Fresh and new in 1963, this Corvette split window coupe was a beauty. With a short lifespan, this Corvette was promptly wrecked in 1964. Can you imagine how the owner felt? Likely filled with heartache and frustration, as any of us would be, the owner put this Corvette out of his sight to be dealt with later. From that point forward, this spilt window spent 52 years locked away in a damp building. Although having only been on the road for a year and some change, this Corvette is by no means a cream puff. Rough, and in need of a ton of attention, this Corvette is currently bid up to $12,427 with 6 days remaining. Find it here on ebay out of Erie, Pennsylvania.
You may ask yourself what is my definition of “basket case” and what baring does it have on the Holy Grail of Corvettes? Well, take a long and sad look at this once fine machine. Clearly having taken a very hard hit in the driver front corner, this Corvette makes you cringe. The engine is twisted in the frame and the driver side wheel is tightly nestled against the fire wall area. Looking closer shows a missing windscreen and an even gap at the top of both doors. This Corvette must have been “moving” when it took this hit. Also considering this car was wrecked in 1964, the mileage seems high. The odometer reflects 44,580 miles. Now as a whole, that is certainly a low number, but it seems awfully high to accrue that many miles from the purchase date to the wreck date in 1964.
Unfortunately time has not been kind to this wrecked sports car. Moisture has gotten to this car, and taken it another step back after it’s wreck. The interior is rough, with oxidation, rust, moisture, dirt, and anything else you can think of. There are likely some useful items from the interior, but it would have been so much sweeter if this Corvette had been stored in a water tight building all of this time. The heavily corroded drive train is claimed to be original, and numbers matching, being a 327 4 speed car.
This Corvette has lived a rough heart breaking story that will hopefully end in some decent sort of way. We can always fantasize about this car being restored, or revived. The seller has thrown out the word “restomod”. Either way, the “important” part of this car survived, and will likely be put to use in some form or fashion. I think we all can empathize with this poor car, and its need for a winning lottery ticket. Although in rough shape, what do you think this rough Holy Grail will sell for?
All it needs is a new body, new frame, new suspension, new engine, new interior and a lot of trivial parts…sounds like a good project for a long weekend!
Seriously: the current bid price tells me P.T. Barnum (or was it H.L. Mencken?) was right. I’d just as soon take on a rotted-out 356. But I expect to see this in a Corvette show — or at least its ID plate) in a couple of years!
George Washington’s axe.
Hatchet replaced.
100 years later, handle replaced.
George Washington’s axe?
dig a hole bury it
Make an artificial reef(Stingrays would love it!) out of it to live out its days.
Look how far back the left wheel is.
Land fill
Let’s not forget that those odometers only went to 99,000 before starting over. Mileage is only as accurate as the documentation to prove it.
whats in this heap worth 12 grand? motor is most likely seized up and if I wanted a corvette a 67 is the only year worth considering! as they had all the bugs sorted out of them by them ! had a boss who bought a 63 newit spent more time at the dealer than he ever drove it! 3 months later he got rid of it! and never looked back!
Parts car. At least the rear clip isn’t too badly banged up. But you can buy them reproduction… I’m believing it wrecked in 1974 or later…
Doesn’t matter at this point – auction pulled.
Someone died a violent death in this car.
Maybe two, the passenger side dash pad is pulled up like someone went out the front windshield. Any seatbelts in these? Wont stop anyone from reusing the vin though.
Sounds like a great story until you study one of the pics and there’s another corvette sitting in the background. Did it happen twice?
Parts car not worth fixing
This has scam written all over it
Believe it or not the back half of this thing could prove valuable if the buyer has the means or is capable of merging the rear of the body onto another section if he has it. 12K is a lot of money though but these things are rare as many a split window were converted. Frankly not my cup of tea even if I were collecting.
Make a couch out of it.
Well……… You don’t put 44,000 miles on a car in one year by driving slow! By the look of the left front wheel. I don’t think it was going slow when it crashed. Wonder what happened to the driver?
I wonder too. Probably didn’t fare too well based on the condition of the steering wheel. :(
The real sad thing here is the greed associated with these cars. In the 80s yiu could buy a corvette for 3500 and drive it, we did this all the time with Shelbys and it was FUN!
It looks like it fell into the sinkhole at the corvette museum. FIRST! Bummer.
IS that residue from a fire extinguisher all over the front and interior?
All that should buff right out.
Get real, if the mileage can be documented some knuckle head will restore it and sell it to another knuckle head for stupid money. Just like graveyard cars, it doesn’t matter if the car is more Chinese. There’s always somebody with more money than brains that has to show off. “My Vett’s better than your vette cause it eats kennel ration my dog’s better than yours”
My question is didn’t the guy have insurance and if he did why didn’t he get another as I’m sure this car was totaled. Probably did and bought this pile back from the indurance company for $50 for parts.
It looks to me that even the steering wheel is bent, that was a nasty accident. The driver would have been banged up pretty good.
That’s a lot of cash for a nice shifter ball.
I blame the crossplies for this wreck.
Its in shocking condition, isn’t it.
Yes, Mecum will be happy with the result of selling the rebuild. With what looks like 90% or more of it needing replacement, as P above said, its only “original” once…
Is there a register of VIN numbers available to make sure that the next buyer is aware of the state this Vette was found in, to show what they are buying when it is sold as a rebuild?
Seems like someone could of came up with ten bucks for an old tarp fifty years ago.
Reminds me of a crunchy, beat up Wrangler I bought a few years back- replaced pretty much everything before it was decent. My wife joked that I bought the ‘idea’ of a Jeep.
pos, nwat
Hmmmm……the seller didn’t include a picture of the left front.
Too bad….that’s a deal breaker for me. Guess I’ll just have to keep looking for a ’63 Split Window that needs everything.
Comment of the day!
This car’s image brought to mind one of the most intriguing photographs I’ve ever seen – the abandoned tunnel at Mitchel Pt. on the Columbia River Highway. Both the car and the road became derelict over time, relics of a bygone era. There will never be another split-window and people will never again build roads simply for the joy of driving.
Someone will resurrect this Corvette, putting way too much money into it in a vain attempt to turn back time. As far gone as it is it will end up being more replica than restoration. Still, in the end it will be nice to look at and remind us of what once was.
It would be great if this pile of junk were one day able to be driven on the Tail of the Dragon or M131 in northwest Michigan. We can only hope.
Me Too, Wonder if the driver made it, That windshield is gone, bet driver went out that way. Very sad story for the vette. I guess that happened in the day when these weren’t rare, you could have bought one cheap back then.
Such a shame. About the only thing worth saving here I can see is the vin tag.
Wonder if the intent was to combine the 2 into 1 but never got around to it.
63s have a lot of one year only parts valuable to a restorer. For example the rear window stainless is worth $$$$$ and made from unobtanium.
44K in a year? Possible, but not probable….
the left front tire looks too wide to be pre 1965….or 1966
HA HA HA, This Is a far to common and typical story of a person that didn,t give a dam about the vehicle all those years, Now He expects to get $12,000.00 or more for a car that belongs in the crusher. There may be some salvagable parts on it but realisticaly speaking, bury it and let it rest in peace like the plymouth in the movie CHRISTINE.
You can always build another Split Window around the Serial Number Plate……….
And that is Exactly what will happen ;)
12k for scrap metal smh
Record that VIN, as it will resurface somewhere down the road at BJ etc, Lovingly cared for, One of ONE,LOW mileage, No traceable owner, OPPS I meant One owner,
some documentation missing. LOL
there is not a lot of metal for scrap. I bet also that the vin will host a different vette, but come one-12k ? pathetic
anyone that would pay for that vin.
pisses me of that someone would do this to fake another to look like it was a REAL split window. Pity the fool that buys the fake vette at Add to dictionary for that vin to pop up.
There used to be a company that would sell you a complete 63 split window body, They had been around since the late 1980s I wanted to buy one and put it on a tubular chassis from Jegs or other companies. But what stopped me was lack of a VIN and being a kit car. Now if you had a donor??? Seems like a lot of money for a donor though. But this one is MY FAVORITE Corvette! Style wise this was the sexiest ever.
I hhad to apologize when I sobered up after New Years eve as I told a certain very attractive lady she looked like “Sex on Wheels!” but that was not cool to do. Luckily she had a good sense of humor but generally when I say that I am referring to cars like the 63 split window
I see what you mean though Doug. There’s those two “Windows” and that hole in the back to put…gas?
Here is the Sting Ray that’s in the background, A 1963 convertible. Same condition but this one had been rear ended. The two collide with each other and one person buys them both to rebuild. Buuuut never gets around to it. This outfit stumbles onto the damp garage 50 years later and scores. That’s just how it worked out on my planet. Oh, same great 8 photos, except the pics of the vin! http://www.ebay.com/itm/1963-Chevrolet-Corvette-Convertible-/302192036650?forcerrptr=true&hash=item465c0c8b2a:g:GiQAAOSw5cNYc8Vi&item=302192036650
Just about everything on this car is split…
It is depressing to see this. It was mentioned above, was there no insurance? I’m guessing it was totaled, somebody got a check for what… $3 grand? I think they were under $5 grand new. I agree with the others someone is buying VIN numbers and a title. And parts too. $12 Grand doesn’t surprise me.
Auction was yanked.
Bar owner monkey started tv show about cars,people think their junk is worth 10 s of thousands now.most of these show are connected(pawn star, danny,ricks restorations,guys selling valuable stuff in a pawn shop?
All ya gotta do is take the gas cap off and slide another car under it and whalla a minty fresh and nice 63 Vette. As far as the mileage goes it could have been bought in late 1962 and driven for almost two years before it got creamed. You run back and forth to NY or Vegas on the regular and it will run them miles up quick. I dunno why but for some reason I think that one of the Cleveland Browns owned this Vette back in the day. I’m pretty sure that if you were curious enough you could research the Cleveland Plain Dealer archives and find out what exactly happened to this car as they would have covered accidents of this magnitude in Erie.
Needs work.
It is good for scrap metal, nothing more! It would cost a fortune to restore, it is better to buy something already restored or original and enjoy it! Instead of spending a lifetime….trying to make something out of junk!!!
The story changed from a year or two.