PEARL, 1960 Chrysler Windsor, Original unmolested Survivor

[Bryan 1960 Windsor]

It is with great sadness that I must part with my Pearl... Here is information and such...

A 1960 Chrysler Windsor Golden Lion, an Original Survivor

On January 21, 1960, a 64 year-old couple from York, Pennsylvania, Emory and Lillie Landis, ordered their last automobile, a ?retirement car? so-to-say.

Two days later, on Saturday, January 23, they took delivery of the car.

Two months after the purchase, Emory passed away due to heart complications. Lillie never drove, so her daughter, Helen Beaverson, would drive her in the Windsor when she had errands to run. The family took many vacations, traveling across the country several times, but always took ?the other car with air conditioning?. As a child, Lillie?s grand-daughter, Kay, called the car ?The Beast? due to its large size, and the Golden Lion on the front grille.

Lillie parked the car in the garage in 1976, after inspection, oil change, tune-up, new tires and a new muffler.

In 1981, upon the death of Lillie Landis, the car was passed on to her daughter and son-in-law, Helen and Kenneth Beaverson. At this point, the Beaversons closed down Lillie?s house?with the Windsor still parked in the garage.

From 1976 until 1999, the car sat undisturbed under a thick layer of dust.

In 1999, both Helen and Kenneth Beaverson passed away within the same week. The car then passed to their daughter, Kay Matthews. Not wanting to deal with the recent memories of her parent?s passing, she asked her husband, Kenneth, to act as executor of the estate, as well as power of attorney.

The car was then advertised for sale. In October 1999 Brian Kauffman, of Kauffman?s Autorama in York, PA, purchased the car from the estate. Kauffman?s rebuilt the wheel cylinders using original replacement parts, put a new set of tires on the car (matching the original spare tire, still in the trunk?with the matching factory markings still on the tire and rim), and then washed and waxed the car. He then took the car to a car show in Hershey, Pennsylvania and offered the car for sale. Ragtops Motors of Palm Beach, Florida purchased the car at the show.

From Ragtops, the car was purchased by the Adrian family of Lake Mary, Florida in December, 1999. The car was special to the Adrian family, as Mark Adrian was driving a 1960 Chrysler Windsor at the time he and his wife began dating. The car sparked a love of the classics, and Mark began a collection of classic autos. In 2003, Mr. Adrian passed away, and I purchased the car from his wife, Marla Adrian.

The car?s engine was built on January 6, 1960. The scheduled ship out date of the car was January 13. The car was number 1,156 out of the Jefferson Plant in Detroit, Michigan. This car was number 21,377 of 25,152 Windsors built by Chrysler for the 1960 production year.

Of these 25,152 Windsor 4-door sedans built in 1960, how many have survived? These cars almost seem built to be obsolete by the next model year. And, among those few survivors, how many:

Still wear their factory paint? Have been spared any rust or rust repair? Have traveled less than 525 miles annually, on average? Have always been garaged? Certainly, we are talking very few.

This is a special automobile indeed! The 1960 Chrysler is more and more being recognized as one of Virgil Exner?s most wonderful designs. The car possesses wonderful engineering features, such as 383 cubic inch, 305 hp V8 engine, Torqueflite 3-speed automatic transmission, Unibody construction, and Torsion-bar suspension. This was the first year for Chrysler?s Electroluminescent Lighting.

The low-mileage car here redefines the term SURVIVOR. Seat upholstery, door panels, and dash are all original. The cloth and vinyl upholstery is in exceptional condition. The rear seat looks unused. The body is as straight as an arrow! The SeaSpray and Alaskan White exterior paint is still very glossy.

The clean lines of the Windsor are beautiful to behold. ?Pearl? is wearing the optional rear stainless Stone Shields.

The original owner's manual is in the glove box, also with the car is original dealer information including brochures, paint chip cards, the original order form, and the original window sticker with a price just shy of four thousand dollars. There is even a boxed deck of Pinochle cards from the dealership. The car comes with it?s original set of aluminum keys with the Chrysler Lion emblem on them, attached to the original Chrysler keychain.

There is a lot of chrome and stainless trim, and apart from a few ?dings? in the side trim, and a very small one in the rear bumper, it is in excellent, almost pit and dent-free condition. Even the glass is pit-free and in great condition.

The engine compartment is almost as stock as it gets. It is in beautiful condition. The big V-8 runs fantastic, and with power steering and brakes, the car is easy to maneuver in any traffic condition. We have driven the Chrysler over almost 1,000 miles since its long hibernation, and we are in awe of its performance and handling. Of course, the gas tank has been cleaned, the radiator re-cored, new radiator hoses, filters, and battery has been installed. All gauges work perfectly. The car still runs on original Auto-Lite A-42 sparkplugs.

The last inspection sticker from 1976 still shines through the windshield.

Even the original wooden safety wedge is still under the spare tire! The spare tire has never been used. The trunk mat and cardboard side covers are absolutely in wonderful condition... and the original jacking instructions still are intact. The excellent condition of the weather stripping is nothing short of astounding; testimony to the fact that this car has spent all its life garaged, away from damaging sunlight and ozone. The Windsor is equipped with its factory-installed Golden-Tone AM tube radio; it works flawlessly!

Of course, since the car is 44 years old, it is not perfect, and does have a few expected flaws. There is an area about 2? long on the driver?s seat cushion where the seam is separating. There are a couple of small areas on the carpet where the carpet is getting thin. Overall, the carpet looks great. The headliner has some slight staining around the back glass area where moisture seeped in years ago (very typical Chrysler problem of the era). There are a few ?nicks? in the original paint that have been ?touched up? over the years. Even though these items are barely noticeable and do not detract from the beauty of this magnificent car, we thought it worth mentioning. There may be other minor imperfections on this amazing survivor, but they are so small and insignificant that they don?t stand out.

Also, here is a link to her post on the Forward Look Forum... http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=10780&posts=2&start=1

Thanks everyone,

In your debt,

Bryan O'Quinn

Durham, NC

[carbdoc]

Bryan,

I can't believe you are selling your '60 Windsor! Hope it is because you have found a Mopar which you like even more. I wish my '61 Chrysler Newport was as nice as Pearl.

Folks,

I've seen this car and it is really nice. Whoever buys it will be getting an amazing Chrysler product!