RE: [Chrysler300] '50s Hardtops

["Rich Barber" <c300@xxxxxxx>]

Don:

 

Thanks for the reference, but I am undeserving of the title and just a
recent student of things C-300'ly.  There was a long gap between my first
exposure in 1955 to my first acquisition in 2004.  John Lazenby remains our
'55 and '56 Chrysler 300 Model Year Consultant and the go-to guy and there
are a number of 300 owners in the clubs that have more detailed knowledge
and experience than me.

However, I can offer this information from various sources and my notes.

 

>From the 1958 Chrysler Passenger Car parts List:

 

Model                   Description

C-67                       '55 Windsor

C-68                       '55 New Yorker

C-68-300              '55 Chrysler 300

C-69                       '55 Imperial

C-70                       '55 & '56 Crown Imperial

C-71                       '56 Windsor

C-72                       '56 New Yorker

C-72-300              '56 Chrysler 300

C-73                       '56 Imperial

 

In the Body Section of  the Parts Book, the various body styles are referred
to as:

 

Convertible:                       Convertible Coupe

2-door hardtop:                Special Club Coupe

4-door hardtop:                Special 4-Door Sedan

4-door sedan:                    4-Door Sedan

 

To the parts guys, the '55-'58 Chrysler 300's were apparently just a subset
of the New Yorkers.  They didn't start using the suffix letters in that
manual until the LC3-S "300D".  I always liked the styling of the short
greenhouse club coupes of Chrysler and other makes and the two-door hardtops
may be viewed as the inspired evolution from the club coupes and the
convertibles.   Thus, Chrysler's renowned inertia being displayed as calling
the sporty new hardtops as "Special Club Coupes" in their parts book is
understandable.   One of Webster's definitions of a coupe is:  A two-door
automobile having an enclosed body of one compartment, usually seating two
to five persons.  So, the two-door hardtop is a rather special coupe and a
convertible may be viewed as a convertible coupe.  

 

I have a 1955 Chrysler 300 sales brochure which lists "Body Style" as
"Sports Coupe".  In the brochure, the marketing guys were slightly more
excited, describing the '55 300 as having " a contemporary look of style and
smartness" and describing the leather interior as "complementing the car's
exterior style and smartness".  They also say the 1955 Chrysler 300
"reflects the discriminating good taste of the owner".    Interestingly
enough, the brochure has  a large side view of a Platinum car with New
Yorker wheel covers which are different from those that came on the cars.
The '55 and '56 wheel covers were actually the same as those found on the
'55 and '56 Imperials-but with a different center.  The round  300 wheel
cover centers consist of a checkerboard background with a gold 300 in the
center.  The Imperial centers on the same vented wheel cover had the
Imperial 3-pronged crown in gold on the center medallion.

 

The 1955 Service Manual only lists the C-67, 68, 69 and 70 models on the
cover, but the frontispiece also lists  the "C-300 (Chrysler)".  The 300
model is referred to as a "C-300" throughout the Service Manual.  The body
styles in the Service Manual include the "Convertible Coupe" and "Special
Club Coupe".  So, the Service manual is where the tag "C-300" for the
Chrysler 300 may have originated.  "C-300" does not appear anywhere on the
car.  There are letters for "CHRYSLER" on the hood and checkerboard
medallions with "300" on them on the hood and trunk.  There are small
letters and numbers for "CHRYSLER" and "300" on the rear fenders.    

 

Since Briggs Cunningham had a hemi-engined C-3 car in 1953, there has been
speculation that the C-300 was named in tribute to Briggs and/or his car.
See:  http://www.briggscunningham.com/home/sportscars/c3.html/    .  I and
others see no links supporting this speculation.  The website indicates a
3-speed manual transmission was standard and a TorqueFlite was optional..
This is most likely an error as the PowerFlite two-speed transmission was
the only  automatic transmission available in 1953.  The source of the stick
transmission is unclear.

 

C300K'ly,

Rich Barber

 

 

From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Don Warnaar
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2011 5:08 AM
To: Chrysler300 Group
Subject: [Chrysler300] '50s Hardtops

 

  

This topic certainly has become interesting.

It is well known that Chrysler experimented with a 2 door hardtop in 1946
with the Town & Country. But six examples doesn't exactly make it a true
production model. They missed the boat with that one, and of course we all
know that GM made the big splash with the Riviera, Holiday, and Coupe de
Ville a few years later.

The hardtop names became a bit confusing in the mid '50s when the names were
extended to full model series in many instances. And then the 4 door
hardtops arrived, adding to the confusion.

Terry McTaggart wrote to me about excluding the Imperial. Good point. The
Imperial began as a separate marque in 1955 and used the Newport name also
at first. Before that, of course, it had been a Chrysler Imperial Newport.

The 1955 Chrysler 300 (how's that for sneaking in the 300 related material
into this email), as far as I know did not have any other name to indicate
it was a hardtop. I never thought of it as a 300 Newport. It was just the
Chrysler 300. Rich Barber, resident C300 expert, can you add to this?

Don Warnaar

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