9th Oct 2007, 20:38
Mustangs are more common then fat chicks at the old country buffet. There were just over 5000 300's made in '79 and maybe 3 outta 4 of those left today. I see that many mustangs on my drive to work. Guarantee that putting the amount of money anybody pays for a new v8 mustang into my 360 motor I would be beating stock porsches. This car is amazing.
18th Oct 2007, 19:26
My uncle had one of these and recently died, leaving my aunt with several things to get rid of including this car. It's a 39,000 mile 2 owner example in N. Indiana. She's looking to sell. If you want the real deal contact me. albudracr@yahoo.com.
14th Mar 2008, 07:27
You know these cars look really great with a low wing spoiler something like the ones they used to put on the Mustang Mach 1 and the Cougar Eliminator around 1970. I've seen pics of a couple done up like that on-line. It has to be low to look good but it is a nice addition, especially if your trunk lid is no gem to begin with...
18th Apr 2008, 16:14
I currently have two 79 300's. One is very rusty from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it is for parts. The other came out of St. Louis, and it is a factory moon roof car in pretty decent shape. I have two others, and sold them to very satisfied owners who were going to restore them and show them. These are rare cars, and you never see one on the road, maybe at a Mopar Show.
Now, as to power, they only had a 360 cu. in. engine, with 4 barrel and duals, and they were smogged down. Some people think the only 300 is a big block Mopar. In 1979, the most powerful engine in the Chrysler line-up was the 360 High Performance engine. It was used in the police cars and the Little Red Express pickup. 1978 was the last year for the 440, and it had a rating (horsepower) of about the same as this little 360. All the engines went down to 8 to 1 compression by that time, plus the smog equipment. The white-only color, the smallish G-60 tires, the mag wheels with some trim on them, and the pinstripe and some fake 'gills' on the side, and the white trim on the bumpers distinguished it from ersatz Cordobas, but, it had that classic cross-hatch grille assembly. The 78/79 cars got the dumb quad stacked headlights, and that did not help matters. The 75 to 77 models had a classic look from the front, and I sure wish they would have held over some parts for this special car.
The engine was what they called the 'premium' model, and it did have a few goodies, but the real news was the 727 tranny with a high-shift governor and some stout pieces. The suspension was pure 'cop car' pieces, all the way around, as was the 'firm feel' power steering. So, yes, it was special in a lot of ways. My car will get a 440, it will get the 3;21 one-legger 9 1/4 changed out for a 3:90 sure-grip, three inch exhaust, nice-rumpy cam, TTI headers, Performer Air Gap and a 750 or a dual quad setup just for nostalgia's sake. THEN, I think I'll have a 300.
These cars are coming up on 30 years old, and you get asked all the time what the car is, as most people have never seen one, or have completely forgotten them. There are lots of collectible cars out there, to be sure, but few are as rare and have been largely overlooked. I stopped thinking about top speed fantasies a long time ago, so the 3:90 rear gear should make it really launch and burn the Hell out of tires. For top speed bench racing, I also own a 1967 XK-E, and most folks HAVE heard of them.
8th Jul 2008, 23:29
In Saint Louie there is a Chrysler 300 with the stock engine 360 4 barrel engine, but worked over, along with the tranny and rear. About 2 years ago it was driven 1 hour to the track, tires changed, tuned and ran a 10.01 second quarter consistently. It won the open class then was driven home. The owners track car was down and he choose to run his special worked 300. It was the talk of the town at the time.
Machinists say the 1979 heads are amongst the best to work over, when larger valves replace the stock they can be ported out very nicely. Dropping the stall in the converter is a must. Replacing the carb. with a new old stock off the little red express truck keeps it stock enough, but adds a nice surprise, when combined with the direct connection replacement distributor package & cam, lifters/springs.
Letting go on the lean burn system rates high. Headers help, but with the stock 3.23 ish? posie rear hurts your launch off the line and low end. Unless you cam it up and tweak away with some other goodies.
Weight wise, lose the donut tire, driving with a 1/3 tank of gas also reduces weight. Mustangs need a full tank to help them from braking loose, as well as heavier bigger rear tires.
My 1971 Mustang is suppose to weigh around 3000; in my dreams, it actually weighs more like 3400. With the Detroit locker 3.91 rear, it still needs huge back tires to grab off the line. The smaller front tires help to offset, but unless it is quarter mile, I prefer my 300.
Also sounds too simple, but taking the belt off the AC except for summer helps. As does a flex fan, and electric water pump if you do not mind a little extra noise. Carter makes a HP mechanical fuel pump that helped the new combo and did not cost much.
Dual snorkel and cold ram air from the outside helps the real usable HP up at little cost.
Had a 1969 TNT 300 back in the day, spent a fortune, but it passed most everything except a gas station. It weighed around 3950 stock, the fiberglass hood and trunk I got off a 1969 300 helped the weight some. As did losing all the AC equipment. Too bad 1979 did not have a fiber glass hood and trunk package. Oh well.
16th Jul 2008, 13:32
My 1979 Chrysler 300 featured in the Jan 98 edition of Mopar Collectors Guide (Expect the Unexpected) was a 60 over 440, aluminum heads, large Ultra Dyne cam, a worked over 727, with a 3500 stall convertor, and 410s in a 8 3/4 and a 6 pak. It ran a best of 11.88 at 119 mph. This was 4200 lb car with a 680 hp motor.
9th Sep 2007, 21:12
You can try the standard stuff: aluminum intake, Holley 600 (don't over-carburetor -- everybody always wants to put a 750 double pumper on their engine and they flood the crap out of it -- a street engine doesn't need that much gas) or 650 cfm 4-barrel (or perhaps the Edelbrock 4-barrel), take off the smog stuff, install headers, install the Mopar Performance/Direct Connection distributor/electronic ignition control module kit. After that, you can look for a pair of 1972 360 heads with larger valves, such as they used on the '72 340, with no smog ports.
Although these are big cars, I once built a 360 like the one described for a '75 Charger Daytona, and it was a pretty mean car.