Description

1930 Chrysler CJ6

Ex-New Zealand RHD car; well-maintained and in regular use; lusty six-cylinder engine; hydraulic brakes; driven to the sale; very smart all round

In January 1924 Walter Chrysler was working for the Maxwell Corporation. He unveiled a new car called the Chrysler, which, just a year later, had taken the market by storm and led to the renaming of the company to The Chrysler Corporation.
The success of the model was based on its technical merit, an advanced design which was extremely well engineered and offered far more sophistication and performance than was expected by its owners. Such refinements as a 4-bearing crankshaft, full pressure lubrication, an oil filter, air filter and even hydraulic brakes were standard features. The rubber chassis mounts were also market firsts and the cars went very well thanks to their high compression engines of uncommon smoothness.
Definitely a cut above the usual mass-produced vehicles of the time, they were light years away from the basic Model T from Ford and soon took Chrysler into the big league. A bewildering range of models were on offer, all closely related to each other with differing wheelbase lengths and engine outputs.
The car on offer here is a Series 65 sedan dating from 1930 with a 62bhp CJ prefix 3,205cc engine. Built at Chrysler’s Canadian factory in RHD, it was supplied new to the New Zealand market. Although there is no real history with the car, it has clearly been well-restored at some point in the not-too-distant past and still looks very smart today in its period brown/cream livery with gleaming brightwork and an impressively clean undercarriage.
It has been in the UK since 1991, our vendor acquiring it via Brightwells in 2016 from a gentleman who had been using it for weddings and shows. An intrepid soul, our vendor has kept it in tip-top running order and was until recently using it as his daily runabout, reporting that it has proved thoroughly reliable with sufficient performance not to embarrass itself in modern traffic.
A detailed usage log shows that he has covered some 2,200 miles in the Chrysler over the last few years, with regular greasing and servicing to keep everything tickety-boo. Driven some 20 miles to the sale, it has been starting promptly and running nicely as we have moved it around on site, with good 40psi oil pressure when cold although the vendor advises that this does drop off somewhat when hot. The brakes also work very well - a most impressive feature of the car.

As you can see in the photos, it is a most handsome and spacious machine, the only real cosmetic defects we noted being some damage to the paintwork on the top of the left side bonnet panel and on the trailing edges of both front wings, plus an area of worn rubber on the driver’s side running board.

Supplied with a V5C, a photocopy of an original 1928 Series 65 instruction book, a few invoices and two old MOTs issued in 2006 and 2012, it looks like an ideal mount for VSCC events, offering plenty of smooth six-cylinder power, effective hydraulic brakes and a comfortable interior with plenty of room for all the family.

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com