[Chrysler300] Revisiting - 1960 300 F convert, VIN 8403154203

Hello Group,

This 300F convertible has been for sale at Volo Auto for a few months. Asking was $120k, now down to $116k. It looks wrong because the body plate reads standard "353" tan interior, but the photos show black seats.

When I returned from the cruise to White Sands, I was having withdrawal symptoms from not being behind the wheel of the F, so I cruised up to Volo 4 days later for a show, and checked out this convertible while there.

The car is there on consignment, being sold by a gentleman who's said to be in his early 80s, and is motivated to sell the car. Speaking with the sales rep, a 3rd generation Grams family member, said Volo threw the high price on the car, because they really don't know what its value is. They appear to be open to offers as much as $40k less then ask.

This car requires a full restoration, but it looks to have a great foundation..
The motor fired right up, and sounded good, for the few minutes it ran. The car was parked tightly in a building there, so couldn't be moved. I couldn't try putting the trans in gear.
The car appears very straight, essentially rust-free. Only the right front fender has significant rust issues - the eybrow above the headlights, and the bottom behing the front tire, are bubbled out, and the paint on that fender is all alligatored. So there was clearly body work done on this panel. The rest of the paint is tired, but not cracked and peeling. The other fenders show no rust through. The other wheel openings show no rust - maybe a couple bubbles in the typical spt in the dogleg fore of the rear wheels, but minimal. Overall, the panels on the car - hood, trunk, doors, fenders - are very straight.
I didn't try the windows, but the doors shut perfectly with a light touch. There's no rust around the perimeter of the doors - tired but very solid.
The trunk lid looks good, with no rust problems. Some normal clean-up required around the weatherstripping, but I don't see any significant rust issues. The trunk floor is excellent. The door fit is excellent - I wish mine were that nice!
I didn't crawl under the car to look at the underside.
The hood fits well.
The set of 4 300F hubcaps are in a box in the trunk, and look pretty good.
The convertible top was down - what parts of the frame were visible looked good.
Regarding the black seats - Well, they're tan seats that were dyed black - They are NOT factory [or reupholstered] black seats. The seat centers are perforated leather. Volo's ad says the car has a black leather interior, but the sales rep admitted they don't know the car. The leather is dried, and the interior requires a complete re-do, but everythng's there. The steering wheel is in good condition - yellowed, but not missing chunks of plastic.
The taillight chrome is excellent, and the taillamps are good - red plastic has some typical crazing.
The bumpers have no rust. The rear bumper is very straight, and the front bumper may need a little straightening/massaging to adjust it for proper fit.
The long trim piece on the right rear fender is all dinged up, from folks opening car doors against it, but there's a new replacement trim piece in the trunk that looks excellent. The fender sheetmetal is not dented. Other trim on the car looks excellent - exterior/interior.
The soft pieces - vinyl, leather - require replacement.

If interested, you can look up the car on volocars.com. The body plate and serial number are on pictured Volo's site. I also took some additional photos that I'll be happy to forward.

Noel Hastalis

300F coupe

Burr Ridge, IL