1961 Chrysler 300G Convertible 413/375 HP

Mopar fanatics insist that the first Muscle cars were the Chrysler 300 Series or "Letter Cars."   That may be true as the 300 Series were fast, large, luxury coupes instead of cheap all out intermediate size performers.  There is no denying that the Chrysler 300 Series made performance cool again and started the horsepower race among American automobile manufacturers. Muscle car fans have got to be thankful for that.

The Chrysler 300 "Letter Car" debuted in 1955 , establishing  Chrysler as the king of performance. A pricey and fast luxury coupe, the C-300 (quick lesson: "C" stood for coupe, "300" stood for the 300 bhp engine), was only available as a hardtop coupe and came in three colors: Black, Red, and White. (That’s all she wrote) The top MOPAR engine, (a 331 cid Hemi V8 with two four barrel carbs, a full-race cam, solid lifters, special manifolds, fat dual exhausts, and 300 bhp), was standard. The C-300 also featured a performance modified PowerFlite automatic transmission and special Blue Streak racing tires.  To further  its high speed image, C-300’s came without an outside rearview mirror.  The C-300 earned  legend  status when it did 127.58 mph in the Flying Mile and averaged 92 mph in the Daytona Grand National stock race. Pretty fast in those days…we now flash forward…in both years…and letters.

The 1961 Chrysler 300 G saw a major exterior redesign that sported an inverted grille shape, redesigned headlights, and the relocation of the taillights from the fins to above the rear bumper. Other changes included reshaping the canted tail fins and replacing the (optional) Imperial-like trunk lid with a ribbed unit. Interior revisions included a speedometer that read from 0-150 mph in single mph units, a black finish for all painted sections of the dash, and changes in the design of the dash panel padding and seat design. Four exterior colors were offered: Formal Black, Alaskan White, Mardi Gras Green, and Cinnamon. It featured chrome wheelcovers, a "SilentFlite" fan drive, front and rear armrests, windshield washers and an electronic clock. Other available options included air conditioning, remote-control exterior mirrors, six-way power seat, power door locks, and a "Sure-Grip" differential.

Under the hood, two Wedge V8’s with "long" and "short" ram tubes were available, but a standard axle ratio of 3.23:1 gave the 300 G a slight top speed advantage over the previous 300 F model . On the optional 400 bhp version, a Chrysler heavy-duty three speed manual transmission replaced the expensive French four speed. Other performance goodies included stiffer front suspension torsion bars, stiffer 60 inch leaf springs, and 8.00x15 Goodyear Blue Streak Super Sport high performance white wall tires.

Chrysler produced about 1,280 Coupes, and only 338 Convertible 1961 Chrysler 300 G’s that year. The 413 , 375 HP equipped  Chryslers recorded a 0 to 60 time of 7.0 seconds, and ran down the ¼ mile in 16 seconds flat, at a speed of 85 mph. Pretty quick for a car that had the creature comforts of a lavish living room. Just a drop dead gorgeous car from any angle…and a favorite amongst Chrysler fanatics and collectors.  I know I dig ‘em…

Powered by BMW of Bridgeport.