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1963 Chrysler 300 Convertible Options Question

I have a recently acquired 1963 Chrysler 300 Convertible Sportster w/ the

413 CID 4bbl performance option. When originally ordering the larger engine, did it also come with 15" wheels instead of 14" similar to the J letter car? I bought some nice 14" original hubcaps for my 300 convertible, only to discover that my car has 15" wheels D'oh!! From everything I've found online, the sportster came with 14" wheels, so I really was surprised to find 15 inchers. Was that an available performance upgrade or did a previous owner install the wrong wheels? Before I start hunting for 14" hubs or 15" hubcaps, I'm hoping to find a definitive answer.
Reply to
RM
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convertible,

The 300 Sport came standard with 8.00 X 14, only the 300J came standard with

15's. Not saying 15's weren't an option on the 300 Sport, only the build sheet or window sticker would show what the car originally came with.
Reply to
John Kunkel

I believe they were optional. 14" in the correct size are getting very hard to find. You can find them with raised white letters fairly easily but the normal white wall is only made by a couple places now.

I would stick with the 15's and find the right hubcaps if possible. I imagine those hubcaps are going to be quite rare though. I have been looking for a set of 15's for my '68 Newport for two years now and havent seen any yet.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

I wouldn't mind keeping the 15" for the reasons you cite, but again, I agree that finding the caps will be a challenge.

I think Cooper Tire still makes the 14" whitewalls.

Thanks for the info,

Robert

Reply to
RM

Yes, that's what I've found from all the online sources. Guess I'll have to order a build sheet, as I've been unable to find mine in any of the likely locations.

Thanks for the response

Robert

Reply to
RM

From where are you planning to order a build sheet...?

-Stern

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

The WPC Museum has the build data for pre-'68 cars.

Reply to
John Kunkel

Is that right? Cool! First I've heard of it. What's the procedure for ordering a sheet?

-Stern ('62 Lancer, LA-built car)

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

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Robert

Reply to
RM

Thanks!

-Stern

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

It might be noted that the build data is (was) in the form of an old style punch card. Unless the museum has recently started transforming the data from the punch card to text, a punch card reader will be necessary to decode the info.

Reply to
John Kunkel

Maybe not-

Check here:

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The URLs are old/stale, but there's a sample of the IBM punch card they send, and it contains human-readable information. Even if that is insufficient, no punch card reader is required to read the card, though a production code breakout book would be required:

The card has ten rows and eighty columns. A punch in row 8, column 38 corresponds to an option code 388. Open the breakout book, find code 388, and learn its meaning.

-Stern

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

FYI it seems as though the printed information at the top of the card is not the traditional "interpretation" of the punched holes. The shipping order number (the rightmost printed field) is actually punched in the first 8 columns of the card. Must have been a real computer!

Reply to
rickety

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