grille and fins; the Hemi engine was
upgraded to 392 cu in (6.4 L) with 375 hp, or as a very limited
edition 390 hp version (18 built). A convertible model was available
for the first time. The car had a number of red, white, and blue
‘300-C’ medallions on the sides, hood, trunk and
interior.
With the introduction of the 1957
300-C, 300 Letter Cars became known as the
“Beautiful
Brutes.”
The 1957 300-C did not compete in
NASCAR track events, but with its 375HP hemi engine, again won the
Daytona Beach flying mile, making the Chrysler 300 the fastest
American car for the third straight year.
1958 300-D Overview
|
Production |
618
Coup; 191 Conv Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & 2-Dr Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
392 cu
in (6.4 L) 380 hp V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Speed
TorqueFlite A488 Auto |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
126
in |
|
Length |
220.0
in |
|
Width |
78.8
in |
The 1958 model year was to be the
last use of the old Fire Power Hemi in the 300. The engine was still
392 cu in (6.4 L), but tuned to 380 hp as standard.
Thirty-five cars were built with
fuel injection and delivered 390 hp, but the fuel
injection system was troublesome and most cars soon had it
replaced with the
standard twin-quad carburetor
setup.
A 300-D was driven to 156.387 mph
(251.680 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats that year, and at Daytona,
one was driven to an et of 16 seconds with a 94mph trap
speed.
1959 300-E Overview
|
Production |
550
Coup; 140 Conv Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & 2-Dr Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
413 cu
in 380 hp (6.8 L) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Speed
TorqueFlite A488 Auto |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
126
in |
|
Length |
220.0
in |
|
Width |
79.5
in |
The big news for 1959 was the new
Golden Lion V8 that replaced the heavy and
expensive
Hemi V8. The new Golden Lion V8 sported Chrysler’s new wedge-shaped
combustion chamber design. The new 413 “Wedge” V8 continued to use
dual four-barrel carburetors. Acceleration was fast at a claimed 8.3
second 0-60 time.
The appearance of the 300-E was
similar to the previous model. The most significant change was the use
of narrow horizontal red bars highlighted by four chrome bars in place
of the older egg crate grille. Red bars were also used in the narrow
air scoops for the front brakes that were positioned below the
headlights. Also new were the “300” letters located on the lower,
driver side portion of the hood. At the rear were new taillights and a
larger bumper with recessed back-up lights.
1960 300-F Overview
|
Production |
964
Coup; 248 Conv Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & 2-Dr Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
413 cu
in 375 hp (Opt 400 hp) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Sp
TorqueFlite/Racing 4 Sp Man |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
126
in |
|
Length |
218.8
in |
|
Width |
79.4
in |
The bodywork was also redone for
1960, using Chrysler’s new lightweight unibody construction and given
sharper-edged styling with outward-tilting fins that were visually
separated from sides.
The 300-F introduced a new; higher
power 413 cu in (6.8 L) Wedge engine delivering 375 hp (280 kW) in
standard form. A new, and completely unique “Cross Ram” manifold was
used, placing the carbs on each side of the engine. The design was to
have a “supercharging” effect in the heart of the rpm range. Low range
performance was helped with the design, but at the cost of performance
over 4,000 RPM. To solve that problem, engineers removed a section of
the inner walls to create the 400 HP versions. The “short” rams looked
just like the longer version, but were in effect half the length. Only
15 of these “short ram” cars were built, mostly for Daytona or Flying
Mile racecars and were dubbed “Specials”. Six of them captured the
first 6 places at the Flying Mile event, with speeds ranging from
140mph-145mph. The short ram option also included the French made
Pont-a-Mousson 4 speed manual transmission, which was made for the
Facel Vega, a Chrysler powered French luxury car.
1961 300-G Overview
|
Production |
1,280
Coup; 337 Conv Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & 2-Dr Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
413 cu
in 375 hp (Opt 400 hp) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Sp
TorqueFlite/Racing 3 Sp Man |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
126
in |
|
Length |
219.8
in |
|
Width |
79.4
in |
The 1961 300-G saw another restyle.
The grille, formerly wider at the bottom than the top, was inverted;
the quad headlights, formerly side-by-side, were arranged in angled
fashion, inward at the bottom, in a manner reminiscent of 1958-1960
Lincolns.
Small parking lamps below the
headlights were likewise slanted and V-shaped, and the front bumper
was canted up at each end, scoop-like. At the rear, the taillights
were moved from the fins to the tail below them and the fins were made
sharper pointed. Power windows were standard. Mechanically, the
cross-ram “short ram” and “long ram” engines remained the same,
although the expensive French manual transmission was dropped, and
replaced by a more reliable and still expensive Chrysler racing
manual transmission (referred to as ‘option code
281’).
1962 300-H Overview
|
Production |
435
Coup; 123 Conv Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & 2-Dr Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
413 cu
in 380 hp (Opt 405 hp) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Sp
TorqueFlite/Racing 3 Sp Man |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
122
in |
|
Length |
214.9
in |
|
Width |
79.4
in |
From 1962s 300-H, the fins were
gone. New management at Chrysler decided that it was time to remove
Virgil Exner’s styling cues from the lineup.
The 300-H also now shared the
smaller platform of the Newport line.
Both 413’s received a 5HP boost, and
the 300-pound weight savings of the smaller wheelbase gave the 300-H
the best power to weight ratio of any of the letter
cars.
Under the hood of the 300-H the
standard cross ram intake was gone, and there was a return to the
inline dual 4-barrel carb setup of the 300-E. With a slight power
boost and a 300 lb (140 kg) lighter body, the 300-H was faster than
the 300-G.
1963 300-J Overview
|
Production |
400
Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
413 cu
in 390 hp (6.8 L) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Sp
TorqueFlite/Racing 3 Sp Man |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
122
in |
|
Length |
215.3
in |
|
Width |
79.1
in |
Further restyling for the 1963 300-J
(the letter “I” was skipped because people would confuse it for the
numeral “1”.) left the car with a smoother, more angular 1960s look.
(Shared with the Newport and New Yorker series, this body design was
the last one styled during Virgil Exner’s term as Chrysler’s styling
chief.)
The letter-series convertible was
dropped, leaving the hardtop. The only engine
available
was the 413 cu in (6.8 L) ram-induction V8, with an increase of 10 hp
from 1962. A redesigned and more sumptuous interior featured an oddly
squared
steering wheel. The 300-J was faster than the
standard 300-H of the year before, with a 142 mph (229 km/h) top
speed, 8.0 seconds 0-60 mph, and a standing quarter mile time of 15.8
seconds with a terminal velocity of 89 mph.
1964 300-K Overview
|
Production |
3,022
Coup; 625 Conv Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & 2-Dr Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
413 cu
in 360 hp (Opt 390 hp) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Sp
TorqueFlite/4 Sp Manual |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
122
in |
|
Length |
214.9
in |
|
Width |
79.4
in |
The convertible returned for the
1964 300-K.
The “cross-ram” engine became an
extra-cost option available on the 300-K only. A 413 cu in (6.8 L)
Wedge with a single Carter AFB 3614S 4-barrel carburetor, a regular
intake manifold, and 360 hp was the new standard
engine.
Leather upholstery was no longer
standard either.
All this reduced the baseline price
by over a thousand dollars, and sales responded with the largest total
ever.
1965 300-L Overview
|
Production |
2,405
Coup; 440 Conv Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & 2-Dr Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
413 cu
in 360 hp (6.8 L) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Sp
TorqueFlite/4 Sp Manual |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
122
in |
|
Length |
215.3
in |
|
Width |
79.1
in |
The 1965 300-L was the final year of
the traditional letter series. A complete restyle, with crisp lines,
slab sides and a tall “greenhouse”—styling cues introduced by Elwood
Engel when he succeeded Virgil Exner as Chrysler’s styling
boss—brought a sleek mid-1960s linear look to the cars.
Dropped was the panoramic windshield
that had disappeared from other Chrysler models in
1961.
The cross-ram engine was no longer
available; the 413 cu in (6.8 L) engine with
regular
carburetion and inlet manifold was the only one
supplied.
1970 Hurst 300
Overview
|
Production |
501Produced |
|
Body and
Chassis |
|
Body Style |
2-Door
Hardtop & One Convertible |
|
Powertrain |
|
Engine |
440 cu
in 375 hp (7.2 L) V8 |
|
Transmission |
3-Sp
TorqueFlite/4 Sp Manual |
|
Dimensions |
|
Wheelbase |
124
in |
|
Length |
224.7
in |
|
Width |
79.1
in |
The 1970 Hurst 300 lacks the
single-letter suffix of its forbears and appeared five years after the
last Letter Series Chrysler, the 300-L. It was a high-performance
variant of the luxury 300, built with the input of aftermarket parts
manufacturer Hurst Performance. Only 501 units are believed to have
been built.
The Hurst 300s
were all 2-door and shared a white and gold paint scheme similar to
the Oldsmobile and Pontiac Hurst models of the day. The scooped hood
and trunklid (with a molded spoiler) are both fiberglass. All Hurst
300s had satin tan leather
interiors that were straight
out of the Imperial and could be had with column- or
console-mounted 727 Torqueflite automatics. All came with
the 375 hp 440 cu in (7.2 L) 4-barrel TNT V8
engine.
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