For a couple years in the mid 1960s, it was somewhat fashionable to drive home in a car painted in a particularly alluring shade of light purple. In the case of this beautiful 1966 Chrysler 300 Convertible, the shade was appropriately named Lilac, and the car itself is for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Kearney, Nebraska, with a reasonable asking price of $16,000. Would you be willing to drive a purple collector car?
I would drive it all day long, as I’ve long been drawn to these lavenders, lilacs, and the Evening Orchid paint on this 1965 Corvair Corsa Convertible. My personal 1965 Corvair is painted Mist Blue, but even though that is one of my favorite paint colors, I might be tempted to trade for a car that looks so vibrant. The trend didn’t last long, most likely because a lot of people wouldn’t be caught dead driving a purple car, regardless of how attractive the color was.
Coming up short in finding a breakdown of Chrysler’s 1966 colors in terms of sales, I can tell you that only 9,280 of 235,528 1965 Corvairs were painted Evening Orchid, making it one of the less popular colors of the year (according to CORSA, the prominent Corvair club).
But that just means that you are unlikely to find another car that matches your Chrysler should you decide to buy this 300. The “Letter Series” 300 was canceled for 1966, leaving the base 300 to carry the torch for fans of Chryslers with bucket seats, which were standard. Under the hood, the 300 buyer bypassed the 383 two-barrel for a 325-horsepower 383 four-barrel; the optional TorqueFlite, which this and most 300s had, came with a standard 3.23:1 axle ratio as a nice compromise between gutsiness and quiet cruising. The 365-horsepower “TNT” 440 was optional for the first time in 1966, but I don’t think this car has it.
The Marketplace ad simply says that the person who posted it is “selling for a friend,” and there’s no other information aside from the car’s being a 1966 Chrysler 300 Convertible. I can’t see the 440’s raised pad under the intake manifold above the water pump (but I might be missing it in this picture), so I’ll assume that this is a modified 383. It has an aluminum intake manifold at the very least, and it might even have aluminum heads; it’s definitely worth a message to the seller to see. Aside from an aluminum radiator, everything else looks stock and solid.
Most of the images of 1966 300 Convertibles I’ve found have all-vinyl upholstery, but cloth-and-vinyl (seen here) and leather were optional. I’d say this car’s been reupholstered, not a bad thing for a sixty-year-old car. The console with its forward-mounted vacuum gauge was an option on the 300, and this car also has the optional electric windows (I hope they work!).
Anyone else intrigued by the 1961 Sunliner in the garage?
The 300’s neat semicircular instrument cluster was carried over for 1966, and aside from an old aftermarket radio and a need for a general detailing, the interior looks fine.
Ah, if only I had an airplane hangar to store old cars; this 221.9-inch Chrysler is too long for my garage, but the 1965-66 models have long been my favorite Chryslers of the 1960s. The uncommon Lilac paint just makes me want this 300 that much more.
Related Reading
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1966 Chrysler 300, 440 TNT – Powerful, Effortless Cruiser (by Rich Baron)
CC Outtake: 1966 Chrysler 300 Coupe – Faded Glory (by Paul N)
I LOVE this car.. but lack of AC is a deal breaker.
Power windows are nice, and surprisingly easy to fix, but no clock??? That’s just weird.
I feel like GM offered a similar purplish/pinkish grey on Cadillacs in the mid 90s. You could also get that color on a 93-96ish Camaro of all things.
Anyways I do like the 60s “square” Chryslers, not as much as mid 60s full size Chevies or Pontiacs though. Thats the thing with MOPAR, I can usually think of 2 or 3 different GM cars from the 60s I find more appealing
I love this car .
I don’t like driving / feeding big cars but if I did I’d be giving this one a hard look at the price .
-Nate
Everyone seems to remember the Evening Orchid 65 Chevys, but nobody remembers these! I might not have ordered the color in 1966 (I am a dedicated Turbine Bronze guy on these) but I would rock this original color all day long now.
As much as I like this Lilac, Turbine Bronze is THE color on 1966 Chrysler products (in my opinion). I also like Ford’s Emberglo and Chevy’s Aztec Bronze.
In 1958, Oldsmobile had a somewhat similar color called “Mountain Haze Iridescent”. On this Ninety-Eight hardtop, it is striking. I think this shade looks better on the Oldsmobile than the lilac on the Chrysler. No way would I turn this Olds down!
I really like the color of the Olds, but the car itself 😬
My ’57 Chevy was India Ivory over Dusk Pearl, very similar color as Mountain Haze.
Oooofff – looks like manual brakes and steering – what would this car weigh and how effective would they be – I would have figured this luxo-barge would have power everything!
Did somebody say ’66 Chrysler convertible?
I can appreciate a band called Lacquer, but didn’t Chrysler use enamel? 🙂
Liked the car inside and out till I got to the engine compartment. Single pot can be dealt with as well as manual brakes aren’t that bad. No power steering. Ugh, at low speed they are a pain. Then there are the mods to the engine which don’t pass muster with me. His price is probably right but I am a purist in the end.
I didn’t notice the lack of a power steering pump. Yikes, that’s an option you’d want on one of these for sure, but my ’53 Buick isn’t so bad without it, so it’s doable.
Agreed. Without P/S, it’s probably not THAT bad, just SLOW.
This car is a beauty. It wears its color very well and the dash looks great. BOP. Pffft. I’ll take one of these.
My ’97 Town and Country minivan was a similar color and that was one of the things that attracted me to it. I once saw a ’56 Cadillac in a similar Lilac color, it looked great!
Loved that Lacquer video – especially the quick push into the shop for a repair to the ignition switch!
Awesome!
Per the video: I couldn’t even begin to think of leaving it top down, parked overnight so casually! Yes, I know it’s a convertible
(easy access for thievery) but still! 🙂
A big issue (for me, anyway) on these upscale convertibles is the plastic rear window. Unzipping and zipping those things is a colossal PIA, especially when rain begins falling.
I like big butts and I cannot lie!