When it comes to classic cars, the question of famous former owners will always ignite passionate debate amongst enthusiasts. Some will argue that such a heritage has little to no impact, while others will claim it is significant. That means that this 1960 Chrysler 300F Hardtop will probably light up our comments feed. It is one of the most beautifully restored examples that you will ever see. It also belonged to a lesser-known member of the legendary Petty family. The current owner has brought the car to its incredible current state and has decided that the time is right to part with it. It is being offered in an online auction that will be conducted from August 31st until September 7th. It could be one for our Down Under readers to consider because it is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been listed for sale here at Shannons. The guide price has been listed as A$110,000 – A$120,000.
I’ve decided to leave the ownership question out of the equation with this Chrysler and look at it purely from a classic perspective. The current owner purchased the vehicle from Don Petty in 1993 and shipped it to Australia. He then performed a meticulous restoration, which was completed in 2015. This 300F proved to be an early pre-production car, and while it isn’t specified, it features a few quirks that never made their way into the production vehicles. The current owner has made a concerted attempt to return the Hardtop to a factory-fresh state, and any replacement parts have been genuine or NOS components. The panels were massaged to perfection before the owner had the car refinished in its original shade of Terra Cotta. The exterior presentation is stunning, with no flaws or problems visible anywhere. The trim and chrome are in as-new condition, while the tinted glass is flawless. However, when you climb under this car, you begin to appreciate the lengths that this owner has gone to. The floors and frame are spotless, while there is no sign of surface corrosion on any mechanical components. When you look through the gallery at the bottom of this article, you will spot that he had even gone to the trouble of recreating all of the correct production paint and pen marks from when the car rolled off the production line. I hate to use the term “time capsule,” but I can’t think of a better one in this case.
I have always loved the interiors of Chryslers from this era because they are almost works of art. The company did its best to make occupants feel special, and with the 300F, they really pushed out the boat. There are lashings of chrome and polished trim pieces, while the dash has a space-age appearance. Of course, there was no shortage of luxury features to enhance this impression. This car is equipped with air conditioning, power windows, 6-way power and swivel front seats, rear bucket seats, a full-length console, an Autronic eye, and a “Golden Touch” Signal Seek radio with twin rear deck antennas. Once again, the owner has strived to achieve perfection with this area of the car. The leather upholstery on the seats looks supple and inviting, with no evidence of wear or physical damage. The same is true of the remaining upholstered surfaces and the carpet, while the dash and console are equally impressive. Once again, slipping behind the wheel would be like traveling back 61-years, and it would be sure to be a pleasant experience.
At 4,440lbs, the 300F was a relatively heavy beast. Therefore, it demanded something special under the hood to provide enough power to shift that weight effectively. Chrysler delivered on that front by fitting a 413ci “Wedge” V8 with a cross-ram intake. This brute of an engine delivered 375hp and 495 ft/lbs of torque. That was enough to storm the ¼ mile in 15.2 seconds before winding to a top speed of 132mph. Those numbers look mighty impressive in a luxury car. Reinforcing these luxury leanings are a 3-speed TorqueFlite transmission, power steering, and power brakes. This is where we find one of the few non-standard items on this Chrysler. The owner held reservations about the capabilities of the brakes on a car of this weight and performance potential. As such, he has upgraded the fronts from drums to larger and more efficient discs. That will be a welcome change if the buyer needs to scrub off speed in a hurry. Otherwise, the car is as it left the factory, and the presentation of the engine bay is on a par with the rest of the vehicle. There is no evidence of any faults or fluid leaks, and it seems that this classic is ready to hit the wide-open road.
I’ll throw my hat into the ring on the question of the ownership history of this 1960 Chrysler 300F Hardtop. I personally don’t see it making a lot of difference to its ultimate value. If it had belonged to Richard Petty and this was documented, I might take a different view. The other thing that probably needs to be considered is the physical location of this car. The harsh reality with shipping costs is that unless it sells for a song, returning the car to its home country probably wouldn’t be financially viable. That means that it will almost certainly find its next home with another Aussie owner. I’d love to think that it will be one of our dedicated and enthusiastic readers. If we’re fortunate enough for that to be the case, I hope they’ll let us know whether it is as good in the flesh as it appears in the listing. I suspect that it will be.
Whenever I see a cross ram induction on a Mopar it brings out the inner child. Tell me I’m not the only one!
Needs curb indicators and the classic hula girl wobbly thing on the rear window shelf.
So, just how much will cost to ship this car from Australia to NYC using white glove treatment?
If you gotta ask…you can’t afford it…
You’re right. I was also being sarcastic.
It needs a vaccine passport, methinks.
Bob
I have access to online shipping estimating tools, so I went ahead and figured it out. This is only an estimate, and there are plenty of variables like how soon you need it, and rates vary by seasons too.
So this car fits into a 20′ Container. We will pay a little bit extra for use of a NEW container [or rebuilt as new]. Less likely to leak in bad weather.
Electrically powered climate controlled container – add $500 [not refrigerated unit].
All 4 wheels chocked in place. Wooden & padded cribbing installed under car to keep it from rocking. Large rubber inflatable bladders with new/unused felt blankets on all 4 sides. [No bladders on top as it’s a convertible.]
I picked Sidney, Australia as shipping point [larger ports like Sidney are often cheaper], and New York as ending point.
The typical route would be to ship into the port at Long Beach, CA, then the unopened container goes by bonded trucking co. to customs broker in NYC, however right now there is a huge backlog for anything coming in by container on the west coast, so it’s cheaper to ship directly to NYC port.
Estimates vary from $5,600 to $9,000. I would choose the lower price unless you want it sooner [30 days instead of 45 to 60].
Note that the car’s declared value is insured for total loss, only if ship sinks, so you will want to get additional damage insurance thru your broker.
Well, it pretty much has to leave Australia since anything driven there must be converted to RHD. That’s been a matter of law forever, unless something changed recently. My understanding of the process involves the conversions being done very near the shipping docks, with the cars not allowed to pass customs until they’re RHD. Conversions of American vehicles is a booming business because to have one, you have no other option.
Please correct me if you’re aware of the processes/procedures for bringing a LHD car into Marsupialworld.
I can’t quote chapter and verse, but I believe all those protectionist vehicle importation laws ceased to exist recently, when there was nothing left to protect, as Australian car production no longer exists.
That doesn’t explain how this car was imported to Australia long ago, though.
It may have been imported to South Australia. You used to be able to register LHD cars there. Other states required a conversion. The rule re older cars were relaxed over a decade ago.
I’d like to drive this on a cross country drive to Arizona from my Ohio home. It’d be like stepping back in time to when I was a child in the early 70’s. What a blast it would be !
For the 15 (or so) years, we’ve been able to keep older cars LHD here in Australia. Varies from state to state, but in Queensland, anything over 30 years can stay LHD. My Skylark is still LHD. Not too many older cars get converted, but plenty of new pickups, and the odd Camaro & Corvette get converted.
If the photos are recent I’d say that this car spent it’s time in a museum and not on the roads.
A mate was talking with a guy at the RACQ show day whose car was 25 years old and still L.H.D and he was telling him the rule has changed to 25 years now. Pretty stupid really when you consider a later car has more built in safety features etc, so why can’t we bring in late models to.
No they don’t we can drive cars here in Queensland Left Hand Drive provided they are over 25 years old, what a stupid law, they had that when we had our own car manufacturing so why not lift that rule now.
Cars imported NEW had to be converted. Collector cars were a completely different story, and it depended on which state you were in as to the rules and regulations for using LHD cars there.
Valentine, you’re totally mistaken, every state in Australia allows LHD vehicles to be registered and driven on our roads, some states require the vehicle to be under 4.5 tons, other states require the vehicle to be over a certain age, 30 years here but only 15 in Western Australia, other than that there are no restrictions, I’m the vehicle registrar for the Cadillac LaSalle Car Club of South Australia, we have over 100 members and about 90% of their cars are LHD. I used my 77 El Camino as a daily driver for about 6 years and it was all original.
Looks to me that the intake set-up is a long ram. Just saying because I have a set of them
This beauty for weekend usage and yesterday’s hardtop for my commute. Of course,I have no idea when I’d drive my Kiekhaufer 300 that would complete the Chrysler collection from my malarial fever dream. Did these really have factory leather? Being of the age when spotlights announced the new cars, I’m sure the smell would have stood out.
Standard on the 300-F tan leather seating; swivel seats, power windows, AstraDome electroluminescent dash, 150 mph speedo. Optional – a/c, power seats, single power rear antenna, 7-button am radio, Sure Grip and more.
As a teenager of 14, I drooled over one of these new in the showroom down the street. Later, I found a cross ram engine in a junkyard and put it into a 1957 Plymouth. The engine fit fine, but the heat tubes for the automatic choke heat rusted out. At that time Chrysler had replacement parts.
I was born in 1960’s Toronto, and these cars were the cat’s pajamas of the 60s IMHO.
The cross ram tunneling for intake on these things is the coolest thingy ever engineered to a 60s toy 300f-hardtop Chrysler.
This car & engine compartment is a joy to look at and I’ll bet it’s even better to work on. Pure eye candy for aged boomers like moi.
This is Chrysler at its finest IMHO. Cool engineering top to bottom, and ultra well built stuff too. Can’t say enough about this car.
Bob
Too bad that same great engineering didn’t apply to the body as they rusted much faster than they should have.
60 Chryslers NEVER used these twin rear antennas. They were common on Dodges and Plymouths from 57-59 but this style was never used on the DeSoto, Chrysler or Imperial, or any other Mopar after 59.
It’s not a perfect original as the owner converted the front breaks to disc. So I’m assuming the same was done with those antennas. It sure looks good though.
It’s not a perfect original as the owner converted the front breaks to disc. So I’m assuming the same was done with those antennas. It sure looks good though.