1960 Chrysler 300F Special Gran Turismo

[StillOutThere]

This is NOT the car going up at auction in Scottsdale Jan 2010.
This is mine and I've owned it for seventeen years. It is one of the nine 1960 Chrysler 300F Specials that the factory converted to long short rams to deliver 400HP and Pont-a-Mousson 4speed full synchro transmissions. The motors were hand built adding a high lift longer duration camshaft and a pair of beautiful sweeping cast iron headers. 3084S Carters are employed and heat for them is by hot water, not exhaust. The package included a 2.93:1 Sure-Grip differential. This car is a sympathetic restoration maintaining original aspects wherever possible. I have exceeded 130mph on Lester correct bias ply 9.50x14s briefly. Chrysler hit 165mph on their test track with these cars. Six entrants at Daytona Speed Week in 1960 were the fastest production cars ever to run there.

[NicFromLA]

Very, VERY cool. Certainly the M5 of it's time.

Was that spare wheel kit an option or standard.

[henk4]

some additional info on the 1960 300F. It sure is a rare beast. I assume all GT versions, like yours were coupes? (I could put up shots of the convertible as well if somebody is interested).

[Fleet 500]

Very, VERY cool. Certainly the M5 of it's time.

Was that spare wheel kit an option or standard.

I think it was standard but I'm not sure.

I posted here before about one magazine's test 300-F with the optional 400-hp engine and 4-speed transmission. They reported maximum speed in gears of 60 mph in 1st, 90 in 2nd, 120 in 3rd and 160 in fourth.

[Ferrer]

Cool to an arctic degree.

Congrats.

[StillOutThere]

The faux spare tire on the trunk lid was known at Chrysler as the "Flite-Sweep deck lid" and was standard on the 300F and optional for lesser models or could be deleted on the F and just a few were.

Yes, those "speeds in gears" as reported in an article are accurate, I can assure you. Just this past September I had a total of four in the car and once again smoked through first gear on an interstate on-ramp headed to W. Texas and did look down to see that I was shifting out of third at 115 and this was on 93 octane pump gas and yes, my speedo is accurate. The car truly loves to eat highway.

There are four Special GTs extant. Much conjecture about the total number built but I believe there were 9 4speed cars. One was a white convertible and it is one of the 4 existing.

Briggs Cunningham, Carl Kiekhaefer, Andy Granatelli were some of the owners of these cars new. Mine was bought new by Andrew D. Drumm Jr., close friend of Bill Harrah and owner of Silver State Construction Co., Fallon, NV.

Thanks for your compliments folks.

[rhythim]

My dad and myself have been in/out members of both 300 clubs since the 70's. I got the once in a lifetime chance to ride in the 1 white 4-speed convertible in 1985 at the Spring meet of the "eastern club" in Spartanburg, SC. There was a non-related car show in Charlotte the same weekend, and the club members drove their cars the short distance to it. I rode to Charlotte with my dad in our 300K, and dad asked the owner of the F if I could ride back with him that afternoon. I was 13 at the time.

On the way back, Tom (the owner) got challenged on the interstate by a couple guys in a then 2 year old Datsun 280zx Turbo. We were doing around 60mph at the time (55mph speed limits, remember those?), and the Z started moving out. Tom let them get a few car lengths ahead, said "Hang On!", grabbed 3rd gear, dumped the clutch and dropped the hammer.

I swear to God to this day I've never heard as wonderful a noise as what erupted from under that hood. I had 1 eye on the speedo and the other on the Z. We blew by the Z at 110 right as he made the shift to 4th and stabbed the throttle again.

He lifted somewhere around 120 or so...the battle was over before it started, but I wore the biggest grin you've ever seen the rest of the way back.

Tom said later he wished he hadn't driven the car to Charlotte, not realizing it was as far away as it was (the car had less than 13K miles on it and was wearing 25 year old original Goodyear Bluestreaks).

I'll remember that 90 minute ride for the rest of my life, and will tell that story to anyone who will listen.

Last I saw, the car had changed hands and was in a collection in Georgia(iirc?) along with a bunch of other rare convertibles, all with manual transmissions.