300C1957Chrysler300D1958 300E1959 300F1960 300G1961 300H1962 300B1956 300 1955

Description

First of all, I must apologize for the photos on this listing being the poorest quality of any eBay listing I have ever completed in the last 15 years or so that I have been here on eBay. I will try to explain why this is true later on.
The last 2 photos that show a pair of majestic looking restored Chyrysler 300C beauties are not of this car but are included for your reference only. They will give you some idea as to what this car will look like when restored in it's original black color.
This listing is for a very scarce and desirable unrestored original 1957 Chrysler 300C two door hardtop that is missing the engine and transmission. This is an original black car with factory air conditioning that was painted silver a long time ago. As I recall, this car had absolutely no rusted through spots in it anywhere when I bought it. It has been in a dry cow shed here in relatively dry Montana ever since I bought it about 35 years ago.
The Chrysler 300 cars built from 1955 through 1965 are considered by many enthusiasts to have been the first muscle cars. Some others consider the Mercer Raceabout and Stutz Bearcat from the teens to have been the first muscle cars.
I was studying mechanical engineering at Montana State University in the early 1970's when I bought a Car Classics magazine that had a several page article on the Chrysler 300 letter cars. I had no idea that they even existed at all before I read that magazine article. That magazine article had a very significant impact on me for the rest of my life.
While I was attending college in the early to mid 1970's, I eventually noticed a dark metallic green 1958 Chrysler 300D that a university employee often drove to work. Even though it had some rusted out spots in the rear fenders and rocker panels, it was a beautiful sight to me every time I saw it. That beautiful and very aggressive grille on the front and the gorgeous cathedral tail lights on the back made a lasting impression on me. I eventually met and became friends with the owner of that 300D. He later restored it with a new leather interior and painted it in the original turquoise color. Last I knew, that car is in California somewhere.
I spent the next 10 years or so collecting Corvettes and pretty much forgot about Chrysler 300s for a while. A friend in the local Bozeman Corvette club also liked Chrysler 300s and bought this car in Spokane Washington in about 1984. The seller
told my friend in Bozeman that he had the engine and transmission out of this car when his shop caught on fire. He said he was able to roll this car to safety but lost the engine and transmission in that fire.
I bought this car from my Corvette collector friend in Bozeman Montana in about 1985 or so.
Now I will attempt to explain why I feel that the 1957 Chrysler 300C ws so very special. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong or let me know if I forgot something special about these cars. Here is my like it list for now:
1957 was the first year for Chrysler's famous and superior torshion bar front suspension
1957 was the first year for Chrysler's famous 392 Hemi engine producing either 375 HP or 390
HP
1957 was the first year for Chrysler's famous Torqueflite 3 speed automatic transmission
1957 was the first year of Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" that took the rest of the auto industry by surprise.
1957 was the first year the 300 had unique front sheet metal including the grille, hood, and front brake cooling air ducts
1957 was the first year the 300 had completely unique wheel covers
1957 was the first year for the full cathedral style tail lamp lenses
1957 was the first year for the in dash air conditioner instead of the evaporator being in the trunk
1957 was the first year for the dual air conditioning option that was quite rare on any 300
1957 was the first year for the 14" wheels which lowered the car a bit
1957 was the first year for the small twin side grilles that fed air to cool the front brakes
1957 was the only year the 1957 through 1959 hardtops had no bulge at the top of the windshield
1957 was the only year for the lip above the windshield that matched the slope of the grille and headlamp bezels
1957 was the first year for the 4 headlamp system, a few 1957 300's had the old 2 headlamp system
1957 was the first year for the red, white, and blue plastic badges with chrome numbers on them on the rear quarters
1957 was the first year for the nearly flush fitting outside door handles
1957 was the first year for the huge rear window glass on the two door hardtops
1957 was the first year for the clutch fan which saved fuel
1957 was the first year for the rear view mirror mounted on the dash
1957 was the first year for the graceful "Twin Strut" left and right side rear view mirrors
1957 was the first year Chrysler referred to the 300 as being the "Beautiful Brute"
1957 was the first year Chrysler claimed the 300 to be the most powerful production car
1957 was the first year that Chrysler offered a 300 convertible as well as the hardtop body style
The following is an inventory list of the various Chrysler 300's I have owned through the last 35 years or so. As you can see, the car I am offering here was the first one I bought, my favorite of them all and the last one I still own:
1. Black 1957 300C hardtop, factory A/C, no rust, missing engine & transmission - this car is now listed here on eBay
2. White 1957 300C hardtop, moderate rust - sold 1990's ??, can't remember where it went
3. White 1957 300C convertible, considerable rust - sold 1990's ??, can't remember where it went
4. Black 1959 300E hardtop, factory A/C, moderate rust, sold 1990's ?? to Nevada
5. White 1960 300F hardtop, no rust, nice "Survivor", sold 2019 to Wisconsin
6. White 1960 300F convertible, factory A/C, moderate rust, sold 2019 to Wisconsin
7. Black 1960 300F hardtop, very rusty, sold 2020 to Wisconsin
8. Special order gold 1960 300F hardtop, rust, sold 1990's ?? to California )
) took 1932 Nash convertible Victoria trade
9. Special order gold 1960 300F hardtop, rust, sold 1990's ?? to California )
10. White 1961 300G convertible, factory A/C, no rust, lots of dents, ran & drove, sold to Texas in 1993
I will add more information soon. Thanks a lot, Bob Woodburn in Bozeman Montana USA