Rangefinder

This car is a clean, low mileage original survivor that is in great condition for its age and is ready to daily drive or cruise. It has its share of imperfections, being 44 years old, but overall it is very nice throughout. The original paint code is PP1 "Bright Red", and the car has had one repaint, some years ago. It is an original 383/4bbl car, CM23G VIN, with 325hp and 10:1 compression. It has its original engine and 727 Torqueflite transmission. I believe I am the fifth owner of this car.

Mechanical:
The car is equipped with drum brakes all around, which are in good shape and stop the car well, straight and smooth. Suspension feels good, the car cruises smoothly and effortlessly, with a soft, gentle ride. Steering is dead straight, good alignment and the steering wheel is straight as you go straight down the road. The Continental Contitrac tires are in good shape with a lot of tread left. It rides like you would expect a 4,000 pound classic Chrysler product should. The car is VERY quiet, with a newer replacement muffler installed. You can barely hear it running at idle, and on the road it is as smooth and quiet as any classic I have ever heard. The engine runs beautifully, very smooth and trouble free, with plenty of power as you would expect it to have. The transmission shifts very smoothly and confidently, with the shifts being only barely perceptible. The car is 100% stock all throughout, with the stock points ignition still installed, stock Carter AFB carburetor, etc. I recently installed a new distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs. The engine does not smoke, rattle, knock, ping or diesel or exhibit any other problems at all. It starts up smoothly and has never given me any hint of trouble.

Interior:
Interior is 100% original and in very nice shape, save for a couple tears. It is two tone silver and black. The top left of the driver's seat back has some tearing on the corner, where one would rub against it while getting in and out of it. The passenger seat cushion is also torn at the seam, one prominently and another small tear just starting to form. The back seat is perfect. The carpet exhibits a couple holes in the front floorboard areas, one on the driver side, one on the passenger side. Aside from these holes it is in good shape. The dash is perfect, with no cracks, distortion or other damage. Very rare to find a perfect original dash like this on a 44 year old classic. The car has seat belts front and rear. The headliner is great, save for one tear right on the first seam, which has been repaired. The seam is starting to tear on the ends again, a couple inches per side. There is one more small tear at a seam above the rear seat. Door panels and rear seat side panels are all very nice, with the only imperfections being some arm rest tears on the front doors, mainly on the driver's side door. The original AM radio and single dash speaker still work, as do the heater controls and blower fan. The only problem All dashboard lights and gauges work except for the fuel gauge. The odometer and trip odometer do not work, but the speedometer does, and appears to be accurate. I understand that the odometer not working is a common problem on these. This car has never been smoked in, and has no foul, offensive or other odors of any kind.

Paint/exterior:
The paint is not the original, but it was repainted in the correct color, PP1 "Bright Red". The paint job was not an exceptional job, and I believe it was done over the original paint with a minimum of prep work. There are numerous chips in the paint throughout, but major damage. There is a slight dent above the passenger side fender skirt. There is some rustthrough in the trunk lid itself, but to my knowledge this is the only major rust damage anywhere in the car. The trunk and passenger floor boards are completely solid, with no hint of rust. The rockers and doors are solid, with no rust through. There is some slight bubbling in a couple spots. The paint on the trunklid is thinner than the rest of the paint on the car and has a "blotchy" look to it, but from 15 feet or so it isn't noticable. From 20 feet away the car looks great, but anyone looking to show it should plan on doing some paint work to it at some point soon. The car has its original hubcaps on it, on the original 14" wheels. Most, if not all of the chrome and stainless trim on it is very nice, with a minimum of pitting and corrosion, save for the taillight bezels, which have some noticable pitting. Bumpers are clean, straight and shiny and look great. The car is complete and is not missing any trim or other pieces that I am aware of, save for the "300" emblem on the hood ornament. I actually have the emblem that broke off, but as it is pot metal, it cannot be properly re-attached.

General:
The doors, hood and trunk all line up well and open and shut smoothly. They all close confidently, with a solid clunk as they should. The passenger side door lock cylinder is sticky and sometimes takes a significant amount of finaggling to lock/unlock it, but the driver's side works well. I have two sets of keys, neither being the originals. The driver's side rear quarter window will not roll down - It moves perhaps 1/4" before binding up. Likely needs new plastic rollers for the regulator. The car has crank windows, manual seats, no A/C, power steering, power drum brakes, single speaker AM radio and a remote driver's door mirror. Window weatherstripping is decent for being 44 years old, but it is not perfect. I have not found it to leak into the interior or trunk when I wash it. All glass is good, and the windshield is free of wiper scratches and pitting, making it nice and clear to see through. Most classics I have come across have some noticable wiper scratches and pitting on their windshields, so this one stands out to me as being in exceptionally nice shape.

Overall:
I would consider this a good 20 footer, very presentable to drive as a daily driver, in need of relatively straightforward cosmetic work to be a showable car. It needs nothing mechanically to be a smooth, reliable daily driver. I hate to see this car go, but times are tight and I have another project that I want to finish while I'm still kickin'!

Please feel free to ask me any serious questions you may have. I am available to show the car almost any time. I am in the San Francisco East Bay area. I am willing to ship the car at your expense within the continental US only. The price for the car is $7100 or best serious offer. I am open to a +car trade if you have a running and driving early '70s Pontiac convertible with no major rust issues. Please contact me with a phone number for a quick response, thanks. Email is contact at rangephotography dot com.

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