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1979, and still in High School - I had just read Road & Track magazine's Salon feature on Richard Carpenter's 1958 Chrysler 300-D convertible, and thought it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. I knew that I'd have one someday. I was driving my Roman Red 300-K hardtop (recently purchased from the former wife of a well-known Chrysler 300-C collector in upstate NY--five hardtops and two convertibles at the time, including a coupe with 26,000 original miles-stunning!) through some back roads near my hometown of Lake George, NY, and spotted some white fins out in a field - could it be, yes, a 1958 300-D hardtop! It was rusty, but the hood still opened, though it was creased and weakened by the rust bug. The Hemi heads were off and in the trunk alongside the two four barrel carbs, the intake manifold & pair of football air cleaners, but the engine only had 7
pistons! There was moss growing between the fins and the trunk lid, but the car was all there (except for that piston). Nothing here discouraged a teenage kid with visions on grandeur, of cruising around with 392 cubes of hemi and huge sweeping fins! To borrow from M.L.K. Jr., I had a dream! I could hardly sleep for the next few nights. Even Mom & Dad agreed it was OK for me to drag it home, though niether had actually seen what shape it was in. I went over to the property owner's house, and after a few minutes, he agreed to sell it to me for $75...just $75.... I would pick up the car in 2-3 days, and I would bring over the cash. Done deal, at least as far as I thought. Just for informational purposes, I called up that 300-C collector I referred to previously, and mentioned the car. He said he knew about the car for years and could never buy it from the owner.
Mistake. A few days later, I went over to the car I thought I had made a deal on, and it was gone! That guy with the SEVEN 300-Cs had gone over there the next day and bought the damn car out from under me! Like he needed another one! To this day, I won't forgive that ^&#%^+ for taking away the dreams of a teenage kid, namely, me. I don't think he had a clue what he had done. Ah, live and learn, it was a hard lesson. I guess you never know just who you're talking to. To this day, if I find a car that I'm even remotely interested in, I won't tell a soul. Of course, in 2007, finding a 50s or 60s Chrysler, never mind a Letter Car, is a near impossibility, especially in south Florida, where I am now. I'm sure this story will get back to that 300-C guy in some form - I hope it does. When the
incident happened, I didn't have the cojones to tell him what I thought - maybe he'll suffer a wave of guilt here in 2007 and offer to sell one of his cars to me for a 1979 price - but I'm not holding my breath. I'd even take that rusty 300-D. Then I'd forgive him. It's been almost 30 years since then, but I do finally have my own 300-D, now undergoing restoration. It's in better shape and cost a little more last November than that $75 car in Lake George, NY, but it is mine now, and the reality of cruising around in a finned Hemi car will set in by early next year, when it's back on the road - and I'll be grinning ear-to-ear. John Spiers Lake Worth, Florida
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