The same 1959 Windsor wore completely different badges depending which side of the border it was built on — American cars got fierce 'Golden Lion' emblems and a bigger V8; Canadian-built cars got a smaller engine and three golden crests instead.
Lead trim: Windsor 361 B V8 (Canada, 295 hp) · up to 305 hp
Chrysler WindsorWINDSOR-1959 · 1959–1961
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Chrysler Windsor yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe same 1959 Windsor wore completely different badges depending which side of the border it was built on — American cars got fierce 'Golden Lion' emblems and a bigger V8; Canadian-built cars got a smaller engine and three golden crests instead.
In 1959 Chrysler advertised the new wedge-head V8 "B" engines as "Golden Lions" ("Lion Hearted"), with lion emblems on the front doors and cylinder heads: the RB 383 produces 305 hp (227 kW) with a twin-barrel carburetor. Canadian-built cars did not get the RB 383 but the "Low Block" 361 cu in (5.9 L) as used in US Dodges and DeSotos (295 hp with a twin carburetor), with three golden crests on the front doors instead of the Golden Lion. In 1960 all Chrysler cars got a unibody frame, a new parking brake and 11" drum brakes, and the Windsor shared the semi-circular domed "AstraDome" instrument cluster (compared to a gumball machine, with electroluminescent "Panelescent" lighting) with the 300, Newport, Saratoga and New Yorker; air conditioning was a US$510 option and Captive-Aire tires (from 1958) $94. In 1961 all Chrysler cars were redesigned, with a safety padded dash new; 1961 was the last year of the Windsor in the US (production in Canada continued through 1966 as the equivalent of the US Newport), and the Windsor was replaced in 1962 by the non-lettered 300. Wheelbase 122 in (3,099 mm), length 215.4 in, width 79.4 in.
Collectors Spotted in the Chrysler Windsor Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Chrysler Windsor yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windsor 361 B V8 (Canada, 295 hp) | 1959–1961 | 5.9 L V8 | 295 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Windsor 383 RB Wedge V8 (305 hp) | 1959–1961 | 6.3 L V8 | 305 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The same 1959 Windsor wore completely different badges depending which side of the border it was built on — American cars got fierce 'Golden Lion' emblems and a bigger V8; Canadian-built cars got a smaller engine and three golden crests instead.
For 1958 Chrysler quietly shrank the Windsor onto the shorter Dodge/DeSoto Firesweep chassis — America's full-size Windsor was, for one year, riding on a mid-size platform.
This Windsor could be ordered with a Highway Hi-Fi record player built into the dash, Chrysler's answer to in-car entertainment before radio ruled.
Chrysler owners surveyed by Popular Mechanics in the 1950s named ride comfort their favorite Windsor trait, ahead of power or styling.
The 1950 Windsor Traveler Sedan came with a roof rack as standard equipment, a feature dropped once the Town & Country wagon joined the line.
Postwar Chrysler simply reused its 1942 engineering under new fenders, and the cheaper six-cylinder Windsor still made up 62.9 percent of company sales.
Through 1939 and 1940 the Windsor wasn't even its own model, sold instead as the Royal Windsor until the names split apart in 1941.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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