Vehicle Description
pVehicle to be offered for Auction sale June 2nd - 4th, 2017 at
Russo and Steele\'s 5th Annual Newport Beach, California Auction.
Please contact us for more information./p\r\npWhile the Chrysler
300 is widely recognized as one of America\'s first true postwar
muscle cars, it was also a highly refined full-size
high-performance automobile with abundant luxury features and a
commanding presence to match. Powered by Chrysler\'s 331 cubic inch
Hemi V-8 engine delivering 300 bhp, the C-300 carried the substance
to back up its image, as the most powerful American production car
made available to the public since the mighty Duesenberg Model SJ
of the 1930s. Racing success was immediate, with the C-300 winning
18 NASCAR-sanctioned stock-car races during 1955. At the
world-famous Daytona Beach speed contests that year, Tim Flock\'s
C-300 set a new record on the flying mile and he went on to take
the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Championship with a C-300, securing
the car\'s formidable and enduring performance image. Utilizing the
information gained from Briggs Cunningham\'s Chrysler-powered Le
Mans racing program, the C-300 engine featured a full-race cam,
higher compression ratio, adjustable rocker shafts, solid valve
lifters, and dual four-barrel carburetors gulping air through a
special bat wing air cleaner assembly. Other C-300 features
included highly developed, heavy-duty suspension with a lowered
ride height, an improved Powerflite automatic transmission, and a
3.541 performance rear axle. Writing in his incomparably colorful
style, pioneering American road tester Tom McCahill tested the
C-300 when new and described it as ...a magnificent piece of
semi-competition equipment not meant for the faint of heart.
Continuing, McCahill stated Here is the most powerful sedan in the
world, and the fastest, teamed up with rock-crushing suspension and
a competition engine. Chrysler produced just 1,725 top-of-the-line
C-300s in all for 1955 and today, the Chrysler Letter Car Club
estimates just an approximate 10 per cent of them remain. The
Chrysler C-300 gave rise to the legendary Chrysler 300 Letter
Series cars to follow though the next 10 years, ending with the
300L of 1965. The first postwar production car to produce 300
horsepower, the C-300 took the automotive world by storm when new
and its influence remains profound today. Striking in its Tango Red
exterior finish, this 1955 Chrysler C-300 is exemplary in both its
condition and drivability. The legendary 331 cid, dual-quad Hemi
V-8 engine is mated to a Powerflite automatic transmission and fuel
delivery to the hungry Hemi V-8 is assisted by the welcome addition
of an electric fuel pump. An unqualified legend by any standard,
this 1955 Chrysler C-300 is historic and an essential part of the
finest collections of significant automobiles, regardless of era./p
