It is said that cars this big have their own zip code...
If you can't identify this car, it's a 1976 Chrysler Town and Country station wagon. To us it was known as the "Super Salmon" because of its salmon red paint and determination to keep running no matter how ragged it got around the edges. I know...it's not a Chevy; what's a non-Chevy doing on Chevy59.net? Well I owned the car and I own the blog. That gives me dibs. Besides that it's a classic car, a core subject here at Chevy59.
Despite the rough look of the car, it had a rebuilt 440, newer transmission, and a rebuilt differential. Someone had spent a lot of money to keep this car roadworthy, and it was ours for a mere $800 in 1998. Yes, it got 8mpg around town, but 14mpg in the country. But the AC was cold and all the power windows worked. It even had a two-way tailgate. In the late 1990s I had pictures of this car posted on the Internet at another site, and got lots of emails from Town & Country lovers and owners who were more than happy to share their photos. One lady wrote that she grew up around the Kennedy Space Center in the Seventies, and saw lots of these Town & Country wagons driving around; seemed to be the "car of choice" among wives of NASA employees.
We bought the car because it had character, and my wife was looking for a wagon. We found this one of a car lot in Everett WA. To make it look even bigger and longer than it was already, I lowered it two inches all the way around. This was an easy job. The front torsion bar suspension has a ride height adjustment that can be changed. The front of the car was lowered in a matter of five minutes (if that). The rear took a bit more work; lowering blocks were installed between the differential and the springs. The whole job took roughly an hour of actual work. The ride quality didn't change at all. In fact the car drove like it was smaller; the turning circle was quite tight and the steering was responsive. My whole family used it at one time or another; my Dad hauled garbage, my sisters used it for moving and trash day, and my wife did in fact use it as a grocery getter.
Eventually the electrical system gave out and the AC quit working. The floor pans in the way back and the back seats were rotted out as well. The person who bought it drove the car home and pulled the motor for his 1972 Imperial.
It's probably getting 8mpg to this day.
