1961 Chrysler 300G Parked for 50 Years Is a Rare Gem With a Mysterious Feature

A two-door hardtop related to the New Yorker, the C-300 hit showroom floors with a 331-cubic-inch (5.4-liter) FirePower V8 rated at 300 horsepower. It was Chrysler's most powerful engine and the C-300 itself was actually offered to customers for NASCAR homologation purposes. In short, it has bragging rights to the muscle car crown.

The C-300 was a one-year-only offering but it morphed into a series that remained in production until 1965. Known as the 300 "letter series," it spawned 11 different models, one of each model year, split into three distinct generations.

The C-300 was followed by the 300B and the series ended in 1965 with the 300L (Chrysler did not offer a 300I, opting to jump from H to J).

Come 2022 and the 300 "letter series" is one of the most iconic automobiles wearing the Chrysler emblem. And while the C-300 is the more desirable version as the car that started it all, the 300B and 300C are also highly sought-after. But some "letter series" cars are rarer than others, especially the drop-top versions.

The 1961 300G, for instance, is quite hard to find in convertible guise. That's because even though Chrysler built 1,671 300Gs, only 337 of them were ordered with a retractable top. And many 300 "letter series" enthusiasts agree that fewer than half of them have survived to see 2022. And that's exactly what makes this derelict drop-top an important find.

How did a rare and valuable car end up like this? Well, these Chryslers weren't exactly valuable back in the 1970s, when this specific car was parked in a horse barn in Oklahoma. Retired from public roads for unknown reasons, the 300G was last tagged in 1973 and remained in storage until 2021.

That's when the seller bought it from the original owner and moved it to a shop with plans to restore it. Yup, this thing spent a whopping 48 years in a barn.

Unfortunately, the current owner no longer wants to work on it so the Chrysler needs a new home. It also needs a lot of love and attention to become road-worthy again because it's in pretty bad shape.

Granted, the body isn't all that rusty for a vehicle that sat for almost 50 years, but it's missing plenty of parts and the interior is ruined, while the floors are rusty.

It still has the original 413-cubic-inch (6.8-liter) cross-ram V8 though, which was good for 375 horsepower and capable of pushing the heavy convertible beyond 140 mph (225 kph) when new. And interestingly enough, it's finished in a shade of blue that wasn't part of the four-color palette available in 1961.

So it could be a special-order 300G, which might make it a one-of-one. But that's difficult to prove without a build sheet. Do you have time for some detective work?

Another interesting thing about this sale is that the 300G comes with no fewer than four parts cars. According to the seller, they include "pretty much all the metal needed to restore the body correctly."

The list includes a 1960 Chrysler Windsor, a 1961 DeSoto, a 1962 Newport, and a 1962 300 Sport (yup, Chrysler also sold a non-letter series 300 from 1962 to 1971).

The five-car bundle is being auctioned off by eBay seller "steves_musclecar_parts" as we speak, with bidding starting from $15,000.

That's a bit steep for a derelict car that needs a big bag of cash to become road-worthy again, but 300G drop-tops are known to fetch more than $120,000 in Concours-ready condition. Good deal or a hard pass?