[FWDLK]

["Ken Fermoyle" <kfermoyle@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi, all...
Chris Whalen has just added my Driver's Report on the original Chrylser
300. Written in January, 1955, just 10 days or so after I joined Motor
Life, it was the first report on the 300 to appear in a car magazine, as
I recall. 

It was a great car, especially for that time. I loved it, as
you'll be able to tell from the article. You have to remember that this
was an era when "boulevard ride" was the norm, particularly in
high-priced models. Handling was awful when you pushed them: excessive
body roll, a lot of oversteer, nosedive in fast stops, etc. Cadillacs
were the worst. 

The 300 was, bar none, the best factory-stock car for fast, over-the-road
travel at the time. The 53-54 Mexican Road Race Lincolns were at least
comparable, but only after Clay Smith (best crew chief/mechanic of his
era, IMHO) passed his magic hand over them. Incidentally, those Mexican
Race Lincolns used all stock parts, but Smith went through many bins of
parts, using Prussian blue to find heads, manifolds etc. that best fitted
individual blocks. And many "stock" suspension were produced in
such limited quantities, especially for the race cars, that they were
stock in name only. (I was at Ford's Research & Engineering Center
from '52-'55 and kept tabs on that kind of stuff.) In effect, the Lincoln
engines were balanced & blueprinted. Pistons were selected carefully
to ensure they all weighed the same, etc.

You'll find the 300 article at:
 
http://home.earthlink.net/~rapilje/

Click on Chrysler, then 1955.

Ken