I am a GM guy, but those Chrysler Letter Cars make my heart beat like crazy! Specially the ones from the late Fifties. There are two things I experienced: In 1987 I met a kind of weird New Yorker Italian in LA who was somehow homeless but drove around in a 1965 Chrysler 300L. He had bought it at an auction for a few hundred bucks! It had been an abandonned vehicle. A friend and race car mechanic who was not into American cars could buy a 1961 Chrysler 300 G Convertible for a very good price. He had not known a lot about those letter cars but was very lucky to have it offered. He told me he had sold it to a museum at the end.
Had a friend that had a collection of 300 letter cars, did not realize how rare they were at the time in the mid 70's. Bet he would love this video! Get well soon Steve, we are praying and pulling for Ya!
Excellent as usual, I love watching your stuff! My uncle was an actor in LA for 3 decades, he was Doggo in OCTAGON, 1st pilot killed in Midway, all 3 Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby films, A piece of the action, Lets do it again, Uptown saturday night, He was the bush pilot in wilderness he was family 1 and 2, Ravagers, and the Tijuana smalls man in 1970, Winston Nascar ads, every Steven J Cannell production series, many commercials. My Grandpa had 30 egg ranches around the inland empire, onwe had a coop about 1/8th mile long my uncle filled with 75 old Chryslers, 3 were Town and Country convertibles we restored to better than new, an air flow, we drove a 1929 Roadster from Mass to LA in 1976 it was unrestored and undriven since 1955, it took us a month, wooden rims, we retsoed the cat on the way home, several shops left us alone all night in their shops they were very nice and wanted to be part of the adventure. He had a 46 mercury woody Marmon Herrington 4wd conversion that is now being shown by a la school teacher who bought it it was custom made for ornithologist named Bleith a fotomat tycoon too..
Love you're vids, Steve! Mainly because of your likable personality and the vids aren't 60 minutes long! I'm not necessarily a Mopar fan, but not a hater either! Keep up the great work!
The letter cars always get my blood pumping. Most, if not all of these, could be saved. Imagine driving each one home from the dealer - what a day that was for someone! Thank you sir, truly enjoy your work.
What strikes me more than the perusal of some extreme former gems of automotive machinery is : 1) Someone allowed these former gems to DECAY and I mean ROT. 2) I know for a Fact that the wrecking yards of the 70's wiped out cars at a ferocious pace, and for scrap prices a Chrysler 300 was often treated like just another hulk of steel. It was CRUSHED like so much iron, maybe 80 or 100 bucks. The current values for the classics was Created by the collector class of good old boys who knew that when there are only a few left,the price goes........UP.
A friend of mine got a 65 "L" as his first car back in high school in the 90's but it was pretty rusted out. He took everything off the car that he could, bagged and tagged everything, and then junked what was left. 30 years later he found a donor Newport and put all the "L" parts on it to reconstruct that old "L" as best he could. They are cool cars for sure.
I live in the rust belt, but we spent time in Tucson, Arizona and I used to go to the junk yards just to see the cars. They were in better shape than the cars on the road in Pa. I was amazed and purchased quite a few parts in the 5 or so yrs.
The 1962 300-H was a hideously expensive car when new. Getting this really rare car on the road would be a huge score for the person willing to take it on. In fact, all Chrysler 300 letter cars in decent rust-free shape are worth restoring---bankers' hot rods.
Thing is a Chrysler or even a Dodge 880 should be able to supply just about all the sheetmetal that needs to put together. Based on what the 63 300 Sport sold for, another $500 would probably have bought a '62 donor.
Incredible. To think any of these survived. The odds were stacked. They were expensive, they were fast and big with 50's brake technology. The 60's and 70's were not kind to cars like these. To think with 50's technology they could put air conditioning on a big block with dual quads, high performance cam, power steering, and automatic transmission.....and still satisfy a somewhat finicky upper class car buyer! I love every year of these cars, they will never happen again with such style. And YES...Brute is a perfect description!
Coming from the rust belt hell of Massachusetts I can really appreciate these rust free beauties. The Texas sun will do a number on the plastic, rubber and fabric parts but as far as the shining chrome and steel parts go it's the best environment to come from.
A neighbor down the street from us when I was a kid had one nearly identical to that '65. One of the cars that turned me into a car guy at a very young age.
Hey Steve how long did it take for you to stop smiling when you seen this? I'm a chevy guy and it made me smile from ear to ear. Cool early American cars are just so damn cool!!! I like them all!
28 five for that car sounds pretty reasonable, IIRC it just needed paint and assembly. Maybe some messing with the engine. That last 300 I could have bought at that sale price. I kind of like those sort of boxy 63-64s, I never used to but they've grown on me. Did you see what happened to the GTO that was all shot up? A guy is driving that.
GOD BLESS YOU YOUR CONTACT IS GREAT ....CANT BELEIVE YOUR RESEARCH ITS GRAND LOVE ROADKILL TO.. THEY REALLY WAITED FOREVER TO LIVE. THEY R DOING WHAT THERE BORN TO DO SO R SOME OF US
The 1963 Chrysler 300 sport came with the 413 four-barrel or the 426 four-barrel or the 383 2 Barrel. A special order for the long cross ram 2-4-barrel engine was available.
Ok, the 300 J has the "short ram" version of the long ram manifolds. They are the same length, but the runners are open to each other. Notice there is not crease in the long areas.
My Dad had a 1956 Ford truck stepside with a 413 Chrysler motor with the 727 trans and the short shifter in the floor under the bench seat, that truck could bake the tires at will but what a wild ride going fast or braking, crossing rr tracks etc, never knew where it was going! We rebuilt the front end to no avail finally put a Cordoba front clip on it. I goty my 1st ticket in it at age 14 lol on J street cruise in Sacramento 1975, I had to tell my Dad I sneaked out his truck and lied to the cop about having a license.
Big daddy don garlits drag race museum has a running example of a civil air warning siren from the cold war. It is powered by a hemi and were on roofs all over the country at one time
I once had a 1963 Chrysler 300 Pacesetter convertible. It was an interesting car to say the least. Now Chevy stole the square steering wheel from it for the 2020 Corvette.
They have always been a expensive and hard to procure! Letter cars of course before 1965! Exner knew that he designed a collector automobile along with Bob Rodgers 😇. 1962 is the one that I like.😏
A pro could ID the engine based on the exhaust manifold design & flanges… The small block has one, the big block has two (bolt holes between the middle cylinders on both banks). I'm not sure about runner design, but I'm not a Chrysler mechanic.
If I had thought of it sooner (40+ years ago), I may have collected dashboards / Instrument Clusters (like that 300-H) and restore them (fully operational)? ;-)
Ok. So my city, Lismore has just been through 2 major floods in a month with many cars going under. That 300L has definitely gone completely under. That silt covered engine bay is more than dust
When did they start putting the penastar symbol on the right fender was it just a high dollar trim package it was only on or was it in all models once it started .. ???
We're all pulling for you Steve. Keep fighting
I always liked the 300's even as a kid back then.
Get well soon Steve! Thanks for sharing your knowledge of all things automotive!
everyone just put all his videos in que and let it play all night and day, this man deserves it.
This was well worth watching again. Get well soon Steve.
Miss you Steve! Get well soon! 🙏🏼 I loved the Great Texas Mopar Auction series! Good stuff!
Dude your a national treasure. Get well soon !!
Hang in there steve,,,,, stay strong mate , we need these incredible shows. steve in Australia
I am a GM guy, but those Chrysler Letter Cars make my heart beat like crazy! Specially the ones from the late Fifties. There are two things I experienced:
In 1987 I met a kind of weird New Yorker Italian in LA who was somehow homeless but drove around in a 1965 Chrysler 300L. He had bought it at an auction for a few hundred bucks! It had been an abandonned vehicle.
A friend and race car mechanic who was not into American cars could buy a 1961 Chrysler 300 G Convertible for a very good price. He had not known a lot about those letter cars but was very lucky to have it offered. He told me he had sold it to a museum at the end.
Had a friend that had a collection of 300 letter cars, did not realize how rare they were at the time in the mid 70's. Bet he would love this video! Get well soon Steve, we are praying and pulling for Ya!
One of the Guys that work for Jay Leno’s Garage is restoring one of those Chryslers in the shop.
Saw a restoration video of a 59 Chrysler 300 years ago. Absolutely a beautiful car.
Excellent as usual, I love watching your stuff! My uncle was an actor in LA for 3 decades, he was Doggo in OCTAGON, 1st pilot killed in Midway, all 3 Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby films, A piece of the action, Lets do it again, Uptown saturday night, He was the bush pilot in wilderness he was family 1 and 2, Ravagers, and the Tijuana smalls man in 1970, Winston Nascar ads, every Steven J Cannell production series, many commercials.
My Grandpa had 30 egg ranches around the inland empire, onwe had a coop about 1/8th mile long my uncle filled with 75 old Chryslers, 3 were Town and Country convertibles we restored to better than new, an air flow, we drove a 1929 Roadster from Mass to LA in 1976 it was unrestored and undriven since 1955, it took us a month, wooden rims, we retsoed the cat on the way home, several shops left us alone all night in their shops they were very nice and wanted to be part of the adventure. He had a 46 mercury woody Marmon Herrington 4wd conversion that is now being shown by a la school teacher who bought it it was custom made for ornithologist named Bleith a fotomat tycoon too..
There's only one Steve Mag. Don't know how you do it, but we'll be here wanting for more.
Love you're vids, Steve! Mainly because of your likable personality and the vids aren't 60 minutes long! I'm not necessarily a Mopar fan, but not a hater either! Keep up the great work!
Steve, noticed the leg gaiters. Those pesky Texas Rattlesnakes doing the junkyard crawl too.
These are great vids! I didn't know the '58 D were so rare in the number built, and the value today.
The letter cars always get my blood pumping. Most, if not all of these, could be saved. Imagine driving each one home from the dealer - what a day that was for someone! Thank you sir, truly enjoy your work.
The hand to magnet work is excellent 😂
love these clips from the auction
What strikes me more than the perusal of some extreme former gems of automotive machinery is : 1) Someone allowed these former gems to DECAY and I mean ROT. 2) I know for a Fact that the wrecking yards of the 70's wiped out cars at a ferocious pace, and for scrap prices a Chrysler 300 was often treated like just another hulk of steel. It was CRUSHED like so much iron, maybe 80 or 100 bucks. The current values for the classics was Created by the collector class of good old boys who knew that when there are only a few left,the price goes........UP.
A friend of mine got a 65 "L" as his first car back in high school in the 90's but it was pretty rusted out. He took everything off the car that he could, bagged and tagged everything, and then junked what was left. 30 years later he found a donor Newport and put all the "L" parts on it to reconstruct that old "L" as best he could. They are cool cars for sure.
I live in the rust belt, but we spent time in Tucson, Arizona and I used to go to the junk yards just to see the cars. They were in better shape than the cars on the road in Pa. I was amazed and purchased quite a few parts in the 5 or so yrs.
The 1962 300-H was a hideously expensive car when new. Getting this really rare car on the road would be a huge score for the person willing to take it on. In fact, all Chrysler 300 letter cars in decent rust-free shape are worth restoring---bankers' hot rods.
Thing is a Chrysler or even a Dodge 880 should be able to supply just about all the sheetmetal that needs to put together. Based on what the 63 300 Sport sold for, another $500 would probably have bought a '62 donor.
Incredible. To think any of these survived. The odds were stacked. They were expensive, they were fast and big with 50's brake technology. The 60's and 70's were not kind to cars like these. To think with 50's technology they could put air conditioning on a big block with dual quads, high performance cam, power steering, and automatic transmission.....and still satisfy a somewhat finicky upper class car buyer! I love every year of these cars, they will never happen again with such style.
And YES...Brute is a perfect description!
The interior on the 65' looks like a custom option. It's a beauty!
Such a great overview, well done!
I've been waiting for ANY new content on Motortrend. Until then, I am happy on UA-cam watching Steve.
Getting a little too old to take on another project car but that '58 could've gotten me out of retirement 😌
Coming from the rust belt hell of Massachusetts I can really appreciate these rust free beauties. The Texas sun will do a number on the plastic, rubber and fabric parts but as far as the shining chrome and steel parts go it's the best environment to come from.
Glad to see this video. Hope you get better soon
Great video, big cars.
My dad was a chevy man. My one brother was a Chevy man (we went on numerous junk yard adventures).I'm a Chevy man.
Great video Steve! I have learned a lot about so many Chrysler cars with your introductions about the history of them cars!👌😎👍
Thanks Steve 🖖
I sure enjoy your video's. Thank you
A neighbor down the street from us when I was a kid had one nearly identical to that '65. One of the cars that turned me into a car guy at a very young age.
I've seen ALL this hoard and these are some of the most beautiful cars here, i want 2 !! . Dont see those in oz , luv ya work Mr Magnante. Cheers
Thanks for the info Steve!
Thanks Steve
Awesome episode
As a young man I had a 1957 300c. 392 hemi. miss it all the time now that I'm older
Watching it again too 👏🏽
Thanks for this series Steve, I missed a lot on the first go
Thanks again Steve for reposting these with the sale prices. It was as interesting to see the second time as it was originally. Good stuff Steve!
thanks for taking me along and thank you for your time.
Hey Steve how long did it take for you to stop smiling when you seen this? I'm a chevy guy and it made me smile from ear to ear. Cool early American cars are just so damn cool!!! I like them all!
Man!!... that 62 300h would be a dream to own.
Cool cars! I am glad they didn't turn into scrap.
Could you imagine driving that car 150 mph!
great mopars
All beautiful cars I would love to have any one of them
Thanks for the video Steve.
Very nice
I almost bought a 61 Plymouth from Steve. Think it was at the Long Beach swap meet. Already had 2 60 Plymouths and a 61 4 door. Great guy.
28 five for that car sounds pretty reasonable, IIRC it just needed paint and assembly. Maybe some messing with the engine.
That last 300 I could have bought at that sale price. I kind of like those sort of boxy 63-64s, I never used to but they've grown on me.
Did you see what happened to the GTO that was all shot up? A guy is driving that.
Cool stuff!
Good stuff Steve.
I always enjoy watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
Thinking of ya Mags. Cheers 🇨🇦
Sweet '58 300!😁👍🔧
GOD BLESS YOU YOUR CONTACT IS GREAT ....CANT BELEIVE YOUR RESEARCH ITS GRAND LOVE ROADKILL TO.. THEY REALLY WAITED FOREVER TO LIVE. THEY R DOING WHAT THERE BORN TO DO SO R SOME OF US
The 1963 Chrysler 300 sport came with the 413 four-barrel or the 426 four-barrel or the 383 2 Barrel. A special order for the long cross ram 2-4-barrel engine was available.
I always enjoy a good spin.
Pray for Steve! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Ok, the 300 J has the "short ram" version of the long ram manifolds. They are the same length, but the runners are open to each other. Notice there is not crease in the long areas.
My Dad had a 1956 Ford truck stepside with a 413 Chrysler motor with the 727 trans and the short shifter in the floor under the bench seat, that truck could bake the tires at will but what a wild ride going fast or braking, crossing rr tracks etc, never knew where it was going! We rebuilt the front end to no avail finally put a Cordoba front clip on it.
I goty my 1st ticket in it at age 14 lol on J street cruise in Sacramento 1975, I had to tell my Dad I sneaked out his truck and lied to the cop about having a license.
You'd think Steve would be able to afford two t-shirts.
Dude, he's got like 15 of these shirts,,,
Cool boat show!
Get well Steve!
Seems to me many of these cars sold for very very good prices.
The cross ram 300 is unbelievable...
What caught my ear was '' industrial hemi's '' What machinery would they be found in ?
Big daddy don garlits drag race museum has a running example of a civil air warning siren from the cold war. It is powered by a hemi and were on roofs all over the country at one time
rick74304, besides air raid sirens, they were used in power generation in airport APU's, and I have seen an industrial water pump with one...
What is the black car behind the '63 Sport?
Enjoyed!!!!!!! 👍👍👍
Surprised no 426 in the 65. I had to look up the 63 since it was the first year for the 426, but it was a 413 too.
Another great and informative video. Just curious, any rattlesnake encounters while going thru all those cars?
......he said in a previous video that he did see one rattler out there.....
How many cars did you bid on Steve ???
Smart to wear snake bite guards bro!
Steve, where can we find your books?
Any letter car is worth having
Thanks!
Had ,a 54 ny delux...331 hemi dual points
How's the62dart?
Is that a picture with Daddy Dave hanging on the wall?
Why do you have padding on your shins ,have you suffered a injury?
Shin guards for snakes
@@nicktriplett1976 thankyou,makes perfect sense now
I once had a 1963 Chrysler 300 Pacesetter convertible. It was an interesting car to say the least. Now Chevy stole the square steering wheel from it for the 2020 Corvette.
Studemaker Hawk awesome car
A 1960 2 door Dodge in the background of the last car featured!!
Nice
Steve M is the best !
They have always been a expensive and hard to procure! Letter cars of course before 1965! Exner knew that he designed a collector automobile along with Bob Rodgers 😇. 1962 is the one that I like.😏
How hard is it to find parts for these?
These. We’re. Real street. Rods. From. The show. Room. Thanks
A pro could ID the engine based on the exhaust manifold design & flanges…
The small block has one, the big block has two (bolt holes between the middle cylinders on both banks). I'm not sure about runner design, but I'm not a Chrysler mechanic.
Sweet!
YOU HAVE SNAKE BIT BOOTS aka SPATS ON ?
If I had thought of it sooner (40+ years ago), I may have collected dashboards / Instrument Clusters (like that 300-H) and restore them (fully operational)? ;-)
Ok. So my city, Lismore has just been through 2 major floods in a month with many cars going under.
That 300L has definitely gone completely under. That silt covered engine bay is more than dust
Sad
When did they start putting the penastar symbol on the right fender was it just a high dollar trim package it was only on or was it in all models once it started .. ???
I know my 73 imperial Lebanon has one.
Car number 1 exhaust manifolds tell the story. Or at least what they were attached to when the last engine was in it. Fix-It!
Hey its the wobble man how's that rust bucket coming !