1941 Chrysler Barrelback Town & Country Wagon

Description Conceived in 1939, the Town and Country Estate Wagon represented Chrysler’s desire to create an entirely new car that was both luxurious and dramatic.  President of the company, David Wallace, was the driving force behind the creation of the new wagon and he made sure it was both elegant enough for city driving and utilitarian enough for country driving.  He was looking for something tight and streamlined, with a sedan look, and not finding body builders ready to produce one, he turned to his own engineers.  The Chrysler Town & Country eschewed wood structures with separate lift gates and rail gates, using instead dual-sided hinged doors.  The Town & Country was built along the same basic lines as the steel-bodied sedans, but with more refinement, quality, and style.  It was constructed using two different types of wood including white ash and rich Honduran mahogany and is arguably the most attractive and desirable prewar wood-based vehicle ever built.  When the onset of World War II demanded the economies resources, Chrysler was forced to halt production of the barrel-back; of the 797 nine passenger station wagons built in 1941, only a handful survived.  Overall, Town & Country’s represented about one percent of total automotive production from 1941-1942, and, though they increased in numbers after the war, they remain the rarest, most attractive and most desirable pre-war wood-based vehicles ever produced. The Chrysler Fluid Drive is a fluid coupling between the clutch and the engine that allows shifting between low and second without depressing the clutch.  It also allows the driver to stop and start without using the clutch.  The roof rack is a distinctive option that compliments the car’s elegant lines. SPECS 114BHP, 250 cu. In. spitfire six-cylinder Fluid drive semi-automatic transmission Front and rear coil springs and shock absorbers 4 wheel hydraulic drum brakes Wheelbase: 121.5”