While most folks tend to credit the Pontiac GTO for starting the muscle car movement, those honors should really go to the Chrysler 300 Series beginning in 1955. They were built as an extension of the luxurious New Yorker, so you got performance combined with a high level of trim. The third year of the 300 was in 1957 and lettered sequentially from year to year (thus, this one is the 300C). We’re told this one-owner car runs and drives after a 50-year hiatus, but more work will still need to be done. Located in Woodinville, Washington, this 375 hp hot rod is available here on eBay where the bidding stands at $6,984 with an unmet reserve. Another great find brought to us by T.J.!
The Letter Series 300s were built through 1965 and were initially billed as “America’s Most Powerful Car.” Production numbers from one year to the next were relatively small, so a 300C owner was part of a limited community. The autos made their mark in racing in the mid-1950s by winning a bunch of NASCAR events. The 300C shares the “Forward Look” styling of the rest of Chrysler’s products that set them apart from the rest of the industry upon their introduction. A 392 cubic inch Firedome V8 was standard with dual-quad carburetors that output nearly one horse per cube. 1,918 coupes and 484 drop-top Chrysler 300Cs were produced in 1957, all with torsion bar front suspension.
As the story goes, this Chrysler was purchased new in Washington State and appears to have lived there all its life. For reasons unknown, it was parked in 1972 with 59,000 miles but has recently been brought back to life, at least in terms of being drivable around the property. The engine and automatic transmission are numbers matching and the car has almost every option except factory air conditioning, which would have cost $5,000 in today’s dollars (my, how things have changed).
The owner likely didn’t care for the factory Gauguin Red paint and had it redone in some variation of green and gold at one point. But the red is still much more prevalent when you pop open the hood or trunk. There is some rust in the rocker panels and by the headlights on the driver’s side front fender, but we’re told the floors and trunk are fine. Everything seems to work as it should including the power windows, radio, and so forth. The dual air cleaners took flight some years ago, but the rest of the automobile is said to be complete. Would you restore it to its original red or drive it the way it is (when roadworthy)? There can’t be more than a few dozen (or hundred) of these grand machines still running around.