Corvette owners are branded with a plethora of stereotypes. While the one about owners embracing the standard uniform of jean shorts and white New Balance sneakers is approaching legendary status, other stereotypes are more serious. Perhaps the most prevalent serious stereotype of Corvette owners is that they are obsessed with documentation. Yet the seller of this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette convertible for sale on Craigslist in Long Island, New York, tells us that the previous owner took documentation to dizzying heights. This former Corvette fan even documented how many times they pumped the gas pedal on startup! As you can imagine, this Corvette was well maintained and is ready for the road at an asking price of $59,900. Is that price too high, even though it comes with a “Captain’s Log” of the most minute details about the car since 2000? Thanks to Mitchell G. for this great tip!
There is some justification for being obsessed with a Corvette like this. 1963 was one of the most pivotal years in the car’s history. After ten years riding around on the same sedan-based chassis, the Corvette evolved into a formidable sports car with space-age styling and a new independent rear suspension. While 1963 Corvettes are famously known for the divided rear window on coupes, slightly more convertibles were made that year. Customers could choose from six engine and transmission combinations, ranging from a sedate 250 horsepower backed by a two-speed Powerglide automatic to a fire-breathing 360 horsepower fuel-injected powerplant with a four-speed manual transmission.
The Corvette you see here is a very well-kept example with a few important changes. Under the hood, the factory 327 cubic inch V-8 was rebuilt in 2000 when the car had just 44,000 miles. There is no explanation for why a rebuild was needed at such a low mileage. Nor is there any information disclosed in the ad as to which engine and transmission combination the car left the factory with. The car has just 53,000 miles on it now, and the transmission has been replaced with a TKO 600 five-speed manual.
This transmission change may upset the purists. However, that extra gear is at a 0.64:1 gear ratio, whereas a stock four-speed offers only a 1.00:1 ratio. What does that mean? Whoever made the change was probably tired of hearing the engine work so hard at highway speeds. With a 3.08 rear end, the combination makes for a very long-legged Corvette on the highway. It is unfortunate that the original transmission is not mentioned in the ad and presumably will not be included in the sale.
As for options, which are so important in calculating a Corvette’s value, the seller doesn’t tell us very much. We can see that the console is that of a four-speed car, and the fender badging alludes to this being a fuel-injected car. Under the hood, there is no fuel injection unit, and the decals on the aluminum valve covers state that this is a 340-horsepower engine. It does appear to have power steering, but power brakes, air conditioning, and most of the other options appear to have been left off the build sheet.
Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the car is the exhaustive documentation kept by the previous owner in what is called a “Captain’s Log.” The love this person had for their Corvette is documented every time the car was started. How many pumps of the accelerator it took to fire the car up, the mileage driven, the fuel consumed, and other details were faithfully written down for posterity. This former owner unfortunately passed on a year ago, so the above-and-beyond documentation went on for an amazing 24 years.
When they weren’t working on their maintenance magnum opus, the previous owner labored to make the car as presentable as possible. All of the lights, gauges, and other mechanical and electrical bits and pieces still work without issue. The car was also treated to a new paint job in 2018. That included any required bodywork. You can fly in and drive this car home, according to the seller.
When you put all of this information together, it appears this is a very good driver-level Corvette that has received an amazing amount of care over the last few decades. It may not be an NCRS Duntov Award car, but a good car to enjoy. You don’t even have to wear yourself out documenting everything about the car. The previous owner earned you a lot of credit in the documentation category. Adding fuel and dropping the top will be all that is needed for a good time.
Have you ever run across someone who was obsessed with documentation when it came to their car? How far did they go in their pursuit of perfection? Please share your stories in the comments.
When I purchased my ’93 convertible for retirement, I was obsessed with documenting every detail and kept all receipts, and it still goes on. That being said, I am having a hard time trying to nail down this particular color. Looking in the Corvette black book, lists 2 blue colors available of which are not what you see here.
Any ideas anybody ?
Code 916 Daytona Blue……….but this could be a repaint.
Daytona Blue was much darker – at night, many people thought mine was black.
It is always difficult to be sure looking at images, but I don’t believe that is the original shade of blue. The stance seems a little off also. Sitting too high in the front or too low in the rear. I will leave it to the C2 clan to chime in.
Enjoy the C4! I love my 1995.
All 1963 Corvettes had 283 CI engines. The 327 was first introduced by GM and became available in the Corvette in 1962. I would assume the engine replacement was completed during a full restoration as it was common to upgrade to the more powerful 327. Today, not having the original engine in a collector detracts from the cars value.
Not sure I understand your comment. No 1963 Corvettes had a 283. All were 327s of various HP.
Chief- 327 as noted above and probably any future comments. Never a 283 in 63.
Nice car price is good but its a repaint
The number of people who do not know the correct starting procedures for their vehicle never ceases to amaze me. On a cold start, with the ignition on you depress and release the accelerator ONCE and without touching the pedal, crank the engine and allow it to run on fast idle. On hot starts, hold the pedal half-way down and crank the engine. “Stomping” on it multiple times just floods the engine.
The 5 speed tranny would hav to go.
It can stay. This is clearly a driver now. No value as a collectble 1963 at this point. It is a “resto-mod” now.
To start with that is not an original 63 color, or any year Corvette color from the 60’s or 70’s I know of.
The car does not have power steering, but it does have the steering stabilizer that came on low horse 63-68 Corvettes. The stabilizer would not clear the big sump pan that came on 327/340’s or FI’s, and power steering wasn’t available with these two engines for the same reason. It has fuelie emblems, a fuelie core support, and a 6000 RPM tach which only came with the 340 and FI engines. Lot’s of old Corvettes have had FI emblems stuck on them. The FI core support was the only service replacement support sold by Chevrolet for years since it could be used with any engine. Given what I see I do think there’s a good chance that this car started life as a fuelie. It has a 62-63 FI only left hand exhaust manifold, which is somewhat rare and doesn’t usually end up on carbureted engines…but it is strange that it has the low horse steering stabilizer?
The master cylinder is a dual reservoir 67-82 part, a good safety upgrade from the original single reservoir unit if the car is driven regularly. The 5 speed is a nice upgrade for a car intended to be driven, but a 3.55 or even a 3.70 rear would make the car a lot more fun to drive while still offering comfortable cruising rpm’s. And if it really is a high revving 340 then it has to be a real dog off the line with a 3.08. I don’t know what it has for springs, but it’s sitting much higher than it should.
I’d love to see a picture of the engine’s stamp pad to know exactly what engine really is in the car, but it does have possibilities.
Hi,
Thanks for your comments. Very objective and informative.
Gary
Seems like a lot of nit picking given the price of this unit. I believe that most, if not all ’63s are overpriced, but this one almost seems underpriced given the supplied photos. Also, I tend to agree with gbvette62 that this may very well be a factory fueler, as well as his opinion about the rear end gears. I would want to look it over personally, but if it is a nice as it appears, this would be a great buy.
Useless documentations and mishmas of parts,color etc.for that price.
The 3.08 rear end was only available on 4-speed 1963 Corvettes
A nice 63, probably a fair price, but it looks like the left front of the car sits higher than the right front.
That’s pretty close to a Corvette color called Bridgehampton blue available on 71 Corvettes may be 68 through 72. I put that color on my 71 back in the day because I always just loved it. It had an almost chameleon effect that would change under different lighting, which this one does seem a little different in some of the pics. At night time under nightlights it would have a purple look to it. Used to be my favorite color.