[Chrysler300] Re:Factory/Dealer fitted Electric fuel pump on 300C

[christopher beilby <thelastbestgenius@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Anyone bored already by this topic, please just use delete button, as this is pretty long, and relates to just one 300C, and a bit of early 300C days events.
 
 
 
Now I don't want to get involved, nor involve this website, in a 'who said what did/ever/never happened' re early year 300s, however in light of recent certain claimed 'certainities?!', I ask the lenancy of quoting the original owner/purchasors own handwritten history of his (early years) ownership/use of what is commonly referred to as the Flying Mile 300C ?! - this written/dated Dec26 - early 80s.
 
word exact "We had trouble getting Chrysler to build it with no power steering and installing the supercharger. All the final work was completed at Bachus Chrysler shop. .... They drilled the jets and installed fuel pumps...... Jo and his wife and me and my wife drove the car to Daytona. What a great ride, we were all excited."
 
And in the three pages, amongst other things such as he and his brother had raced cars and bikes from early 50s, attending Daytona 1956 they learned of a 'non factory entrant, fastest speed, sponsored prize money major category', decided they were going to enter 1957, using of course a 300, but that they then had trouble trying to find a nearby Dealer to get involved. After getting the car, he mentions from the very first, they had trouble getting enough fuel into engine, this a reason for additional electric pumps and drilling out the jets, and how they took car there despite knowing it was not right.  They mention they had calculated after attending 1956 Daytona, and already owning a '55 300, that they would need supercharging to boost the factory 375 hp to 535hp to run over 140 mph - quote "we ordered car without power steering ..... calculations were that the car would run over 140 mph.
 
Numerous magazines tell the sand at Daytona was so bad, loose, that for example, Chev's special race Corvette SR-2 Bill Mitcheel special, that was touted as 180 mph runner, only managed a flying mile time of 152.87.  And Chrysler's 300Cs (production, not the different class fuel injection car that did not run) were given official time of 134.13 - this slower than smaller cube 1956 300B.  (Part of this slower time is also attributed by Roger Huntington post Daytona review, to the loss of the Kiekhafer cars, the money and professionalism he bought to any car he entered.)
 
Anyhow back to the 'Flying Mile 300C', and the handwritten blurb - first run into a headwind, way too lean, the car still managed just under 140 mph, second run opposite way, motor seized at timed 147 mph at beginning of flying mile.  Blurb mentions how racer Briggs Cunningham who was at Daytona offered to take car and motor and set it up properly - Cunningham claimed (motor -) "hemi was producing over 550 horsepower".
 
If that was the case, this was near 100 horsepower more than any other car at Daytona - more than the Ford Thunderbird Lincoln engine racers, and more than Wally Parkes "Hot Rod" sponsored Chrysler engined Plymouth Coupe that in last week altered form ran 160 odd mph.
 
But likely just as Kiekhafer figured as he watched Daytona 57 - it was going to take mega horsepower to run any stock body non streamlined 300C over 150-160 mph, due to it's new jutted forward styling over the earlier 300s. So just as Kiekhafer never ran his 300Cs, so to seemingly (cetainly) never did the Flying Mile 300C ever run again at Daytona, instead ran at surrounding States Drags after Cunningham returned the car - with mention in last para  that despite "never losing a race" .... "I think the car has never had the engine apart" And this is truly where supercharging a hemi was soon to become 'the must have' - a supercharged hemi is still king of the quarter mile, now 50 years after the Flying Mile car started competing eastern States Drag strips.
 
So all this overlong above paras brings us back to where the truth/fact lies in he says/who says, etc -  seeming mystery remains if people wish to claim 'no 300Cs ever were fitted with electric pumps by either Factory or Dealer' - part of why some may believe this could be related to Chrysler late 1957, and the class this car was intended for at 57 Daytona - namely 'non Factory' entry. 
I do not know how true Chrysler's product quality problems were late 57 - much has been written how bad they were.  So if they were bad, and Chrysler involved, very busy, trying to fix this, a couple of car racers wanting to do all the hard slog, brainwork and final assembly, and enter in their name - great for an already too busy Chrysler??!! - nothing to do or risk for Chrysler!! - then who knows what Chrysler may have done quietly late Dec 1956 - slipped it out some side door - especially if it had to be a non factory entry ??!!
 
Enough conjecture on my part, especially as I currently have no idea if or what Chrysler may have done re this 300C beyond it is seemingly one of very few, if only, 300C auto with no power steering, plus maybe they also put in Factory seat Belts, and could have also fitted 'non 300' fixed drive fan and even the welded up steel supercharger mount bracket?!
 
But putting these aside, the owner's history is quite clear re other things - such as the complete supercharger installation with electric fuel pumps was completed at the Dealer's - and allowing it was only just over couple of weeks between build date of car, and date of category running at Dartona - that seems prettuy obvious.  And Gil Cunningham has confirmed the car was indeed delivered to the Dealer, plus it still today has only the second ever known special RO spec blower - somebody somewhere sure had clout/influence to get a blower as rare as this for this 300C?
 
This ends all I will take up this site with, until I make my trip to US this year, and can then maybe prove or disprove exactly what is what/true, conjecture?
The sad part of most 300s being now over 50 years old, once the original owner/purchasor is gone, it only takes one uncaring subsequent owner to trash/withold/keep any irrefutable papers/items, and then proving what /when becomes tricky/harder ?! I am lucky for the original letters and correspondence that I did get, but wish there was more that I am sure was either trashed or kept by earlier owner.
 
 And what do they say about history?! - either it is bunk, or is the saying we are the poorer without it ?!Christopher in Oz - gave my first 300C a quick polish - and a quick quiz/fianal thought? - why are tailifins on a 300C good?! because not only can you drive 3 miles, through 4 roundabouts, 3 sets of lights, one sharp left turn -  but then because your car stands out, from car behind you at lights, you see in mirror a guy gets out, picks something up from fin/trunklid edge, and passses it though open windows with a "somebody left soime keys on the back of your car"  It was my house and shed keys !!!  Thank you Mr Exner !!
 
Anybody got a 'why fins on 300s are good' story that beats that one ?! ( but it was lucky I let my 300s warm up before hitting throttle hard, and I have front torsion bars cranked diown a bit - now I've polished it they would come off first corner I think ) 


To: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; wgraefen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx: rstewart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx: Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:24:10 -0500Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Re:Factory/Dealer fitted Electric fuel pump on 300C




happy new year every body, my c300 has a electric fuel pump installed by the origanal owner who was the service director at the dealership were purchased in ohio by him. i question the pump , his reply it needs it, work great after all these years. the c3300 ----- Original MessagFrom: Wayne Graefen To: Intl 300 Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2007 8:19 AMSubject: [Chrysler300] Re:Factory/Dealer fitted Electric fuel pump on 300CI know a heckuva lot about '57 300Cs, a little bit about Fs and comparatively nothing about all the rest. But I'm willing to stick my neck out 1cm and state:NO 300 ever came with an electric fuel pump from the factory and NONE ever had one fitted brand new at the dealer nor was there any factory unfinished business of starting an installation that was completed at the dealer. One exception of course is the fuel injected Ds where that is a mandatory part of the EFI system and it was an in-tank pump with access through the trunk floor.Wayne Graefen[Non-text portions of this message have been removed][Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 






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