The
WPC Club, Inc.

Plymouth,
Dodge, Fargo, DeSoto, Chrysler, Imperial, Maxwell, Chalmers,
Jeep and Eagle & related
Automobiles.
All
Mopar / All Years / All Models
If you are a WPC
National Member and would like to
have
a photo and write up of your car displayed here please e-mail me one or
two photos
and a write up describing your car. Keep the
photos to a reasonable size. .
Take
note of the amazing variety
of cars in our club,
from 1920's to 1970's
Muscle and later !
Please send me your name
& membership # along with
the
photos.
Scroll down for photos of members cars.
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Installing HID Headlights on
Older Chrysler Vehicles
So you want HID headlights on
your vintage Chrysler? The guide below gives you
step-by-step directions on how to approach installing HID
lights in
many older Chrysler models.
SAVE
35% on XENON Headlight HID Kits when you mention this
article!'
Please NOTE:
cutting and drilling will be required on some models more so
than on others:
1 - Start by removing the stock
headlight bulbs. You’ll need to remove the casings and
unbolt the halogens. If you’re vehicle is several decades
old, it’s likely had its headlights replaced before, which
may mean you have an easy snap-in setup to remove. If not,
you may have to pop the hood and remove several pieces under
the hood that are parallel to the headlight assembly outside
the car.
2 - Pull out the headlight
bucket on the driver’s side. It’s likely that the opening
at the back of the bucket is much smaller than needed,
particularly on much older Chryslers. Trim the metal lining
until the hole is large enough to fit all the necessary
components through. Cover the cut metal lining with vinyl
tape, so that jagged edges can’t tear at the wire insulation
later.
3 - Pull the wiring harness
through the headlight bucket and adjust accordingly. Equip
a wiring harness adaptor to connect to the HIDs through the
headlight bucket, so that the HIDs work with the vehicle’s
wiring setup. When handling the HID bulbs themselves, be
sure to keep them in their original housing, or handle them
with gloved hands only to avoid skin contact.
4 - Installing the ballasts:
you’ll first need to remove the vehicle’s battery, as it’s
often installed up close to the headlight assembly, and will
otherwise get in your way.
5 - After the battery’s been
taken out, it’s time to remove several other critical
components, which will allow you to string the HID wiring
properly under the hood on the driver’s side. Start first
by removing the coolant reservoir. |
6 - After the coolant reservoir
bottle’s been removed, the Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF) will
have to be taken out, if your vehicle is equipped with one.
Usually protected by oversized housing, the case and the
sensor inside it will both have to be taken out. Be careful
and keep a watchful eye out for any hidden bolts or other
stock attachments keeping this component in place. Many old
Chrysler models have strong metal bolts locking pieces down,
and you don’t want to break a piece of equipment by trying
to tug it out before knowing if it has been bolted down or
not.
7 - Some older model Chryslers
have headlight bezels that result in extraordinarily tight
fits. To avoid damaging the polycarbonate lenses, you may
want to try trimming the corners so everything fits more
comfortably, while also providing you with just a bit more
room for error.
8 - Connect all of the wire
harnesses to the ballast setup to ensure proper voltage
output. This needs to be done on both the driver and
passenger sides of the vehicle. To keep the harness in
place, depending on what model you own, you can run the
wiring harness up against the radiator, and secure it.
9 - Replace the battery, the
coolant reservoir bottle, and the Mass Air Flow sensor. If
everything’s been installed properly, you should still have
an inch or two of free space between the coolant reservoir
bottle and the wall that the ballast is mounted to, so you
won’t have to worry about them scraping up against each
other.
10 - Each of the wiring harness
should have fuses mounted into a block, as well as a red and
black wire. The red wire is the power wire, and the black
one is the ground wire. The blocked should hook up easily
and create a chain, and after you reinstall the car battery,
you can attach straight onto the battery terminals. After
this, simply tie up any remaining wires and loose parts, and
ensure the ballasts have been secured in a cool, dry place
near the metal panels behind the headlights. Test the
lights, and you’re all set!
NOTE:
If you notice the HIDs jut out further from the headlight
buckets than the stock lights, this is normal, as you’re
adapting components that shouldn’t normally fit in them. |

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Larry Zappone ,
Woodinville,
WA.
1956 DeSoto Adventurer
1956 DeSoto Adventurer -
320 horsepower
hemi with dual 4 bbl Carter WCFBs,
and a demonstrated top speed of 144 mph (not by me!). This was
DeSoto's
equivalent to the Chrysler 300B, Dodge D-500, and the Plymouth Fury,
and
was available in six exclusive color combinations of white & gold,
black
& gold, or black and white, with a gold & tweed interior to
match. Only 996 Adventurers
were built, in a single two week run. This car
is equipped with the optional HighWay HiFi 16 rpm record player, the
InstantAire
gasoline heater, and the 16 jewel Benrus self winding steering wheel
watch.
I have owned my Adventurer for almost 30 years - restoration was
completed
in 1990. |
Larry Zappone ,
Woodinville,
WA.
1956 DeSoto Pace Car Convertible
1956 DeSoto
Indianapolis Pace Car
convertible - When DeSoto was awarded
the job of pacing the 1956 Indy 500 mile race, a Fireflite convertible
was
decked out in the Adventurer's exclusive color and trim package to do
the
honors. An estimated 200-300 were also built for sale to the
general
public. Two cars were
prepared for the actual
race (one as a backup), and it is
highly probable that these were equipped with the 320 hp Adventurer
engine
in lieu of the standard 255 hp hemi. Pat Flaherty won the race
and
was awarded the actual Pace Car. This car was acquired in
1994,
restoration was completed in 2002, and it's first showing was the WPC
fall show in Victoria, B.C. |

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1961 Chrysler
Saratoga four door hardtop
more photos
( Canadian Production )
Don Kerr, Westbank, BC Canada
Interior redone, powetrain completely rebuilt.
Options:
Power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seat,
larger rear window, fllight-sweep deck lid.
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1960 Chrysler Saratoga, Ian &
Shannon Smale,
Victoria,
BC , Canada - a Pacific Island paradise
I sold our 1962 Chrysler 300-Sport after 26 years and bought
this in June 2008. This is a rust free, Southern
California car and spent its entire life in L.A until I
bought it. It is well optioned with
power steering, power brakes, power windows, 6-way power
swivel seats, Solex Glass, with top tint on front and rear
glass, deluxe padded steering wheel with clear lucite rim,
day-night prismatic rear view mirror, flight-sweep deck lid,
rear bumper guards, body side color sweep, dual fender
mirrors with left remote control, Golden-Tone AM radio, and
aftermarket Mark-IV A/C under dash. The car has a
Golden Lion 383 with a Carter four barrel carb.
A recent addition ( May 2010 ) was the addition of a set of
reproduction Chrysler wire wheels.
Album of the car
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1961 Chrysler
New Yorker convertible
John
Payne, San Francisco, CA.
I bought this beauty in November of 1975
from the 2nd owner. I paid $350.00. I offered $325.00, but
he was firm and a deal was struck. We'd always been a
Chrysler family; 1952 Chrysler Windsor and 1963 Newport for my
parent's family car. Myself, I first had a '62 Newport, then
'64 New Yorker and then the '61. It was our honeymoon car in
1976...San Francisco to Tahoe to Death Valley to Vegas to
Disneyland and home. Once the first child came in 1980 I
installed seat belts. Just completed major engine, trans,
steering and brake work. You're looking at the original paint
(Parisian Blue.) The car has been a good friend for many
years.
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1959 Plymouth Belvedere,
Don Mack & Mark Hudak, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
In
the spring of 1959 at the age of 19, I purchased my first
new car, a 1958
Iceberg White Plymouth Belvedere, 2 Dr.HT, black and red
interior, 313 CID (Canadian) 3 Sp TF, push button. Four
years later it was traded off, never to be seen again. Over
the passing years I had often thought of finding that car or
one similar.
Fast forward to 2006, many years after working in the oil
patch I decided to retire.
In need of a hobby, I began again looking for that
particular Plymouth. In 2007 I saw
an ad on eBay "For Sale: 1959 Plymouth Belvedere, Iceberg
White, all original,
60,000 miles, no rust. I knew I had to have it. Over the
next couple of weeks I studied all the pictures. and
connected with the seller in Tennessee. He assured me the
car definitely was an original. In the last minutes of
bidding I added another $100.00, Low and behold my screen
litup "The item is yours. Please pay now".
So began
our journey with "Belle". She had been in storage from 1970
to 2005 so needless to say there were issues that needed
attention; brakes, seals, exhaust system, and driveline.
These were all attended to with love and pride.
Since then we have attended many shows and meets, both in
Canada and in the States. To this day we are keeping busy in
our retirement years.
The photo shows 'Belle' in front of Medicine Hat's land mark
Teepee ,standing 215 feet high, situated on sacred land.
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1950 Chrysler
Windsor Newport
Highlander.
Don Feller,
Portland
Oregon
“Winnie the
New” has been in our family since 1978 and came with only 60K
miles and still is in mostly original condition. Today at 81K
miles she is ready for more touring. She has been treated to
a paint job & new front seat in 1978, and wire wheels
recently. She has faithfully taken us to Victoria, BC three
times already as well as many tours in the
north west. “Winnie”
began life in L.A on
Aug 15, 1950 and resided in
Portland ever
since. I took my driver’s exam at 16 in a ’50 Windsor and
always appreciated the ‘fluid drive’, despite never being able
to ‘burn some rubber’.
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1949 Dodge D-32 C Special Deluxe four door sedan (Canadian
Production) Paul Jenkins
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
I purchased this Automobile as
the second owner from W.G.Barbour Ltd,the local
Chrysler/Dodge dealer here on Prince Edward Island in 1968 .
I added an exterior sun visor and other Mopar accessories,
presently the car
has about 43000 original miles and is an exceptional solid and
dependable driver.
The car is driven every year during our short summer season
and spends seven months
each year in storage up on jacks .
This Canadian model Dodge is about exactly the same as the
American built
Plymouth ,basically only the grill is different ..
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1960 Dodge Dart
Phoenix Convertible
Jack
Wrinkles, Clio, Michigan
My 60 Phoenix is still mostly original.It is a 4
BBL,2 speed car that I have changed over to a dual quad set up
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1957 Dodge Suburban
Jack
Wrinkles, Clio, Michigan
I have also done a little
work to my 57 Suburban but except for the wheels and tires it is back
to original. No PS or PB on the wagon just a 325 3 speed push button.
.
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| 1957
Chrysler 300-C - 2009 photo - still wearing
its original paint and upholstery.
John & Arlys Chesnutt, Portland
Oregon.
" Today "
John and Arlys were married in July
1959, and celebrated their 50th anniversary July 2009.
John dated Arlys in this car in 1958. They brought their
babies home from the hospital in this car.
" Before the girl, there was the car.
And now, after more than 50 years of twists and turns, the
girl and the car remain at the heart of a love story".
See the full story and video here
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1957
Chrysler 300-C - 1958 photo
John & Arlys Chesnutt, Portland
Oregon.
" The Early Days "
" Before the girl, there was the car. And
now, after more than 50 years of twists and turns, the girl
and the car remain at the heart of a love story".
See the full story and video here |
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