Entry-Level Excess: 1966 Chrysler Newport – SOLD!

March 31, 2023, Update – We confirmed the seller of this “Classifind” deleted their listing, so we can now call this one “SOLD!” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

In 1950 Chrysler launched the “Newport” brand name as the trim level for its new pillarless two-door hardtop body style.  By the mid-1960s, the Newport name represented Chrysler’s entry-level model line in various body styles. “Entry-Level” can be a relative term, as this survivor-quality 1966 Chrysler Newport Hardtop For Sale on Craigslist in Milford, Massachusetts, is a very well-optioned example.  The seller only reports the options this survivor example features while omitting the back story of how this Newport remains so well preserved with 90K miles on the clock.

Currently offered for $19,500, Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is above the one-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for fourth-generation Chrysler Newports of all body styles produced between 1965 and 1968.  By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the Newport featured here:

As a second data point, the  Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask falls right at this guide’s #1 “Excellent” appraisal of $19,581 after factoring in a ten percent increase for working factory air conditioning offset by three percent adjustment down manual roll-up windows.

The “Newport” brand name flourished in Chrysler’s marketing efforts from 1950 through 1981.  What started as a name for a 1940 show car eventually appeared on Chrysler’s new pillarless hardtop body style for 1950. From there, it eventually became the name for the Chrysler Division’s Entry-Level car line.

For the 1965 model year, Chrysler launched the fourth-generation Newport on its all-new “C” platform that it shared with the 300 and New Yorker and the Dodge Polara and Plymouth Fury. In addition to the Newport’s signature two- and four-door hardtop body styles, consumers could also choose a convertible, four-door sedan, or a Town & Country wagon.

The standard engine for the 1965 Newport was Chrysler’s 270 horsepower 383 cubic inch V8 topped with a two-barrel carburetor that burned regular-grade fuel. Optional was a four-barrel-topped 315 horsepower version of the 383 that required premium fuel. The standard transmission was a three-speed column shifted manual, while optionally available was the three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission. Gone was Chrysler’s push-button transmission controls, replaced by either a traditional column- or floor-shifted stalk.

Interiors featured padded instrument panels, full carpeting, and choices of cloth-and-vinyl or all-vinyl bench seats and notchback bench seats with armrests. Newport coupes and convertibles were also offered with optional bucket seats with either a center console, floor shifter, or armrest and center cushion.

For 1966, all Newports featured revised front grilles and taillights, however, there were few other changes save for the addition of Chrysler’s new 365 horsepower “TNT” 440 cubic inch V8 featuring a four-barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, and dual-snorkel air cleaner.

​The Duddy Herold YouTube Channel features this video giving the perspective of what it’s like to drive a 1966 Chrysler Newport in the rural towns of Germany:

They are only original once, and this 1966 Chrysler Newport for sale is a nicely optioned example with great documentation that we would love to learn the story about how this car is so well preserved.

Here’s the seller’s description:

Show or go: What would you do with this 1966 Chrysler Newport Hardtop for sale?  Please comment below and let us know!