Car Spot: 55 Chrysler C-300

The beginning of muscle cars

Chrysler touched off what would become the muscle car era with its introduction of the first Chrysler 300 “Letter Car” in 1955. It was also the most powerful production car in the US, firmly establishing Chrysler as the king of performance cars and the subject of this week’s spot.

Unlike later Mopar muscle cars, which were relatively inexpensive, the ’55 letter car was just the opposite, presented as an expensive, fast luxury coupe. The C-300, “C” stood for coupe, “300” stood for the 300 hp engine, which was only available as a hardtop coupe and came in only three colors: black, red, and white.

It came with Mopar’s top engine, a 331 cid Hemi V8 with two four-barrel carburetors, a full-race cam, solid lifters, special manifolds, and large dual exhausts. The Hemi engine got its name from its hemispherical combustion chambers. These chambers required a pair of rocker arm shafts on each cylinder head, with the spark plugs fitting between the valves.

Beyond the potent engine, the C-300 was also equipped with a performance-modified PowerFlite automatic transmission and special Blue Streak racing tires. The C-300 quickly became a legend when it achieved 127.58 mph in the Flying Mile and averaged 92 mph in the Daytona Grand National stock race. Priced from $4,055 with a leather interior standard, the C-300 represented the top of the line Chrysler, and only 1,725 were built.

Related Spot: When droptops were in. A Woody LeBaron Convertible.

It was still fast in ’56, but now that the word was out, other manufacturers jumped in, including Studebaker with a modified Starliner, Dodge with a Coronet D-500, and a C-1 Corvette. Tiny American Motors even got into the act with its ’57 Rebel. The race was on, and there were no signs of stopping.

Of the 1,725 55 C-100’s An estimated 8% of those are believed to survive today, and with the small number produced, you would think that these are easy 6-figure cars, right? That’s what I thought before doing some deep diving on pricing. Depending on what shape you find one of these, and this spot was on the higher end, you’d only have to shell out between 40 to 80 grand. I know, but it’s the cars’ contemporaries from Chevy and Ford, produced in much larger numbers, receiving the bulk of the collector dollars. As an example, recent auction sales of Bel Airs have ranged from $202,000 to $62,900.

The original Letter Series run ended in 1966 with the 300L. There was a 300M proposed for 1967, but because they had lost their prestige and exclusivity was cancelled. The 300M name returned in 1999, but was nothing like the original run. While my spot is certainly an affordable Letter Car, there are some that are not. Almost any convertible will set a buyer back somewhere in the low six figures. It’s sad what Chrysler has been reduced to since Stellantis was formed just four years ago. Recently ousted CEO Carlos Tavares literally ran the brand into the ground and then received $37 million walking away money. The company just turned 100 and what did they do to celebrate? Put a sticker on its only vehicle, the Pacifica. Hopefully, now things will get better.

Thanks for stopping by and spending part of your Sunday with us. While you have your computer fired up, go check out my other spots I’ve found along the way in my travels beyond what I find here in Wisconsin. Come back next Sunday for another one of my finds, along with some of its history. Have a great rest of your weekend and a great week ahead.