Ford vs Chrysler wagons

Been a while since I was last on here & bounced around a few cars since then. Right now got a 85 AMC Eagle wagon looking to sell it an buy a bigger wagon. Wanting to trade my 82 Porsche 924 for a wagon. Here is the thing looking for one pre 74 so no cats an want a 4 door wagon an the biggest one I can find between the Ford & Chrysler wagons an like to have one with all the bells an whistles on it. I dont care about the size of the engine it will be just a play toy my daily is a 01 Eclipse Spyder 4 cylinder 5 speed. Looking for a wagon that can handle a 8ft sheet etc were I have rental property. Also wanting to know how the build quality was on the Chryslers from 60's-70's on the wagons since they had lot of trouble with quality in the 70's & 80's vs the Ford & Mercurys. Want one that would be good on trips an for my German Shepards. Was thinking about Country Squire & Park Colony. An I like the hideaway headlights on them. Does Chrysler have anything that would work?

 

Sticking with pre-74, here are my thoughts:

72-73 Dodge Monaco wagons had hidden headlights. The 70-72 Plymouth Fury Sport Suburbans had hidden headlights. The Chrysler Town and Country wagons did not, but installing a 69-71 Chrysler 300 hidden headlight grille shouldn't be too difficult with a 69-71 T&C.
68-70 Ford Country Squires and 69-73 Mercury Colony Parks had hidden headlights.

The big Mopars would hold a 4x8 sheet of plywood flat, but I don't know about the Fords.

My personal experience and that of many of my friends are that the Mopars are very reliable. But rust can be an issue and station wagon specific parts are difficult to find.

My Dad had a 71 Country Squire in the early to mid 70's. It was very reliable until it was about 5 years old. At that point it started having major electrical problems. I loved that car (I loved street racing with that car as it had a 429). My Mom had a 69 LTD (not a wagon), and it was very reliable and she regretted selling it in the 80's. Dad traded in the 71 on a 77 Country Squire. By that time, I think pretty much everything out of Detroit was a lemon. My Dad's 77 Squire spent most of its first 3 months in the shop. It was unreliable, got lousy mileage and with the 400 engine it didn't have enough power to get out of its own way.

 

ok yea got the 85 AMC Eagle was planning to fix it up an some things came up. So now going to sell the 70 Cougar convertible & 85 Eagle to get some stuff taken care of & then try to trade the porsche 924 for a big wagon prefer the biggest Ford or Chrysler made during that time in the 60's-70's with the most luxuries power everything if I can. I never had a Mopar an always heard people say the Mopars rusted bad I dont know nothing about them. I am wanting to go with the hideaway headlights an paint the car like grey or black & limo tint the windows. I am going to be looking for one that had a lot of luxury in it power everything if I can get it & want pre 74 so no cats & go 2.5" Flowmaster Series 40 on it. I need something that can handle a 4x8 sheet etc.. were I have rental property & want something good to take on trips.

 

Sounds like the Mercury Colony Park would be the one to meet your needs the best. The Mopars with hidden headlights are very hard to find just because not many were built. The way to get a Chrysler with hidden headlights is to buy the Town and Country wagon and put a front cap from a 300 onto it for the years 67 to 73 or the front cap onto a 74 wagon from a 77-78 New Yorker. The Ford, Plymouth, and Dodge are less likely to have all the power goodies you seem to want.

 

'61 Chrysler Wagon is one of the best looking ones ever built in my opinon. Too bad they're crazy expensive now. No hideaway headlights though.

 

yea going to go with hideaway lights an paint the car either a grey or black an limo the windows just something different when I get one. Hope to start looking for one come next month.

 

If you drive at night in dark places, rethink the dark tint. Some bright spark tinted the windows of my 88 Grand Marquis sedan, and I have to roll the windows down to use the mirrors at night. Really not fun at - 30 in a bowling blizzard. Have to figure out how to remove the garbage. Trying to figure out how to unspoken the tail lamps, too.

 

I've got a nice '86 Country Squire I'd be interested in talking trade. PM me and I'll provide more info on the car.

 

Why the stipulation of no catalytic convertors?

 

You are in West Virginia. Even on '80s cars, you can do pretty much whatever you want to on them.

 

Just want no cats an do Hooker headers & Flowmaster Series 40 dual exhaust. An the hideaway headlights are from 68-70 an some later in the 70's & just just dont want to fool with all the emission stuff on the cars. Just want something simple to work on. That is one thing with the 85 AMC Eagle it has all the emission stuff on there an was a pain in the to get all that fixed an get it running right dont want to go through that again.

 

Right now just looking to trade the 82 Porsche 924 for a full size wagon.

 

I had Booker Headers in my 78 Thunderbird. Had them ceramic coated,too. Waste of $1,100. The only thing they did was create lovely light shows for the other drivers every time I hit a dip in the road. Never again. I will stick with the factory manifolds from here on. Had Flow master Delta Flow mufflers with the headers. More like Drone Master. Didn't care for them either. Had better luck with Dyna Flow and Magna Flow mufflers. Less Mmoney, too.

 

Mike next time try Hooker headers. Cost less than half what you paid. Also I agree on those noisy Flow Masters. Well satisfied with Auto parts cheap glass packs.
As for catalitic converters cats can be skinned or replaced with a test tube. No one says how long you can test one.
As for window tint, laws vary by state and city. But too dark of tint is dangerous and makes night vision terrible. Limos have tint so young kids can play hanky panky in the rear seats or for extra sun protection. Use your sun visors and keep both hands on the wheel.

 

yea had Borla exhaust on a 01 Eclipse GT V6 did not care for them.