Chrysler 300 Club International
Spring Meet in New Hope, PA
May 12 - 15, 1993






Bill Spear, Don Cole



Jeff Miklas' Hurst with hemi head conversion

300J, George Riehl

Jeff Miklas(?), Terry McTaggart, Tom Turner, Bill Spear



300K convertibles of Bill Elder and Don Cole

Don Cole's ram K engine

C 300 of Roger Williams



Jeff Miklas, Howard Stoll, Don Cole, Les McCurdy, Dave Schwandt

300K Silver Edition of Pete Fitch



Bob Valpey's 300B








Photos by Bill Elder
23rd Annual Spring Meet – Bucks County, Pennsylvania
by Gloria and Allan Moon

From the first day of check-in to the last day of check-out, there was no rain, no unbearable heat, little humidity, no cold or snow – just lots of 300s, bunches of 300 nuts and non-stop talking. In other words, meet hosts Tom and Marie Trexler had a perfect meet.

Thursday was arrival day, getting the meet packets, looking at 300s and in general, doing not much but enjoying the 300s. It was also the day that we were interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s reporter. Poor lady hadn’t the faintest clue what a 300 was. After 5 hours of “interviews” with 300 nuts, she may have learned more then she cared to. Saturday’s edition had a nice story about us, complete with pictures.

Friday our tour directors, Tom and Marie, took us of to the New Hope Barge Ride followed by a leisurely do what you want shopping trip. That evening the club held its busines meeting, lasting 1 hour and 20 minutes. New members were amazed at its great length, veterans were amazed by its brevity.

Saturday we parked our cars on the grass at Peddlar’s village. Lots of 300s, Mopars and lots of people who were looking at old cars were there. One even referred to us as the Chevrolet 300 club. Is that a first? A cash bar and banquet with People’s Choice awards followed that evening. After the formalities were over, the hospitality room provided us a place to watch movies and slides.

The only 2 Letter series years that weren’t represented were the 300D and the 300H. We missed them. Roger Williams brought his very nice white C300 and pictures of his 300C which is for sale. Roger is the second owner of the C300. The car shows its caring ownership. Roger took second place in the People’s Choice award in his category.

300B was represented by Bob Valpey’s Kiekhaefer stick, 355 HP, tach mounted, totally street illegal, fast, loud and exciting B. We’d like a nickel for every picture that was taken of that car. We truly wish to thank Bob for bringing this piece of racing history for us to enjoy. (He’s still racing it.) Bob’s B took first place in the People’s Choice.

Two 300C convertibles were at the meet. Gary Hagy’s white C is in the Enquirer article, leading the pack of us to the Mule Barge ride. The other C was a black convertible owned by Bill DiCiurcio. Bill had to have one after watching the tv series “Crime Story”. We all agree that is one show that should still be around. The C had mouse problems when he bought it. Did you know that mouse pee can eat entire carburetors and valve covers? Beware of cars stored near chicken coops. Now the car is absolutely beautiful.

The beautiful silver E convertible was in the line up. Robert and Rose Young have put 60,000 miles on the E since he restored it. It doesn’t show at all! They really know how to enjoy their hard work. Robert took home second place People’s Choice in his division.

Chris Frederick’s Dad, Jerry, owned a white 300F. When they started restoration on it, Chris said that he sure would like to have one like it. Dad said “Take this one” and with that, he also took first place in People’s choice in his category. At an earlier meet, while restoration was in progress, Chris could only bring a huge picture of the car. The wait was worth it Chris – it is nice and it was also featured in the Inquirer article. Another old friend, Bill Codner’s white 300F convertible. Eileen has her hands full with a fellow who can tell you with a straight face that a 413 with rams can fit into a 300D body as long as they are the short rams rather than the long rams. Don’t bite on that one. Tony and Mary Ann Paino drove their white F down from New York on Saturday. It was a last-minute decision that we are glad they made. They will soon join the ranks of Floridians who own 300s.

Three white Gs were on show. Don Verity brought his from Rhode Island. It has one of the nicest original interiors. Don likes to drive his G all over the east coast. He found it a few years ago sitting on a used car lot, proving that there is still hope. Andy Mikonis’ white G from Illinois decided to act up at the meet. Friday, instead of mule barging, he made a parking lot repair to the ball and trunnion U joint. Allan Moon was chauffer to Andy and the driveshaft, taking them to lots of exciting places. Saturday the 3rd G showed up, driven by Bruce Paul. We’ve seen his other Mopars and we were glad to finally see his G.

George Riehl showed up bringing Eleanor and the black J. The J is one of those dependable 300s. (Eleanor is pretty dependable too.) We must note our disappointment that George did not treat us to one of his famous parking lot burn-outs. And he only mildly increased the heart rate of passengers on route to New Hope with a J demonstration of speed and power. Next time!

Peter Fitch brought his Silver Series 300K – a sharp car. This was Peter’s first meet. He promptly joined the Pentastate Region so it couldn’t have been too bad. Every car has its tale. To avoid removing all of the rust preventers under the paint, Pete and his crew removed the original paint with razor blades. It is a handsome job, but we still would have liked to watch this. The always immaculate beige 300K convertible was driven from Canada by Bill Elder. Louise is one of the charter “Shop till you drop” clubbers. Bill’s K had a mysterious heating problem the last few meets. At high speeds and (Bill doesn’t say how high) the coolant would leak out. He found the problem just before the meet. The lower radiator hose clamp (original hog, knuckle buster type) had so neatly and precisely cracked in two that it remained in place but had no holding power. Don Cole brought his black ram 300K convertible. It ran great. Those who went to the Boston meet may remember it as a mobile sculpture in his garage, a piece here and a piece there. We recall the engine on a stand as a great place to park a beer. Hard to believe that it is the same car. Don took home the first place People’s Choice award in his category.

Jerry Frederick was not without a 300. His black on black 300L convertible was usually parked next to Chris’ F. Jerry can make the best air conditioning hoses around, not to mention the rest of the car.

By far the biggest concentration of cars was the great Hurst horde. Howard and Vivian Stoll not only brought one but bought one. (Howard’s line.) We’re not sure of the Hurst count but we think it makes 4 – maybe 5 for Howard. Dudley and Maxine Finneyfrock brought their always-looks-good Hurst. They discovered that rush hour on I-95 on Friday afternoon with an overturned tractor trailer is no fun at all. But THEY are. Jay and Katherine Fisher brought their Hurst. Like many Hursts, it did not care to sit and idle and made it clear to Jay that it was happiest when moving. Jay received the second place People’s choice award for his category, 300J – Hurst. Jeff and Leslie Miklas came with some of their tribe in the Hurst. This was another used car lot car but it never quite made it onto the lot. Excellent timing! Allan and Gloria Moon brought “Thirsty”, his aptly named Hurst. For the first time in its existence, it did not require an on-road repair job, but it was a short trip from Maryland and so does not guarantee future excitements may not be theirs.

The rest of the club members had mainly Mopars to drive. Many had tales of woe about their 300s. All were green with envy and vowed to have their 300s ready, soon.

Our club’s official first Charter Member Octogenarian was in his ’68 convertible. Lew Frazer is always a treat. We wish you many more Lew. Every meet, Lew manages to fish out a receipt from the depths of his filing cabinet 300 to show us how much cheaper things used to be. The other ’68 300 convertible was driven by Ken Anello and family. Ken had his car equipped with a burglar alarm system that he sells.

Ray and Jo Ann Jones brought their van. Between a bad power steering pump and a quick trip to Virginia to become first time grandparents, they ran out of time to get their Hurst ready. Frank and Gladys Moran came from Connecticut in a Dodge. Frank had radiator hose problems and like many of us missing the caravan, discovered that Peddlar’s Village is not easy to find. Just ask Bea and Tom Gorse. They absolutely promise that their ram K will be at the next meet. They say that it might not be cosmetically restored, but it will be running. Tom and Bea bought it on the way home from the Virginia meet.

Don Rook drove a greenhouse. He and Kathy may have been issued tags for a Chrysler van but we know better from looking at the interior. Another Arkansan showed up at the meet (No not Bill). Marlin Thyer will argue with anybody that the 300B is the best of the 300s. Ask him at the next meet.

Dave Schwandt brought his decal-ed tractor trailer complete with “Hemi” his million mile plus cat. Good name for a traveling Himalayan. Dave also supplied much of the entertainment Saturday night, with videos of the 300F story. Showing his blue F at the Texas meet and buying the big blue 300D in Bandera. Dave with the assistance of his East Coast Distributors also brought the 300 logo mugs that he is selling.

Rus Vaughan finally made it. He was trying to get to a meet for a long time and we are glad everything worked out. Another New Englander showing up, Jerry Kocur brought his ’73 Challenger he’s owned since new. That F of his is stubborn. Jerry gets it ready weeks in advance of the meet only to have it break down just prior to departure. Don Warnaar is a true 300 nut. Not too many people would show up with screws holding one’s broken wrist together. Ouch! Don apologized for not driving a 300, but the new van is much easier on the wrist. Terry McTaggart flew a big bird to the meet. He has promised to not only have the D convertible at the next meet, but also the F.

Fall meet hosts Bill and Bev Spear enjoyed the meet without their C. But we surely did miss it. They promise a superb meet, complete with folding chairs and a moveable keg. They are planning an all-out good time meet. Len and Betty Astroth, spring 94 co-hosts, were there to let everyone know that they are planning an absolute bang-up meet too. Len just looks so much better in a black F though.

Mike and Linda Burke brought the Club Store van. Mike also had the sample leather for Fs at the meet. Looks very good. Aside from hauling club stuff with him, he also brought the C&D hood letters with him that Ken Mack had made up. They sold like ice cream on a 95-degree day. The Burkes, along with the Riehls will co-host the 1994 fall meet in Michigan.

Tom Turner did not bring a 300, but was one half of the required weight allowance for the back seat of George’s J. Tom is a glutton for punishment. Why else agree to be president of an unruly mob? The vice-president of said unruly mob was also 300-less, but he did have Carol with him. Gil Cunningham is also another future meet host. The 25th annual spring meet in Tallahassee, Florida should prove very interesting. Another southern twosome, Frank and Carolyn Markert of North Carolina drove up just to see the meet. Frank has a ’57 Saratoga, but he is looking for a C.

It snowed just two weeks before the meet where Bruce Brownell lives in upstate New York. His C had a slight charging problem and there wasn’t enough time to work on it, but Bruce still made it with his meet crew. Dedication! Mark Rayner brought his silver ’63 and was seen training his young son on the finer points of how to judge cars. In fact, son spotted a defect that was worth at least 5 points that Dad missed!

Less and Priscilla McCurdy showed up. Les was driving a ’90 New Yorker 5th Avenue Special Edition. It looks just like a convertible but it isn’t. We were all happy to see Les since his stroke. It’s not quite a 300 meet without those two there.

Bunches of locals showed up Saturday at Peddlar’s Village. Ron Chuchola dropped by with his ’68 New Yorker. Rick Yiengst came with tales of horror, but no L. Bob Brown and Bob Donatucci both kicked some tires and chewed the fat with us. In fact, Bob Brown got two of his buddies to join the club right then and there. Welcome new members Gus Martini and Miles Buchman. Miles owns a shell pink C and a red G. We hope to see them and their 300s soon. Tony Rinaldi and Ken Pippart, two more “close-by” members, also checked in.

Tom and Marie Trexler, our meet hosts, brought their ’57 Saratoga. Tom has owned this one for almost 20 years. Nice paint on it too. (Should be too, as Tom works for Sherwin Williams). They both did an outstanding job as hosts. There has never been a meet host yet so conscientious as Tom, who even wore an apron in the hospitality room so we would all know who he was. Aside from keeping the weather perfect for us (How did they manage?), the hotel was friendly and courteous, the parking lot roped off, the trips well planned (and not too many to detract from parking lot duties) and the slide show Saturday night of the 1972 Ann Arbor meet was a real treat. Thanks, you two. We all enjoyed it. Hope you do it again real soon.

People’s Choice Award Winners

Group 1: 1955 C300 – 1958 300D

1st Place: 300B owned by Bob Valpey, Center Harbor, New Hampshire

2nd Place: C300 owned by roger Williams, Easton, Pennsylvania

Group 2: 1959 300E – 1962 300H

1st Place: 300F owned by Chris Frederick, Pottsville, Pennsylvania

2nd Place: 300E convert owned by Robert Young, Damascus, Maryland

Group 3: 1963 300J – 1970 300 Hurst

1st Place: 300K convert owned by Don Cole, Irwin, Pennsylvania

2nd Place: 300 Hurst owned by Jay Fisher, Clark, New Jersey

Long Distance: Andy Mikonis – 300G – 770 miles from Rivergrove, Illinois

Hard Luck: Don Cole – 300K convert – rear U joint failure on interstate

300s at Bucks County

C300: Roger Williams
300B: Bob Valpey
300C: Bob Hagy convert, William DiCiurcio convert
300E: Robert Young convert
300F: Bill Codner convert, Chris Frederick, Tony Paino
300G: Andy Mikonis, Bruce Paul, Don Verity
300J: George Riehl
300K: Don Cole convert, Bill Elder convert
300L: Jerry Frederick
Hurst: Dudley Finneyfrock, Jay Fisher, Allan Moon, Jeff Miklas, Howard Stoll (2)
1963: Mark Rayner
1968: Ken Anello, Lew Frazer convert


Thanks to Bill Elder for typing this article for the web