440 Newcomer

[AJW300]

Hi all,

Just joined the forum with the first 440 I have owned. This page has been very helpful in sorting out a few niggles already!

I've recently picked up a 1969 Chrysler 300 440 TNT 2 door in a lovely Lime Green Metallic.

Thanks for adding me to the forum!!

 

[ayilar]

Very nice 1970 Chrysler 300! Could you possibly post a photo of the fender tag, located on the radiator support in front of the battery? It will show the options -- I think I see H53 AutoTemp but I could be wrong.

 

[cbarge]

Welcome!
Your 300 can take up 2 parking spaces anywhere in the UK or Europe fir that matter!
Lots of helpful members here.
Fuselage C's are very popular in Europe.

 

[66sptfry]

Welcome nice looking 300

 

[GOLDMYN]

nice car and Hi, from Chilton, Wisconsin

 

[AJW300]

Hi all, thanks for your response.

I am in the UK, and yes not many parking spaces can accommodate this land yacht.

@ayilar, see below.

 

[ayilar]

Good morning @AJW300 -- thank you for posting the tag of CM23T0C129081

Very nicely equipped, let me know if you would like help with decoding the tag. @cuda hunter and @69CoronetRT will be delighted to see it

Paging other UK members -- including @coco @IronMighty @Lincsmoparmike (who participate often), @v8brit @longsocks 66 newyorker UK @Jason UK @Swifty Boy and others

 

[AJW300]

That would be great, any information I can gather about this car would be very helpful! I have just sorted out the fuel gauge today and am now having trouble with the courtesy light circuit but I'll figure it out eventually!

As far as I can tell it's in great condition but with the usual attention needed to bodywork.

Our headliner is completely shot so any recommendations for acquiring a new one would be great!

 

[ayilar]

You will find a lot of useful information about your car at the following web sites:

The 1970 Hamtramck Registry Library Page (1970 - 1974) (technical documentation, dealership info, etc.)

Mopar Fuselage Styled Full Size Cars (high-resolution ads and sales brochure, courtesy of member @ceebuddy )

Your interior is M5L2 Beige, and the Hamtramck Registry Library would have the info about the correct color of the headliner for your car. FWIW, yours is one of the few 300 that I remember seeing with that interior -- see here for some others.

@marko almost bout CM43T0C266177, a 4dr hardtop (with the same FF4 green paint as yours) with that interior, and he may have photos of the headliner.

Five years ago, @ImpJay (Finland) posted photos of a 2dr 300 that was for sale in Germany and had a beautiful M5L2 interior -- see here.

@Dobalovr is a well known and very helpful FCBO member who owns CM23T0C197521 -- a 300 2dr (like your car, except his is ER6 Scorch Red) with the same M5L2 interior that he bought in 2015 -- you may find his restoration thread useful, including the pics that he posted of his car's headliner.

PS: regarding a headliner source, I have had good luck with SMS for two original material and properly cut, ready-to-install headliners -- but others have waited months and months to get what they ordered.

 

[ceebuddy]

M5L2 means the car has the beige cloth & vinyl bucket seat interior. The headliner would be in light beige, pretty much the same color than the seat upholstery or the interior "A"-pillar dress-up panels or the intdrior rear window bezel.

Not sure about sources for a headliner other than SMS Auto Fabrics - The Largest Selection of Classic Auto Interiors which ayilar recommended above.

 

[kowalski1970]

Welcome from Virginia!!

 

[ceebuddy]

Also a warm welcome from Germany!

Since you mentioned your car as being a 1969 this is true in that your car's fender tag shows a scheduled production date of 23 September 1969. Yet it is considered a 1970 model. Model year run was always from 1st of August of the calendar year previous of the stated model year and ended on 31st of July of a model year. Although a few mid-year changes might have occurred, almost all styling or design changes were introduced with a new model year version. So if you are searching for spare parts, make sure you look for those for a 1970 model.

 

[AJW300]

Thank you all for all of the information, recommendations for the headliners and the welcomes.

@ceebuddy thank you for clarifying. I don't know why I put 1969, I've always told people it's a 70! My bad, but appreciate the nudge.

 

[AJW300]

Hi all,

Just trying to clarify something, I've seen a post that says the E85 on the fender tag means it's the 350 horse engine. I was under the impression that I had the 375 horse engine. Is there anyway to confirm from the fender tag I've posted earlier?

 

[ceebuddy]

Fifth character of the VIN ("T") tells it is a 350 hp 440 engine.

 

[ayilar]

Both the E85 and the T-code mean the same thing in 1970: 350-hp 440. It's a great engine; I know, I own a T-code (1971 Monaco 2dr) and have put over 10k miles of the mill in the past 5 years.

 

[AJW300]

Both the E85 and the T-code mean the same thing in 1970: 350-hp 440. It's a great engine; I know, I own a T-code (1971 Monaco 2dr) and have put over 10k miles of the mill in the past 5 years.

That sounds great, thank you for your response. Slightly unhappy that someone has slapped a TNT plate on top of my air cleaner to make it look like a 375, but hey, still pleased with what I've got!!

 

[ayilar]

@AJW300 -- as promised, here is the full decoding of your fender tag (courtesy of Stock Mopar and slightly edited by me):

Decoding of Fender Tag: Botttom to Top, Left to Right

Code	Description
E85	440-4 Barrel Engine 350hp
D32	H-D A-727 TorqueFlite Trans / Some Years A-998
CM23	C = Chrysler M = Medium (= 300 in 1970) 23 = 2 Door Hardtop
T0C	T = 440-4 Barrel Engine 350hp 0 = 1970 C = Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA
129081	Sequence Number '129081'
FF4	Paint Code: Lime Green Metallic / Lime Green Irid / Lime Green Poly
M5L2	Trim Grade/Style/Color M = Medium 5 = Cloth and Vinyl Bucket Seats L2 = Beige
BL1	Upper Door Frame: Beige / Sand Pebble Beige
923	Scheduled Build Date: 9 / 23 / 1969
061214	Order Number: 061214
V1F	Roof Type and/or Color: Full Vinyl Top - Green
H51	Single Air Conditioning /w Heater
R22	AM w/ 8-Track
R31	Dual Rear Speaker w/ R85
L35	Corning Lamps
L31	Hood / Fender Mount Turn Signals
P45	Power Deck Lid Release
C21	Center Seat Foldown Armrest
P25	Power LS Bucket or 50/50
B41	Front Power Disc Brakes
G11	Tinted Glass All Windows
V7W	Accent Stripes - White
S61	Tilt Telescopic Steering Wheel

 

[AJW300]

Thats amazing, thank you so much for such an in depth break down! I thought those fender mounted turn signals were supposed to light up, and they don't so now I know I need to look at them!

Once again, I appreciate the info! Very helpful

 

[ayilar]

You are most welcome @AJW300

There is a thread (indeed, I think several) with a discussion of how to fix the signal repeaters at the top of the fenders. It could be that the bulbs are dead (there's also a thread that I remember seeing on how to replace those bulbs -- let me know if you can't find it), or it could be a bad contact. A third possibility is that, as it seems that your car has been repainted (please confirm? I do not see the V7W stripe at the top of the body sides, at least I can't see any in the pics you posted), some of the wiring was disconnected and not properly reattached.