I live in an area without shops interested in working on vintage vehicles, so I am seeking a shop with existing patterns for this wagon. I do not have any current shots, nor do I have a glamour shot, but attached is an "as found" picture, and an "in progress" picture taken 5 years ago. Getting carpet and upholstery is what keeps us from driving and enjoying this Town and Country.

We are restoring a 1951 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country and are in need of a close-to-original carpet. While our vehicle was otherwise in good condition, no carpet was in the wagon, so we have no template. While we have found a source for fabric, we need to find a shop with a pattern willing to cut and trim a ready-to-install carpet. The car is in a remote location where few upholsterers live. Any suggestions are gratefully accepted. Thanks! Mike

The torque converter oil cooler for my 1951 Chrysler 331 hemi has internal perforations and transmission fluid gets in the coolant and vice versa. I am looking for either a working replacement or a rebuilding service. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thank you! Mike

Greg, perhaps in a few days I will be able to determine what we will need to do with our original booster. It is intact and externally all seems fine. Good luck on your parts and upholstery hunt.

Greg, thank you for your post; and congratulations and good luck with your project. Regarding our brakes, we put kits in the wheel cylinders and White Post resleeved the master cylinder. As we are within a few hours of starting the engine for the first time, we haven't tested the booster. Pads and drums were fine and didn't need any attention. I have seen a few station wagons listed online (e.g., https://www.dvap.com/salvage/1951-chrysler-town-country-51cr4240c/) that might be useful for parts. As you said, both Chrysler and at least Desoto shared many trim parts that were kept from ~51-54; but I am not an expert on Chrysler history and don't know the details of each part. As John said, SMS has the Tolex fabric and they are fabricating new seat cushions for me now. I haven't seen the final product, but they did send me a sample of the faux alligator material, and it was a match for my original. Again, good luck, and if you have other questions, I will do my best to share my restoration experiences.

Yes, but that one isn't maroon!

Dosmo, Thank you for your note and I am always happy to hear from a current or former early '50s Chrysler wagon owner. This '51 is my first and I have much to learn. We are working on the brake system right now and we will do our best to get as much out of it as we can. I feel safe in saying that we will have the only maroon '51 New Yorker Town and Country station wagon on our entire street. Mike

John, thank you very much for your reply. You are my first connection to another '51 New Yorker Town and Country owner, either current or former. I purchased my station wagon in Anchorage in 2014. This T&C was delivered new to the Fairbanks, AK Chrysler dealer, where it was driven briefly by the dealer's wife. They quickly sold it to a young surgeon new to town who kept it to c. 1990; after which it bounced around through several owners, one of which who bought it just to pull the hemi engine. When I bought it, it had sat for many years without an engine, with shot upholstery, but with an excellent, rust-free body. I found a correct replacement engine which we rebuilt, along with the original transmission, and we recently installed both. I never had any contact with Dean Smith. The young surgeon who bought the almost new T&C and who kept it for four decades, is still in great shape, remembers every detail about his former wagon, and in November will celebrate his 93rd birthday. His children, who still live in the family home in Fairbanks, continue to pull T&C parts from their garage shelves and rafters. Please let me know where to find your WPC article, as I would greatly enjoy reading that. I also enjoyed your video, and had seen it before, but I did not realize then that the other station wagon to which you referred was a '51. I will need all new correct upholstery, so I will need some advice there as well. Thanks again, Mike

Thank you, Rusty. The local paint stores here are pretty good and know the general routine. Unfortunately, this particular color (Highland/Majestic Maroon, #62) seems to be playing hard to get.

Thank you for the lead about the Ditzler paint code. I hadn't tried this code (only the Duco and Dulux). Maybe this Ditzler code will get me further. Mike

Thank you, Rusty, for your advice. So far, the local Alaska paint stores haven't found the secret formula, but I haven't given up yet.

Thank you for the tip about Autocolorlibrary. That site doesn't list HIghland Maroon, but they may still be able to mix it. Mike

I am trying to repaint my 1951 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country its original Highland Maroon (also called Majestic Maroon in 1952). This seems to have been an uncommon paint in those years. The paint code is 62 and is Duco 246-55928-M and Dulux 93-55928-M. However, here in Alaska, none of these codes translate into a specific paint recipe from which I can get a can of paint blended. Does anyone have any suggestions (other than having my paint scanned) on how to recreate this original paint? Thanks very much, Mike

Sean, thank you for your quick reply. Yes, the car exterior is black. However, the firewall and door posts are a dark blue, which appears to be original, which perplexes me. I don't want to speculate too much at this early stage of my investigations. I contacted Vintage Vehicle Services as you suggested. Thanks again, Mike