Full-size ‘70s American cars are a real pain to own in Tokyo. Well over half of the streets here are too narrow for them, fuel costs are way higher, some parking garages are impossible to use, parts are hard to come by… So if you’re going to go ahead and get one, you might as well go for the rarest and most outrageously styled high-performance one of the bunch.
Cards on the table here: I had no idea Chrysler had attempted one last high-performance 300 so late in the game. I knew about the legendary letter series cars of 1955-65, but not about this Hurst model. A sizable gap in my knowledge, I think you’ll agree. Thankfully, CC’s Jason Shafer wrote the definitive post on this wonderful machine, so I will only briefly touch upon this car’s historical background and technical details.
It’s interesting that Chrysler picked the number 300 for their high-end series. It originally meant something tangible: the 1955 Chrysler 300 did have that amount of horses under its hood from its 5.4 litre hemi. That was already ancient history by 1956 with the 300 B, when said hemi grew to 5.8 litre and 355hp. Output hovered around the 360-380hp mark for most of the Letter-series 300’s tenure from 1958 onward, courtesy of the “Golden Lion” 413ci (6.8 litre) V8. But, just like Mercedes sticking to their iconic 300 nameplate, Chrysler kept theirs intact.
Well, sort of. Chrysler could not leave that magic number to its high-performance two-doors. They spread the 300 number on their mid-range cars, replacing the Saratoga (and the DeSoto range) from MY 1962. So the 300’s image was a tad muddled. Chrysler still thought it was a good idea to do a sort of “last hurrah” for the Letter-series in 1970, five years after said series was cancelled. Those revivials rarely go well for TV series, and it also proved quite challenging in the automotive field.
The 300 Hurst started appearing at selected Chrysler dealerships in February 1970, apparently as a total surprise for said dealers. It seems both Chrysler and Hurst thought the other party would advertise these specials, but neither actually did so. Oops.
The only colour available for the 300 Hurst was this cream and bronze two-tone combo – rather fetching, especially that sweep running from the top of the C-pillar all the way to the front end. The car was basically a fully-optioned Chrysler coupe with the 375hp 440ci (7.2 litre) “TNT” V8. Despite being well-known for their aftermarket floor shifters, Hurst’s involvement was limited to manufacturing and fitting a couple of pieces of fiberglass on the Chrylser’s trunk lid and hood, as well as rotary latches on the latter’s front.
This discreet Hurstification is coolest at the back. That spoiler probably provides zero downforce, but it sure looks great. And I normally hate spoilers. Especially at the end.
So if there’s no Hurst shifter in there, what else can we find of interest? Just the classic 1970 Chrysler dash, coloured in a pleasant shade of light brown. This particular car has the three-spoke wheel with the horn ring – at this point, a bit of a throwback, but a far more handsome item than the alternative.
The leather-upholstered bucket seats were lifted straight out of the Imperial, but they’re starting to show their age a bit. Not sure what happened to the driver’s seat, but it went albino.
The rear upholstery, as is often the case in two-door cars, is far better preserved, giving us a glimpse of what the interior would have looked like 55 years ago. Very tasteful, really – the last gasp of the pre-Brougham era, interior-wise.
Chrysler only managed to sell about 500 of these (some say 485) before calling it quits; plans for a 1971 model were scrapped early on, when they would have realized that the market for a full-size luxury muscle car was ridiculously small, unlike the car itself.
There are at least a couple of these extremely rare Chryslers in Japan, as far as I can tell. This one was featured in a local enthusiast publication, back before the 30-year-old owner made the highly debatable decision to switch to rally wheels and low-profile tyres. Millennials, eh.
Still, the wheels are only somewhat disturbing when viewing the car in profile. The Fuselage body’s overwhelming bulk, the surprisingly understated and judiciously executed two-tone paintwork and that massive electric razor grille surrounded by its thick chrome loop all conspire to draw the eye elsewhere. There are wheels one this thing? Oh yes, it’s a car. I almost forgot.
As a car, this 300-H is pretty pointless. The buying public of 1970 certainly thought so too, no matter who should have advertised it. But that is precisely what makes this two-tonne two-tone tin-top so alluring: it never should have been made. Chrysler did not need it, Hurst were busy enough making shifters and working with Oldsmobile and AMC to keep afloat without a land yacht in their shop, so in theory, good business sense should have killed it at the planning stage. Yet it exists, quirky fiberglass spoiler and all, to add a belated fuselage-shaped footnote to the Chrysler 300 saga.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst – A Spicy Cocktail Created By George And Walter, With Help From Linda, by Jason Shafer
Vintage Review: 1970 Chrysler 300H – Road Test Magazine Reviews A Very Rare Chrysler, by GN
I’m surprised this car hasn’t been shod with 22 inch wheels yet.
Disgusting.
Don’t give ‘them’ any ideas, lol!
I always wonder about the original buyer and their demographic.
With the Hippie Movement having disintegrated into the “Freak”, who kept the drugs but lost the philosophy.
Gay was still illegal but Stonewall had happened.
Nixxon was proving himself a liar as Vietnam had expanded.
He had not yet taken us off the Gold Standard and the monumental fake Energy Crises were still a dream of the insane drug soaked “intelligentsia”.
Who would have thought having this car would improve their life?
The paint scheme works better than that on the ’70-’72 Hurst Grand Prix, which had the first fake landau half roof that I know of, but the normal GP is a better looking car by far.
These made absolutely no sense, but they are truly a sight to behold.
Thanks for the shoutout – researching about these cars was some of the most fun research ever.
I would appreciate this car much more if the owner had chopped off the roof and mounted a gigantic prop shifter on the trunk lid…instead of replacing the wheels.
What’s going on with the piece of cardboard in the driver’s foot well?
It’s an economical friendly upcycled artisan biodegradable designer floor covering .
Posting is being a bit weird today.
Also a bit weird is the rough condition of that front valance and especially the beaver panel, as compared to the rest of it.
It’s an eco friendly upcycled artisan biodegradable designer floor covering .
I used these floor mats religiously in the pre Weathertech days. So much better than either factory or aftermarket mats that allowed dirty work shoes to touch the carpet on the hump and door sills. They wore out fast but could be found almost anywhere for free!
The 300 H convertibles used by the Hurstettes were factory ragtops, then converted by Hurst. 1970 was the last year for B and C body convertibles. 1971 was the last year for E body convertibles (Challenger and Barracuda). 1969 was the end for A body convertibles (Dart and Barracuda).
CC Effect; I saw a fuselage Chrysler 300 on Interstate 5 in Oregon last week. It wasn’t a Hurst, but in a bright though faded orange, it – or at least its massive decklid – certainly stood out in the sea of semi’s, pickups and crossovers almost as much as this one on the streets of Tokyo. And it had normal 1970’s sized wheels and tires.
Can’t believe this upscale Chrysler doesn’t even have a clock. The blank plate on the dash looks quite cheesy.
I think it’s there, but the hands are black so difficult to see.
I have become a much bigger fan of the fuselage Chryslers in recent years than I ever was when they were commonly available, for a bunch of reasons. And this would now be one of my top picks if I were to actually go out looking for one. I have never noticed the unique contours of that spoiler before!
That driver’s seat is interesting, and my uninformed guess is that somebody set out to replace cracked/torn upholstery on the drivers seat but could not get a suitable match, so went with a contrasting color or material. Whether the job was only meant to be temporary or whether it was something else, I agree that the result is not optimal.
We should add that this was not the only performance/sport version of a big car in this time period. The Mercury Marauder X-100 and the final Buick Wildcats were still playing in this disappearing league as late as 1970.
A Fury III with 318 was a daily driver for 5 years in the ’80s. Out of the many cars we’ve had it was in our top 3 for actual family and regular long-distance commuter use. With virtually never an issue (well, except 1 ballast resistor that luckily died right on our street), it was just an all around great car which presented minimal hassles, only the rust finally got to it. In total we had 6 fuselage Mopars over the years, every one was a pleasure to own and drive. The sole Chrysler was a T&C 440 wagon, which sure did get lousy gas mileage, but otherwise was fabulous.
Fuselage Mopars: highly recommended!
The Marauder X-100 and Wildcat were gone after 1970.
1971 was the final year for the 300 (and its cheaper, downmarket cousin, the Plymouth Sport Fury GT).
But at least Buick stayed in the full-size, luxury musclecar game for a few more years with the Wildcat’s replacement, the 1971-73 Centurion. Unfortunately, by the Centurion’s final year, the base engine was down to a 350 (although the 455 was still available).
And then, a scant 18 years after the category was created by the 1955 Chrysler C300, there were none.
Wasnt Chevy still doing the Impala SS in 1970??? I know in earlier years you could get your Impala with bucket seats and 4 speed. And whatever engine option you wanted. A 450 horse Ls6 Impala would be one hell of a fun ride.
As for the Chrysler, I appreciate the weird but pretty paint job. Never could warm up to the fuselage styling. Made an already huge car look even more corpulent and barge like.
1969 was the last year of the SS Impala, but you could get a 390 hp 454 in any fullsize Chevy in 1970.
There is a plastic scale model kit of an SS Impala for 1970 but it was a phantom.
Pretty cool. Someone evidently has a “copious garage”.
Cool car, nice rims, bad rubber…!!! A fellow in my area has a late model 300 painted in this livery which looks great on the final edition 300s… What a land yacht this thing is.
I was in Tokyo five years ago and it was apparent that nearly all of the newest cars were hybrid. I will therefore excuse this example of gluttony which has none of the redeeming features of the early Chrysler 300’s.
Again, another Japanese license plate that’s numbers mean something to the car.
I suppose 3-00 wasn’t available, so they got 4-40.
With so few numbers on the plate, how are so many of these classic car owners getting so lucky?
Nice looking fuselage, but to swap those awesome Dodge road wheels for what looks like a Pontiac road wheel from the era seems like an odd choice.
Those are Magnum 500 style wheels, which are appropriate for Mopars. They’re available in large diameters to fit modern tires.
The usual standard size radial replacement tire for a fusie is 225/75 15.
In a kind of convoluted CC Effect, I had a dream 2 nights ago where I was trying to drive the 1961 Plymouth we had (except because it was dream, it was actually the 1971 Town & Country we also had) and it had a steering wheel with the kind of horn ring that this 300 Hurst has.
As is typical in my dreams – as well as real life – there was something wrong with the wheel and it kept coming apart. So most of my time was spent (in the dream) trying to reattach the horn ring to the ancient and rather complicated plastic wheel.
So I’m not alone in having dreams like yours!
Have either of you had the no steering wheel at all dream? Driving down a steep twisty road trying to steer with the nut at the top of the steering column.
The strange thing is that I think of the 1965-68 Mopar C-bodies to be lithe (for their size) and appealing, and, yes, even sporty, with an inviting, airy interior. Yet the best a big fuselage can be is something like this Hurst (though better in black) – the opposite of lithe, something that is most at home in some back alley somewhere, picking up a mobster.
Please someone : buy one of these and give me a ride in it ! =8-) .
I never liked the ‘fuselage’ cars but this behemoth is begging to be taken out and played with .
-Nate
Wheels look like it is one of those larger than OE sized 15″ “Magnum 500’s”, like 17″ Aftermarkets with lower profile series tires (like 50 series). Stock tires would typically be 225/75r15; and be outfiitted with Chrysler’s Road Wheels w/ Trim Rings.
Always loved that grill!
Back in the early 90’s, the Chrysler dealer in Naperville Illinois had one of these sitting in their showroom for a number of years.
We received free oil changes as part of the deal when purchasing our T&C van, so I was able to keep track of it.
It appeared like new, although the driver’s seat appeared to have be piloted by someone in the 300-pound range.
I do not believe was never moved, or driven from what I remember looking at the ODO.
There was a metal pan under the block, which did collect numerous drippings.
It disappeared about 2002 or so.
BTW, the dealership took a hit on these oil changes as the T&C lasted 11 years.
I bought a 300 Hurst in Calgary back in 1991 for $5,800 which was it’s cost brand new from the Edmonton dealer in 1970. The condition of the car was exceptional, even for being 21 years old. It was bone stock with the exception of radial tires, so when I saw the photo of the wheels on this one I knew something was off. The Chrysler wheels were gorgeous and to see these magnums on there is such a downgrade but to each their own. My car had the bucket seats with the center console and shifter combination along with most options. Fast forward a few years and I was tipped off about another one hiding in a garage just a few miles from me so I had to check it out. It was an Arizona car imported here that had been left outside in the sun most of it’s life and it ‘burnt’ much of the dash and part of the interior as a result but until that day I didn’t know that a factory sunroof was even an option. Turns out it was but the price tag for the car didn’t make sense to me considering the overall condition so I let it pass but it was very cool to see another one of these rare cars so close to home
I have had a Chrysler 300 Hurst for 22 years. I live in Rhode island, USA.. Every time I take it out , I make new friends. I’ve won many trophies with this car. There’s just nothing like it..
My dad worked for Chrysler Plymouth when I was a kid in the 60’s and 70’s. He would typically get a new car to drive about every 6 weeks and then they would be sold as demonstrators at a reduced price. I still remember the day he brought one of these home. I thought it was the second coolest car ever. I was also privileged enough to get a ride in the Chrysler turbine car. The coolness of the 300H was only exceeded by the 1970 Superbird with the pistol grip four speed that he used to take me to school in the sixth grade! Yes we were a Mopar family.
I’ve seen one of these at a car show here in the Twin Cities & also a Hurst Grand Prix.
I can’t believe the owner couldn’t find the upholstery to match from S&M in Portland, Oregon or the place in Michigan. Looks like a caribou hide. Lol! Oh, isn’t this car in Japan? OK.
That cardboard mat is awful. My Weathertech idea for my 2009 Lucerne daily driver is a piece of ribbed floor runner from Lowes. <$10 and I tucked it under the sill plate and behind the kick panel. Weathertech leaves that area open and the lip of the mat catches your shoes & knocks the slush off onto your carpet. $180 no thanks.