THE
LAST OF THE BRUTES
By
The
Chrysler 300 L was the eleventh in the series of personal performance
cars produced by Chrysler Corporation. It was also the last one to
earn its letter. The "L" brought an end to the era of big,
powerful personal cars. There were 2,845 300L's produced, 2,405
hardtops and 440 convertibles. In addition to its power train and
performance which will be discussed later, the 300 L featured a brand
new body built on a 124" wheelbase. It was the first Chrysler to
be styled completely by Elwood Engel. Engel had come from Ford, and
in replacing Virgil Exner, adopted the clean, smooth lines which he
used on certain Continentals and other Ford cars. At the time, he was
very fond of the straight through fender line with a ledge at the top
extending in to the side glass. The entire full size Chrysler
Corporation line in 1965, as well as the 1964 Imperial, featured this
styling treatment. It is thought that the general styling concept
came off particularly well in the two door Chrysler body which of
course was used on the "L".
The "L"
was the last of the letters, but coincidentally was more readily
identifiable at a glance from its non-letter brethren than had been
the case with the H, J, and K. The grill featured a running light in
its center and this was surrounded by a red, white, and blue emblem
which was exclusively used on the "L". The horizontal and
vertical crossbars were diecast and had a granular finish with bright
chrome edges. The headlights were uniquely covered by tempered glass
panels; excellent for keeping clean but a problem in the snow. They
did not get warm enough to melt the snow in certain conditions. They
also were a major headache when adjusting the headlights; very
difficult to remove and replace. The side belt moulding on the "L"
had a red painted center which was easily identified. The rear
stainless steel panel featured a tooled circular pattern (sometimes
referred to as damascene) exclusive to the "L" and a
medallion showing the letter. In the opinion of the writer, this
tooled design along with the medallion along with the red tail lights
(vs. the New Yorker's) was the most attractive design of any model
Chrysler that year. On the side of the car, the rear fender name
plates were different on the "L" than on other models and
the lower stainless moulding was the same, finer design used on the
New Yorker instead of the bolder design used on the regular 300
line. Inside, the dashboard of the "L" exclusively used the
same tooled circular pattern as a decorative tough, reminiscent of
many classic-era cars. The Newport used painted surfaces and the New
Yorker featured wood inlays. The console was standard and featured a
polished chrome surface forward of the storage compartment. Another
"L" medallion was affixed to the lid of the compartment.
With standard bucket seats, the passenger's reclined in any of five,
positive locking positions and was ahead of its time in that it
locked in place and had to be released to gain access to the rear
seat. The rear featured simulated buckets with high individual seat
backs. Vinyl upholstery was standard ( six colors offered ) and
optional leather was in red or black. There were eighteen color
choices for the exterior, twelve of which were metallic. Black or
white vinyl roofs were available on the hardtop.
Once
seated behind the wheel in that comfortable bucket seat, one had only
to turn the ignition key to know this was no ordinary car. Despite
its conventional styling and seemingly mild manner, the Brute could
perform. Although not as fast as some of its predecessors, and
depending on the source of the test, the "L" reached 60
within the 8-9 second range. That is in its fully loaded condition
including air conditioning. Quite respectable. The 413 cubic inch
engine had a 4.19" bore and 3.75" stroke and featured a
high lift cam to produce 360 brake Horsepower at 4,800 RPM ( .87
HP/cu. Inch ). Torque was 470 ft/lb at 3,200 RPM. One four barrel was
the only carburetor offered. Compression was 10.1/1 and dual exhausts
were standard. The buyer had the choice, as standard equipment, of
the TorqueFlite automatic or a four-speed manual transmission. With
the TorqueFlite a performance indicator (vacuum gauge) was provided
in the forward end of the console and with the four-speed a
tachometer was supplied instead. TorqueFlite gear ratios were as
follows: reverse 2.20, first 2.45, second 1.45, and third 1.00 and
the four-speed has: reverse 2.58, first 2.66, second 1.92, third
1.39, and fourth 1.00. Both transmissions were activated by a shifter
located at the top of the console. For either transmission the only
rear ratio offered was 3.23.
Chrysler
reduced the spring rate through the years to provide a softer ride,
but with the optional heavy duty suspension and brake package, the
300 L cornered flat and provided positive control and excellent
handling. The special suspension was available only on the "L"
and the regular 300 if it had the code 71 engine, namely the 413 with
the special cam and dual exhausts. This was the standard "L"
engine. Incidentally, with the suspension and brake package the
brakes were not self-adjusting. The regular brakes were.
Little
luxury touches abounded on the "L". The glove compartment
had a built-in receptacle at the top for a regular size box of
tissues such as Kleenex and a recessed map holder in the bottom. When
open, the lid provided a level surface with depressed circular areas
to hold drinking cups. In the center of the dash, another slide out
compartment contained two ash trays, a lighter, and a small inner
compartment. Flipping up the lid of this compartment revealed a
storage area and a coin holder which had slots for four denominations
of coins. Great for parking meters, small tolls, and small tips. The
rear of the console provided another lighter. Courtesy lights were
everywhere from the glove compartment to the fully carpeted trunk.
And that
was the 300 L, a truly high-performance luxury Gran Turisimo
automobile with few equals on any highway.
Gone were
the fins. Gone were the big red, white and blue medallions. Gone were
the cross rams. Gone were the two fours. And then as 1965 production
went riding into the sunset, gone were the "real" 300's.
The end of an era had come -- an exciting era of big, powerful
personal cars, epitomized by the Chrysler Letter 300.
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