Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely stunning
example of this very rare, 1 of only 625 ever built, 1964 Chrysler
300 K 'Letter Car' Convertible with a 413 2x4 barrel carbs short
cross ram option engine bored and stroked to 472 c.i. and mildly
customized with chrome wire wheels and upgraded Edelbrock
carburetors and air cleaners and boasting a no expense spared
restoration at reportedly well over six figures in 2020 and fully
loaded with factory options and rarities including: 1 of 625
produced No expense spared restoration completed in 2020 by Fenders
and Fins in Woodinville, Washington exclusively utilizing rebuilt
and NOS parts Refurbished or replaced wiring, suspension, exhaust
and convertible top components Rebuilt 472 CI Wedge V-8
engine--originally a 413 that was bored and stroked Cross Ram
option with dual 4 barrel carburetors 9.0:1 compression ratio
Balanced and blueprinted Dual Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetors with
electric choke operation Rebuilt 727 3-speed automatic transmission
Upgraded torque converter Upgraded clutches 3.34 Limited Slip rear
axle Factory Air Conditioning Console with floor shifter Power
steering with tilt column Power 4 Wheel Disc brakes Power windows
Power bucket seats Power soft top in Bright White with White boot
cover Full instrumentation amp; courtesy lights Correct White
pinstriping Chrome bumpers with overriders Dual fender mounted rear
view mirrors Factory tinted glas White leather upholstery Clear
Acrylic steering wheel Console mounted tachometer AM/FM radio with
USB connectivity Chrome wire wheels with Whitewall radial tires
Metallic Royal Ruby exterior finish Original owners manuals
Authentic Chrysler sales literature Service records and receipts
The Chrysler Letter Series cars with the highly desirable and
legendary High Performance 413 CID 2x 4BBL V8 'Short Cross Ram'
engines with dual 4 bbl carburetors which were matched to the
legendary A-727 HD Torqueflite automatic transmission were cars
that were extremely powerful for their day and which became the
basis for a successful racing engine in Chrysler's future and
cemented Chrysler's reputation for engineering great engines that
would serve Chrysler well in various forms for the next 20
years.This particular car was recently restored with no expense
spared and is one of only 625 300-K Letter Series convertibles
built in 1964 and marketed by Chrysler as 'Chrysler's fiery
spirited full size sports car' and 'The High Performance Luxury
Chrysler' and this particular model was the flagship model and the
top-of-the-line! The car has a 413CID 390HP Short Ram V8 engine
with upgraded Edelbrock carburetors and air cleaners but with
original cast iron intake manifolds and its original legendary
Heavy Duty cast iron case Torqueflite transmission. The 3 speed
Torqueflite was Chrysler's mainstay transmission from its 1956
introduction on the Imperial and was also sold to other luxury
automakers including such European marques such as Facel-Vega and
Jensen. The first Torqueflite automatic transmission was the
revolutionary A-488 which was lauded at the time as being the best
automatic transmission in the world until the A-727 aluminum case
which replaced the A-488 in 1962. The flagship model for the
Chrysler lineup in the late fifties and early sixties was the
Letter Series convertibles and coupes and were called the
'Beautiful Brutes' by the renown writer Karl Ludvigsen and produced
two of the most memorable performance cars ever made. Unabashadely
created for NASCAR which they dominated until 1957 when US
manufacturers shied away from competition support. Originally
powered by the most potent V8 Hemis yet, the 1955 C-300 (1,725
built) and the 1956 300-B (1,102 built) had a New Yorker Newport
fine body styling with an Imperial eggcrate grille. Off the track
the 300 proved to be about more than just performance with a
luxurious leather interior and all modern factory options.In 1957
the 300-C and in 1958 the 300-D were even more potent extensions of
Chrysler's hotrod and were the last of the Hemi powered Letter
Series cars and sold in both coupe (618 built) and the new
convertible form (191 built). The '57 Hemi produced around 375HP
and the '58 optional 'Hi-Po' engine was a fuel injected 392
conservatively rated at 390HP. In 1959 the fifth edition of the
Letter Series 300, the 300E was released and was a very low and
limited production run with only 550 coupes (of which 16 were
reportedly exported) and 140 convertibles built (of which 9 were
reportedly exported). From the Chysler300country website statistics
from 6/2009 only some 130 cars have survived with 104 of them
coupes and 26 convertibles and 11 parts cars. Basically the same
car as the 300-D but with a new horizontal bar grille instead of
the previous eggcrate and a new 413 cid Wedgehead V8 instead of the
fabled Hemi. Neverthless the new 413 was a true High Performance
engine with 380 HP and a good second quicker than the D up to 60mph
and 3 seconds faster to 90 mph. By 1962 the 300H's engine was the
most powerful standard engine in any American car, yet a difficult
sales year for the industry as a whole led to very low production
figures of only 435 coupes and 123 convertibles. The 1964 300K was
the letter car of the mid sixties and performance again drove the
fully unitized body with the ram induction system which boasted
390HP with 2x4 barrel downdraft 'Carter AFB' carburetors mounted on
a wild looking cross ram manifold with one air cleaner on each side
of the engine with an automatic choke, special heavy duty torsion
bars, sway bar, rear leaf springs and shock absorbers for the same
type of front suspension as most Indianapolis race cars, large dual
exhausts with special mufflers to reduce back pressure, the
legendary 727 Torqueflite 3 speed automatic power steering, power
brakes, genuine hand rubbed leather bucket seats with separate
power seat adjustments and with a full length sports console with
built in tachometer, breathtaking acceleration, power windows,
34c.i. size trunk, Astradome style 'Stewart Warner amp; King
Seeley' instrument panel clusters with most dials and gauges in one
location, tilt-type inside rearview mirror, electric clock, factory
applied undercoating and hood insulation pad, bumper guards, chrome
stainless steel wheel covers, dual headlamps and optional
pushbutton 'Golden Touch Tuner' AM/FM radio, power antenna,
pushbutton heater, rear window defroster and tinted glass.The 413
with ram induction (the original standard long rams 375 hp engine)
had more torque, at lower rpm (495 lb ft @ 2800) than the later 426
Hemi (480 @ 3200). At low speeds the "long rams" 375HP engine was
superb but over 4000 rpm performance would suffer and to solve this
issue Chrysler engineers removed a section of the inner walls of
the manifolds to create the optional "short rams" 400HP engine.
This option was obviously quite redundant for the street and only
really intended for Daytona bound cars that competed in the 'Flying
Mile' there and only about 15 of these ultra rare 'short rams' were
actually factory built. This $800 option also included a 4 speed
manual gearbox made for the Facel Vega, a Chrysler powered French
luxury car. One of the short ram 400HP cars driven by Greg Ziegler
set a 'Flying Mile' record of over 144mph in 1960! The 300K
delivered more performance in a luxury car than any other American
production car, no matter the price, and compared favorably with
the most costly European Gran Turismo automobiles in its ability to
maintain very high speeds over any type of road, rough or smooth,
flat or hilly, or twisted with hairpin curves but whilst also
remaining a luxuriously appointed and comfortable ride at the same
time! Survivors from this era are rare...for more information
please contact the seller.
