Chrysler 300 letter series

The Chrysler 300 "letter series" were high-performance luxury cars built in very limited numbers by the Chrysler Corporation in the United States between 1955 and 1965. Each year's model used a new letter of the alphabet as a suffix, reaching 300L by 1965 after which the model was dropped. Chrysler has recently started using these designations again for sporting near-luxury sedans, using 300M from 1999, while they are using 300C for a completely new rear-drive car due to launch in 2004. This is disliked of by fans of old Chryslers who do not approve of the re-use of a 300 letter series designation.

The 300 "letter series" cars were the vehicles that really rekindled interest in performance among major US manufacturers postwar and thus can be considered the muscle car's ancestors, though much more expensive and exclusive.

Table of contents

1 1955 C-300
2 1956 300B
3 1957 300C
4 1958 300D
5 1959 300E
6 1960 300F
7 1961 300G
8 1962 300H
9 1963 300J
10 1964 300K
11 1965 300L

1955 C-300

This first of the letter series cars didn't actually bear a letter; it can retroactively be considered the '300A'. The 'C-' designation (later dropped) signified 'Coupe', while the 300 originally stood for the 300 horsepower engine. The C-300 was really a racecar sold for the road for homologation purposes, with MOPAR's most powerful engine, the 331 cubic inch Hemi V8, fitted with twin 4-barrel carburetors, a race-profiled cam setup, solid valve lifters, and a performance exhaust system. No exterior mirrors were fitted, for reduced drag at speed. Measured at 127.58 mph in the Flying Mile and doing well in NASCAR, the C-300 aroused a lot of interest that was not reflected in its modest sales figure of 1,725 built

1956 300B

1956's car was fairly similar externally, but with larger engines, two models of 354 cubic inch Hemi V8 with either 340 or 355 horsepower. Only 1,102 were sold. Performance was a little better than the previous year's, being measured at almost 140 mph.

1957 300C

1957's Chrysler 300C is generally considered the classic year of the 300 "letter series". New styling was brought in, with a yawning wide front grille and fins; the Hemi engine was upgraded to 392 cubic inches and 375 horsepower, or as a very limited edition 390 horsepower version (18 built). A convertible model was available for the first time. The car had a number of red, white and blue '300C' medallions on sides, hood, trunk and inside. 1,767 coupes and 484 convertibles were built.

1958 300D

1958 was to be the last year of the Hemi in the 300. This year's engine was still 392 cubich inches, but tuned to 380 horsepower as standard. 35 cars were built with electronic fuel injection and delivered 390 horsepower, but the fuel injection equipment was troublesome and most cars soon had it replaced with the standard twin-quad carburetor setup. A 300D was driven to 156.387 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats that year, but only 618 hardtops and 191 convertibles were produced, partly thanks to recessionary times.

1959 300E

1959 saw the Hemi engines replaced by Chrysler's new Golden Lion wedge-head V8 at 413 cubic inches displacement. Power output remained about the same. The loss of the Hemi and the late-50s recession meant for poor sales of 522 coupes and 125 convertibles.