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This Chrysler 300F's Six-Decade-Long Wait for a Hollywood Role Ended on YouTube

Showbusiness is a cruel world that devours the unlucky, the unfavored, and the misfortunate and makes sweethearts out of complete no-names. It puts the spotlight on few and leaves the vast masses of stardom aspirers in the darkness of oblivion.
1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible 33 photos
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible push-button gear selector1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible AstraDome (Lights Off)1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Panelescent Lights On1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Dimming Miror1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Cross-Ram Air Induction1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Cross-Ram Air Induction1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Cross-Ram Air Induction
We are, of course, talking about cars that take a shot at silver-screen immortality. Like their walking, talking, and acting counterparts, some draw the lucky number and become poster-worthy icons. Others fall under a thick shroud of dust, neglect, and forgetfulness and never get a chance to look into the lens of a camera through the guillotine of a clapperboard.

One such failed actor with a Detroit heart is this disliked-by-the-muses Chrysler 300F that Lou Costabile, the classic car YouTubing hunter, features in this short video. Bought new in 1960 by some Hollywood producers solely to star in various takes in movies, the car fell on the wrong side of the cast list and never shone its chrome to the cameras.

The third-generation Chrysler 300 model sat for 28 years in a garage, with other movie props, patiently waiting for its turn to star in a Hollywood production. Years went by, and the role never came. What came was a new owner in 1988 – a man who wanted to enjoy the famous automobile.

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
Fortunes were against his desire, and the 300F – the pride of Detroit (and America) in the early 60s – fell under three more decades of forever-postponed car life. But all good things come to those who wait – and this Chrysler is an Olympic-class champion at waiting. One enthusiast decided the car deserved better and bought it.

Randy Guyer is a collector of Mopars, and this Chrysler 300F is one of the crown jewels. The Minneapolis man owns two of these magnificent automobiles (and a swarm of other Chryslers from that era).

His 300F, however, is unique not only because it sat hidden for so many years. The automobile received a body-off-frame restoration and became the superstar it was meant to be six decades ago. Since the car resided in California for most of its life (and away from the elements), the renovation took less than expected – just two years.

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
The car kept its Toreador Red color and the interior – a beautiful beige hue. However, this Chrysler has something the factory didn't offer back in 1960. A beige convertible top, color-keyed to the interior leather upholstery shade. The standard options were either a black or white canvas roof.

The 300F stood different: a unibody construction, a Cross-Ram intake manifold, and a powerful engine bolted under that unusual-looking pipeline bundle hanging over the cylinder banks. Interestingly, Chrysler had dropped the FirePower HEMI in 1959 to make way for the ram-tuned "Golden Lion" Wedge powerplant.

The engine presented a novelty at the time – its air inlet section, the so-called "cross-ram." This clever engineering gimmick added shock-wave-tuning to the torque-an-power equation. The long tubes protruding well beyond the V8 Wedge extremities certainly drew attention.

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Cross\-Ram Air Induction
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
Not only because it had the looks, with its pair of four-barrel downdraft carburetors feeding fuel into the eight individual 30-inch tubes (76 cm). The Wedge V8 also sent 375 hp (380 ps) to the rear wheels and 495 lb-ft (671 Nm) of wheel-spinning torque, thanks to the ingenious geometry of the air-pressure-regulating tubes.

That made the Chrysler 300F a sportscar-level performing automobile with an enticing luxury appeal. However, the price tag accompanying that adrenaline booster was anything but tantalizing: $5,841 (in 1960 money). Use the same-year Corvette base price as a yardstick - $3,872 – and here's one reason why Chevrolet rolled out over eight times more 'Vettes than Chrysler's 300Fs that year.

1,217 stylish Mopars went out, and just 248 were soft tops. One of those quickly vanished from the roads and stayed in protected storage, waiting for the blockbusting movie role that never came. The big screen chance might be long gone, but the car made it to the screens in 2023. Granted, we don't get to spend a few bucks on tickets, popcorn, and soda to watch it - just play the video and enjoy.

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
The classy classic looks ready to attend the academy awards ceremony and take home the gold statue for the best original score, costume, actor in a leading role, and screenplay. Its V8 music is an orchestra of Mopar excellence. The dashboard instruments would be the perfect opening shot for a fantastic space-age-inspired story.

The 300F was expensive, but it was armored in cool. The three-dimensional central cluster – the AstraDome – came at an engineering expense (which turned into another "wow" feature. The bulbous arrangement under the steering wheel left no room for the column-installed gear selector or the turning lights lever.

Chrysler went for the push-button-operated gearbox on the far left of the dash and a slide-selector for the indicators under the automatic transmission controls. Four knobs adorned the column under the dome, which operated the rear windows, map and dome lights, and the antenna. It certainly looked distinctive in broad daylight, but it was in the dark that the 300F would glow.

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Panelescent Lights On
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
All the controls and indicators are backlit, thanks to the electroluminescent illumination marketed as "Panelescent" by Chrysler. The dome light knob adjusts the light intensity for the driver's comfort. Because that's what the car was about, first and foremost - the driver (the Mirro-Matic self-dimming dash-mounted mirror silently nods in approval of this statement).

Sure, the passengers had their fair share of spoils riding sitting back in the bucket seats – front and rear, with central armrests and a console dividing the car lengthwise. The front seats swivel outwards – for ease of access, but we should call it a "make-an-entrance" feature to keep the red-carpet parlance.

Also, the front seats are power-adjustable – but only the driver has the buttons. And both seats move together according to the driver's preference, as Randy Guyer demonstrates. Luxury was a nice compliment to the mechanical excellence of the 300F, a two-ton, 18-foot-long (5.6 meters) two-door automobile capable of reaching 128 mph (206 kph).

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
The Chrysler 300F was to be a comfortable cruiser with accurate handling, high-end performance, and owner status-quo advocate. Never to top the sales charts, it paved the way for a short-lived trend that set America apart from anything and anyone else in the automotive universe: the muscle car.

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About the author: Razvan Calin
Razvan Calin profile photo

After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads.
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