I wonder if there are more Chrysler scholars than for any other make, they sure had some unusual naming conventions and rules. Is it an Imperial or a Chrysler Imperial? A Chrysler 300 letter car or a non-letter 300? The seller has this 1979 Chrysler 300 posted here on craigslist in beautiful Waddell, Arizona, where I should have moved after high school (the world’s longest-running gag, but, sadly it’s true), and they’re asking $18,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!
I like this car for several reasons. First, I like Chrysler products, in general. Second, it’s a 300, even more than that, it’s a non-letter Chrysler 300. It’s also the very last year that the “classic” Chrysler 300 was offered, and that isn’t to say that the post-1999 Chrysler 300 gangster cars aren’t destined to be classics someday.
For those of you who are “Two too many doors!” folks, fear not, the ’79 Chrysler three hun’derd only came with two doors – if you don’t count the glove compartment door. It’s the same thing with the similar Chrysler Cordoba, Dodge Charger/Coronet/Magnum/Monaco, Plymouth Fury, etc., all of them were based on Chrysler’s B-body of the time. I think it’s an elegant design, especially for a two-door car, which can sometimes look too sporty to be elegant, or sometimes a little ungainly in proportions.
I have to commend the seller for providing a lot of really nice photos, top-to-bottom, inside and out. Well done! It’s so rare to see that these days that I wanted to publicly thank them in hopes of it being a teachable moment. Although, just because I signal my lane changes, or turn off my headlights when I’m in a drive-thru line, that doesn’t mean that anyone else will. They even show the underside, and this car looks solid as you’d expect from a 50k Arizona car.
How about this interior, red leather? Give me a break, it doesn’t get any better than this. Even for an Arizona car where you may expect some sun damage inside, this car looks pristine in the gooey center as much as it does on the hard candy outer shell portion (ok, it must be lunchtime). This last-gasp 300 was around a $2,000 option package and only around 2,900 were built. They’re rare to see today. Even the trunk looks nice here.
These last 300s came with Chrysler’s 360-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have been factory-rated at 195 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque when new. It’s backed up by a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission. The seller says that this one runs and drives great and even the air-conditioning blows as cold as it should. Have any of you owned or seen a ’79 Chrysler 300 in person?
My moms hairdresser had on very much like this. Nice car, there came a point where each corner sheet metal had a “rub” as she on occasion would park using the Braille method..
Being a smart business lady she worked a deal with a customer who’s son had a body repair shop nearby-a permanent, cut etc in exchange for the latest coverup.
This came to a halt for the most part when her ophthalmologist found the primary reason for the parking problems was due to issues with her eyes and fixed the root cause-in exchange for HIS mothers beauty upkeep.
Now that she’s sold her shop and doesn’t drive herself (“too damn many stupid and rude people!!”) it sits there perhaps as this one did quietly waiting for the door to open again..
The best looking 2-door Mopars were the big Imperials, with a long hood and trunk and a short cab.
I remember these with T-tops very cool 300. They where quick back then and sounded nice. . I remember our Chrysler district representative had one with t-tops. Sat in it wanted to take it for a ride. My boss didn’t want me too!! 😔 They were expensive back then. We didn’t sell to many of those 300s out of the dealership I was working at. I wish I had the money back then to buy one. Good luck to the next owner.🐻🇺🇸
Scotty, moved to AZ from N. New York after High school…47 years later I still love it although had to move north from the craziness of Phoenix. Many other family members and friends echo your lament.
This is a really nice example of a car you rarely see anymore, the right colors too, especially for sunny AZ
The “300” (A74) is pretty special for 1979, with that 360 pumping 20 hp more than the Chevy Z28 LM1 350’s 175 hp and :
7,000 rpm tach, guage pkg, console shift
Heavy-duty brakes & suspension with sway bars
Good Year R60 x 15 Eagle ST Tires on aluminum wheels with “300” center caps
195 H.P. 360 cu.in. V-8, Thermoquad 4-barrel carburetor with dual exhaust
727 Torqueflite 3 speed transmission,
9 ¼” 3.21 ratio Sure-Grip differential
I believe that all but seven of those 1979 A74’s were Spinnaker white, with those being Red for Canada.
Decent effort at umph, and this nice ride deserves a good home!
Well said , great summary 👍 Torino
I think the original seats were a much brighter shade of red & more plush.
These are nice cars if they have all their badges and pinstripes intact.
While the leather on the seats does appear to be a shade or two off of the rest of the interior (anything from a bit of fading to a possible replacement with non-OEM covers, or something as simple as the color of the leather not rendering in the photo accurately), but the interior in general looks original and the proper shade of red to me for a 1978-79 Chrysler. While they didn’t usually give any more than a one word name to their interior colors, the red trims in those two years matched the exterior color that they called Tapestry Red.
The question being, any owners or actually seen one.
I bought one new. I saw 3 on a backlot at Pomona Chrysler, all new.
I took pictures as the 3 had roof stripe decals installed to look like a stainless steel Crowns, similar to Ford Crown Vickies.
I bought the wife the Sunroof 300. She never opened it. Messed with her hair.
Magazines said it was the fastest car in 79. I’m not sure. 13 mpg.
Sold 2 1/2 years later with 17,000 miles.
This one for sale may need another steering wheel as diamond rings hate leather.
When I bought mine, knowing how manufacturers discontinue making available the specific parts, I ordered everything 300. Everything.
Tail light lenses, grille, 1/4 glass, stripes, wheel caps, front fender vents (not real), steering wheel horn center, dash facia, etc.
Let most go with the sale of the car. That was dumb.
Beautiful car here but for a 50k mile car, a few things caught my eye…why was it repainted with such low miles, and all (front and rear) leather redone…also I noticed the front passenger floor carpet looks very worn, as does the LR lower side panel near the ash tray appears to be crumbling away….and lower front drivers door panel carpet trim looks like it was replaced…maybe just the AZ sun because it sat outdoors forever….?
I remember these on the lots new in 1979. I wanted one in the worst way. There was just no way I could afford one on a part-time retail position, especially w/o set hours. I was a Mopar man with just a bit of Pontiac blood in me.
I have one for $3500 if anybody’s interested
I think I see Corinthian “ Laather”!
Looks like a 4th gen Charger to me. with slightly different headlites.
Never saw a 1979 300 so they must have indeed been rare.
Or maybe I saw one from a distance and assumed it was the aforementioned 4th gen Charger or the Ricardo Montalban special.
At this time the Magnum was around too !
They shared the same platform, so the Cordoba and Charger are kind of “brothers from another mother” You’re right though, they were rare to see on the road . When I was working my first job while in high school , my boss there bought one brand new. It was a nice looking car, and it had styled wheels instead of wheel covers. The only thing I didnt like about the car – and many from that era was the stacked square headlights !