Indy 500 fans, take note: the seller of this trio of 1963 Chrysler 300 project cars claims that they are “true Indy pace cars!” Now, the distinction between “true” pace cars that were actually used at the track and the “true” pace car replicas you could walk into your dealer and buy is often blurry, especially after 55 years, and the seller doesn’t offer any proof in the ad to back up the claim, but, hey, the cars are sitting just outside of Indianapolis—so who knows! And at just $700 apiece (that’s $2,100 for all three cars, mathletes), true Indy heritage might just be gravy on top of a truly cheap project car find. Check them out here on craigslist (or go here if the ad disappears), and thanks to reader CrazyGeorge for the tip!
To clarify, these are not members of the vaunted 300 “Letter Series” family. In 1962, the Chrysler Windsor was replaced by the sporty 300, which sold as a full-line complement to the exclusive, two-door-only 300H-300L models offered from 1962-65. The non-letter 300 in 1963 came with a standard 383-cubic inch V8, although the 300J’s 413 was an option. The 300J, incidentally, was the least popular Letter Series model ever, with just 400 cars sold.
The Indy 500-commemorating 300 Pace Setter model is pretty rare, too: 1,861 convertbles and just 306 coupes. 33 of these cars were used for race day duty; all carried the 383 mated to a pushbutton Torqueflite automatic. While other colors were available, the most striking was the exclusive Pace Car Blue (more of a turquoise) that had been used on the official Indy cars. The above info, and the above photo, come from this Old Cars Weekly history of the Pace Setter, which is a great place to get inspired if you’re contemplating tackling one or more of these project cars!
By now I’m sure you’ve noticed that our two convertibles are indeed Pace Car Blue—well, mostly. There are some other Pace Setter-unique bits, though, and not all of them are in evidence on all of these cars. Only two out of three seem to have the squared-off steering wheel swiped from the 300J parts bin, for example, and none of them show off the checkered flag badge that should sit below the 300 medallion on the front fender. Cars can be painted, steering wheels can be swapped, and badges fall off, so I’d certainly want to see more documentation or evidence from the seller of the cars’ Pace Setter provenance—or, if they were actually used on race day, perhaps some VIN documentation, if any exists—before getting too excited about that aspect of these cars.
Still, even if they turn out to be garden-variety 300s, 700 bucks isn’t too bad for what the seller affirms are “complete” project cars, especially if ’63 Chryslers are your jam—and I happen to think they’re darn handsome automobiles. These are not easy project cars, to be sure, needing rust repair, full interior restorations, likely frame repair, and almost certainly full mechanical redos, but the end result would be stylish, comfortable, and powerful—and might even have some great Indy 500 history to boot!
I’m not in any danger of getting too excited about any aspect of these cars.
This generation was Virgil Exners last hurrah. The 63s and 64s were definitely a lot cleaner than the plucked chicken 62s. The 65s were more slab sided, courtesy of Ellwood Engel.
This is one rough trio. Probably best suited as donor. There’s nothing left of the floors & interiors of the convertibles, and likely the frames are little more than swiss cheese.
Three Musketeers, or three mouse-eaten kars…Three Amigos, or three ain’t gonna goes…
Not enough left to fix. Call the wrecker. Let someone pick off the bits that they need to restore worthwhile vehicles.
My older brother had one of these, a 300 in the same color as the pace car. Pretty worn out at nine years old [1972], but still made one feel grand driving around with the top down.
This could be a three into one situation. I like the hardtop the best
Just as a point of reference – a 1963 300J Pace Car convertible sold yesterday at BJ Palm Springs for $ 38,500.00. It apparently had 10,000 original California miles on it and appeared mint.
These are the Lee model Chrysler UGLEE
In addition to being the lowest-selling 300-letter series, the 300J was also the only year there was no convertible. Which is ironic since the 300 Sport convertible became the Pace Car. Chrysler sold a surprisingly high 1,861 Pace Car convertibles in 1963 (more than non-Pace Car 300 Sports) but only 306 Pace car hardtops. I am not convinced the hardtop here is a Pace Car, but I have seen some without the crossed flag emblems. Not sure if the emblems just got lost over the years, or if some came without the emblems. A Pace Car convertible in original-ish 3+ condition (my evaluation) sold for approx $23,000 at the Greensboro Classic Car Auction March 23.
Dovi65, I learned the hard way about restoring a convert that was in a barn for 40 years. When you have no steel roof, you have no steel floors!
Since I am an old guy I clearly remember the day I saw my first 57 Chevy and my first 64.5 Mustang both new at the time.
Both were very stylish and beautiful.
I also clearly remember sitting in a high school freshman English class and seeing a turquoise 63 Chrysler drive by the window. I remember it because in my opinion it was and is the ugliest car I have ever seen.
What a shame after some earlier Chrysler beauties.
This series Chrysler represents one of worst junk yard decisions. I came across a 3 speed floor shift in South Dakota, and thought it would be worth a small gold mine. I spent better than half a day wrenching, chiseling, and cussing, but finally got the shifter and floor hump, transmission, crossmember, bellhousing, flywheel out. When it finally sold, I barely got the junkyard price out of it.
Bought one of the pace car convertibles in 1982, it was white with red leather bucket seat interior, and the 383 engine w/Torqueflite. Nice thing about this car was it’s factory A/C. The car was ordered new by an older couple and kept in the garage every night. I bought it for a whopping $300, with about 20,000 miles showing.
The original owners kept everything including the window sticker and sales order form that showed they traded in a 1956 Chrysler Windsor 2-door hardtop. Both papers indicated it was a pace car version. If I remember correctly, the pace car option was listed at $78.
Wish I still had that car, it was trouble-free and I loved having the A/C running with the top down on a hot day, while in stopped traffic! I traded it on a near mint lo-mileage 1966 Imperial Crown Coupe from Arizona, Gold in color, without vinyl top, but was equipped with rare DUAL factory A/C! And of course having spent all it’s life in Arizona [in a garage], it was rust free, plus the interior was still nice because the first owners had kept it protected from the sun. It had a class 3 tow hitch on it, and I used it as a great tow vehicle.