Chrysler 300 69-71

[Marv]

Hey, I´ve been looking now for round about 4-5 months for a chrysler 300 from 1969-1971 2-dr hardtop in
a good to very good condition, but there´s not much to find ...
One question that occured is

why are these cars so rare?

I´m not sure about the total production numbers, but I remember something like ~ 40 k 2dr hardtops.
plus they were´nt that cheap back in the days, so I would guess that a bigger number of cars was kept and
cared for :icon_scratch:

thanks guys !!

 

[68Bigred]

In my opinion they weren't muscle cars and really weren't collectable, prone to rust and got pulled apart for their big blocks. Today there is no real value especially for the non letter cars. We are an odd bunch that like these cars and keep them on the road. Once again only my opinion. I myself if my 300 wasn't my grandfather's I'd probably wouldn't have dumped 3 it's value in it. That being said I love my 300, at a show I'm almost the only c body if not for sure the only 300.

 

[bluefury361]

Hey, I´ve been looking now for round about 4-5 months for a chrysler 300 from 1969-1971 2-dr hardtop in
a good to very good condition, but there´s not much to find ...
QUOTE]

:sSig_greetingsthor: ..........
Stick around here and keep your eye on the for sale thread. They show up every now and then, just need to be patient.

It's not like looking for a A, B or E body's of which so many more are available, just a matter of cubic dollars. Perhaps a really nice Sport Fury or Polara may catch you eye sometime.

 

[saforwardlook]

These particular models are red hot with the Europeans if they are nice and two doors. Any one that comes up for sale is scooped up fast if it is nice. They don't even last a day. They are not popular like the B and E bodies, but still very desirable cars to a lot of people. I don't think they are especially prone to rust from what I have seen, at least not more than other makes. I am seeing nice ones go overseas for upwards of $15 - 18K for the 2 door hardtops and more for the convertibles. Folks here in the U.S. generally don't have the money for them due to a poor economy where the spoils keep going only to the top. You have to be quick if you see one, with money in hand and willing to take some risks.

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

These particular models are red hot with the Europeans if they are nice and two doors. Any one that comes up for sale is scooped up fast if it is nice. They don't even last a day. They are not popular like the B and E bodies, but still very desirable cars to a lot of people. I don't think they are especially prone to rust from what I have seen, at least not more than other makes. I am seeing nice ones go overseas for upwards of $15 - 18K for the 2 door hardtops and more for the convertibles. Folks here in the U.S. generally don't have the money for them due to a poor economy where the spoils keep going only to the top. You have to be quick if you see one, with money in hand and willing to take some risks.

Folks in the US do have the money. But they usually prefer to buy smaller classic Mopars like B&E-Bodies.
Somehow C-Bodies do not have the same reputation in the US as in europe.
BTW: Our User "Marv" is out of Bremen. Wonder if it is Bremen in the US or germany

Carsten

 

[330dTA]

These particular models are red hot with the Europeans if they are nice and two doors. Any one that comes up for sale is scooped up fast if it is nice. They don't even last a day. They are not popular like the B and E bodies, but still very desirable cars to a lot of people. I don't think they are especially prone to rust from what I have seen, at least not more than other makes. I am seeing nice ones go overseas for upwards of $15 - 18K for the 2 door hardtops and more for the convertibles. Folks here in the U.S. generally don't have the money for them due to a poor economy where the spoils keep going only to the top. You have to be quick if you see one, with money in hand and willing to take some risks.

Exactly. 2x.

I think the 2 doors have come up in value very strongly during the last five years. In 2009 or thereabouts you still could find a nice 2d for 6 to 7 K USD. Not anymore. If you can find one for less than 5K, there's usually a lot of repairing to be done, or something (like the engine and tranny) is missing altogether.
And I think the reason is that they were relatively rare to begin with. Many of them have rusted away. The ones that have survived are the ones that were pampered from the start, got put in the garage to rest sometime in the late '80's or early '90's. They are being recovered now and then, as the original owner has perhaps passed away and the family puts the estate on sale.

 

[saforwardlook]

Folks in the US do have the money. But they usually prefer to buy smaller classic Mopars like B&E-Bodies.
Somehow C-Bodies do not have the same reputation in the US as in europe.
BTW: Our User "Marv" is out of Bremen. Wonder if it is Bremen in the US or germany

Carsten

That could be the case, but some 76% of Americans have no savings while I would expect the middle class in Germany does have a higher percentage. I believe there are more C body fans in total here in the U.S. than in Europe, but it seems nearly all the nice C bodies end up in Europe these days, not here in the U.S.

 

[sauterd]

i think these guys got it, though I'm new to the C body game. I did find a 300 convertible, could be better, and probably paid too much. but the one I really wanted was a red on white one. see my thread
[h=2]Here is the red one that seemed to have gotten away. Says he’s got a 16K cash offer[/h]
just days after i was able to get hold of him he got a call from "the Germans" so i guess it on it's way out of the country now. I did download the pics if interested. never did find out if it was a real TNT car or not, he seemed confused in his description and the engine codes. with you luck on your search. i usually post one i see on the FB pages. if you need those let me know.

Dale

 

[sauterd]

i really like this white on white one, though It's in Canada and looks like it need plenty of body help. got about 4 hours left.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chrysler-30...tr=true&hash=item419bcd41b7&item=281786794423

 

[Marv]

First of all it is Bremen, Germany

I don´t think that people over here have more money than you do, it´s probably the same, but these cars are rare over here.
At the moment there are just 2 300s on the market, one is claimed to be a first owner survivor with orig 66k miles on it for ~ 32.000$

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...31&makeModelVariant1.makeId=5700&pageNumber=1

and the second one is a hurst, for more than 60 k which is kinda ridiculous if you watch the prices on the US market...

So I was just wondering why they´re so rare even in the US, thanks for reply :sSig_greetingsthor:

 

[bluefury361]

So I was just wondering why they´re so rare even in the US, thanks for reply :sSig_greetingsthor:

Low initial production and, until recently, low collector interest.
As the values of the B & E body cars sky rocketed Interest turned to the big C's. Same power train as the super cars in a larger body.
Once one makes the transition to a C, the appeal is instantly noticed in ride and comfort quality. My 65 B body rarely comes out of the garage anymore in favor of the 300. And when I decided to look for a wagon I never even considered a B body and found my Fury Custom Suburban.

 

[sauterd]

great analysis, makes sense. do you have an original crimson on white 69 300 convertible? If so, I'd love to see more photos. if you saw my other string, i had one i found but it was sold to a German.

Dale

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

That could be the case, but some 76% of Americans have no savings while I would expect the middle class in Germany does have a higher percentage. I believe there are more C body fans in total here in the U.S. than in Europe, but it seems nearly all the nice C bodies end up in Europe these days, not here in the U.S.

Hi Steve,

sure the german middle class has a better rate of savings compared to the US. But this is not "new" recently it has been that way for decades.

When buying 68-70 B-body Muscle cars I do have lots of competitors from the US. Those are always way more expensive then any nice C-Body. When it comes down to nice C-Bodys a lot of guys in the US say "too expensive" while the cars are worth it to europeans.

Just remember the tx9 black 1970 300 Coupe from ebay with the non running engine that sold for more than 10k $.
No one from this board was thinking it is worth more than 5-6k$

Carsten

 

[Marv]

When buying 68-70 B-body Muscle cars I do have lots of competitors from the US. Those are always way more expensive then any nice C-Body. When it comes down to nice C-Bodys a lot of guys in the US say "too expensive" while the cars are worth it to europeans.

exactly, I mean, for a 300 2dr with solid body, good engine + tranny and the right color, I would probably pay 15/16k $
which is considered as too much, as far as I learned

 

[Samplingman]

Welcome to the forum, Marv! I'm a fan of the '70 300 as well, I think you can find something more reasonable, just keep searching. I didn't think I searched that long for my tx9 coupe, but then again I was just looking for parts. It would be easier to find one that needed some work. Good luck!

 

[saforwardlook]

Hi Steve,

sure the german middle class has a better rate of savings compared to the US. But this is not "new" recently it has been that way for decades.

When buying 68-70 B-body Muscle cars I do have lots of competitors from the US. Those are always way more expensive then any nice C-Body. When it comes down to nice C-Bodys a lot of guys in the US say "too expensive" while the cars are worth it to europeans.

Just remember the tx9 black 1970 300 Coupe from ebay with the non running engine that sold for more than 10k $.
No one from this board was thinking it is worth more than 5-6k$

Carsten

I see your point, but also think the people in the B body market in the U.S. tend to be the more wealthy individuals just because nice B bodies are so much more valuable at the present time than C bodies. For people now in the C body market, which may just be taking off given their increasing desirability around the world, they tend to be more of our middle class that has been left out of the current B body reality. As such, with no savings, it is hard for them to buy a nice $10K C body when the seller really isn't interested in letting a buyer make payments over time based on a $100 deposit. Full time jobs, stable jobs, decent salaries, or those ancient relics of the past called pensions aren't readily available here in the U.S. anymore, and even college degrees may not help much (if the middle class could even afford to send their kids to college anymore). It seems people in Germany at least and some other European countries seem to keep their eye on the ball more than folks here in the U.S. when it comes to politics and seem more analytical in making political choices than Americans who take all they have much more for granted and are more influenced by talk radio, internet and TV sound bites rather than analyzing what is really happening and voting accordingly. One thing for sure, these trends are complex and there are a bunch of factors influencing them.

Oh, and I called the seller just out of curiosity and asked him why the car was still not sold after 4 individuals actually came and looked at the car, and his response was simple: not a one of them had the money ($3000) was his reply (although they may have seen additional problems/expenses that didn't make the car worth it to them I was also thinking to myself).

 

[saforwardlook]

First of all it is Bremen, Germany

I don´t think that people over here have more money than you do, it´s probably the same, but these cars are rare over here.
At the moment there are just 2 300s on the market, one is claimed to be a first owner survivor with orig 66k miles on it for ~ 32.000$

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...31&makeModelVariant1.makeId=5700&pageNumber=1

and the second one is a hurst, for more than 60 k which is kinda ridiculous if you watch the prices on the US market...

So I was just wondering why they´re so rare even in the US, thanks for reply :sSig_greetingsthor:

I remember when that $32,000 (approx) light brown 300 now for sale in Germany was bought about a year and a half ago out of the Bay Area in California. It is indeed a one owner car, with low miles. I know the price it was purchased at, and to look at its value now, is nothing short of astonishing! It is even a non-a/c car and now with an aluminum radiator it appears. I think I will hold on to my C bodies a little tighter for awhile now until the market levels off of its current meteoric rise! By the way, I don't think I could find two nice 69-71 300s over here for sale right now either.

 

[FurySp]

First of all it is Bremen, Germany

I don´t think that people over here have more money than you do, it´s probably the same, but these cars are rare over here.
At the moment there are just 2 300s on the market, one is claimed to be a first owner survivor with orig 66k miles on it for ~ 32.000$

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...31&makeModelVariant1.makeId=5700&pageNumber=1

and the second one is a hurst, for more than 60 k which is kinda ridiculous if you watch the prices on the US market...

So I was just wondering why they´re so rare even in the US, thanks for reply :sSig_greetingsthor:

I agree, the economy here is at an awful state and people are really struggling with money. So that's not the case.
Also here in Finland C bodies are like the second option after the B&E, even A bodies. Not very desirable, but of course some like these cars a lot.
Most of the C's here serve as some sort of beer wagon, we and the Swedes have this strange culture where you drive with beaten up American cars with a bunch of guys drinking beer and just raising hell. And I think why C's are popular in this kind of action, because they're big cars, big blocks that you can get for a bargain.
Not too many for sale, either they are in perfect condition, or beer wagons that need a lot of work.

 

[Samplingman]

I agree, the economy here is at an awful state and people are really struggling with money. So that's not the case.
Also here in Finland C bodies are like the second option after the B&E, even A bodies. Not very desirable, but of course some like these cars a lot.
Most of the C's here serve as some sort of beer wagon, we and the Swedes have this strange culture where you drive with beaten up American cars with a bunch of guys drinking beer and just raising hell. And I think why C's are popular in this kind of action, because they're big cars, big blocks that you can get for a bargain.
Not too many for sale, either they are in perfect condition, or beer wagons that need a lot of work.

This "beer wagon" tradition sound a lot like the demo derby here in the states....

 

[Fratzog]

I hope they stay "undesirable" in the market. I would hate to see the prices go into stupid muscle car territory. I like it that C Bodies are still a working man's hobby car.