Chrysler jumped on the performance bandwagon in 1955 with its 300-horsepower C-300, kicking off a decade of CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS.
Chrysler’s letter-series entry in the 1955 horsepower wars, weighing in at more than 4,500 pounds, could accelerate to 60 mph in the 9s and top out at 130 mph. In NASCAR competition, Kiekhaefer’s legendary Chrysler C-300s were the cars to beat. Chrysler’s Hemi, one of the most successful engines in American racing history, was unstoppable on super speedways and drag strips from the 1960s to the 1970s and beyond.
While CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS were heavy luxury cars, they offered true Supercar/Musclecar performance. A 331-cubic-inch Hemi with two four-barrel carburetors, solid lifter camshaft and valve train, beefed suspension, and dual low-restriction exhaust system powered the ‘55 C-300. A stock C-300 could go to 60 mph from a standing start in under ten seconds flat and cover the quarter-mile in the mid-17s at over 80 mph. A prepared C-300 clocked almost 128 mph in the Flying Mile competition in 1955 and won the prestigious Tom McCahill trophy in the NASCAR Unlimited Class!
In 1956, Chrysler upped its game, and the 300B was available with 340 or 355 horsepower, 354-cubic-inch Hemis. Fitted with the optional 355 horsepower engine, a 300B ran almost 140 mph in the Flying Mile. It was the first American car to deliver one-horsepower-per-cubic-inch (low-volume 355 horsepower option), a year before Chevrolet’s fuel-injected 283-cubic-inch, 283 horsepower engine. Ralph Gorenstein’s rare ’56 Chrysler 300B, powered by dual-quad Hemi, below, two photos, is one of only 20 built with a three-speed stick!
Chrysler continued its lead position in the performance car marketplace in 1957 with the restyled 300C, powered by a stock 375 horsepower 392-cubic-inch Hemi or an optional 390 horsepower version. Performance was blistering for the time, with enthusiast magazines reporting 0 to 60 mph times in the high-eights and quarter-mile times of low-seventeens at over 90 mph. Running on the old Daytona Beach sand course, a Chrysler 300C won its class with an impressive 138.9-mph pass.
In 1958, the 300D received the last version of the dual-quad 392-inch Hemi, rated at 380 horsepower. A small number of fuel-injected 390 horsepower, 392-inch Hemi 300Ds were built, but the system proved to be unreliable and was quickly discontinued. A 300D, piloted by Norm Thatcher, ran over 156 mph at Bonneville to set the Class E record.
Starting in 1959, CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS received new 413-cubic-inch Wedge engines, first with inline dual quads and later with long (30-inch) and short (15-inch) cross-ram dual-quad induction systems. Factory promo postcard, above. In 1960, the 300F came with a stock 375-horsepower engine; approximately 15 optional 400-horsepower models with 15-inch short ram manifolds were produced. The short ram cars were fitted with exotic Pont-a-Mousson four speeds built in France originally for Chrysler powered Facel Vegas.
By 1961, most American carmakers were involved in building performance cars and racing. The Chrysler 300G was once again restyled and still available with long and short ram 413-cubic-inch Wedge engines rated at 375 and 400 horsepower, respectively. While the four-speed was no longer available, you could order a three-speed manual racing transmission – if you were well-connected. Only a few of these, Option Code 381, three-speed 300Gs, were built for competition and first surfaced at the 1961 Daytona Flying Mile Trials. In articles and advertising, Letter series Chryslers were often referred to as “Banker’s Hot Rod” and “Gentleman’s Express.”
The idea of a car that was designed around, built, and marketed as a true performance car was initiated in 1955, during the “Horsepower Wars” – by Chrysler Corporation with the first Chrysler 300. Chrysler marketed the 300 as a purely performance/luxury car for nine model years, culminating with the ’63 300 convertible Indy 500 Pace Car. It was a 300 model, not J, fitted with a 413-inch, 390 horsepower engine and 300J coupe wheels and tires. Chrysler skipped a “letter” for 1963, going from the 1962 300H to the 1963 300J. All 400 production 300Js were coupes; the Indy Pace Car special-build convertible was a one-off.
A 390-horsepower short cross ram engine was available in 300J coupes that could sprint to 60 mph in the low-mid 8s and cover the quarter-mile in the high 15s at just under 90 mph. However, that engine was not available in replica Indy 500 Chrysler Pacesetter coupes and convertibles, which were fitted only with lower-horsepower single four-barrel engines. The 1964 300K was available as a coupe or convertible with an optional four-speed stick and a $375 optional dual quad short ram 413 engine.
CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS were designed and marketed to grasp the buyer who wanted power, performance, luxury and handling that few others could touch.
’59 Chrysler 300 factory promo postcard courtesy of Sarasota Café Racer Ralph “Red” Hynch, a former member of So-Cal’s legendary Kagel Canyon Gang.
Check out the 1955 to 1963 CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS details and sales brochures @ Over-Drive magazine, https://over-drive-magazine.com/category/fact-sheets/fs-chrysler/