Rare Chrysler 300D Once Owned by Gary Goers
- Thread starter saforwardlook
- Start date
Yes, there were 5 available colors for the 300 letter series in 1957 at least but it was possible to order any 999 special order color too. The factory available colors in 1957 were Cloud White, Gauguin Red (kind of an orange shade of red), Parade Green, Copper Brown and Jet Black. I believe those colors were carried over in the 1958 models but I am not sure all of them were. The 999 code was used for any non-factory color so the 999 code does not allow the club to know how many of that particular blue were made. It is only through the information obtained when a person joins the club what color their car is when a 999 code appears on their code plate and then we have to hope the member knows the original color from some part of the car with the original paint still on it. No one in the club has said they have ever seen another one to date in that blue however.
He definitely is as all of us club members would be the first to know if anything happened. He is an icon in the club and very few of the restored Forward Look (and other early models) would have been restored without his immense help. He worked tirelessly in making interiors and other parts available no where else until QQE took over his business and upgraded some of the molds and other aspects of the reproductions using more advanced modern equipment.
When Gary had his shop in Southern California before moving to Montana a long time ago, he took the time to teach me how to do body work on my 1957 300C. He was really a fanatic about getting things done well, and I appreciated that a lot and learned so much from him.
And was the dual quad intake optional or standard on the 300?
It was standard.
Electronic Fuel Injection was an option in 1958 as Chrysler's first attempt at such a system but all were recalled due to unreliable operation.
Per Blixt is Jay Leno's chief paint/body guy and he owns a 1958 300D that originally was equipped with EFI. His car does look very much like the original system in 1958 but he uses modern Bosch EFI system components to make his perform well. There were 21 built in 1958 and those cars had a special 300 D emblem on each rear quarter:
This video explains Per's car in more detail and Jay is driving it with Per in the passenger front seat.
Per says in the video that the HP of the 392 Hemi was in the upper 200s but the standard 300D Hemi was rated at 375 and the FI engine rated at 380.
Those cars drive really well, handle excellent and ride smooth and quiet (Per's mufflers are not stock, but louder at least under cruise conditions than mine, which has stock mufflers).
Electronic Fuel Injection was an option in 1958 as Chrysler's first attempt at such a system but all were recalled due to unreliable operation.
Per Blixt is Jay Leno's chief paint/body guy and he owns a 1958 300D that originally was equipped with EFI. His car does look very much like the original system in 1958 but he uses modern Bosch EFI system components to make his perform well. There were 21 built in 1958 and those cars had a special 300 D emblem on each rear quarter:
This video explains Per's car in more detail and Jay is driving it with Per in the passenger front seat.
Per says in the video that the HP of the 392 Hemi was in the upper 200s but the standard 300D Hemi was rated at 375 and the FI engine rated at 380.
Those cars drive really well, handle excellent and ride smooth and quiet (Per's mufflers are not stock, but louder at least under cruise conditions than mine, which has stock mufflers).
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BillHickman
New Member
Great car in GREAT color
does anybody know if "Air Force Blue" is available on other/later mopars as well ?
does anybody know if "Air Force Blue" is available on other/later mopars as well ?
QQE
Member
I will call Gary tomorrow and fill you in on the details. He is doing well.
Dave
Dave
BillHickman
New Member
Any news about this particular 300D and any news from Gary?
57fury440
Well-Known Member
It's hard to believe that it was sold for $64,000. I would have thought at least $100,000.
If you look closely at all the photos, there are a number of areas where someone ran out of will to really restore the car to top notch or the money ran low.............................unfortunate but expensive to rectify and what else is not really well-done would nag at a potential bidder too.
When I restored mine about 30 years ago now, I didn't take such liberties and wanted everything to be like new as best I could achieve it even though I was pretty much a newbie when I did it. Gary Goers helped me with it and inspired me as well to do it right. He is just a great human being - always willing to help. Mine still looks like new today since it is well taken care of and cherished.
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57fury440
Well-Known Member
I saw the dash pad around the push buttons does not fit perfectly and the black part of the door handles has some pits. What else? Is there enough to make it sell at that price.
Does the car have hood letters or not? If not, (probable) then look at the photo showing hood letters and you will likely see why. All Chrysler vehicles I have ever see have covers to shield the torque converter from road debris, water, etc. - this one does not. The chrome is exceptional on much of the car but why is at least one of the tail light housings pretty poor by comparison since it is showing pits? There are many more issues if you take the time to look closely and have some familiarity with these cars.
These items alone make me wonder who dropped the ball and would make me devalue the car.........plus the more minor ones you pointed out and a lot more if you take the time.........................
73Coupe
Senior Member
That auction page has photos of two cars, or maybe the same car in the "before" condition.
One car has turquoise paint, and the other a gray-blue (air force blue I guess). Note the turquoise car has hood letters, and the blue car no letters.
What's up with that?
One car has turquoise paint, and the other a gray-blue (air force blue I guess). Note the turquoise car has hood letters, and the blue car no letters.
What's up with that?
All I can say with some certainty is that 300D models should have the CHRYSLER hood letters and this example does not have them, which to me is a fault. I assumed the photos showing the hood letters were the car before restoration/repaint. Since the letters were in poor condition, the "restorers" just left them off assuming no one would notice. So I guess the color of this example may not be one that Chrysler itself actually produced although I do like it much better than the original one. I should also point out that the poor left tail lamp housing is likely the "before" photo as well as the missing driver door weatherstrip end piece and the messed up carpet in the driver footwell area. Whoever did the photos mixed things up it seems to me.
I just believe the missing hood letters and the missing torque converter cover alone would prevent me from paying top dollar because I would wonder what other sloppy decisions were made that I can't see at first glance. That is also one reason that I tend to shy away from buying restored cars since most restorers don't really know what is correct and that is why I prefer to restore them myself. Then I know what has been done and with no shortcuts as much as possible.
Hardtop letter cars almost never cross 100k, unless there is something incredibly unique about them, french 4 speed as example. Rare colors allow you to get the top of the market generally, but not much past that. The D, although more limited in production, just doesn't fetch the big money most times.
The FI cars from 58 are cool, around half a dozen around currently. Per did a fantastic job getting his running.
The FI cars from 58 are cool, around half a dozen around currently. Per did a fantastic job getting his running.
BillHickman
New Member
And I wish I have one of those....Parade Green C or Aztec Turquoise D
My understanding of this is IF the color was standard for that year model run on other cars that year it could be "special ordered" under a 999 paint code such as my 300F was.
Polar Blue, code "DD" was a common New Yorker color for '60
Found this under the back seat carpet. Lucky it was under the seat and not on the floor board section in front of the seat.
Only F known so far that is documented this way.
It was folded twice and you can see where it touched the undercoating on the edge that was facing down.
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