Several years ago, I attended Das Awkscht Fescht (The August Festival) in Macungie, Pennsylvania, one of the largest antique and classic car shows in the nation. That year the show’s featured car was the legendary Chrysler 300. I’ve never seen so many beautiful and rare 300 Letter Cars gathered in one place at one time. It was a glorious site. Take a gander at what the seller says is a great investment opportunity: Number 263 of only 337 300-G convertibles made in 1961 (and one of 124 estimated to be in  existence). Details and history are scant in the ad, but the seller shares that this 300 has been in the same family since 1984 and was running when it was parked in 1990. It had been stored indoors until recently and is now under a carport-type structure that’s attached to a red barn (the seller admits that he has too many projects and no time or room for this one). Looking at the photos, this 300-G appears to be saying “Get me back indoors where a 300-G belongs!” This rare Letter Series drop top is located in Oregon City, Oregon and is for sale here on craigslist with an asking price of $52,500. Super-Spotter T.J. earns a letter “A” for sending this 300-G Mopar Masterpiece to Barn Finds.

Styling-wise, 1961 would mark the last year of rear fins, the revamped front end featured angled quad headlights (which makes the 300-G look a bit angry), and gone was the faux spare tire decklid inlay. Like previous 300’s, it has a certain understated, muscular look. Based on the photos, the 300 looks straight and solid. The black paint is shiny as is the chrome and I’m not spotting any rust or serious flaws. The 300 badging, glass, trim, and black convertible top look good and the four attractive “vented” 300 wheel covers are being stored in the trunk.

The interior looks like it could be original. The light tan leather front swiveling bucket seats are faded and worn and there are a few tears and ripples on the rear bucket seats (the cool center console with padded armrests ran from the front to the rear making this 300 a true four seater). The door panels with prominent “300” numbers just below the window still look good as does the steering wheel and black padded dash. It’s hard to see the distinctive Astradome, the dome-like instrument bubble which contained the 150 mph speedometer and gauges, but I’m guessing it along with the rest of the instrument panel (including the pushbutton transmission controls to the left of the instrument cluster) are in good shape. Like all 300’s, there are plenty of creature comforts including power steering, power brakes, power windows, and more.

I found a print ad for the 1961 300-G that read, “You’ll find this tiger powered by the latest in Chrysler’s brilliantly engineered ram-injection V-8s.” And, since it was 1961, the ad closed with a slogan that could’ve been created by Don Draper: “A rare kind of car for a rare kind of man.” Yes, Chrysler’s most powerful engine was standard equipment on the 300-G and there’s one photo showing the legendary “Cross Ram” 413-cubic inch wedge V8 that used elongated aluminum intakes with two 4-barrel carburetors. When it left the factory, this tiger delivered 375 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and there’s supposedly 108,000 miles on the clock. The big V8 is paired with the durable TorqueFlight pushbutton automatic transmission.

On the surface, this rare example of what some folks called “the businessman’s boulevard hot rod” could be the right kind of “great investment opportunity” for the right kind of person. There are various levels of postwar American collector cars, and the low production, highly-desirable Chrysler 300 Letter Series has been in the upper echelon (some say the stratosphere) for decades. After sitting 33 years, I’m not sure what it’ll cost to get this black beauty roadworthy again, but it seems to be reasonably priced at $52,500. Hagerty’s values a ’61 300-G convertible in #4 condition at $68,000 (#3: $101,000, #2: 147,000, #1: $195,000). Hopefully, the next owner can get this 300-G convertible roadworthy – and back indoors – sooner than later.