Tag Archives: chrysler

Chrysler C-300

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1955 Chrysler C-300 Hardtop Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

The John Staluppi Collection, also known as the Cars of Dreams Museum, is a very large collection of American cars of the 1950s and 60s (mostly). Well, the whole thing is going under the hammer at no reserve on December 1st. I really like Chrysler 300s and I wanted to feature one – but I couldn’t choose just one because there are a number of them – nine of them to be exact. They are the “Letter Series” cars – every year Chrysler tweaked the design and changed the letter at the end of the “300.”

This was the first of them, the 1955 C-300. Technically, Chrysler built it to dominate NASCAR, which it did, but they had to build road cars too. It uses a 5.4-liter V8 making 300 horsepower, hence the name. Only 1,725 were built. Estimate: $75,000-$100,000. For more info, click here.

Update: Sold $88,000.

The Chrysler 300 Letter Series

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1955-1963 Chrysler 300

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

                                                                                                                                                 

1955 Chrysler C-300 Hardtop Coupe

The John Staluppi Collection, also known as the Cars of Dreams Museum, is a very large collection of American cars of the 1950s and 60s (mostly). Well, the whole thing is going under the hammer at no reserve on December 1st. I really like Chrysler 300s and I wanted to feature one – but I couldn’t choose just one because there are a number of them – nine of them to be exact. So I’m going to show them all to you – in one post. They are the “Letter Series” cars – every year Chrysler tweaked the design and changed the letter at the end of the “300.”

This was the first of them, the 1955 C-300. Technically, Chrysler built it to dominate NASCAR, which it did, but they had to build road cars too. It uses a 5.4-liter V8 making 300 horsepower, hence the name. Only 1,725 were built. Estimate: $75,000-$100,000. For more info, click here.

Update: Sold $88,000.

                                                                                                                                                 

1956 Chrysler 300B Hardtop Coupe

This is my favorite of the 300 Letter Series cars. The look is a little refined from 1955 and power was up – the 5.8-liter V8 making 340 horsepower (or 355, depending on which engine option you chose). It was the most powerful car produced in the U.S. These are even rarer, with only 1,102 built. Estimate: $100,000-$125,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $115,500.

                                                                                                                                                  

1957 Chrysler 300C Convertible Coupe

The 1957 edition of the 300 was the 300C. Offered in convertible form for the first time, Chrysler managed to move 2,402 of them – 1,918 coupes and 484 convertibles. The engine increased in size, to 6.4-liters and it pumped out 375 horsepower, again the most you could get in an American car. Estimate: $150,000-$200,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $154,000.

                                                                                                                                                  

1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible

The 1958 300D was the last of the series to use the FirePower Hemi engine – again at 6.4-liters and tuned to 380 horsepower. A special run of 35 cars were built with fuel injection and 390 horsepower. Production was way down, with only 809 being built – 618 hardtops and 191 convertibles. Estimate: $175,000-$200,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $198,000.

                                                                                                                                                  

1959 Chrysler 300E Convertible Coupe

The 1959 300E was powered by Chrysler’s “Golden Lion” wedge-head V8. It was 6.8-liters in capacity but still made about 380 horsepower. Production sank even further to just 647 cars – 522 coupes and 125 convertibles. Are you watching the styling evolve as you scroll down this post? I am. Estimate: $150,000-$200,000. Check out more on this car here.

Update: Sold $176,000.

                                                                                                                                                  

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible

The 1960 300F again used the 6.8-liter V8. It produced 375 horsepower. A special run of “short ram” cars (15 were built) made 400 horsepower and used the transmission from the Facel-Vega. Production numbers rose for this model, which had a sort of intermediate styling between the 1959 and 1961 models – 1,217 were built, 969 were coupes and 248 were convertibles. Estimate: $175,000-$225,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $170,500.

                                                                                                                                                  

1961 Chrysler 300G Convertible Coupe

I really like the styling here. The front headlights remind me of the cat eye horn-rimmed style eyeglasses of the period. The engine was a carryover from 1960 and production increased again to 1,617. Of these, 1,280 were coupes and only 337 were convertibles. There was also another run of “short ram” cars making 400 horsepower. Estimate: $140,000-$180,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $137,500.

                                                                                                                                                  

1962 Chrysler 300H Convertible Coupe

The front-end styling remained almost the same, but the fins disappeared for 1962. This was also the first year for the non-letter series Chrysler 300 (that is just “300” without a letter and referred to as the “Sport Series”, which was available with two or four doors). Styling differences between the two separate 300 models were non-existent. It was under hood where the difference lay. Power on the 6.8-liter V8 was back up to 380 and there were a few cars sold with a high-output 405 horsepower option. Production dropped significantly now that there was a cheaper alternative that looked the same. Only 570 were built, 435 coupes and 135 convertibles. Estimate: $60,000-$80,000. More info can be had here.

Update: Sold $74,250.

                                                                                                                                                  

1963 Chrysler 300 Sport Series Convertible Coupe

Well this the last 300 offered from the Staluppi Collection and it is not a Letter Series car – although the Letter Series continued in 1963 with the “J”, 1964’s “K”, 1965’s “L”, the 1970 Hurst 300 and the 1979 300. The 1963 300J was not available in convertible form. But the 1963 Sport Series was. It was also available as a 4-door hardtop, sedan and 2-door hardtop. The Sport Series convertible still used a 6.8-liter V8 but it only put out 305 horsepower. Production was much higher – 1,535 300 Sport Series Convertibles were built  in 1963 while only 400 300Js were built in total. Needless to say, if you want to pick up most of the run of 300 Letter Series cars, then this is the sale for you. Estimate: $60,000-$75,000. You can read more here and check out more from RM’s sale of the Cars of Dreams Museum here.

Update: Sold $71,500.

Chrysler 300G

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1961 Chrysler 300G Convertible Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

I really like the styling here. The front headlights remind me of the cat eye horn-rimmed style eyeglasses of the period. The engine was a carryover from 1960 and production increased again to 1,617. Of these, 1,280 were coupes and only 337 were convertibles. There was also another run of “short ram” cars making 400 horsepower. Estimate: $140,000-$180,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $137,500.

Chrysler 300C

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1957 Chrysler 300C Convertible Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

The 1957 edition of the 300 was the 300C. Offered in convertible form for the first time, Chrysler managed to move 2,402 of them – 1,918 coupes and 484 convertibles. The engine increased in size, to 6.4-liters and it pumped out 375 horsepower, again the most you could get in an American car. Estimate: $150,000-$200,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $154,000.

Chrysler 300E

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1959 Chrysler 300E Convertible Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

The 1959 300E was powered by Chrysler’s “Golden Lion” wedge-head V8. It was 6.8-liters in capacity but still made about 380 horsepower. Production sank even further to just 647 cars – 522 coupes and 125 convertibles. Are you watching the styling evolve as you scroll down this post? I am. Estimate: $150,000-$200,000. Check out more on this car here.

Update: Sold $176,000.

October Auction Roundup

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Well there were a number of auctions in October and we’ve recapped only a couple of them. So here are the highlights from some of the others. First, we forgot to include Mecum’s Dallas sale from September in our September roundup. Top sale there went to this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible for $285,000. Complete results from that sale can be found here.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible

From there we move on to Auctions America’s Fall Carlisle sale. Our featured Dodge Phoenix failed to sell. Top sale went to this 1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible for $90,750.

1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible

Another interesting Mopar was this 1960 Dodge Polara 9-Passenger Wagon. I think wagons with tail fins are really weird but really cool looking. This one sold for $42,900.

1960 Dodge Polara 9-Passenger Wagon

But by far, the most interesting car from this sale goes to this 1920 Pan Touring. Pan was only around from 1918 until 1922 and they managed to build only 737 cars. Only a few are still around. It brought $23,100. Complete results from this sale are here.

1920 Pan Touring

French auction house Osenat held a sale during October as well – in Paris. We didn’t get to feature anything from this sale, but this 1982 Matra Murena is kind of interesting. It sold for $4,570.

1982 Matra Murena

Also cool was this 1953 Hotchkiss Gregoire sedan for $29,400.

1953 Hotchkiss Gregoire

The top sale from this auction was this 1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 for $104,500. Complete results can be found here.

1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2

Next up was RM Auctions’ sale of the Charlie Thomas Collection. We featured a 1953 Mercury Monterey Wagon that sold for $44,000. The top sale was a 1946 Chrysler Town & Country Roadster for $143,000.

1946 Chrysler Town & Country Roadster

One car I liked was this 1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Business Coupe with all its chrome and pre-war style. It sold for a modest $21,450.

1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Business Coupe

Another interesting car was this 1925 Star Model F-25 Five-Passenger Sedan. It sold for $19,800. Complete results can be found here.

1925 Star Model F-25 Five-Passenger Sedan

H&H Auctions held a sale in Duxford, England on October 23rd and we weren’t able to feature anything from this sale either. The top sale went to this 1961 Bentley S2 Continental Saloon by H.J. Mulliner. It sold for $310,600.

1961 Bentley S2 Continental H.J. Mulliner Saloon

The second-highest seller was this 1998 Proteus Jaguar C-Type Replica that brought $120,900. Not C-Type money, for sure, but a bargain for something that was factory built and looks quite like the real thing.

1998 Proteus Jaguar C-Type Replica

This awesome 1965 Jensen CV8 Mk II sold for $46,900. Complete results can be found here.

1965 Jensen CV8 MKII

Mecum held a sale in St. Charles, Illinois toward the end of October. We featured a really rare All-Cars Charly that sold for $5,250. The top sale at this auction was actually a 2000 Prevost Country Coach Motorhome – exciting, right? Either way, to comprehend that a 12-year-old bus/RV is still worth $160,000 is pretty crazy. Then again, they’re expensive to begin with.

2000 Prevost Country Coach Motorhome

And from the interesting file from this sale was this 1942 Crosley Victory Sedan Convertible. Crosley was one of very few car companies building passenger cars in 1942. This was one of a handful of Crosleys at this sale and by far the most interesting/rare. It sold for $9,750. Complete results can be found here.

1942 Crosley Victory Sedan Convertible

And finally, H&H’s October 31st sale at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, England. The top sale was this 1955 Lagonda 3-Litre Drophead Coupe for $62,300.

1955 Lagonda 3-Litre Drophead Coupe

The interesting sales portion of this sale more or less consisted of this pretty 1937 Humber 12 Foursome Drophead Coupe. It sold for $23,400. You can find complete results here.

1937 Humber 12 Foursome Drophead Coupe

Auctions America Ft. Lauderdale Highlights

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Auctions America recently offered a boatload of cars at their Ft. Lauderdale, Florida auction (seriously, it felt like it took forever to sift through the results). The top sale was $341,000 for this 1933 Chrysler CL Phaeton. It is one of only 36 built.

The second biggest sale went to a muscle car: a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS LS6 Convertible. It’s one of the best looking muscle cars of the era and it’s equipped with the monster 454cid V8 underrated at 450 horsepower. It sold for $198,000.

And the third biggest sale was a more-or-less brand new (391 miles) 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Off the lot examples are supposed to cost about $190,000. This one sold for $178,200. Basically, they just bought a new car.

We featured a few really interesting cars from this sale including the 1959 Berkeley SE492 Twosome that ended up selling for $16,500. Another featured microcar was the 1957 David Convertible built in Spain. It sold for $25,300. And the final featured microcar was the  tongue-twisting 1952 Kleinschnittger F125 Convertible that brought $44,000. There were two other very rare microcars at this sale that I was supposed to feature on the site but for whatever reason didn’t. First was this 1959 PTV 250 Convertible that brought $20,900.

The other was this street-legal but spartan 1955 Kapi JIP Convertible for $8,500.

Other interesting lots included a 1952 Chevrolet Styleline done up in period-correct taxicab livery. It’s really sharp and sold for $36,300.

There were also some coachbuilt American cars from the 1970s and 1980s that included this 1979 Cadillac Le Cabriolet. It was 1 of 200 built by Hess & Eisenhardt for GM, as GM was still in their “no convertible” days. It looks good and could’ve been yours for $15,400.

The other was a 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado Caliente Convertible converted by the American Sunroof Corporation (ASC), who appear to have built more aftermarket convertibles than most automotive companies did in the 1980s. It sold for $10,175.

While we’re on the subject of Oldsmobiles, allow me to point out this 1984 Hurst/Olds. It isn’t exactly exotic, but I really like it and for $7,040, it’s quite affordable – which is the big draw to auctions like these where you can find yourself a real steal.

The other apparent steal that I would’ve liked to have snatched up was this 2000 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. They were only made from 1998 until 2002 and they cost over $220,000 when new. And now you could’ve bought one for $35,200! That’s 3-Series money! Maintenance nightmare waiting around the corner? Maybe. But it’s a small price to pay for rolling around town feeling like Jay-Z.

The 1999 Shelby Durango we featured sold for $13,750 – which is about as cheap as you’re going to find something with Carroll Shelby’s name on it. The 1912 Clement-Bayard Torpedo we featured was apparently withdrawn from the sale, as it is not listed as either sold or unsold in the auction results. For complete results, check out Auctions America’s website.

Gooding & Co – Amelia Island Highlights

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Gooding & Co’s annual sale in Amelia Island, Florida produced some spectacular results. The inclusion of the Drendel Family Collection of rare Porsches certainly helped things. Ten cars broke the million-dollar mark (including buyer’s premium). Top sale of the auction went to the Porsche 917/30 we featured a few weeks ago, selling for $4,400,000. The second highest-selling car was also a car we featured, the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder. The high-end of that car’s estimate was $2.6 million but it ended up selling for $3,685,000.

After that, two other Porsches, both of these ex-Martini race cars, were the next-highest selling cars. First was a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo 2.14 which sold for $3,2450,000.

Then there was this 1976 Porsche 935/76 which brought $2,530,000.

A few more of our feature cars followed these two awesome 1970s race cars. Next was yet another Porsche in this already Porsche-heavy sale (before you include the Drendel collection). It was the “winningest” Porsche 962 we featured. It sold for $1,925,000. Then, finally, something else: the brilliant blue 1951 Ferrari 212 Inter, which brought $1,375,000. After that was a 1948 Tucker 48 – the second Tucker sold at auction this year, which is kind of strange in itself. It didn’t bring as much as the one at Barrett-Jackson, but it still commanded a respectable $1,320,000.

The Porsche 911 GT1 Evolution race car, which I am still enamored with, sold for $1,265,000. Then another Porsche, a 1967 906E that we actually featured when it was listed with a Bonhams auction back in Scottsdale in January. It didn’t sell at that auction but did sell at Amelia Island at this auction for $1,001,000. The final million dollar car also brought $1,001,000. It was a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider.

The 1911 Rambler Touring Car we featured sold for $275,000, just barely short of its estimate. And the very interesting 1930 Willys-Knight Plaid-Side Roadster brought $220,000, exceeding its estimate by about $40,000.

Although there were a boatload of million dollar sales, there were also some bargains to be had. Among them, the TVR 3000S we featured that was estimated to sell for between $40,000-$50,000. It only ended up selling for $24,200. I recently saw a list somewhere of collectible cars that you should buy now because they are at their lowest price points they are likely to ever see. That TVR was on the list and whoever bought it scored. Another car that was on the list, the first generation Lotus Esprit. And one of those sold at this auction for $20,900.

And one final car, a very interesting 1941 Chrysler Town & Country Barrelback with the beautiful woodwork that is the trademark of the original Town & Country (not the sticker-sided minivans of the 80s). It sold for $286,000 and with the shape it is in (and the unusual bodystyle) I think whoever bought it got a great deal.

In all, the auction sold more $36 million worth of cars with a fairly high sell-through rate. For complete results, click here.

Milhous Collection Results

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RM Auctions’ “recent” sale in Boca Raton, Florida of the eccentric Milhous Collection of cars – and many other assorted expensive things – was a big success, with every lot selling. The auction brought in a total of $38.3 million. Top sale was the 1912 Oldsmobile Limited Five-Passenger Touring we featured a while back. The estimate on the car was $1.4-1.6 million but the car ended up selling for $3,300,000 including fees.

The second-highest sale at the auction was not a car. It was this 1903 Ruth Style 38-B Fair Organ:

It’s gigantic and sold for $1,265,000. Of the top ten sales, six were automobiles and four were organs or orchestrations. All four of these musical pieces sold for over $1 million.

Our other feature cars included the stunning 1913 Alco Six Model H Touring Car that sold for $506,000. The Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible Sedan sold for $990,000. The 1932 Marmon Sixteen brought $552,500. Our other feature car, the one-of-a-kind Rounds Rocket Indy roadster sold for $275,000.

Other highlights were this 1933 Chrysler Custom Imperial Five-Passenger Phaeton.

It’s a former Otis Chandler car with impressive styling and a 135 horsepower. It sold for $1,210,000.

In addition to the Rounds Rocket Indy roadster, there were a few other race cars that sold too. First was this 1949 Snowberger-Offy built by former driver Russ Snowberger and driven by George Lynch who failed to qualify it for both the 1950 and 1951 Indy 500.

It sold for $192,500. There was also a 1962 Lesovsky-Offy (aka the Sarkes Tarzian Special) driven by Elmer George (father of IRL founder Tony George) in the 1962 and 1963 race.

It bettered it’s estimate by about $50,000, selling for $330,000. From a slightly more recent era, this 1984 March 84C Cosworth driven by Teo Fabi – in awesome Skoal Bandit livery – sold for $110,000.

The most “affordable” car sold at this sale, that was not a motorcycle or tractor, was a 1962 Corvette Convertible that sold for $66,000 – it was the only car not to break into the six figures.

The other interesting “vehicle” sold was a 1941 Ryan PT-22 Recruit airplane. These planes were very popular in general aviation after WWII because they could be bought as surplus for a few hundred dollars. There used to be a handful of them based at a local airport back in the late 1940s and 1950s. At least one ended up in a creek (no one was hurt). This example sold for $241,500, slightly higher than what was paid for it after the war.

For complete results, click here.