Rare 1961 Chrysler 300G Convertible
OK, so it’s a little scary looking, and it’s not complete, and it has other problems but it’s still a pretty special car – how often do you trip over a 1961 Chrysler 300 G convertible? After all, there were only about 1,600 300 series cars constructed that year with just a bit over 300 being convertible body styles. But wait! There’s more, please follow along. Located in Alma, Arkansas, this convertible project is available, here on eBay for an opening bid of $15,000 with a reserve in place.
So the story is that this rare letter car was barn-bound for years and purchased, by the seller, from the family of the original owner. It’s been off of the road since ’73 and it looks it! It would seem that whatever stood in for “storage” didn’t do this G-car any favors. The seller adds, “The car obviously is a project and needs completely restored. The rust is mainly in the floors and trunk and the sub-structure is very solid as this is an Oklahoma car and not from the rust belt“. As can be seen, however, rust isn’t the ragtop’s only problem, the rag itself is missing but the folding frame appears to still be in place.
The heart of the beast is a 375 gross HP, 413 CI V8 feed by twin four-barrel carburetors on a long tube cross-ram intake manifold. As can be seen, the 413 is still in place but it’s now fed by a single four-barrel carb. It works through a TorqueFlite automatic transmission but nope, it’s not a runner!
Good news! The seller has the original intake and exhaust manifolds but he’s missing the born-with carburetors, heat tubes, and air cleaners.
The interior is as bad, or worse than the exterior (those pesky destroyed convertible tops again!). It is totally trashed, all of it, the upholstery, dash pad, door panels, floor mats/carpets, and a shifterless center console. This one would be a blow-it-up and start-over interior project. The seller does have a refurbished steering wheel that is included in the sale.
But wait, there’s more! the seller states, “This includes 4 parts cars that should give you pretty much all the metal needed to restore the body correctly. They include“:
1961 Desoto – quarter panel, doors, rear body tail light section, 1961 only alternator as well as tons of small parts and hardware
1960 Chrysler Windsor – lots of small parts and has 383RB engine with lots of original items
1962 Chrysler Newport – complete car with factory AC system as well as tons of other parts
1962 Chrysler 300 Sport – complete car (less engine) super solid parts car for trunk floor, floor pans, etc. Very nice Astrodome and dash parts.
Cool, rare car? You bet! A challenging, expensive restoration? You bet! Interestingly the seller states, “This is a very expensive car when restored and is probably the only 300G convertible project car out there. I own a professional restoration shop and have the facilities to properly do all the metal work, paint, and assembly. We are finishing 3 complete restorations this month and will be booking for January if you are interested in having our shop do this work“. If there’s such an upside, I wonder why he wouldn’t want to take this 300 on, for his own account, and then reap the restored sale benefits? Regardless, this is one to save, if possible; it is a fantastic representative of early ’60s American automotive manifest destiny, and unfortunately, a sad reminder of what the Chrysler brand has become today. So, what do you think, any takers out there?
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Comments
Oh my this didn’t get any love did it? Was a great car, envision this back in the day with that 413 singing through that tuned intake with both 4bbl carbs wide open. Surely had to be a wonderful sound. No so much any longer, someone with deep pockets needs to bring this letter car back.
Resto mod. Skip the trunk lid and be the first on your block with an El Gringo.
Or “El Grungo”
It’s been in storage all right since 1973..outside..until the carcass was drug inside in 2020.
A lot of love needed here for sure. I was in my 30’s when I had my chance to see a cross ram at a car show. If you had one of these when they were new imagine the street cred you received when you lifted the hood on this beast. Oh yeah, so your daddy has a 409 big block but does he have this as the other kid lifts the hood!
The guy probably has run into hard times, because the whole country has. That’s probably why he isn’t restoring it himself. I expect more than a few cars coming out of the woodwork in the next couple years…..
No question of this car’s value once restored. `61 cvts. are $140K cars in concours condition. Don’t wince! This one can be saved, but it will take time, patience, money, and determination!!
This one appears to be a shade of blue I’ve never seen on 300G’s. And the interior almost looks like it might have been originally white instead of letter-series tan leather. Must be the lighting. Seen 1 `57 300C hardtop with a white interior that was factory special-order.
What a shame that this once beautiful machine has gone to it’s present condition.
Will be a challenge to get it back to original factory showroom condition
Pretty sure these still had the push button transmission on the left side of the instrument panel.
All MoPars `56-`64 had the push-button automatics.
OMG, what a mess. And that rodent-eaten interior! The only thing this junker is good for is the recycling center.
$15k starting bid is a bit much for a car that’s going to need just about everything from the ground up, and those parts cars? The only thing they’ll do is free up some space for the seller if someone takes them. BTW that radio is one of the best AM units ever put in a car. It’s a hybrid-transistor power output and a tube tuner.
Run! such a shame. It’s a unibody car and probably has had its structural integrity compromised .
I own a G coupe and think this one is going to be a steep uphill climb to get back on the road
The thirty five year old days of when you see a fully restored 61 300G hardtop go for six and a half K, recede ever further into the rear view mirror!
If I was Bezos rich my hobby would be doing Graveyard Cars type restorations on cars like this.
I mean, you seen one immaculate Camaro you seen em all
As someone who ran a small restoration shop, I know exactly why the shop owner is not restoring the car “on spec”. As he is paying his employees to work on the customer cars, he’s going to be paying his guys to work on this car, and it could easily run a shop owner $75k to $100k to do this car justice. That’s a huge amount of cash to lay out for a car that might take another year [or more] to sell at a profit.
He’s better off offering the car for a reasonable price, and offer his services if the buyer will want a shop to do the work. Don’t forget if a shop is paying people to work on their own cars, those employees are NOT working on a customer car that would bring a regular income to the shop. It’s like not getting twice the income, and delaying any return on investment until the car finally sells.
Only the largest & best financed [deep pockets] restoration shops can fund restorations of their own vehicles. When I had my shop, the only time my cars were worked on by employees was when we had a little extra time between jobs, while waiting on parts to come in, or I had a buyer for one of my cars, with a cash deposit.
Key words “reasonable price” which it is NOT
I know, some gasp in horror, but living in “Rustville”, Wis., this is nothing new. All cars looked like this. It was a bitxx working on them. Okay, they weren’t letter car ragops, but this shows, the LAST thing on this owners mind in the 60s, was it might be worth a bundle someday. It was just a car, they used in all weather, and discarded when it failed. No big whoop, it was the “cycle” Detroit depended on.
This? Come on, even Granny Clampett would know this is foolish. With what I consider the beginning of the end in classic cars, just go buy one someone else already lost their shirt on. Stuff like this doesn’t have a prayer, sorry, being in the “hobby” for 50 years, I can definitely see a decline in interest. Parts, and that’s it. That side emblem got to be worth a grand by itself, no? Crooks,,
Around 2002, I drove a white w/gold anodized trim, and same colors inside, Coupe, way south of Tallahassee Florida. It was just a little scruffy, but looked all original. Not rusty or dented. Had the dual 4 bbl crossram and for it’s weight, it pulled pretty well. I think he wanted approx. $13 – $15K. Should have bought it but had several other cars needing various work. I’m more interested in sports cars. I have a photo of it somewhere.
I agree, you will definitely stumble over this one if you are foolish enough to pay the asking price for it. As for the parts cars, This guy figures to clean up the junk off his place and get paid for doing so. Do yourself a favor, pass on this pile of rust.