[Chrysler300] Where Petty's Clone /Tribute /Recreation /Rebodied 4Speed car came from

["Wayne Graefen" <wgraefen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Don Petty first registered a black TORQUEFLITE 300F convertible with the same VIN of the current said-to-be 4Speed car with our club about 1985.   Many club members including yours truly saw the unrestored TORQUEFLITE car sitting in a shed at his salvage yard year after year when visiting Don.   Because Don has owned a real 300F Special GT hardtop for many years prior, he had picked up two complete Pont-a-Mousson 4Speed transmissions from Facel Vega automobiles.  This was not hard to do years ago.   I have two Facel spares for my car myself.   I also recall Don showing me a pair of correct for '60-62 cast iron headers that he claimed he had literally "tripped over" in some collector's back yard somewhere south of Phoenix.   At one time I had a set of extra '60-62 short ram intakes but sold them; these parts can be found   

So if you recall my article some ten(?) years ago in the Club New about "How to Build an F 4 Speed", you can see that Don had the beginnings of the makings to do so.

How does one differentiate a REAL 300F Special GT car from a BOGUS car?   This can be a problem because the factory took torqueflite cars off the end of the production line and ran them over to a building called "Header House" where the engines and transmissions were pulled out and the engines totally gone through, short rams and cams added, everything blue printed, headers added, the transmission tunnel altered, the Pont-a-Mousson added, the 2.5" Arvin exhaust system added and the cars turned out.   But we know those cars from their historical record from day one.   We know that ONE convertible was built and it was white and we know where it is.   Also there is a hand written engineering notebook.  It is in Jim Bartuska's hands.  Cars and engines and owners are noted.  At least one VIN is listed in there.   

Any claim in any manner that intends to associate Don Petty's black 300F convertible as a real 300F Special GT is known to be BOGUS and can be proven.

Wayne Graefen 

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