Airflows were produced from 1934 to 1937. 

Born at the height of the Art Deco Streamlined movement in auto design, the Airflow broke new ground, the first mass produced car developed with aerodynamic science behind it's design.   

A technically advanced car, it's features still compare well with cars built over the next 30 years.  

My Streamlined Chrysler is a Model C9,  Serial Number 6607339, with the original 323 straight 8 cylinder engine. C9s were only produced in 1936 and only 1,450 were made.  Of these, 94 were two door coupes and 1,356 were four door sedans. So mine is one of 1,356 produced.  

It  rolled off the assembly line March 6, 1936, and was delivered to  EA Boyd Co of Sacramento, CA. The original purchaser was an almond and english walnut farmer, who drove the car daily until about 1951. It spent it's life in the rural areas around San Francisco, Sacramento and Woodland. He then parked it next to his barn with 66,900 miles on the odometer and there it remained.  For the entire 56 years since, the car sat in one place, covered in tarps, tires flat, engine stilled.

I bought it in 2005 and am the second registered owner.

Dec 2005

The car was entirely complete, but there was one piece of external trim missing, otherwise everything that had been on that car when produced in 1936 was still there.

My original goal was to have a nice modernized Airflow daily driver, but once I realized how scarce these are now, I changed in midstream and decided to do it up right and restore it best that can be done.  I did not do complete body-off.  Anecdotes of bodies being removed and doors not closing right once put back on, deterred me from that. With the floor and trunk floor reomved, access to 95% of the frame is possible anyway, so I didn't risk it. and the doors close great.     

As the engine was disassembled, it revealed the head gasket had blown and the thermostat was rusted wide open.  That's why it had been parked in 1951.  As we got into it, it also became apparent that a new brake job had been done to the car just before it had been parked, and the same with bearings - all looked impressively new.

April 5, 2007, the engine was started on a test stand for the first time since 1951.  The engine was reinstalled May 2, 2008.  The car spent 14 months in another body shop until returning home in August, 2009.

It may well also be the fastest original Airflow around.  With the 8 cylinder engine, and smaller mass of any of the four door models, performance should easily compare with the two door coupes.  I did have a few things done to enhance performance (such as electronic ignition) while keeping the original configuration as much as practical.  

After it's done, I plan to take it out on one of those dry lake beds  here in California and see if I can't beat that original 1934 land speed record that Airflows were famous for. 

But even if it doesn't, it'll still be fun knowing the velocity is both aerodynamic and art deco.  

  Progress Status.