Introducing a 1970 300 TNT convertible

Awesome!! Can’t wait to see her at the Nationals.
@ayilar Are you taking your 300 to the Nats too?
Considering it there this year, since I'm missing Carlisle.

I'll be taking the TNT to the Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle. Unfortunately, I have a conflict in August and can't make any show that month. The car will likely attend a run that I will organize in the mid-Atlantic in the early fall.

PS: The car I plan to take to the CATL (announcement coming soon, now that Volo is over; that'll be in mid-late September) is Buttercup. I may also bring Regina, conditional on a second driver.
 
Where would "mid-Atlantic" be?

Well, you're at the northern edge...

I am thinking to do a run from DC to the eastern edge of the line demarcating the "Northern" from the "Southern" mid-Atlantic. Specifically, I am thinking of a run from just north of DC to Baltimore (Edit: perhaps with a stop at Fort McHenry) to Havre de Grace in MD (so that folks from PA, NY and NJ can join). The Tidewater Grille is where we would grab a bite. I have eaten there, and the food/location are both great.

What do you think?

@Ripinator @Imperialist67 @Imps Rule @1978 NYB @Analog Kid @Michael McCoy @Samplingman @1968Fever
1656376816531.png
 
Last edited:
What do you think?
That's real doable for us. My step-son and family live in Centreville, MD, and that's about an hour away from Havre de Grace.... and I looked at the menu... mmmm Maryland crab cakes.

The first week in October is our cruise, leaving from NJ on the 2nd, returning on the 9th. If for some reason you decide the 1st or the 9th, that's doable too... Just you'll have to put up with my Ford Edge instead of the Chrysler.
 
Last edited:
Well, you're at the northern edge...

I am thinking to do a run from DC to the eastern edge of the line demarcating the "Northern" from the "Southern" mid-Atlantic. Specifically, I am thinking of a run from just north of DC to Baltimore to Havre de Grace in MD (so that folks from NY and NJ can join). The Tidewater Grille is where we would grab a bite. I have eaten there, and the food/location are both great.

What do you think?
Sounds great…for 2023. I’ll most likely be recovering from my first knee replacement.

2023 is more likely for me and the Chrysler to be on the road.
 
That's real doable for us. My step-son and family live in Centreville, MD, and that's about an hour away from Havre de Grace.... and I looked at the menu... mmmm Maryland crab cakes.

The first week in October is our cruise, leaving from NJ on the 2nd, returning on the 9th. If for some reason you decide the 1st or the 9th, that's doable too... Just you'll have to put up with my Ford Edge instead of the Chrysler.
Crab cakes, you say?

I thoroughly enjoyed pigging out on back meat crab cakes at Cantler’s in Annapolis, about 30 miles from Centreville.

Cantler's Riverside Inn | Where the Watermen Gather
 
Crab cakes, you say?

I thoroughly enjoyed pigging out on back meat crab cakes at Cantler’s in Annapolis, about 30 miles from Centreville.

Cantler's Riverside Inn | Where the Watermen Gather
Cantler's would be great, too, and their steamed crabs are very good (I have not tried their cakes as I like to whack my own). That could be another possibility, but Annapolis is further away from PA/NJ/NY than Havre de Grâce.
 
Last edited:
Cantler's would be great, too, and their steamed crabs are very good (I have not tried their cakes as I like to whack my own). That could be another possibility, but Annapolis is further away from PA/NJ/NY than Havre de Grâce.
If you want to do this, figure out a date and maybe the guys from the northern area can meet for the trip down.
 
An oil change is always a good idea after crossing half a continent (well, all right, driving 1k+ miles in a go from Volo to the East Coast). It is nice to have a friend who offers to help at his Garage Mahal, and afterwards takes you in his superb Navajo for a ride to lunch. Thank you, @Ripinator !

IMG_5558.JPG


While the used oil was draining, I took the opportunity to use Meguiar's Chrome Polish on the bumpers. Looking better for Carlisle!

PS: I know, the exhaust pipes (which look narrower than they are due to the phone cameras lousy optics) are not correct reproductions, but I sure ain't changing them. They sound great at idle / low speed, and on the highway there is neither humming nor droning to speak of. The first owner was a Chrysler dealership mechanic, and it shows -- he knew how to do things right.

IMG_5564.JPG
 
Last edited:
The TNT's original armrest pad bases have lost 95% of their chrome, so they'll be replaced this fall. I just received new chromed bases from ABC Moparts. Excellent service from Bob, the owner: the web site was showing the bases as out of stock, but he fixed that when @saforwardlook and I reached out to him via email and I got the items soon thereafter.

@71Polara383 installed the same item in Medina (my 1971 Monaco) back in April 2019: they fit perfectly, and I have been delighted with the product. Here is a photo, courtesy of @david hill -- as expected, they are in perfect condition.



1661080510689.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Two weeks ago, I discovered in the car the documents proving that this TNT is a one-owner car. They were hiddlen in plain sight.

This 1970 TNT 'vert was delivered on June 26, 1970 to Mr. David Hill (think of the coincidence: a Mr. David Hill in MD was the first owner and sold the car to me, and a Mr. David Hill in IN helped me bring the car back on the road).

The first owner paid $5,031.20 for the car, on the very day when he took delivery from the L. P. Steuart dealership. Mr. Hill had told me, on the day when I bought the car, that the dealership (where he then worked) was at the time when he bought the car the largest Chrysler-Plymouth dealer in the country -- read more about the dealership's demise a few years later in a 1977 WaPo story here and another tale about its co-founder, Leonard P. Steuart, in a WaPo story here.

Here are photos (front and back) of the invoice, the consumer information sheet, and the warranty card. @69CoronetRT will be pleased with the docs.

Note: Mr. Hill does not live at the address shown anymore (or, for that matter, at the address where I bought the car from him), so I have not blanked out the info.

IMG_8603.JPG


IMG_8604.JPG


IMG_8600.JPG


IMG_8601.JPG


IMG_8593.JPG


IMG_8594.JPG
 
Last edited:
Gotta love cool documentation! Nice find.

Thank you. This will likely be my last post about the TNT here, because I sold the car to @Ripinator a couple of weeks ago. He helped me buy it almost two years ago in spring 2021, and had told me that he'd have bought it on the spot if I had not. So I'd promised that if I ever trimmed the fleet, he would get first dibs. Several other members were interested, but a promise is a promise and those members understood when I told them of the impending change of ownership.

I am not going anywhere, though, and can now concentrate on my other C-bodies -- most immediately, my 1970 Polara 'verts. They are all undergoing restoration at the moment, and I hope to have them all three at Volo with @sixpkrt in June.

Here is photo of the TNT with Rip at the helm, right after we did it. The car is in good shape, thanks to @david hill, and is in good hands.

IMG_8629.jpg
 
Firstly, Rip is the perfect custodian for that great car and I'm excited for him. Maybe we'll see it in Carlisle in a few months.

Second, I remember Steuart from long ago because their parts department (I used the Benning Road location) had every "hard part" you could want in stock or would get a specific part for a Dart, Cuda, RR, etc. nearly overnight. I once snapped a shift fork in my 340 Dart and I limped it there in second gear. Sure enough, they had the fork in stock and I had it fixed in time to make class at U of Md the next day.
 
Back
Top