A Long Ordeal for a Fine Car - Triple Black!

saforwardlook said:
If everyone in this world had your values and integrity, most of our problems would go away. You are a shining light out there. Keep up the good work!
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And see with me, I'd be teaching a lesson in integrity by telling wifey to shove that car where the sun don't shine after making me jump hoops to get cash, then upping the price.

But as the Stylistics used to say...
 
saforwardlook said:
For some time, I have wanted a triple black 1971 Chrysler 300. It has been a long quest and I had to be patient, but it ended well thanks to Manny (70 Sport Suburban). Without his eagle eye and incredibly willing and capable help, I would have never known about it or owned it. Here are some photos of the car after I got it home, cleaned it up and got it running well – (more to the story below the photos if you have the time or interest in the long version).

View attachment 195432 View attachment 195433 View attachment 195434 View attachment 195435 View attachment 195436 View attachment 195437 View attachment 195438 View attachment 195439 View attachment 195440

After looking the car over in depth now, I am pretty certain it isn’t a 19K mile car as claimed by the seller, but it was definitely stored inside when it wasn’t driven most of its existence since the vinyl roof is original and much of the paint is too. The really good part is the car runs really well and all I had to do to it was replace the power steering pump shaft seal and the steering box input shaft seal to stop the leaks, and now it is a good driver. Even the fuel tank wasn’t rusty and the gas was pretty fresh. And the rust on the car is pretty minimal (nothing significant around the rear window even!) and will be addressed when the big dent in the rear quarter is fixed by my body/paint guy. That the car isn’t a 19K mile car is no big deal to me since I plan to restore it completely anyway.

It all started with this singular post in another thread regarding salvage yards, wherein Manny mentioned he had seen this triple black 300 in his neighborhood in Racine, WI., looking much neglected.

View attachment 195442

It had been listed for sale in the online sales platform “Offer Up” but then the listing ended just before I tried to buy it. I called Manny about this car and asked him if he would be willing to inquire at the residence where the car was sitting to see if they might have any desire to sell it since I would definitely like to buy it. It was the dead of winter back then so he said he would take a look at it and inquire about it once the really cold temperatures and snow had subsided. It was in a somewhat rough area of Racine, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if he declined, but he didn’t! But it was a long winter and he is also very busy due to his job and his family, so it was May before he could make the inquiry. But Manny kept me informed throughout the winter that it was still there. I had also talked with Manny’s friend Wyatt (71Polara383), and he said he would be a backup if Manny couldn’t get over to look at the car due to his busy life, but I didn’t need to call him since Manny was able to follow through, and Wyatt also lives much further away. I really appreciated his willingness to help too, nonetheless. Great guy too!


One day Manny was driving by the residence where the black 71 300 was located and saw a neighbor out in the adjacent yard and inquired about the car. Well, by luck, the guy knew the owner and called him while Manny was right there. So Manny got in contact with him and it turned out that he was indeed willing to consider selling it. The car was apparently given to his wife by her uncle as a gift since he was elderly and in very poor health and needed to clean up his collection of 18 cars, this being one of them. The husband of the owner did the negotiating for his wife on selling the car and after getting some photos of the car for me, Manny conveyed my offer of $7000 to buy the car (he and Manny had a good rapport from the beginning, fortunately). It was claimed that the car was a one owner car from new and that it only had 19K miles on it, but in looking at the photos it was hard to believe that claim, and there was no proof to back it up. However, the wife said she would take no less than $10K for the car. But after Manny and I talked, I decided to make the lower offer as indicated. Initially, her husband said he was able to get her to accept the offer after explaining how much work it needed. But his wife said she would only sell it if for that price if she had the cash in hand on Sunday, and it was already Saturday, after bank closing hours. She must have known that was a tall order, but I was able to call Mark, a very good friend of mine (also on FCBO but doesn't post much due to a demanding job) also in WI about 3 hours north of Manny, and he said he could supply the cash needed since he was going to travel out of the airport in Racine on Sunday anyway to travel to Atlanta for business purposes. So Manny met Mark at the airport at 8AM and got the cash. But when Manny called the husband to let him know he had the cash, there was a long pause since he was obviously shocked that Manny could get the cash on short order. Then his wife, after agreeing to the deal, backed out and said she would not sell for less than $10K again. I was pretty ticked by this time, and almost let the car go since I didn’t want to deal with people that are not good on their word. At that point I decided to call the husband myself rather than ask Manny to further negotiate with him to discuss the car since that would be too much to ask of Manny at this point and I tried to explain why the money his wife wanted wasn’t warranted given the condition of the car despite the claim of very low miles. I also sent him an online value guide showing the value of a car in that condition, and he ended up agreeing with me that my offer wasn’t unreasonable, but his wife was still hard to deal with. But he said he would take $8500 for it if, again, Manny could give the full sum within a few days and deal with his wife later for accepting less than her demand. So Manny got the additional money from me and the deal was closed, but Manny didn’t leave the residence until he had the car transported away at the same time so no further funny stuff could occur. Manny really saved the day in going through all this for me.


First thing Manny did was to get some keys made because they had been lost by the owners. He pulled off a door panel to remove the lock cylinder and also pulled the rear seats and climb into the trunk to remove the trunk lock cylinder and have duplicate keys made – he was very fast – and he found two excellent build sheets in the process!! Manny also helped the guy set the points in the distributor (the guy replaced the plug wires and other items because the car didn’t run quite right but didn’t know how to set the points) so they could fire it up and show that it runs. They did get it started, and it ran but it wouldn’t keep running and there was no more time to fool with it, so I had it shipped as a non-running car. Manny also bled the brakes so I could be sure that the car rolled, braked and steered for transport purposes. Manny stored the car at his dad’s place until it could be picked up and also helped load the car onto the transport. So I am deeply appreciative of all Manny did to help me in getting the car – except for his efforts, I would not have ever been able to own it. I did my best to compensate him for all his time and efforts and will also be providing some interior parts for one of his wagons that are very nice. I also am doing my best to show appreciation for Wyatt’s willingness to help as a backup if needed as well. Both these guys are young and extremely nice and very competent, so there is much hope for our future with guys like this around. The people on this site that I have worked with are first rate (and I also tried to buy a car out of Canada last month, but decided to pass on it, but the willingness to help I received from a bunch of guys on this site in the Edmonton, Alberta area was unbelievable too). Thanks guys!
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Way-ta-go! Steve! Very impressive car. Looks like its got it all (TNT engine, triple black, A/C and no rust). Also a big shout out to Manny for going so far above and beyond. FCBO members are the greatest.

So what are you gonna do about the ATC II? :poke:
 
That's a white knuckle purchase if I ever heard one! That's a fine looking ride, though. Congratulations!
 
Your quest to acquire the triple black 300, and the help you got from our small community of C Body friends, proves there are more people than we may think who are willing to help out, especially when it comes to our fellow FCBO members.
Not knowing you personally, I think this car was destined to be added to your collection. Great story!
A few years ago on this forum, this triple black 70 300 in Racine, WI was discussed.
70 300 in WI.jpg
Noting since there has been a 70 & a 71 triple black 300 found in Racine, I wonder if there is a 69 triple black 300 hiding somewhere is the same town.
 
Great car, Steve, congrats!

A little bit jealous of this one, I think... No, that's not true, just happy for you :thumbsup:
 
Wow! Looks like that car was worth the trouble. I would have been tempted to walk away after hitting that little snag in the deal too. I'm sure you're glad you hung in there. These gentlemen who had your back surely made the deal slightly less painless, you have to take the bad with the good. Now I'm curious which Edmonton car you were interested in?
 
Congrats. Looks like one of the better cared for cars, especially while this one spent its life in an area not ideal for the bodies. I agree the mileage should be around 119k .
At first sight I'd suspect there might have been some lower quarter work done front and aft of the rear wheels, can you confirm this ?
 
Carmine said:
And see with me, I'd be teaching a lesson in integrity by telling wifey to shove that car where the sun don't shine after making me jump hoops to get cash, then upping the price.

But as the Stylistics used to say...
Click to expand...


Her husband was not really hard to deal with and knows a good amount about cars and what it takes to repair them. He even did the tune up on the car, except for setting the points, but it wasn't realized at the time that he crossed #3 & #5 plug wires, which turned out to be the real reason it wan't running well - but at least it was determined that it ran. There was no time to further diagnose the issue until it got to me.

So I went over the numbers with him based on the value guide and then what it would cost for my body/paint guy to do the repairs and so on, and he agreed with me that my offer was more than reasonable. His wife didn't seem to want to understand. I told him my final offer was $8500 or I would walk and then he could try to sell it to someone else for more - but good luck. I said I didn't have to have it at her price, so he could decide. She had this dream they could fix it and paint it for $2000 and then enjoy the car rather than sell it, because she liked the car. He knew better and didn't want the hassle or trouble, and they had others she inherited to get rid of. So he said right then and there he would take the $8500 and she would have to deal with it. So that was OK with me, but I told him I don't need any more funny stuff when it comes time to deliver the $$. And he held the line and followed through which I was convinced he would do after our discussion. I actually had a good discussion with him and he knew I knew what I was talking about, and he actually wanted the car to go to a good home too.

If I had to deal with her, it wouldn't have happened. Its really that simple.

Honestly, when I look back at all the hurdles, it seems amazing to me that things worked out in the end, and that I now have the car.

It does have some lower rear quarter rust, a spot in the sill and the trunk pan is questionable as to whether it will be replaced or patched - don't know yet until I "pick it". But these issues aren't major and don't deter me, as my body/paint guy is very capable. I like my cars to be showroom, so I will go through everything anyway. All I know is I love the car, and it runs really well after his plug wire mix up was corrected, the trans shifts perfectly and the rear end is quiet, etc. All the power windows work except for the driver side rear one, and I hear it trying to work but is stuck, so it needs some minor attention, the power door locks work, and even the clock worked for awhile. One thing the husband did say was the while the car didn't get the best care body wise, the owner was meticulous about the maintenance and the engine oil was changed frequently and other maintenance done on time too such as changing the antifreeze. So the engine inside is spotlessly clean when I look through the oil fill cap, and the cooling system has no rust in it at all. Just pure green coolant and no debris in the radiator tubes.

Bottom line, I have my limits too, but I also asked myself how I would feel if I did not at least up the offer to $8500 and thereby lose the car without that last final move.
 
Ripinator said:
Way-ta-go! Steve! Very impressive car. Looks like its got it all (TNT engine, triple black, A/C and no rust). Also a big shout out to Manny for going so far above and beyond. FCBO members are the greatest.

So what are you gonna do about the ATC II? :poke:
Click to expand...

Totally agree with your assessment of our members and Manny.

ATC II is not a problem for me as I have fixed them before. I have one in my 1972 Imperial that I fixed almost 10 years ago now, with the help of Performance Analysis Company and some new check valves, and it still works just fine. The factory tester is actually helpful too in diagnosis.
 
rexus31 said:
Congrats on the purchase, Steve and kudos to Manny and Wyatt for helping seal the deal. What are the plans for the car?
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Thanks Scott! Restore it completely is the goal, but I am also going to actually enjoy driving it just the way it is for awhile because it runs so well and doesn't look all that bad. But limited to locally most likely.
 
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sixpkrt said:
Your quest to acquire the triple black 300, and the help you got from our small community of C Body friends, proves there are more people than we may think who are willing to help out, especially when it comes to our fellow FCBO members.
Not knowing you personally, I think this car was destined to be added to your collection. Great story!
A few years ago on this forum, this triple black 70 300 in Racine, WI was discussed. View attachment 195553 Noting since there has been a 70 & a 71 triple black 300 found in Racine, I wonder if there is a 69 triple black 300 hiding somewhere is the same town.
Click to expand...

I remember that car from before too. But I prefer the 71 models a bit more due to the upgrades to the interior. I didn't realize, however, that it was also for sale in Racine, so you may be right that a 69 might also be there in a storage facility too. I am surprised at what still pops up from time to time.
 
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3C's & a D? said:
Wow! Looks like that car was worth the trouble. I would have been tempted to walk away after hitting that little snag in the deal too. I'm sure you're glad you hung in there. These gentlemen who had your back surely made the deal slightly less painless, you have to take the bad with the good. Now I'm curious which Edmonton car you were interested in?
Click to expand...

The other car is described in this post:

A Sincere Thanks!!
 
cm23uoc said:
Congrats. Looks like one of the better cared for cars, especially while this one spent its life in an area not ideal for the bodies. I agree the mileage should be around 119k .
At first sight I'd suspect there might have been some lower quarter work done front and aft of the rear wheels, can you confirm this ?
Click to expand...

Yes, there is some rust. I detailed what I found in the reply to Carmine. Good eye.
 
sixpkrt said:
Your quest to acquire the triple black 300, and the help you got from our small community of C Body friends, proves there are more people than we may think who are willing to help out, especially when it comes to our fellow FCBO members.
Not knowing you personally, I think this car was destined to be added to your collection. Great story!
A few years ago on this forum, this triple black 70 300 in Racine, WI was discussed. View attachment 195553 Noting since there has been a 70 & a 71 triple black 300 found in Racine, I wonder if there is a 69 triple black 300 hiding somewhere is the same town.
Click to expand...
I heard about this one from a friend that if i remember right knows where it's at. I told him about the 71 and he said you sure it's not a 70 I'll have to ask him again when i see him.
 
Great looking car, great story also. I really think you have a better car than the Dodge in Canada that you were checking out. I personally like the look of the 300 better. Love the triple black. Congrats
 
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