Ten years can make a world of difference in the auto industry. In 1955, the Chrysler 300 was introduced to much fanfare in the press, and it soon became a NASCAR racer and a charismatic line-topper. By 1965, muscle cars were in and sports-luxury full-size cars were on their way out, and the last “Letter Car,” the 300L, came and went with little fanfare. Even today, it’s merely a footnote in the 300 legend. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s not a beautiful car with rarity on its side. Only 2.405 300L hardtops were sold in 1965, and of those, a reported 98 (some say 96) came with a four-speed manual, and this is one of them. Brought to us by Barn Finds reader Sam61, this 300L is for sale on Marketplace in Nicholasville, Kentucky, with an asking price of $29,000.
Let’s get our discussion of price out of the way, because $29,000 seems like a lot of money for a ’65 Chrysler. Based on the pictures, the 300L appears to be in #3 condition, and Hagerty’s valuation tool says that a #3 car is worth $20,600. Hagerty does not, however, differentiate between four-speeds and Torqueflites, and a stick-shift 300L hardtop sold at Mecum Kissimmee last year for $82,500, although it was somewhat more well-detailed than this one. Considering those facts, I’d say that our featured car is in the ballpark. The body and interior look good, and you can see the console, shifter, and clutch pedal that make this 300 so special. The 300L had a lot of standard equipment, including power brakes, power steering, and an electric clock; this one also has air conditioning.
In fact, now is a good time to look at the trim tag to see what’s what. The GG1 paint code is “Sequoia Green,” the 99 under “A” and “B” in the second row indicate the 360-horsepower 413 engine, the “3” under the letter “D” in the second row denotes the four-speed transmission, and the “1” under the letter “E” tells us that this is an air-conditioned car. This is all good news.
As I mentioned above, the only thing that lets this 300L down a bit is detailing, which is fine with me, because I’d drive the wheels off of it with an occasional trip to the car wash to clean the engine compartment. The seller says that the car is “roadworthy” and “starts and runs very well”; the paint and body are in “great shape,” although there is “some chrome pitting.” The odometer reads 73,396, which certainly could be legitimate; this just doesn’t look like a 173,000-mile car inside or out. There’s no mention of whether or not the air conditioning works, so I think you and I both know the answer to that. The condition of the master cylinder and booster make me wonder when this car had its last brake service, but I know from experience that Chrysler single-pot master cylinders can be a little incontinent from their lid gaskets; all-in-all, however, it looks like a solid original under the hood.
The 300L is among the least valuable of the famed 300 line, but this one has that transmission in its back pocket, in addition to Chrysler’s handsome new-for-1965 styling that I really like (I’ve almost bought a couple ’65s but haven’t sealed the deal…yet). Add that pretty Cascade Green paint and cool white interior, and I think we have a winner here. It’s an attainable rarity.
Interesting car. Big 60’s coupes like this are more interesting to me than they used to be. This one looks to be in good shape. The four-speed obviously is what makes this car unique, especially when coupled with the white bucket seats. I can imagine an enjoyable windows-down, radio-up cruise on rural two-lanes.
Great writing Aaron. I never thought of using the word “incontinent” to describe brake system components.
I completely agree with you, Bob. When I was younger I never paid much attention to the larger land yachts of the sixties and early seventies. Now, I find myself appreciating them a lot more. Especially when optioned with a 4 speed, which only adds to the cool factor in my book. There were some really nice larger luxury cruisers back in the day. The great thing too, outside of perhaps the rarer equipped 4 speed cars, you can find some outstanding examples available at decent prices.
When I was a kid we had a dear family friend that had either a ’65 or ’66 Newport 4 door hardtop. It was a very dark green like this, it looked black. Loved that dashboard at night with the 3 spoke steering wheel. I’m only able to guess that he most likely had a 383 under the hood. He had it for many years and was surprised even as a kid at the lack of rust it had. I remember he took it on a long trip, my father asked him how it ran, he said with a huge smile on his face, “Purred like a kitten” I never forgot that. This one is very interesting with a 413 and a 4 speed, the console and buckets. Its a very nice car, im nice shape, I’d lean towards juat driving it and enjoying it like Aaron said. This is a nice find and I enjoyed your write up too Aaron. Thank you
Nice to see that Chrysler managed to put the shifter in the console rather than next to it as on the bizarre ’61 that was featured last month.
Perfect isn’t it Fisher.
The 413 really delivered some punch 470ft/lb. when you open up the Carter carburetor. 4sp. as everyone agrees really makes this one.
Ideal 3.23 gear ⚙️ from the factory for blend of acceleration and highway manners is a cherry on top.
When I was a kid, a car dealer (mid 60’s, Howard Motors, Hartford CT) had a 1961 Chrysler Newport convertible on the lot with a 3-speed. I remember the shifter being located on the left of the transmission hump close to the driver’s seat, a plain curved surprise. No console.
@Peter Havriluk
My sister had a 1966 Chevrolet Impala convertible with a 4 speed, bench seat. Curved right over the seat. Suked if you sat in thw middle
This one has the correct console shifter and if you saw one on a bench you’d know it – has a dog leg to get it to the center – something they did thru the 60’s and early early 70. Those Mopars with out the console had a more straight up shifter.
A car that’s actually unique. This is one if the rare oddball cars that would actually deserve attention at a coffee and cars on its own merits.
The Hurst shifter shown how far down the rabbit hole they used to go to produce shifters for what were obscure combinations in the day. A look at their current catalog shows they only make shifters for most popular combinations, no more full size, most console and non console applications have been consolidated. Plus they are now made in China and have turned to junk.
Steve R
When you look at FB post you see how truly nice this car is. The only thing I would do to it is put a dual circuit master cylinder on it and a set of torque thrust wheels it is really nice.
Assuming his statements are accurate you have a very nice cars and coffee cruiser with a little brake work. It sure looks presentable as is, and other minor stuff can be taken care of as time and finances permit. A 300 letter car with 4 on the floor for 29k sound like a great deal to me.
Aaron, thank you for putting the location and price in the first paragraph.
So readers can quickly assess if we want read more.
A 4 speed and tilt wheel. Buyer check all the right boxes :-)
I’ve been enjoying seeing some of the 1960s Mopars here lately, and this 300L sure checks most all boxes of options for me. A running 413, 4spd manual, Bucket seats and console and factory AC. Price may seem abit high, but where are you going to find another that came from the factory like this. With the 413 manual, I bet she’s a blast to drive.
My uncle gave me his 1966 Chrysler Newport 4 door hardtop 383 2bbl. (Torqueflyte) The body had no rust. (Could not say the same for the fuel line!) All power windows and the A/C worked perfectly. 4 of us would go down to Hot August Nights and sit on the front fender and rear quarter and watch the hot rods drive by. The hood and trunk lid were nice sized helicopter landing pads! Had some 14X7″ chrome and kind of rusty wheels laying around and installed them on the Chrysler and reinstalled the full wheel covers. It made a huge difference in the way that the car handled. (225/75R-14 tires on 5.5 wheels makes for really sloppy handling!) I should have kept that one.
Had a history teacher in the 8th grade who had a baby blue ’65 Chrysler but don’t remember the model. It stuck out to me because it had the white taillights that we are seeing now. Unfortunately, midyear it got totalled and replaced with a new ’68 beige Chrysler with burgundy vinyl sail posts. Ugly a$$ car
Hi Angel, sounds like, as a little girl, you knew your cars better than you knew your dolls! Good on you!
Hey Jon,
I attribute it to two older brothers, a father who was a machinist & a mechanic, two uncles who owned gas stations and garages and being Italian where every relative owned a Cadillac. I think I had more model cars than dolls. But should have held onto the early Barbies. Could have been a millionaire. 🤦♀️
Angel, I’ve been working on restoring and driving vintage cars since I was a teenager, and have had many Classic Car girl friends, who know just as much if not, more about vintage cars than some of my guy car friends. U
Yeah, you could buy a classic car for what some of the vintage Barbies are going for these days.
This one has the piston style A.C. which is better than the compression style.
Though it needs to be cleaned up under the hood.
I have one of the 2405 65 L’s. It is a parts car at best, but looked like a nice car at one time. Pretty complete except for the grille, which brought big money. One interesting option is the radio with a rear speaker and rear controls in the console. It is an automatic, otherwise pretty plain, except for the standard equipment: buckets, PS, PB, vacuum gauge, etc., and lots of rust
Putting the price with the picture -tease would be a great reform to the adds. I think most people watch only what interests them and skips over the rest . I think the price up front would speed the process.
I remember way back I had a big Chrysler that had another switch right beside the floor dimmer switch that would change the radio stations. I did not let the girls know about the floor switch And cruising along I would look at the radio and say change stations as I hit my foot on the switch, They thought it was magic. Nowadays we have Alexa so no more surprises
Buddy that has a 4sp fetish has a 1965 300 he put a 4sp in without the console….looks okay but you can’t hide a Mopar 4sp hump to well….
I’ve had multiple letter cars, including the 300G & 300J, and multiple non-letter 300 cars. The 300L is one I have always wanted but never had. They are rare as hen’s teeth, this is about the only one I’ve ever seen come up for sale.
Imagine this car with a factory installed 426 Hemi.
Why, why didnt Chrysler do it?
Wow. 413 and a 4 sad. Wish I had the 29K to spend on it.