left to rot

boostedvan

Active Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2018
Messages
222
Reaction score
514
Location
BC Canada
I went and looked at a 1971 Chrysler 300 a couple of weeks back that's near me. Originally I looked at the car in 2014 but passed as the stub frame was pretty rotted and the owner wouldn't budge on price. He did eventually sell it and the new owner has let it sit outside in a lean to beside his large garage. I've driven past it for the last couple years, and finally got in contact with him.
In the six years the car has been sitting in standing water and open to the elements it has made the car deteriorate badly. There is now serious rot in both 1/4 panels, both fenders have holes in the lower sections, the trunk floor has some bad rust in the center section and the trunk seams are all splitting apart. The interior has held up and surprisingly under the rear window is pretty solid.
The sad thing is, they new owner has about a dozen other Muscle cars that are stored inside and well lokked after, but this and a couple mid 70's GM convertibles are left out to rot.
I made an offer on the car for cash and some four speed stuff for a E-body so it'll probably be coming home with me. Don't know what the future hold for it, but I just dont want to see it rot into the ground anymore than it already has. Any input on what I should do with it? For now I was just going to tuck it away in dry storage.

The first two pics are from when it was for sale in 2014, the rest are current photos of it.

50042-489a4da5b74f530ccb9ddcc0c217d7b0.jpg


50043-2f279bed071e6266caa24b47024ff070.jpg


Resized_20191110_164836.jpg


Resized_20191110_164925.jpg


Resized_20191110_165121.jpeg


Resized_20191110_165130.jpg


20200213_182752.jpg
 
If the rear frame rails were intact, the trunk floor and the lower quarter radii could be patched, front fenders are a bolt on replacement. Stub frame is also a bolt on replacement. If the rear frame rails are also rotted, this is probably going to be a parts car as while they can be replaced, it is very expensive if you are not doing the work your self. This is another good example of a decent car that the current owner did not appreciate and let it go to hell. To bad.
 
What a waste! There's no explaining some peoples thought processes or complete lack of said....
Thanks for your rescue efforts!!:thumbsup:
 
Both rear frame rails are swollen and crispy, especially on the drivers side where the water runs past the car. It lived in the Snow country of British Columbia for most of its life so even when I looked at it in 2014 it was pretty rusty on the underside.
I do feel like it might end up as a parts car down the road, its a shame but fixing it would be a huge undertaking. For now it will remain whole and sit in covered storage so it doesn't get any worse.
 
Last edited:
There is another car that also follwed me home recently. Its a pretty clean Newport in a somewhat rare colour. Overall its solid, but the stub is rotten in it. The rest of it is solid and dry. Trying to come up with a clean one so I can put it back on the road, though our climate makes it tough to find a good donor car.

20200105_140004.jpg


20200105_140010.jpg


20200105_140024 (1).jpg


20200105_150533.jpg


20200105_152445 (1).jpg


20200105_152451.jpg
 
Very rare Newport indeed in terms of color - Winchester Gray Metallic body with a Gunmetal Vinyl Roof. Nice looking. It also looks like it could be a low miles vehicle given how nice the seats/underhood look. I would replace the stubframe and make it nice. It looks like a nice straight body too. The dutchman panel isn't bad despite the stub-frame rust and only a few small bumps below the rear window lower trim. Worth doing IMO.

The 300 is nicely optioned with power windows, buckets/console, tilt/tel wheel but then it does have auto temp II (the only ATC that isn't that hard to get working well though) and outside right rear view mirror. Given how nice the driver seat bottom looks and how straight the body looks (and especially since all the body side moldings are still on the car!) it too must be a low miles car. Does it run and if so, does it run well? It is the standard 440 but it has been fitted with dual exhaust it appears. I would hope that car could be saved. Let me know if you ever decide to sell it, as I might be interested down the road. And thanks for posting the body code plates, as that helps a lot. At least we know this 300 is amber sherwood metallic and not april green metallic as a result.
 
Very rare Newport indeed in terms of color - Winchester Gray Metallic body with a Gunmetal Vinyl Roof. Nice looking. It also looks like it could be a low miles vehicle given how nice the seats/underhood look. I would replace the stubframe and make it nice. It looks like a nice straight body too. The dutchman panel isn't bad despite the stub-frame rust and only a few small bumps below the rear window lower trim. Worth doing IMO.

The 300 is nicely optioned with power windows, buckets/console, tilt/tel wheel but then it does have auto temp II (the only ATC that isn't that hard to get working well though) and outside right rear view mirror. Given how nice the driver seat bottom looks and how straight the body looks (and especially since all the body side moldings are still on the car!) it too must be a low miles car. Does it run and if so, does it run well? It is the standard 440 but it has been fitted with dual exhaust it appears. I would hope that car could be saved. Let me know if you ever decide to sell it, as I might be interested down the road. And thanks for posting the body code plates, as that helps a lot. At least we know this 300 is amber sherwood metallic and not april green metallic as a result.

I saw not one but TWO 71 Chryslers and was wondering how long it would take for you to chime in Steve!:realcrazy::poke::lol:
 
@boostedvan -- congrats on getting CE23L1C249777. Superb color combo; coincidentally, @mindshark13 recently sold a triple-gunmetal NYer 2dr of the same model year in Florida. Here is the tag decode of your 1971 Newport (the B VON indicates that the car was built for Canada -- cue also the rear defogger and lack of A/C):

C: Chrysler
E: Economy (Newport)
2 Door Hardtop

L: 383 275HP 1-2BBL 8 CYL
1: 1971
C: Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA

249777: Sequence number

E61: 383 cid 2 barrel V8 290hp
D32: Heavy Duty Automatic Transmission
GA4: Light Gunmetal Poly Exterior Color
E1A6: Trim - Gunmetal Gray Front Bench Seats
000: Full Door Panels
520: Build Date: May 20
B22763: Order number

V1A: Full Vinyl Top, Gunmetal Gray
R13: Deluxe AM Radio (5 1/2 Watts)
L31: Hood/Fender Mounted Turn Signals
H31: Rear Window Defogger
B41: Front Disc Brakes w/Standard 10in RR Drum
R31: Rear Seat Speaker(s)


Good luck on getting CS23T1C158336, another B-VON car. Here is the tag decode for this 1971 Chrysler 300:

C: Chrysler
S: Special (300)
23: 2 Door Hardtop

T: 440 cid 4 barrel V8 350hp
1: 1971
C: Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA

158336: Sequence number

E85: 440 cid 4 barrel V8 350hp
D32: Heavy Duty Automatic Transmission
GF3: Medium Green Poly Exterior Color
S6F7: Trim - Vinyl Bucket Seats, Green
000: Full Door Panels
B20: Build Date: November 20
B23994: Order number

V1W: Full Vinyl Top, White
H53: AutoTemp II
R13: Deluxe AM Radio (5 1/2 Watts)
L31: Hood/Fender Mounted Turn Signals
H31: Rear Window Defogger

P31: Power Windows
S61: Tilt/Telescopic Steering Column
C16: Console w/Woodgrain Panel

B41: Front Disc Brakes w/Standard 10in RR Drum
G11: Tinted Glass (all)
V5F: Body Side Stripes, Green

R31: Rear Seat Speaker(s)

Plenty of good advice above for both cars, so I'd go with Dave's and Steve's advice here. Enjoy!
 
Last edited:
Wow, That green '71 300 is beautiful with a great collection of options. If this is a parts car then my TX9 '70 Coupe is nothing more than scrap metal, and I still plan on bringing that one back to life. Get it running, patch the frame rails, polish up the paint and drive it.
 
Don't part the 300 is my input. I know of a mint bottom. If you sell, please list it here. I might be interested if I wasn't buried but logic has never stopped me before either. If it is parted, well, ill pm about that but I hope its saved.
 
same moldings as '69 newport?

Very similar as long as we are not talking Newport Custom, which are different. The moldings are the same shapes but on the 1969 Newport, the moldings have a brushed metallic pattern on them whereas the 71's are a plain finish on them - and in 1971, the 300s added a ribbed rubber molding on top that was color keyed to the body color (every other rib had a color similar to the body color and the other ribs were either white or black depending on accompanying color on the other ribs). Here is a better photo of the moldings on one of my former 71 300s I recently sold:

2019-11-27 00.39.59 - Copy.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the replies. The green 300 will be rescued from where it sits, I will get some better photos when I pick it up and give it a quick bath. When I drove it in 2014 it ran good, shifted fine and stopped well. The exhaust is kind of ratty on it with a couple leaks but nothing too bad. I can't remember if the Autotemp worked or not. I wouldn't even attempt to try and drive it now, when I looked at it I was pulling chunks of the stub frame off and it was packed with rocks and sand.
The car has some good points, but there is a lot of rust in the seams of the body and so on. If you look in between the trunk lid and the rear bumper on the passenger side you can see it. The trunk isn't terrible, and could be patched but it would be a big job. Then the frame rails and the 1/4 panels, fenders, wheel houses, etc. I won't part the car out before offering up here first, will keep this updated once a deal is reached. For the parts I offered up in trade, I'm into the car for a good amount of money already. I just didn't want to see it get any worse.

The Winchester gray car is super cool and really in decent shape overall. The stub on that could be patched, but I'm looking for a donor one before trying that. I'll spend a weekend on it trying to bring the paint back and cleaning up the interior as best as I can. It's a very straight and original car. The doors close nice, no leaks, and everything works as it should. I bought it mostly for the colour as its one of my favorite Mopar colours in 1971. After getting it running and doing a quick spin around the block, I've taken a liking to it so it might be one I keep. Again, if I do decide to sell it I will offer it up here first.

I do happen to have a donor car, but I feel bad about ripping it apart as its a really nice running and driving car.

20200105_140341.jpg


20200105_140351.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the replies. The green 300 will be rescued from where it sits, I will get some better photos when I pick it up and give it a quick bath. When I drove it in 2014 it ran good, shifted fine and stopped well. The exhaust is kind of ratty on it with a couple leaks but nothing too bad. I can't remember if the Autotemp worked or not. I wouldn't even attempt to try and drive it now, when I looked at it I was pulling chunks of the stub frame off and it was packed with rocks and sand.
The car has some good points, but there is a lot of rust in the seams of the body and so on. If you look in between the trunk lid and the rear bumper on the passenger side you can see it. The trunk isn't terrible, and could be patched but it would be a big job. Then the frame rails and the 1/4 panels, fenders, wheel houses, etc. I won't part the car out before offering up here first, will keep this updated once a deal is reached. For the parts I offered up in trade, I'm into the car for a good amount of money already. I just didn't want to see it get any worse.

The Winchester gray car is super cool and really in decent shape overall. The stub on that could be patched, but I'm looking for a donor one before trying that. I'll spend a weekend on it trying to bring the paint back and cleaning up the interior as best as I can. It's a very straight and original car. The doors close nice, no leaks, and everything works as it should. I bought it mostly for the colour as its one of my favorite Mopar colours in 1971. After getting it running and doing a quick spin around the block, I've taken a liking to it so it might be one I keep. Again, if I do decide to sell it I will offer it up here first.

I do happen to have a donor car, but I feel bad about ripping it apart as its a really nice running and driving car.

View attachment 353080

View attachment 353081

I have a solid sub frame I would trade for those roadwheels with caps and rings...:poke:
 
The road wheels are the only reason I bought the car! If I come up with another set, I'll let you know.
 
Those are both really cool cars,hopefully the 300 can be salvaged or maybe have all it's good parts swapped onto a solid shell that's been painted to match.I saw a 71(?) 300 sitting in Southern Oregon a few years back that looked really straight and solid.Probably still there.

That Newport will be a sweet driver with a bit of TLC.I found this thread a few year back about reviving old single stage paints and it seems like the way to go.That car would look awesome shined up with a nice set of road wheels or something similar.

The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints
 
Last edited:
Back
Top