5 primo examples of Chrysler’s efficiency legends, the 300 sequence “letter automobiles” from the Fifties and ‘60s, will probably be supplied from a single assortment when Mecum Auctions returns to Glendale, Arizona, for its third annual collector automotive public sale March 18-20 at State Farm Stadium.
The super-sized Chrysler 300s are known as letter automobiles as a result of every mannequin yr acquired an ascending letter designation, with the automobiles on this group together with a 1957 300C convertible, a 1958 300D hardtop, a 1959 300E hardtop, a 1960 300F convertible and a 1962 300H hardtop.
1957 Chrysler 300C convertible
A 1963 300 Pacesetter convertible rounds out the gathering, though it isn’t a manufacturing unit letter automotive however an official tempo automotive used within the 1963 Indianapolis 500.
Chrysler chief designer Virgil Exner’s Ahead Look styling was in full bloom within the gaping grilles and, on the sooner fashions, prodigious tail fins. The 1957 mannequin was the primary to interrupt out with that extravagant look underneath Exner, and an entire new design course for Chrysler and its divisions.
1958 Chrysler 300D hardtop
What set the letter automobiles aside have been their high-performance V8 engines, which produced spectacular acceleration regardless of the huge measurement and weight of the full-size automobiles. There was a full-on horsepower battle occurring in Detroit beginning with 1955, as Chrysler rolled out its first 300C to compete with GM and Ford powerhouses that additionally arrived that mannequin yr.
For the 1957 300C and 1958 300D fashions, the engine was a FirePower Hemi V8 displacing 392cid and producing 375 or 390 horsepower, relying on the setup, for the ’57 automotive, and 380 horsepower for the ’58.
1960 Chrysler 300F wedge-head 413cid V8 with cross-flow consumption
For 1959, the Hemi was changed by the Golden Lion wedge-head V8 with 413cid (6.8 liters) and 380 horsepower, and a convincing 525 pound-feet of torque. A brand new 413cid wedge design was produced for 1960, initiating a singular “cross-ram consumption,” with 375 horsepower and comparable torque.
For the 1962 300H, the tail fins had gone away however the letter-car energy remained, with a barely smaller profile and lighter weight. For this yr, the 413cid V8 was known as the Max Wedge, fed by a pair of 4-barrel carbs on a standard consumption and boasting 380 horsepower and that very same muscular 525 pound-feet of torque.
For no matter cause, Chrysler didn’t use a 300J for its 1963 300 Pacesetter featured at Indy however a typical non-letter mannequin, which was nonetheless a strong automotive with its manufacturing unit 383cid V8.
1963 Chrysler 300 Pacesetter
Mecum says it expects 1,200 collector automobiles, vehicles and bikes to cross the block throughout the 3-day Glendale public sale, held within the NFL stadium the place the Arizona Cardinals play their dwelling video games. The gathering of Chrysler 300s is ready for bidding on March 19.
1962 Chrysler 300H hardtop
For extra data, go to the Mecum Auctions website.
This text, written by Bob Golfen, was initially published on ClassicCars.com, an editorial accomplice of Motor Authority.