reply re: recognized cars

[John Hertog <crossram@xxxx>]

Hi Joe, 

Heck, I'll stick my neck out and respond, since nobody else has done so yet. Means others more intelligent than me, probably. 

With regards to your statement:
"From a broader perspective, it certainly seems to me that the Club has a kind of unspoken heierarchy, that being :
Real 300's are the '55 to '58 models cuz they had hemi engines or
Real 300's are the '55 to '61 models cuz the series 300 had not happened yet or
Real 300's are the '55 to '65 letter models and the Hurst model but not the rest or ... "

Well, you're certainly correct about the latter. Our Club, indeed is " a group of enthusiasts committed to the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of Chrysler 300 Letter Series automobiles, 1955-1965 and the 1970 300 Hurst. " ( this taken from the Club's pamphlet and Web site ) . These are the vehicles we recognize, and no others. 
This is not meant to be a "snub" to other 300's and their owners, but these cars, from the '62 300 Sport on, are NOT within the scope of our Club, and have never been meant to be. 

Now, we do have quite a few owners of non-lettered 300's within our ranks. Some have Letter cars as well. Some don't. These non-lettered cars are not eligible for concours or trophies at our meets. But I do believe that many of their owners choose to pay their dues and remain in the Club because they do get something out of membership - be it technical help, parts information, or just the camaraderie experienced at our meets. 

You also say:

Personally, I have had (since 1974) a '63 Pace Car convertible, which the Club does not officially recognize as even being a '300.' I find all this rather silly. 
That is not quite true. We ( the Club ) do not recognize the 63 300 and all other similar cars BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WHAT OUR CLUB IS ALL ABOUT . We certainly do not say that your '63 Pace Car is not a 300 !

Unfortunately for owners of non-lettered 300's, be they 62 300 Sport models even those with the 300H package, or '63 Pace Cars, or 79 300's for that matter, there is no Club specifically addressing their needs and wants. Those cars are recognised by the Chrysler 300 Club Inc. as well as Letter Series 300's, so maybe you should consider joining this organisation as well. Quite a few of us are dual members, and each Club has something different to offer to its members. Also, some of us belong to WPC and NCPC and other Clubs. 

Finally, please consider this: The Letter Series 300's are all Milestone Cars, and for a good reason - small production numbers, exclusive high priced multi-carbureted cars for the most part. Total production of the 55 thru 65 equals 14,268 units. That's for all ELEVEN years of production ( and not counting the 486 Hursts ) 

Now look at the production numbers for the non lettered 300's:
1962 = 25455 !
1963 = 24665 !
1964 = 25318 !
1965 = 27678 !
1966 = 49597 !
1967 = 21888 !
1968 = 34621 !
1969 = 32472 !
1970 = 21007 !
1971 = 13939 !
( and I don't have figures for the 1979 300 ) 
That's a total of 276,640 cars . They might be nice cars, but they are certainly not as exclusive as the Letter Series 300's. 

John 







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