1963
A major restyling effort brought some needed life back to the letter-series
Chrysler as the 300J was a very sporty-looking car in its coupe-only (no
convertible was offered in the Letter Series but was available in the non-letter
300 Sport series) configuration. Power came from a 390 horsepower 413 RB-engine
mounting dual Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetors.
Controversial Dodge styling was refined somewhat for 1963 with the Dart
name now appearing only on the new compact which replaced the Lancer. Dodge
models were now the 330, 440, Polara and Polara 500. The 880 and Custom 880 remained
the top-of-the-line, full-sized Dodges.
Plymouth also received a reprieve on the bold styling of the previous year
with Valiant seeing a complete make-over. The Hyper-Pack Slant Six engine was
gone from Valiant models as full-sized Plymouths continued to offer Savoy,
Belvedere, Fury and Sport Fury trim levels.
The big news for 1963 was, of course, the increase in displacement, compression
ratio and horsepower ratings for the Max-Wedge
engines. Over-boring the 413
RB-engine resulted in a displacement of 426 cubic inches for the Ramcharger
and Super Stock II engines with compression ratios as high a 13.5:1 and horsepower
ratings to 425. Although the drag racing superiority of the Max-Wedge engines
continued, the competition was beginning to respond.
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