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1941 Chrysler Royal Coupe
Provided by Hemmings
 The 1941 Chrysler Royal series was the lowest-priced line for the marque, with factory tags as low as $995 for the three-passenger coupe. All the ’41 Chryslers, from Royal through New Yorker, used a slightly wider version of the body shell introduced in 1940. Glass area was also increased front and rear. Engines, in both flathead six and eight- cylinder guise, remained unchanged except for the new “Spitfire” option of 7.2:1 compression on the sixes.
The most important new model for 1941 was the barrel-back Town and Country station wagon added to the Windsor series. These cars, of course, have become highly sought after by “woodie” collectors today and are great rarities with less than 1,000 examples produced in 1941. Chrysler’s famed Fluid Drive was standard equipment on all models including the Royal, while a “Vacamatic” semi-automatic four-speed tranny was offered as an option that met with little buyer acceptance. The hood release was moved inside the car and a newly designed steering wheel with no spokes in the upper half of the circle helped improve driver visibility. For the more traditional Chrysler buyer, runningboards were still available on all models. Fluid Drive had moved quickly from a rarely seen installation on 1939 Imperials to every Chrysler in 1941. It offered “clutchless” shifting, should the driver so choose, and was one of the important developments that added to Chrysler’s luster as a company of engineering innovation. This tradition of clever but solid engineering began with the first Chryslers in 1924 with their standard hydraulic brakes. Some of the “firsts” that followed were rubber engine mounts and high-performance powerplants. High-compression versions of these engines powered the Chryslers that gave the big Bentleys fits on the Le Mans racecourse, and nearly won the grueling 24-hour race in the late 1920s. The Royal line of Chryslers first appeared in 1937 as a replacement for the Airstream Six. It overlapped the De Soto and some Dodges in pricing and gave the single-line Chrysler dealer of the time a broader market coverage and potential customer base. The car seen here was one of Chrysler’s better selling body styles in 1941 with a production total of 10,830 cars. Low man on the Royal totem pole for 1941 was the four-door town sedan with just 1,277 examples hitting the road. If one word would describe Chryslers of that period it would be “solid.” They were solidly built with bodies by Briggs and produced to a high standard in every series. They were solidly engineered with a combination of sensible innovations and tried-and-true components (unlike the ’41 Buick, for instance – Chrysler never tried fitting the somewhat unsuccessful dual carbs on their engine for more power). And they were solidly styled, with pleasing lines and proportions, but no trick stuff—Chrysler had learned its lesson in advanced styling, and the public’s resistance to same, with the Airflow. In fact, their styling finally turned out to be increasingly stodgy until 1955, when Exner’s “Forward Look” arrived in all its three-toned glory.
All this adds up to a solid value in a collector car today. Chances are, you won’t get rich investing in these Chryslers but you certainly will enjoy a good-looking, good-running, reliable vintage car that gives more value for money than a number of its contemporaries—and doesn’t cost the earth to start with!
| Base price: |
$ 1,085 |
| Base weight: |
3,260 lbs. |
| Body: |
All-steel five-passenger two-door coupe |
| Frame: |
Ladder type with cross members |
| Wheelbase: |
122 ½ inches |
| Suspension: |
Independent with coil springs, front; semi-elliptic with rigid axle, |
| Steering: |
Worm and roller |
| Brakes: |
Four-wheel drum type internal expanding hydraulic |
| Engine: |
Six-cylinder inline L-head, 3 3/8 x 4 ½ bore and stroke; 241 ½ |
| Transmission: |
Three-speed fluid-drive transmission with column-mounted |
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