1957 Chrysler New Yorker

1957 Chrysler New Yorker

1957 Chrysler New Yorker is one of those cars that you just don’t see that often – certainly far less than a ’57 Chevy. It’s hardly surprising as they made well under 10,000 of 2-door hardtops and it was about 50% more expensive than the Bel Air.

What’s nice too is this particular car is mostly original apart from one repaint years ago. It’s even got factory fitted air conditioning contributing further to its rarity.

’57 saw the second generation of Virgil Exner’s Forward Look with fins now soaring!

rear view of a 57 Chrysler New Yorker showing its large fins
Check out those fins!

Note the dual highlights. 1957 was a transition year with many states now allowing them before being allowed nationwide the following year. This meant that cars ordered in certain states could have the dual lights as an option. About mid way through the model year the dual set-up became standard.

Front view of the 57 Chrysler showing the dual headlights which were new that year
‘new’ dual headlights introduced during the 1957 model year

Inside, this New Yorker still has its original interior.

Original interior of a 57 Chrysler
Original interior

Mechanically 1957 was great news for the New Yorker and the mighty 300C as they both got the new FirePower 392 cubic inch Hemi V8. The single, 4-barrel carburetor version that was installed in the new Yorker achieved 325 horsepower. The TorqueFlite push-button automatic transmission was standard on these cars.

FirePower 392 cubic inch hemi V8 - 1957 Chrysler
FirePower 392 cubic inch hemi V8

Power steering was also standard and the original owner of this car also opted for power brakes at approximately $39.

As their most expensive model for 1957 (excluding the rather special 300C), Chrysler sold just 34,620 New Yorker’s across all five models in the line-up. The total sales of the 2-door hardtop you see here was 8,861 making this quite a rare car. Had you have bought one back then the price started at $4,202.

This ’57 Chrysler is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for lots more photos)

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1957 New Yorker

Although they never used this particular pitch, they could have said about the 1957 Chrysler New Yorker “fins that reach the sky.” For whatever reason, Chrysler was the automaker that popularized the fin. Really after the retirement of the Chrysler fin by 1960, the only place you could see a fin like that was in the movie “Jaws.”

1957 Chrysler New YorkerTo be truthful, though, when you look at the lines of the 1957 New Yorker as a whole, the fins work. The ad that was used was that Chrysler’s design had established a new “Forward Look.” Now, if that meant a lowered body line and reed-like roofline and lots and lots of glass in the greenhouse, plus rear quarters that finished in huge upright fins, then they hit the mark and then some. Still with this design, the fins work well.

For 1957, the year before a two-year recession gripped the industry, the $4,600 that Chrysler charged for the New Yorker was a lot of money, but you had to admit that for those who laid it out, the New Yorker looked great.

The lower valence was actually the chromed bumper and the hood sloped down and around the grille and worked nicely with the dual quad headlights that this style helped to popularize. The dual quads were fared into the front fenders and the fender line was carried all the way back through the rear quarters. An interesting design feature was a small chrome counter strip that ran the length the body, essentially establishing a dual beltline. The rockers were chromed.

The 1957 New Yorker established a new ride and handling standard, the torsion bar front suspension. Rather than rely on the recirculating ball and control-arm front suspension common to the period, Chrysler used a specialized torsion arm that on helped to stiffen the frame as it against body stress to keep the wheels on the ground. Typical suspensions of the day bounced and the recirculating ball tended to allow lots of wheel jounce and bounce and the handling left a lot to be desired, while the torsion bar smoothed out the bounces and not only helped handling but also the ride quality.

The New Yorker also added a three-speed Torque Flite automatic. This was at the time when Detroit liked to use those funky pushbuttons to not only start the car but also put into gear. Typically, the button pod was located on the upper left.

Hemi-powered the New Yorker line was offered with V-8s that ran from 354 to 392 cubic inches put out up to 325 horsepower.

The New Yorker was available in two-door hardtop and convertible versions and features a nicely styled interior. For the driver, the instruments were contained within a single pod dominated by a large speedometer.