[Chrysler300] Diamond Jubilee 300 Circus- History R4 Plus

Suggested changes to R4 are as follows, anyone who disagrees, please comment:

C-300 now reads:

This was the car to start the legacy. Chrysler original manuals named it the C-300 was an appropriate name for the car. The “C” stood for Chrysler and the “300” for the gross rated horsepower.

Beautiful Brute references now read:

With 300 horsepower aboard, it was among the quickest cars of its time, getting to 60 mph in just 9.8 seconds, according to a test in Mechanix Illustrated by “Uncle Tom” McCahill, who also spurred the car up to a full 130 mph. Tom McCahill and others in the contemporary automotive press used the term “Beautiful Brutes” to describe Chrysler 300 series cars.

Later the term was deleted since it was covered up front and another reference was changed to:

The strong lines, excellent engineering, high luxury level, and record setting performance were making these the most desirable cars in Chrysler’s lineup, and a powerful “Halo” car for Chrysler showrooms.

Re 300-F Specials now reads:

Only 7 or 8 of these “short ram” cars were built, mostly for Daytona or Flying Mile race cars and were dubbed “Specials”. Six of them captured the first 6 places at the Flying Mile event, with speeds ranging from 140mph-145mph. It is believed 4 of these still exist, and they are among the most valuable of the post war collectable cars.

Re 300-H colors:

Although the 300 H was an outstanding performer, the ability to equip the Sport Series with most of the 300 H’s features, and the relatively high price of the 300 H, made 1962 the worst selling year for the letter car. Colors were limited to Festival Red, Oyster White, Formal Black, and Caramel.

300-K Section now reads:

300-K (1964)

The corporate reaction to car sales in 1963 brought about changes in 1964. After a one year absence, the convertible returned to the Letter car line up. Luxury appointments such as leather trim and power accessories were now extra cost options. The 413 was still the base engine for the letter cars, but for the first time a single four barrel version rated at 360 horsepower was offered as standard equipment. Last year’s base engine, the 390 horsepower, twin four barrel cross ram 413, was now a $375 option. This cost cutting effort knocked almost $1,000 off of last year’s base price and priced the 300 K $600 more than the Sport 300.

The non-letter 300 was still equipped with the 305 horsepower 383 two-barrel engine as standard equipment, with the 360 horsepower 413 available as an option. The 3-speed manual transmission was standard on the non-letter 300 with 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatic available at extra cost. 3-speed automatic transmission was standard on the 300-K with the 4-speed manual available as a no cost option. 1964 marked the introduction of the console mounted automatic transmission selector on all 300-Ks and console-equipped non-letter 300s. In the spring of 1964, Chrysler offered the Silver 300 promotional trim package on both the non-letter 300 and 300-K for the 2-door hardtop only. This package consisted of special silver metallic paint, a black canopy style vinyl top with special roof molding, and black interior color only. 1964 marked the high point in letter car sales.

Letter Cars

Production: 3,022 Coupes (including 255 Silver 300-Ks); 625 Convertibles

Non-Letter Cars

Production: 2 Door HT 13,401 (includes 2,152 Silver 300s)

2 Door Convertible 1,401

4 Door HT 11,460

A portion of the 300 Hurst section now reads:

In 1970 The 300 would have one last hurrah, however. A limited production, special edition 300 would be produced. This car was assembled by Chrysler and refined by the Hurst company with special striping and two-tone paint treatment, deck lid spoiler, wheels, and the like to approximate the panache of the 300 letter car. The high-performance 300-Hurst was a modified Chrysler 300 built by Hurst Performance Corporation. Built in Detroit by Chrysler as a Spinnaker White coupe and shipped to Warminster, PA, where it was modified by the Hurst Corporation in their plant there.

Tony Rinaldi