While most enthusiasts agree that the Pontiac GTO was the first genuine muscle car, others believe that Chrysler’s “Letter Series” models could claim the title. They were aimed significantly upmarket compared to the GTO, but they possessed the performance to give the claim credibility. Our feature car is a 1957 Chrysler 300C, and its desirability is accentuated due to it being the rare Convertible version. It is a rock-solid vehicle offering a new owner the choice between preservation and restoration. The first step in that process is for it to find a new home. Therefore, the seller has listed the Chrysler here on Craigslist in Shoreview, Minnesota. The seller set their price at $75,000, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Tony P for spotting this rare gem.
Chrysler unveiled its Letter Series range with the C-300 in 1955. The company marketed it as a Personal Luxury Car, with the 1956 version handed the 300B badge as the company worked its way through the alphabet. Our 1957 vehicle, naturally, is a 300C. These were not cheap cars, making it understandable why the company only sold 2,402 examples during the model year. That makes the 300C relatively rare, but this car raises the stakes as 1-of-484 Convertibles produced. The seller is candid about its condition, confirming it is a survivor rather than a trailer queen. The Cloud White paint has accumulated a selection of minor chips and marks, and the panels have tiny imperfections. However, the car’s lack of apparent rust means the new owner could opt for preservation over restoration. The prone lower exterior surfaces are rock-solid, and the underside shots reveal nothing but dry surface corrosion. The Black power top is in good order, and the chrome and glass look clean. Hmm, restore or preserve? Decisions, decisions!
Lifting this Chrysler’s hood reveals a 392ci Hemi V8 that sends 375hp and 420 ft/lbs of torque to the rear wheels via a three-speed automatic transmission. Chrysler marketed the 300C as a luxury model, making the inclusion of power assistance for the steering and brakes unsurprising. I previously mentioned how some historians view the Chrysler Letter Series as the true fathers of the muscle car, and we only need to examine the performance figures to understand their logic. The 300C Convertible tips the scales at 4,560 lbs, but that Hemi launches it through the ¼-mile in 16.1 seconds. The eighteen buyers who selected the more powerful optional version of the same engine saw that figure drop to 15.9 seconds. Considering the acknowledged first Personal Luxury Car, the ’55 Thunderbird, couldn’t break the 17-second barrier, the 300C offered an ideal blend of comfort and performance. Potential buyers can consider this Convertible a turnkey proposition, with the seller claiming it runs and drives beautifully. Flying in and driving home could be a viable option for the new owner to consider.
This Chrysler’s interior continues the theme of leaving the new owner with choices to make. The driver’s door trim is in the trunk, but the remaining upholstered pieces are intact. The seats show the typical wrinkles of aging leather, but there are no apparent rips or tears. The rear seat side trims might have a couple of minor imperfections, but blind patches may address those shortcomings. The buyer will undoubtedly splash some cash on a carpet set to cover the bare floors, but that might be the extent of the capital outlay. That will depend on their desire for perfection because there will be purists who will believe that a car of this caliber deserves an interior in showroom condition. The dash is in good order, the pad is uncracked, and there are no wheel issues. This is a luxury car, meaning its comfort and convenience features are all a buyer might expect. They receive power windows, a power front seat, and an AM radio. However, there is one further option that helps this beauty to stand out from the crowd. The original owner ordered this 300C with a Highway Hi-Fi. This was a short-lived in-car entertainment system available exclusively to Chrysler. While the concept was sound, it suffered from reliability issues and a lack of record choices due to the unique disc format. This car retains that feature, but it is unclear whether it operates.
We frequently see cases at Barn Finds where the relative rarity of a particular model type or derivative doesn’t equate to a high potential value. The 1957 Chrysler 300C Convertible bucks that trend because it consistently commands an eye-watering 100% premium over the more common Hardtop version. That difference isn’t to be sneezed at, but it raises the question of whether the seller’s price is justified. Values have climbed consistently during the past few years, and pristine Convertibles sell for healthy six-figure sums on the rare occasions they hit the market. The solid nature of our feature car means achieving that standard of presentation is possible without spending a fortune. Therefore, I feel the price is appropriate. It is hardly what I consider affordable, but if the seller exercises patience, I believe a new home will be in this classic’s near future.
I like the car but old leather looks creepy. I can smell it from here.
If you were 66 with your share of wrinkles, you might appear ‘creepy’ too. LOL
Hey, I am 66 and I don’t have that many wrinkles… wait, never mind.
I would get this Chrysler a professional detail to get the leather cleaned up. And the engine compartment has to be done. I would get the correct spark plug wires with the cover for the Hemi hole. After all is done it will look like a 6 figure automobile! Living in lower half of New York. You know where these special shops are. I would go over this Chrysler with a fine tooth comb to make sure this ride is up to snuff before handing out the cash. Good luck to the next owner.. 🐻🇺🇸
Put an LS in it and some seat covers from PepBoys
🥱🙄
Amazing what shows up on Craigslist anymore-& better yet the second pre-elephant Hemi classic in a week!
Life is good..
Unaware of what 300 letter-series cars represent, eh?
300 h.p. of course
With the torsion bar suspension, any Chryslers of those years would out handle almost anything else on the road. Father had a ‘57 Saratoga that handled incredibly and didn’t even have the hemi.
Torqueflite transmission too, best in the business at the time.
Should have used the ‘sarcasm font’. Otherwise, good gracious! Pulleeeze!
There is always one. (LS) That’s right. Destroy the collector value of the car.
Okay, what’s an “LS”?
Adam, there’s not really any argument as to whether the GTO was the first muscle car. The definition of the muscle car was a “midsize” stuffed with a large displacement engine. The 300 letter cars, although quite potent, was a full-size vehicle with a large displacement engine.
I drove a brand new 1957 Chrysler 300c and yes they are the first muscle car.
Pontiac GTO was a johnny come lately to the scene.
1964. The first Pontiac GTO began production September 3, 1963, and was available as an option package in other Pontiac cars
The 1962 Hemi and 440 C.I. versions available from Plymouth & Dodge also were true muscle cars!
What about a ’57 Rebel w/the 327!?
A quicker vehicle, tho unimpressive when visually compared… and not advertised as hot rod muscle.
ck out the 62 – 2 door Savoy Plymouth with either the 440 or Hemi…muscle car certainly preceeded the GTO…
Chrysler Motors had it going on before GM.
Not a 440. In ’62, the hot wedge would have been the 413. The 440 came out in ’66.
Interestingly the Pontiac GTO in introduction year of 1964 weighed over 3500 lbs
The Plymouth Savoy with big engine came in at several hundred pounds less!
Chrysler Motors certainly did bulid America’s muscle cars before GM entered the field!
Got to get this in : in ;62 I worked at Chrysler in Windsor,Ontario. When one of the workers on the line ordered a new car,bare bones,we would load it up with everything we could get away with and the head guys knew it. Good times back in the ’60s and many fast cars left that factory. I think it was the biggest factory in Canada at the time. When I started there,I had trouble finding my work station.
The 1957 Rambler Rebel 327 is considered to be the original “muscle car”.
BF: “but that Hemi launches it through the ¼-mile in 16.1 seconds.”
No it doesn’t. An actual road test from 1957 (Sports Car Illustrated) showed a quarter-mile time of 16.9 seconds with a trap speed of 84 mph. The optimistic figures given here are computer simulations from automobile-catalog.com and should be noted as such.
Interestingly the son of Mallory (Mallory Ignition Products Detroit) drove a completely stock & unprepared 300 C at Daytona and surprised everyone…this car was fast, there was no one in the field running with automatic transmission, yet his was equiped with 3 speed Torque Flite.
Amazing car!
Classic convertible and Hemi power. Wonderful. Remember, however, that in the 1950’s only a sissy would think of wearing seat belts.
Many of those ‘sissies’ met their premature demise due to that.
This is such a rare car, and I’m really upset that I’m not going to be the one who owns it. The price is fair, because you won’t find another one. As far as I’m concerned, this is THE 300 of all 300’s. It is such a special car that if you buy it, it’s almost your duty to preserve it. I’d absolutely replace what needs replacing (missing pieces/worn mechanical parts), repair what needs to be fixed, treat it to a top to bottom cleaning, and leave it as is.
You are so “right on” the 57 C is and was the epitome of all the 300’s
“The stuff that dreams are made of.”
Love these so much there is a turquoise ’58 300D convertible in my garage. Fast, comfortable, classy and typewriter transmission . . . .
Such a beauty from, as I tell friends, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
My dream car. Dennis Farina drove a black one in the Crime Story series. I would freshen it up and drive it as is.
* When and if I win Powerball
Look at the price guides for a “Driver” quality car. This car should be priced at 40k.
Rixx56 above has it correct if the definition of a “muscle car” is a mid-size with the biggest engine available from the manufacturer; the AMC Rebel from 1957 is the one. The AMC 327 had performance enhancements, the suspension was tweaked, and they took a few of them out to Bonneville salt flats to demonstrate their performance.
For me, the ultimate 300 series car. As a single, young, officer in the USAF, with money to burn, in 1966, driving a ’56 Chevy 4 door post, 6, Powerglide, ultimately reliable, but boring, I spied a coupe on a used car lot just off the base. I drove it. The fastest car I had driven to date, and I had driven Corvettes, and Porsches, it went well, but had really been beaten up, dents, rust, ripped upholstery, but man, did it GO. Red with a black roof, might have been a repaint, needed tires, was about $750, at that point, living on base, I had no place to park more than one car, alone work on it, so passed. IF I had Jay Leno’s money I would buy this one now!
Ahhh but she out perform Chisteen?
Ahhh but could she out perform Chisteen?
Perhaps Greg, not with a vengence, but with a Fury!
This “first muscle car” argument comes up often enough… and I know folks tend to say their favorite marque was the first.
To me, the textbook definition of a “muscle car” is a big car engine, shoehorned into a midsize car, specifically for the purpose of high performance. True, the 300’s were high performance cars, but they don’t fit the definition. A Ferrari was a high performance car back then too, but also doesn’t fit the bill.
I will firmly stand by my pick— the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk. It was the quickest (and according to some magazines at the time, also the fastest) American car you could buy that year.
Consider these specs: 352 engine from the full-size ‘55 Packard Caribbean, 275 HP. Hawk weighs only 3300 lbs.
Available with manual trans, and power steering, and a DANA 44 3.92 rear end (all of which mine has).
Standard with 160 mph speedo, tachometer, and all other full instrumentation, even a vacuum gauge. Period road tests have it beating Corvette, T-bird, and Chrysler 300, zero to 60 in 7.8 seconds and a top speed of over 130 mph, tire-technology limited. Remember – this was 1956. It was a mid-size car with the big car engine, stick-shift, and a tach. And it was specifically offered as a high-performance car. Now please explain how it’s not the 1st…?
Muscle cars are any cars with muscle, in the 1930s it might have been Lincolns or Duesenburgs. In the 1940s maybe Hudson or Tucker. In the 1950s most likely Chrysler..1960s my vote would go for Avanti. Power to weight ratio tells the story, usually.
“Muscle cars are any cars with muscle” ??? Uhhh, no. Not correct.
Jules: to your earlier comment, my GTO reg says 3020 lbs & I double checked this in My dad’s book of car weights & it says the same. Also if you say any car with muscle, then people would say: sports cars to be included. I don’t disagree with going by decade, so the 50’s seems like the 56 Golden Hawk, as Kenny described earlier. I remember in the late 60’s or early 70’s in magazines the Muscle Car term from writers who didn’t like using the early 60’s “Ponycar” term & they were referring to American coupes, not sports cars like the Corvette. I also recall older fellows talking (before 1964) regarding “Factory Hot Rods”.
I’m buying it
fantastic Tom …reminder: never drive it without the aircleaners in place…small dogs and cats have been known to disappear completely while under acceleration
Agree on the definition, but first was the 33 Terraplane 8, google it.
Boothguy is right that the first musclecar, as defined by a big-car engine in a mid-sized offering by the same manufacturer, came out of Hudson. The 33 Terraplane straight 8 was it. The next musclecar was the 1936 Buick Century. It got its name because Buick sold it with the promise of a top speed over 100 mph, the “Century” mark. Again a mid-size with the bigger engine. After that, in 1949, you could get the same new OHV V-8 in an Olds 88 that was in the 98. Then came the 56 Golden Hawk and the 57 Rambler Rebel. The concept was 30 years old before the 64 GTO came out!
But of course, the GTO took it into new territory.
We old folks are often subject to recency bias.
I wonder how many cars actually came with the record player from the factory. Makes for an interesting add-on when doing a restoration. Same with the tissue dispenser option.
Thank goodness it wasn’t a toilet paper dispenser….although (thoughtful look on his face) some of the junk we see come through here could be repurposed effectively.
A beautiful unique bargain considering some of other Chrysler overpriced junk from this Era that rolls across this site. This unit will sell and likely head for shores far away. I have seen these do much more than this across the auction block. A nice original functioning example that there are few left in the pond to be fished out. Forget the occasional Forrest version as you cannot restore one of these for twice this price.