1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst – Mopar Heaven

Cliff Brice purchased this magnificent Chrysler in the small, one-horse town of Brownwood, smack bang in the middle of Texas. At that time the car was owned by Cortland Vantune, who preferred to be called simply ‘Van’, the editor in chief of Motor Trend magazine. Van also hosted the TV show Drive, on ESPN. The 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst was part of his private classic car collection, which he was downsizing as he was selling his ranch and moving back to San Diego.

An avid Chrysler fan since he was a teenager, Cliff has owned many Chryslers over the years and still has his first – a 1978 SE Valiant Regal which he bought back in 1993. Since then he has owned a 1974 770 New Zealand-new VJ Charger and a 1968 Chrysler New Yorker.

He still owns a 1978 Dodge Ram and has just imported a 1968 Dodge Dart GT convertible for his wife, Julie. According to Cliff, the Dart is another story on its own, so it looks like another feature coming soon.

Chance Discovery

Cliff stumbled across this Chrysler 300 Hurst quite by chance after he’d decided to buy another C-body Chrysler. The decision was fairly easy because he reckons they are just so over the top, and bring a smile every time you take one out for a cruise. These engines are part of the appeal, too. Cliff and Julie have enjoyed ownership of their New Yorker – with its big 7.2-litre (440ci), and Cliff says, “They are just so relaxing to drive – and who needs a good sound system when you have that engine to listen to?”

Cliff decided to mention what he was looking for to renowned restoration guru, Rodney Holland, and so the search began. Rodney – who owns an Oldsmobile Hurst – actually discovered the Chrysler 300 and, as it was a Hurst, thought it deserved some further research. It was then he learned the car was quite rare, and a call was made to Van.

Further research showed that Chrysler introduced the 300H on February 18, 1970, and the car was designed in conjunction with Hurst Performance Corporation – the letter ‘H’ referring to Hurst. This 300H features a distinctive paint scheme – boasting Spinnaker White with Satin Tan colour accents and special striping, together with front and rear styled road wheels and H70x15 fibreglass-belted tyres with white lettering. It also has a specially designed fibreglass power bulge bonnet with functional air-scoop and two depressed rotary bonnet latches. The boot-lid and rear end caps are also finished in fibreglass to create fast-sweep character lines and a wing-type rear spoiler.

The hearty 7.2-litre TNT engine is the standard powerplant, mated to a TorqueFlite automatic transmission and a 3.23 rear axle. The car also features heavy-duty suspension with a sway bar as standard equipment, as well as power steering, power disc brakes, power windows, a power boot-lid release and power seat adjusters – all standard features.

The interior of the 300H is rich and luxurious with saddle-coloured leather-trimmed front bucket seats with a pull-down armrest.

Rare? Yes, extremely so – less than 500 of the 1970 Chrysler 300 Hursts were produced, including at least one convertible.

The Deal

After a brief telephone conversation, Cliff found Van to be very genuine person and a deal was soon reached – Cliff had bought another Chrysler.

As luck would have it, his very dear friends, Chuck and Mariann (living in Houston, and first met when Cliff travelled through the US with his parents many years ago) were kind enough to go out of their way to collect his new toy and pay for the car on his behalf. They borrowed their son-in-law’s Dodge Ram along with a car transporter loaned to them by Patrick, a good friend. Since then, Patrick and Cliff have also become friendly as Patrick once owned a 300 Hurst, and now has a Hemi-powered Willys coupé. When Cliff finally travelled to the US to collect his Chrysler, Patrick presented him with a nice book – The Hurst Heritage and High Performance History.

Cliff suggested to Chuck that he fly to Brownwood and drive the car back, but common sense came to the fore and he decided he didn’t want to risk running into any mechanical trouble, nor did he want to be stranded at the side of the road.

So, Chuck and Mariann undertook the six-hour drive from Houston to Brownwood to meet up with Van, and collected the car as well as the original set of tyres the car left the factory with – and all the documentation that came with it from the day it was made, including no less than five build sheets. Also included in the documentation was a letter from the Hurst Performance Research Corporation, the Hurst and Chrysler owner manuals (still in their original gold envelope) and, of course, the Texas certificate of title. All of this is a real bonus for a classic car collector.

Interestingly, when Chuck got a chance to examine the car as it was loaded on the trailer, he saw that it was extremely clean and well maintained – and that Cliff’s original suggestion to drive the car back to Houston wouldn’t have been so bad after all.

To the US

The Chrysler arrived in Houston in July 2008, but Cliff wouldn’t see it until the following year when, in September 2009, he visited the US with long-time friend and mentor, Ross Hyland, to go to the wedding of Ross’ son Gavin. Gavin was living in Lubbock, Texas, and he and his wife-to-be, Myranda, had decided to marry in San Antonio, the home of the Alamo. So Cliff and Ross wasted no time in heading off to the wedding after collecting the Chrysler 300 Hurst from Chuck and Mariann’s place in Houston.

However, before leaving Houston Chuck took Cliff and Ross to visit another friend of his, Dave Foshae, who had a wonderful collection of Mopars and military vehicles – including Vipers, Prowlers, Challengers, ’Cudas, a ’34 Plymouth and Willys coupé, both of the latter fitted with old-school Hemi engines. Dave also fired up some of his military collection for his visitors.

Cliff said later that as a Mopar guy, he reckoned he’d has just passed the pearly gates and gone to heaven – then Chuck’s daughter, Julie, and his son-in-law Robbie took them on another visit to meet a chap by the name of John Hovas. According to Cliff, this guy is what he would call an avid Mopar collector, or perhaps Mr Chrysler himself, and what he is building is something quite spectacular. John calls it a ‘car barn’ – Cliff would call it Mopar Heaven – a 6000 square metre classic car museum filled with the most desirable Mopars on earth, mostly big-block and Hemi-powered cars. Not to mention a collection of beautiful art deco neon signs. Dave’s ‘barn’ is due to be finished this year and Cliff and Ross have already been invited to what will be the biggest shindig for Mopar mates that the district has ever seen.

If all that wasn’t enough, just before Cliff and Ross left Chuck and Mariann’s they packed the Hurst up with all sorts of goodies for the trip and also a wonderful Christmas present for Cliff’s young daughter, Emma, in the way of a Dodge Viper electric kiddy’s car – which fitted into the Chrysler’s enormous boot very nicely.

Route 66

Cliff and Ross drove quite literally everywhere in the Chrysler, finally ending up traversing Route 66 through to Arizona and into San Diego. There they met up with Van, who Cliff had bought the car from a year before. Another part off the trip was the journey from San Antonio to Tulia to visit Ross’ son, Davie. After that, the pair drove off to Amarillo and then cross country to California. They had a lot of fun on their travels and the old Chrysler performed well, covering 6115km (3800 miles) without missing a single beat. As Cliff recalls, it was a fantastic experience driving through Texas, as in some places the speed limit is 85mph (137kph), and if traffic is flowing well it is possible to reach speeds of 95mph (153kph) without attracting the notice of the local sheriff.

Huge machines such as the 300 were built for long distance cruising and Cliff reckons the trip was “just awesome!” They never once turned on the original eight-track stereo system, and just listened to the V8’s purr. Indeed, it wasn’t until they were driving through to Temecula that they actually realised just how hot the weather was – indicated by the odd sight of a big-rig and car pulled over by the roadside with steam pouring from under their bonnets.

The noticeable incline driving into California can add stress to an already overworked engine. As a precaution, Ross suggested they turn off the Chrysler’s air-conditioning to take the pressure off the engine and instead wind down the windows to keep cool. They lasted about 10 seconds it was so hot – the windows were closed up again and the air conditioning was switched back on. Fortunately, the 300’s big radiator was up to the task and they had no issues with overheating. However, they were more concerned as they got closer to San Diego and busier traffic. This is a big car so driver concentration was paramount, and it was a great relief to Cliff when the GPS indicated five miles to the next turn-off and they arrived at Van’s without a scratch!

While at Van’s place they cleaned and prepared the Chrysler for the final leg of its journey – to the shipper. That would mark the end of their epic trip of just over four weeks.

Three weeks later the car arrived in New Zealand and it has since undergone some extra special care and a cosmetic make-over thanks to Rodney of Rodney’s Restorations at Hampton Downs. Cliff reckons the car is looking better than ever, so he thinks it’s time for all to see it. We couldn’t agree more.

1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst - Specifications

Engine: V8
Capacity: 7.2 litres (440ci)
Bore/ stroke: 10.97×9.52mm
Valves: ohv, two-valves per cylinder
C/R: 9.7:1
Max power: 280kW (375bhp) at 4600rpm
Max torque: 650Nm (480lb/ft) at 3200rpm
Fuel system: Single 4bbl Carter downdraught carburetor
Transmission: TorqueFlite 727 automatic
Suspension F/R: Independent, lateral non-parallel control arms with torsion bar springs
Steering: Constant control power steering
Brakes: Disc/ drum power assisted.
Dimensions:
Overall length: 5707mm
Width: 2006mm
Height: 1389mm
Wheelbase: 3149mm
Track F/R: 1577mm/1574mm
Kerb weight: 1875kg
Performance:
Max speed: 198kph
0-100kph: 7.3 seconds
Standing 1/4 mile: 15.3 seconds