1979 Chrysler 300 Reviews

I love my 79 300. It was the first car I ever bought. It has 79,000 miles. The only thing wrong with it is the body, and as you know its extremely hard to find parts. My only option is to sell it or fabricate it. It is my love, and it still runs with the boys. If you need parts I'm willing to sell them e-mail me at Karmalbologna@aol.com.

I had never heard of the '79 Chrysler 300 until I saw my first one this weekend. Same body as the Cordoba, with a console shift and leather interior, so the sport/luxury was there. What grabbed my interest is that apparently this car came with the same engine that was offered in the Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck, the 360 4-barrel that was touted as the fastest production vehicle for 1979. I hadn't realized that Dodge was still making a V-8 performance sedan in 1979, except for the more well-known Aspen/Volare.

I have a late model production 1979 300, bought it from my brother in 1996, it was featured in Mopar Collectors Guide in Jan of 1998, Expect the Unexpected, 12 second 300. It should go mid ten's this year. It now sports a 505 inch Muscle Motors stroker, a Dynamix (Frank Lupo) 727, and a Dana 60 with 410 gear. This car is full body, not lightened, electric locks and windows, everything is functional except air conditioning (deleted it). Who said the late models were not muscle cars is full of crap.

This car also has a true Shaker hood setup off of a 1970 Cuda. Talk about cool and fast, see ya Stangs, Camaro's and anything else that gets in my way.

Jim.

And don't forget, all Dodge Darts are muscle cars, even those with a Slant 6, because Sox & Martin campaigned a modified hemi Dart at the strip one season. If a hemi dart can run an 8 second quarter mile, then surely my Slant 6 Dart is a muscle car, right?

Actually, the 1979 Cordoba-based 300 probably represents the low point in the decline of this model, which began in 1962 when Chrysler started selling a non-letter 300 which was nothing more than a fancied-up Newport.

By 1979, Chrysler was having a hard time moving the overweight and underperforming Cordoba in the last year of its original design, so figured that reviving the 300 nameplate and adding some red and blue pinstripes, fake fender vents, along with an engine-turned dash applique might sell a few more cars. They could hardly call it a performance car with only 195 hp.

It remains to be seen whether the 2005 300C will herald a return to the respect this model commanded when it first appeared in 1955...