Before there was the Pontiac GTO, you had the Chrysler 300 “Letter Series” cars, the real forerunners of the muscle car movement. But they were big, luxurious automobiles that were a sub-series of the opulent New Yorker. The 300B in 1956 started the sequential annual numbering convention and looks spectacular. But looks can be deceiving as the seller calls it a project. Apparently, the chassis is bad, and the seller has a spare to transfer the rest over to. Located in Sacramento, California, this Mopar is available here on craigslist for $27,000. Hats off to MattR for this cool tip!
Chrysler built the 300 Letter Series cars between 1955 and 1965. The first one was labeled the C-300 because of its horsepower output; after that, they became 300B, 300C, etc. Chrysler called the C “America’s Most Powerful Car” which also had some success on the NASCAR circuit. The 1956 300Bs had a 354 cubic inch Hemi V8 which could be set up to produce either 340 or 355 hp. The cars employed Chrysler’s push-button TorqueFlite automatic transmission with controls to the left of the steering wheel. Production numbers were not high compared to the rest of Chrysler’s lineup, accounting for 1,102 copies in 1956.
We’re told that just 246 of these cars still survive and – according to the seller – only about 100 of them are roadworthy. Although the photos provided don’t necessarily show it, a frame-on restoration has begun on this ’56 300B. A spare chassis sits ready for everything to be brought over to what must be a better framework. The sheet metal and newer paint look good and much of the brightwork has already been re-chromed. At 66,000 miles, we understand the interior has been redone in NOS materials.
This car had a twin 4-barrel carburetor set-up when new with the “batwing” air cleaner. Those parts have survived but are not currently in place. Instead, two Edelbrock carburetors are employed with a Mallory distributor. You can go back to the originals if you wish. A ton of work has been done on this car except for the chassis. Makes me wonder why the seller wouldn’t have started there first. The seller prefers cash but might consider a trade for a 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe that’s street rod ready.
If that’s the replacement chassis, I’d hate to see what the current one looks like!
So how hard is it….to transfer the body over to the better frame/chassis ?
Most I ever did, under the car wise, was change out a leaf spring on my
’73 Charger that i drove over a 3 Rivers Stadium concrete abutment.
whoops !
This has been out there for a while, and I also thought it seemed like a good deal. I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t found a new home by now. The values of the C-300 and 300B seem to trail the later cars, but even so it seems like there’s some room before being upside down on this one.
Quote: “But they were big, luxurious automobiles that were a sub-series of the opulent New Yorker.”
300s were not a “sub-series” of the New Yorker. They were based on the New Yorker body shell, but they were their own series.
Reading his description it sounds like this is a complete and sound vehicle. However, if you want to do a frame off restoration the extra frame will facilitate that objective. It looks like a nice “frame on” restoration and a good value. I drove one in the mid-1960s whien it was just a tired old car and it would still push you back in the seat under hard acceleration and was fun to drive.
If the photo of the frame lying on the ground represents the replacement frame, yes the one that was T Boned on the driver’s side with enough force to deflect the passenger side frame albeit to a much lesser degree, this project just got 100 times more difficult to complete.
Ctheman, I think what you are thinking is damage to the right frame rail is due to the angle that the photo was taken from. Look again. There seems to be lots of misconceptions about this car, and nowhere in the ad does it mention that the frame under the car now needs to be replaced. The seller apparently was going to do a frame off restoration and obtained the extra frame, but then decided not to do it.
The replacement frame can be sand blasted and powder coated, after it is checked for squareness. Any corrective action can be done by a reputable shop (who are getting rare these days). The frame is an excellent candidate for replacement/repair/upgrade of suspension parts. Conversion over to disc brakes and stainless steel brake lines & associated hardware would be a wise idea. All told, under the worse scenario a new owner could be into the frame foe $7000-$10000. Assess the condition of the rear differentials, both on the car and the one being sold with the replacement frame, toss in a set of new shocks and you will be ready to prepare the body, electrical & drivetrain for the mounting on the revised/restored frame. Toss in $4000 to complete that work. At it’s $27000 asking price, transport etc. you may end up underwater, but again have a really impressive car.
Have you looked carefully at the replacement frame? It looks more like a trapezoid than a box frame.
Sure put the cart before the horse on this one.
No matter how rare the car, why put all that work into the car if the frame is bad?
“House built on a weak foundation will not stand., oh no.”
Tiger66: Leave A Reply doesn’t work, so trying here. Didn’t they use an Imperial front clip/doghouse?
The body was a base Windsor trimmed – with the Imperial grille – but the interior was all it’s own.
I’ve owned and restored several ’55 and’56 Imperials and 300 cars. Yes, the front painted sheet metal and the 2 main Imperial grills are identical, but the Imperials used different chrome trim under the headlights, and the turn signals were in round pods on the bumpers. The turn signals on the 300 were from the 1955 Windsor.
Having owned dozens of ’55 and ’56 Chryslers of all types [I like ’em!], and my restoration shop worked on a lot more, I can safely say I’ve never seen a frame that rusted out, so it’s not likely there is a rust problem.
I agree with some of the above comments that the owner simply decided to go ahead and restore a new frame and switch everything to the new frame, rather than have the body sitting on supports for a year or more while the original frame is restored.
In the late 1960s a former boss at a restoration shop I worked at part time while I was in high school, had an all original 300b in black, basically this exact car except it had factory A/C. His car had a class 3 tow hitch on the back, and I joined him numerous times in using the 300b to trailer cars into our shop for restoration work.
Back before the modern monster trucks people use today, for towing large and heavy loads, nothing beat a big block Chrysler as a tow vehicle.
Y they brought the name plate back in ’05.
Beautiful looking car. IMHO, it’s the best looking Chrysler 300 until the 1961 300 and then the 1965 Chrysler 300.