The “fuselage” Chrysler of 1969 is, if I may say so, a “love-it-or-hate-it” bodystyle, meaning that if you want a big collectible Chrysler from the 1960s, the sweet spot seems to be 1965 to 1968. That means that this 1968 Chrysler 300 Convertible, which is being auctioned on Bring a Trailer in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the last stop for those who never warmed up to the fuselage cars. That’s not a bad place to be.
In 1968, Chrysler was still trading on the “300” name’s sporting past, evoking images of rallies, the beaches of Daytona, and even the “Utah Salt Flats” in its sales materials. They did their level best in bringing those images to life with a standard 350-horsepower 440 big-block, shown here (the hotter “TNT” 440 with dual exhausts, spicier camshaft, and dual-snorkel air cleaner was an option). The oil change sticker on the inner fender and the current odometer reading of 79,385 seem to indicate that the car is possibly on its first orbit around the odometer, as does the car’s overall used-but-not-abused vibrations. The master cylinder tells us that this car has power four-wheel-drum brakes, so get ready to realign your foot to a touchy braking experience.
You may have noticed the air-conditioning compressor atop the 440; it evidently works well, but it is almost certainly a dealer add-on.
That’s because a factory air-conditioned car would have in-dash discharge vents instead of the underdash unit seen above. The 300 still came standard with bucket seats, as any good full-size sportster should have, and the blue upholstery, carpeting, and accessories are the obvious choice when paired with Chrysler’s beautiful Sky Blue Metallic (the paint on this car was apparently applied “approximately 30 years ago”).
The 1967/8 Chrysler had this cool but funky “peaked” dashboard that vaguely resembled the car’s front bumper, just another quirky Chrysler touch that makes it stand out just a bit. And why not have the speedometer needle descend from the top of the cluster rather than the bottom? And radio knobs? Why not rotate them 90 degrees and turn them into thumbwheels? I love Chrysler’s willingness to try little things to stand apart.
For you audiophiles, it looks like someone’s added an aftermarket 8-track player to the left of the steering column; honestly, my knees hurt a little just looking at all the bric-a-brac hanging down beneath the dashboard.
But there’s no need to trash talk the door panels, which are cleanly designed but handsome, and this one has power windows, a nice touch in the convertible when you want to put the top down.
Most CC readers know that Chryslers were build on a unibody platform, meaning that finding a solid one is that much more essential. Luckily, this 300, even though it comes from Pennsylvania, looks virtually rust free; it was obviously well-loved from new.
Based on the fender tag, the 300 came with a black convertible top, which is displayed in some of the pictures in the Bring a Trailer ad. It looks great.
But perhaps the greatest view is the tail, with that chic silver taillight panel and even-more-chic round backup lights. This is my favorite part of the car, but it’s not hard to like the whole thing, even if you weren’t turned off by the 1969 Chrysler. It’s certainly a treat for those who feel that the mid-sixties were Chrysler’s finest hour.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1968 Chrysler Newport – My Fountain Of Youth (by JP Cavanaugh)
COAL: 1968 Chrysler Newport Custom – Chapter 19, One More Drink From The Well (by JP Cavanaugh)
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: 1968 Chrysler New Yorker – The End Of Rectilinearity, For Now (by Paul N)
My uncle had a ’68 300 4 door. Even a die-hard GM guy like me (I was 11 years old) loved that thing. Classy and classic.
What a gorgeous car. But its hard to argue against a ’70 Sport Fury GT too. Ive always liked the fuselage cars probably equally as much as I like these but the 65-68s just have a classier look and the 69-73s look more like musclecars.
Those cars need bigger tires to fill up those wheelwells though. Id have to put Magnum 500 road wheels on that 300.
I actually kind of like the fuselage cars, especially the 1970-71 Sport Fury in its various guises. All-in-all, I’m more of a 1965 guy, but this ’68 is a beauty.
I thought that was one of my old cars for a second but mine had a black interior.
As a lover of the Fuselage cars, i struggle to appreciate their predecessors, but this is a good looking car, definitely helped by being a convertible.
PS: In the comments of the auction A/C is indicated as working.
Thanks! I’ll update the text.
This. I loved my 68 Newport Custom sedan, but deep in my heart, I would have preferred this. By a lot.
The rear end is nice, but I have always found that front end styling unbeatable. Only Chrysler would tool up a separate hood with the sharp prow shared with no other model. The die-cast grille with hidden headlights make this one of Chrysler’s best ever front ends.
I have warmed to fuselage cars a lot over the years, but they cannot equal the quality feel of the body and interior that these cars had.
I thought the effort and expense of the unique 1968 front end was wasted, especially since the fuselage 300 kept the hidden headlights but lost the pointy nose.
With that said, a clever feature for the 1968 Chryslers that I did like was incorporating the new for that year side marker lights into the front bumper.
Beautiful condition, but these blocky over-square concave sided behind the times ’67/68s (especially compared to GM) were exactly why I much prefer the more sophisticated fuselage designs, by far, and I’ve owned numerous examples of both.
Imagine driving, with the top down, around your block, now filled with black, white and grey SUVs. Most people today would not know that there once were cars like this.
Now if only the 300 could combine the 66 front end with the 68 rear end treatment.