Just Some Cars That Caught My Eye: 1962 Chrysler 300 vs 1991 Toyota MR2

Good morning! It’s Friday, the day when I can do whatever I want here. (Actually, who am I kidding? I can do whatever I want every day. This is the least-supervised gig of all time.) And what I choose to do is show you two cars for roughly ten grand each that I just thought were cool.

Yesterday, we looked at two friendly little four-wheel drives, inspired by a toy car I found. There was a lot of talk in the comments about Stomper 4x4s, and some about the two vehicles in question. When it came time to vote, the happy yellow Plymouth Arrow pickup just ran away with it, leaving that little gray Subaru in the dust.

Honestly, I can’t choose between these two; I love them both. I think I’d give a slight edge to the Subaru, however, just because it would more closely match the repair steps outlined in its Haynes manual, and I just can’t get over how much I hate the wheels on that Arrow. I know, they’re easy to change, but it’s a huge flaw in an otherwise really cool little truck.

I rarely know what cars I’m going to feature here before I sit down to write. I’ve tried selecting cars ahead of time, and it has come back to bite me when one of them sells before I get to it. But when I find something that resonates, I know it right away, and then the race is on to find a suitable competitor for it. For today, I couldn’t really find two cars that went together, so I just went with two that were about the same price and looked cool. If you are the sort of person who would actually consider cross-shopping these two, congratulations; you’ve come to the right place. Let’s check them out.

1962 Chrysler 300 Sport – $9,500

Engine/drivetrain: 383 cubic inch OHV V8, three-speed manual, RWD

Location: Folsom, CA

Odometer reading: 11,000 miles (probably rolled over at least once)

Operational status: Daily driver, they claim

In the 1950s, Chrysler Corporation had no fewer than five divisions: Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial. After 1961, DeSoto went away, leaving Dodge and Chrysler to fill in the hole left in the lineup. Chrysler created a simplified version of its 300, minus the annual letter designation, called the 300 Sport. Available as either a two- or four-door hardtop, the 300 Sport gave up bucket seats for a bench, and made do with less power, but still featured Virgil Exner’s wild Jet Age styling. I need to point out, though, that the seller has the year wrong on this car; it’s a 1962, not a ’63. You can tell by the angled headlights.

In place of the 300H’s 413 with dual four-barrel carbs, the 300 Sport has a 383 cubic inch V8 with a single four-barrel. You would expect a Torqueflite automatic to reside behind it, and that’s what most 300s had. But a three-speed manual was standard, and this car has one. It has a floor-mounted shifter that curves gracefully back over the bench seat, and it ups the cool factor of this car by an order of magnitude. The seller claims it is daily driven and runs well. It has all new brakes, a new starter, and more.

Seat belts weren’t required in cars until 1968, and this car doesn’t appear to have them. You’d be mad not to install some, though. The interior looks really nice; I get the feeling it has been redone. The seller says the headliner needs replacing, but a new one is included.

Outside, it’s an older repaint, but it’s holding up well. All the chrome is present and in good condition, too. The slotted mags and white-letter tires suit it perfectly, and while I’m not crazy about the tinted windows, they’re probably a good idea on a car without air conditioning in California. It’s a four-door hardtop, too, so you can roll down all four windows and get plenty of fresh air.

1991 Toyota MR2 – $10,000

Engine/drivetrain: 2.2-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Forney, TX

Odometer reading: 113,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

The idea of taking the transverse drivetrain from a humble front-wheel-drive sedan and putting it in the back of a wedge-shaped sports car was originated by Fiat with the X1/9, which took its drivetrain from the 128. Pontiac followed suit with the Fiero, using the whole X-body front end in the rear, and Toyota, not to be outdone, stuck the hot version of the FWD Corolla’s drivetrain in the back of its sporty little doorstop, the MR2. A larger second generation came along in 1991, with a correspondingly larger engine from the Celica and Camry.

This is the base model MR2, with a 2.2-liter naturally aspirated engine, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. You could also get a 2.0-liter turbocharged version, which introduced a new generation of enthusiasts to the concept of “snap oversteer.” The standard version is fast enough to be fun without scaring its driver quite so badly. This one runs well and has only 113,000 miles on it, which for one of these engines is barely broken in.

Inside, it’s a snug little space for two, with nice bucket seats and a tall center tunnel between them. Toyota interiors from this era always seem to hold up well, and this one looks good. It could use a little cleaning, but it’s in good shape. There’s a Pioneer aftermarket touch-screen stereo, and an air freshener stuck in one of the vents, which always worries me a little bit. What smell is it covering up?

Outside, it’s neat as a pin, and it has some aftermarket wheels that actually suit it really well. The first MR2 was a sharp-edged wedge, but this one has a softer but somehow more serious-looking shape. It’s a little bit Ferrari-like, not what you’d expect from a purveyor of sturdy sedans and hard-working pickup trucks like Toyota. You don’t see many second-generation MR2s anymore, and it’s always a little bit of a surprise when you’re reminded of just how good they look.

Ten thousand dollars is kind of a sweet spot for fun cars; it’s enough to lift you out of project-car status, but not so dear that you end up with a car you’re afraid to drive. Either one of these would be a car you could drive and enjoy, and be proud to show off. They appeal to wildly different markets, but I like them both. And now that I think about it, they do have one common thread: they both have aftermarket wheels that improve their looks, which is tricky to do. Which one would be your pick?