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| Hey guys, looked at a local car today. 1955 300c all original. Never worked on car. But stored outside, undercover for twenty plus. Body is completely useless, I mean junk. But drivetrain complete the whole way. All interior too. Hate to see the hot rodders pull the motor and scrap the car. Was wondering if the other 55s could serve as a donor body. Price is way less then parting price. Guy just doesn't want to do that , thank god. Thanks for any help. |
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Expert
Posts: 2002
Location: Branson, MO | Any '55 Chrysler or DeSoto would work. '56 would too but the shift is push button and the electrical is 12 volt. |
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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | Grab it. Good '55-'56 2dr hardtop projects don't sell for very much money so a body swap isn't going to cost a lot. As long as you have all the 300 specific parts, then you will be ready to go. The front sheet metal is also 300 specific, but you can get replacements from an imperial. |
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Location: Lower Mainland BC | Powerflite - 2022-03-22 5:39 PM The front sheet metal is also 300 specific, but you can get replacements from an imperial.
That's what I thought too. *BUT* after checking the parts book, I think that only the very most front stuff is 300 and Imperial Specific. The fenders and hood are NOT Imperial (but the front grill and sheet metal around the grill are).
Windsor fenders apparently work. And the hood is Chrysler or Imperial.
Edited by 56D500boy 2022-03-22 9:16 PM
 (55-56ImperialFrontEnd.jpg)
 (55-56Chrysler300Fenders.jpg)
 (55-56ChryslerAndDesotoHoodPN.jpg)
 (55-56ChryslerImperialAnd300Grills.jpg)
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 55-56ImperialFrontEnd.jpg (104KB - 124 downloads)
55-56Chrysler300Fenders.jpg (155KB - 122 downloads)
55-56ChryslerAndDesotoHoodPN.jpg (136KB - 120 downloads)
55-56ChryslerImperialAnd300Grills.jpg (160KB - 123 downloads)
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Expert
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Location: DFW, TX | What Dave said above is correct. It essentially boils down to the '55/56 300 being a Chrysler Windsor coupe body with an Imperial grille panel.
Fortunately, even a very nice '55 Windsor is not an expensive car, or too hard to find, making a re-body of a rusty C-300 worthwhile. They are also the least rust-prone of all the FL cars. Spend the effort finding one that has a nice body, and have fun! |
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Location: Connecticut | So are you planning to build a 'tribute' car, or will you be swapping the VIN as well (which may be illegal) ? My concern is that after a few new owners, it will end up at Mecum or B-J as an 'original' 300. Ron |
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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | Rebodies happen all the time. As long as you do it well, no one will know or even care. I personally know of a couple of 300D's and 300C's that have been rebodied, and no one cares when I tell them about it. I recommend that you cut the panel around the VIN and weld it into your new body. Do not remove the tag at the spot welds! |
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Location: Connecticut | Well, some don't and some do. IMHO, swapping a VIN is misrepresenting a car. That's why the 300 Club keeps track of these things. If a car is being portrayed as authentic and is sold based on that, the seller will be on the hook if the buyer finds out the truth. Cars have been pulled from major auctions when questions arise as to the vehicle's provenance. https://scambusters.org/vinswitching.html Ron
Edited by ronbo97 2022-03-23 12:34 PM
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Location: So. Cal | Ron, didn't you recently sell a completely stripped '57 Chrysler 2dr body that was sold for that very purpose? Your statement seems hypocritical to me. |
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Location: DFW, TX | What if a car has every removable panel from different cars in a junkyard, plus handmade floors, plus pop-riveted bondoed quarters?
What if the entire car has been restored using Chinese panels from AMD? (not really an option for FL cars, but the question is the same)
Would that car still be legally represented as an original car? Or rebodied?
At 60+ years later, I don't think it matters anymore. |
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Location: Connecticut | Powerflite - 2022-03-23 12:39 PM Ron, didn't you recently sell a completely stripped '57 Chrysler 2dr body that was sold for that very purpose? Your statement seems hypocritical to me. Um, no. I sold a 57 Chrysler NYer to Ted's Tuna Boats (RIP), about five or six years ago. What he did with the car after I sold it to him is not on my watch. If his intention was to build a fake 300C, then that was wrong. If the person he sold it to wanted to do that, then that was wrong as well. Ron |
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Location: Connecticut | 57burb - 2022-03-23 1:19 PM What if a car has every removable panel from different cars in a junkyard, plus handmade floors, plus pop-riveted bondoed quarters? What if the entire car has been restored using Chinese panels from AMD? (not really an option for FL cars, but the question is the same) Would that car still be legally represented as an original car? Or rebodied? At 60+ years later, I don't think it matters anymore. It's how the car is represented that is key. If the car had the VIN plate switched, then that is illegal (see my link earlier). If someone builds a perfect tribute car, but leaves the NYer or Newport VIN intact AND is transparent about this fact, then no problem. But if the person that bought it decides to put it up for auction and presents it as an authentic 300, then that is a problem. That's why the 300 Club keeps track of this stuff. Ron |
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Location: Eastern Iowa |
And that got a certain fellow whose last name begins with G in some very hot water a few years back |
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Location: Newark, Texas (Fort Worth) | https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/d/wolfe-city-55-chrysler-imper...
55 Chrysler imperial
NO TITLE
331 hemi motor, motor doesn't turn over
Auto tranny
Pretty complete car
Been outside for 40 years
Asking $2200.00
Thanks for looking
1955 chrysler imperial
fuel: gas
odometer: 100000
odometer broken
title status: missing
transmission: automatic
55 Chrysler Imperial 4 door - $2,200 (Wolfe city) |
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Posts: 3967
Location: DFW, TX | ronbo97 - 2022-03-23 2:32 PM
If someone builds a perfect tribute car, but leaves the NYer or Newport VIN intact AND is transparent about this fact, then no problem. But if the person that bought it decides to put it up for auction and presents it as an authentic 300, then that is a problem. That's why the 300 Club keeps track of this stuff.
Swapping just the VIN plate = bad
Swapping every rusty piece of sheet metal = good
Where do you draw the line when attempting to fix a rusty, authentic car? Is it okay if you cut out ALL the good sheet metal left, and weld that into a donor body?  Vintage Ferraris are regularly rebuilt. No one blinks an eye that an 8-figure car has been recreated from a few identifiable parts.
What does the 300 Club track? They cannot possibly know the restoration history of every car. In fact, for several reasons, I would bet the letter cars are the most frequently rebodied collector cars that exist.
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New User
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| Thanks for the info. Im gonna pick it up this weekend hopefully. Im just gonna store it till I find the parts cars needed or find a guy who has the cars and wants it. I agree with telling buyers about rebodying a resto. I would hate to know how many muscle cars out there have been rebodied and never revealed as so. |
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Location: Connecticut | Rob - Before you say that a body is complete junk, take a look at the 59 Sport fury convertible that John Fowlie (Big M Auto) built from just a firewall with a data plate attached. Then he drove it cross country ! The thread and all the photos are here in one of the forums. I don't have the time right now to find it. But it's there. Ron |
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Location: So. Cal | Ron, you realize that he rebodied that convertible using a clean coupe right? He transferred all the convertible specific parts over to it, but what's the difference there? |
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Location: Connecticut | Powerflite - 2022-03-24 11:38 AM Ron, you realize that he rebodied that convertible using a clean coupe right? He transferred all the convertible specific parts over to it, but what's the difference there? If you are referring to Ted's Tuna Boats, he would have been smarter to cut up the coupe and use what he needed for the convertible. Then he would have had the correct body/VIN. IMHO, it's also easier to do that than to change a coupe to a convertible. If he left the coupe VIN on the body, but cut the roof off, etc., then I have no problem with that. He built a 'tribute' car. If he swapped the VIN and told everyone that it was an original letter car convertible, then that is a problem. Ron |
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Location: So. Cal | No, I'm talking about John at BigM. I have no idea what Ted did. |
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Location: Connecticut | Powerflite - 2022-03-24 4:19 PM No, I'm talking about John at BigM. I have no idea what Ted did. I'm not certain how he built his conv. It's been many years and I haven't looked it up. I'm pretty certain that the firewall with Data Plate/VIN tag, windshield frame were from the conv. Also, if what you say is true and John ever sold the car, he would be up front about how it was created. Ron |
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Location: St. Martins NB | You can't use a 1955 Imperial body or fenders as the Imperial wheel openings are completely different, Imperial have large round wheel openings where as all of the Chryslers had a more square opening. 1956 Imperial fenders have the correct openings. Plus if you can use an Imperial hood they didn't have a hood ornament where as the Chryslers did leaving 3 large holes on the front of the center crease which having the multiple compound curves and lines that need to be filled. |
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rebodying a 1955 300
