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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
 
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Hi guys , does anyone know any History on this Rust Free 58 Chrysler 300D Coupe which is in Tahitian Coral . Its apparently one of 50 with Air Con and has been sitting in Texas since 1966 and has not been driven ? Its done 37,000 Miles .
I am thinking of buying it . Here are a few pics .
Thanks in Advance .
Edited by The Adventurer 2014-11-21 9:36 PM
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Location: Under the X in Texas | I think I accidentally deleted that email prior to answering. Is this the car that was up in the Panhandle, like 75 miles SE of Amarillo or some such? Sorry my bad.
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | I am not sure Wayne ? Its been in Australia for 4-5 years I believe ? |
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Expert
Posts: 1886
| Cost wise, given your location, would you be better off just buying a car farther along? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Layton, Utah | I don't get it, were fins out by the mid 60s to where people just parked their cars good ? |
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Location: Parts Unknown | With the exception of the tri-five Chevys, most people considered being "stuck" with a finned car
to be a total embarrassment after 1962, and these cars were largely junked or parked on a scale
never before seen. Think about it, .... when we go out looking for cars, do we see 25 bathtub cars
for every fin car still "sitting around" ? I do. There is a reason for that. They were visually "loud",
flamboyant, and to a retrenching public fashion taste, obnoxious and embarrassing.
It is a shame. A lot of really nice cars were destroyed just because they were out of style. 
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | @ Mike I probably would be better of cost wise , but it would be a keeper so it would just have to cost what it costs I suppose . I particularly only like this colour in 58s , so there isn't much choice , and I am not keen to buy cars from the US any more after being burnt quite a few times (as I know you have also ) . This car is local to me and I would also rather a car that no one has ever touched either , and this one I was hoping to keep as a survivor , but gingerly refurb mechanically what needs doing while trying to preserve as best I could all the correct hoses , clamps , hardware etc .
So an untouched car would be nice to start with .
Edited by The Adventurer 2014-11-22 1:32 AM
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Location: Under the X in Texas | The Adventurer - 2014-11-21 8:35 PM I am not sure Wayne ? Its been in Australia for 4-5 years I believe ? It appears to be the same car a friend sent me photos of. I never saw it personally. He is into another brand but well aware of my interest in Letters so took and sent them. I don't have them any more. That would be all I know about the car. Location would have been about 450 miles from here. I too like Tahitian Coral ! Good luck. |
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Expert
Posts: 1886
| I totally understand! I come to melbourne every year. If you get it, I expect to see it when I come visit! haha |
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | No sweat mike , you are welcome if I do get it . If not there are 2 x 58 Desotos here and I can take you to a place that has heaps of 57/58/59/60/61 300s and many Rare Forward look cars and more .
By the way Mike if this was for sale in the US what do you think its full retail value would be to a genuine collector who knew its worth . |
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Thanks anyway Wayne , yes Tahitian Coral is a great colour , although I think the colour this car has faded to looks ok also ! |
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Expert
Posts: 1886
| I think any C-D-E-F-G car in complete condition, is going to bring 20k. I'm sure others can chime in. I sold a driver quality 58 300D earlier in the year. It was a closed door paint job. So the hood, trunk and doors were left close. It was painted a non factory pearl white (was originally white). The paint and body were in fantastic shape, as was the chrome. The car drove fine, but was original through the drive line and under hood. The interior had been recovered in a black vinyl, but headliner/door panels were original. I sold this car for 33k. I sold it because I have a coral 58D that is almost completely restored. Just need to bring up a few interior items for it to really stand out. I've seen nice restored (not 100 point cars) sell for as low as 50's to upper 60's depending on the year. I think in that price range you can buy a lot of nicely done cars, especially a C. Experiences vary and you never know when a car will pop for big money. I use the term restored loosely as a true 100 point show piece can go for close to 100 probably. I think that's less than 1% of the cars out there. |
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Expert
Posts: 1886
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Edited by Mike McCandless 2014-11-22 11:17 AM
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Thanks for the honest opinion Mike , that all makes sense and sounds fair . I will see how I go and lucky you to have a restored Coral 58 ! Your cars look awesome ! |
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Expert
Posts: 2524
Location: Houston | Well, I gotta say that while it's appealing to think that finned cars were yesterday's news by the mid 60's and left abandoned, the truth is that things were different back then for all cars.
It was not at all uncommon for a 6-8 year old car to develop problems and be set aside. Today, a 6-8 year old car is still a viable driver. The paint won't be faded, the trans won't be acting up, the carburetor and points won't be getting tired. It's drum brakes won't be getting sticky or grabby. It's AC won't have leaked out all the freon. You get the idea.
I recall in the early 1980's it was very common to hear of someone with a 70 Fury or LTD or Caprice that had been parked and just let to sit. You'd go buy it for $400, pour some gas in the carb, add a battery, and fire it up and drive it home. Faded paint? Yes. Ripped seats? Yes. But a viable car still.
I don't think it had nearly as much to do with fins as perhaps the general 'advanced feel' or a mid 60's car. By 1965 cars were noticeably tighter and had less wind leaks and other issues. Just easier to buy a new car and leave old Bessie out under the shed. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Driving finned cars in the 70's, the scornful, negative comments were constant, and reminded me that
I had heard them my entire life. I had an apartment manager give me a garage space for free. His
comment: "Having that ugly piece of sh!t in the parking lot is making the whole place look like a dump".
This was a NICE turquoise 60 Buick convertible. On another occasion, a date refused to ride in such an
embarrassing car, and insisted we take hers or forget the date. This was typical. From the constant pokes
about the "Batmobile", to being asked to move it because it was "hurting business", ... it was far from
appealing to think this was so, .... it was a constant struggle and a PITA. 
Funny thing was, the acceptable or "good" cars of the time were utter junk. I mean, let's just soak up
the good vibes of what was being offered from 1978 thru 1982 (or even until today). So, on one hand, a
person was taking a load of crap from people all the time for having a non-beater, nice finned car, and on
the hand those same people talking trash would get in their Chevette, 280z, or LTD and think their #@!
didn't stink !
Maybe it was different in other parts of the country, but around Seattle in the 60's, 70's, and well thru
the 80's, finned cars were largely looked at as beaters and those that drive them were low life losers.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 363
| Hey that looks like the one advertised by a Classic Car dealer in Aussie sometime back......Joe's Gasosline Guzzlers or something like that? From memory he wanted a LOT of $'s for it back then 60K+? Looks like a good complete car though, I'd say around 40-45K Aussie would be the money in my opinion.
Owen |
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | No it wasnt't Joes Golden Gasolene , he has been gone for years now . I agree with you on the price .
Edited by The Adventurer 2014-11-23 8:25 AM
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 7400
Location: northern germany | Doctor DeSoto - 2014-11-22 11:17 PM
Funny thing was, the acceptable or "good" cars of the time were utter junk. I mean, let's just soak up
the good vibes of what was being offered from 1978 thru 1982 (or even until today).
how true! the late 70s to 80s cars were the worst cars in automobile history. not just in america. i remember my moms late 70s new vw polo that showed rustholes after only a couple of months! flaking paint everywhere. and i remember the cars that developed serious mechanical problems only a couple of weeks old. including a blown engine and a broken center link due to an inferior casting (i was in the car when it broke) and these were the ugliest cars to boot! too bad at the same time the 1950s finned dreamboats that were mechanically well designed cars were crushed and rusted away in the salvage yards. |
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Rare 1958 Chrysler 300 Any Info ?
