Chryster President Lee A. Iacocca has donated the profits from his bestselling autobiography to the Harvard-affilated Diabetes Center in Boston.

Officials of the center said they were pleasantly surprised by the book's success and are not yet sure how they intend to spend the funds.

"Iacocca," published in the tail of last year, is currently in its 11th week on the New York Times bestseller list and is selling better than any other book in America.

Institute officials have refused, at Iacocca's request, to give estimates of the rovalties involved. But proceeds are exceeding both Iacocca's and the institute's expectations, said Dr. Robert I. Bradley, president of the loslin Diabetes Foundation, the center's parent organization.

The gift is Iacocca's second to the foundation In 1981, Iacocca founded the Mary K. Iacocca Fellowship fund to honor his late wife, whom Bradley treated for diabetes.

Center officials had originally planned to use the book's profits to increase the fund from its current $400,000 level to $1 million. The fund currently gives $20-22,000 stipends to research assistants and junior faculty members for a year of diabetes research.

But with "Iacocca's enormous success, institute officials are not sure of then plans for the windfall gift.

Bradley said that the decision on how to spend the funds will be made in part by Iacocca, and that he planned to meet with Iacocca's daughter in the near future to discuss possibilities.

Iacocca, widely credited with orchestrating the federal government loans that delivered Chrysler from financial ruin in 1979, wrote in the book's preface that he never intended to profit personally from the self portrait.

"I already have every material thing a person could need. That's why I'm donating every penny I earn from this book to the Joslin Diabetes Center," he wrote.

The research institute is one of 11 teaching hospitals and centers affiliated with the University.

What For?

Joslin spokesmen and previous Iacocca Fellow terry Maratos-Flier said at least a portion of the money might be used for additional fellowships, or for currently underfunded programs such as patient education on subjects like nutrition and diet.

Bradley added that a whole new foundation might be set up to contribute to different programs at the center over the next several years. "We don't quite know how it's going to work," he said.

Iacocca could not be reached for comment.

Fellowship winners, often second year researchers at the center, have worked in such areas as failures of children's immune systems against diabetes and origins of cardio vascular problems contributing to diseases of the liver.

The Best and the Brightest

When the fellowship stipends began in 1981, they were relatively well-paying in comparison to other research grants, according to Maratos Fliet. But they have since slipped to the lower end of the scale, she said.

However the new income is used, Bradley said he thought that Iacocca would continue to fund "bright young individuals" in the field.