“The Outer Limits” is a customized split-window 1963 Corvette show car. After being wrecked when it was nearly new, the stock ‘Vette was customized with asymmetry as its theme and changed hands several times over the years, being further modified by each new owner. One its owners was Robert Peterson of Peterson Museum, where the car is shown in the lead photo. It has become available again in Cape Coral, Florida and is offered here on eBay for the Buy It Now price of $75,000.
A great deal has been written about this car over the years, including a feature in Rod & Custom some time ago, prompting it to be voted the Best Corvette in the U.S. in 1965. As the story goes, the car had less than 100 miles on it when it was involved in a high-speed accident with a concrete bridge abutment. Rather than being totaled and carried off to the junkyard, it was purchased, rebuilt, and customized by Farhner Custom Shop in Kansas City, Missouri. Ray’s shop spent months creating custom fiberglass bodywork and facilitating repairs from the wreck. They deployed an asymmetrical theme, which means “having parts that fail to correspond to one another in shape, size, or arrangement; lacking symmetry.” As such, it would feature offset twin grilles and an extended front-end along with one taillight in the rear and a recessed license plate housing on the other side.
But the work went even further than that, with the wheel wells being radiused and the top of the fenders heightened arched and finned outward. The door handles were shaved and replaced with electrical solenoids and the Corvette double hump dash was also made asymmetrical with the interior done in pearl white ribbed leather. Chrome was applied just about everywhere underneath and inside the engine compartment. When the work was completed, the car was dubbed “The Outer Limits” – which may or may not have anything to do with the television show of the same name that was on the air at that time.
Ray Farhner used the completed car for a while to promote his business and it changed colors more than once. But he eventually sold it and other people would use it for different purposes, with one of the other owners dropping in a 392 Hemi engine. Yet another decided that a studded, 350 cubic inch, 4-bolt main Chevy small-block with a turbocharger would work best. By the time the car went into the Peterson Museum, it was more like it was when it was first customized in the 1960s.
Today, it still has a Chevy V8 with a Muncie 4-speed and a 336 posi-traction rear end. The seller says that if you tried to replicate the car today from scratch, including all the chrome and one-off parts, would result in an investment of at least $200,000. The list of the chrome doo dads includes the brake drums, driveshaft, suspension parts, steering column and box, shock absorbers, water pump, and much, much more. The fuel gas is polished with a drain in the bottom. It even has a set of Ferrari-style horns!
The interior is space age looking, with everything wrapped in white leather. The hood has a switch located in the dash to raise it up or down to show off the engine compartment, and we assume the hood can be removed altogether to perform work on the motor. The seller believes that this car should be back in a museum or a private collection, not something to be driven around and shown off at every opportunity. I would have to agree with that because this is a one-of-a-kind automobile that should be preserved.
Ha! When I saw the side profile with the wheel design, I immediately thought of Bootsy Collins…
It does have a Cool Factor, but I prefer stock original.
$75K? The time has come and gone (likely when Peterson sold it) for a static display car. No more World of Wheels at least for now.
When and if it ever does It would certainly look like a grandpa sitting next to a cambered and stanced BMW or a bagged Civic at a show.
My take you won’t see many tapping into the 401K or money market anytime soon. Semi famous history or not. Now if it was the Dean Jeffries Reactor or something like that I would be all in
What a way to ruin a nice car.
You mean way to do something different to a badly wrecked car…
ACZ, right on. It’s front end looks like it has had a “Cheap” lobotomy. I hate it when guys do weird things to the original form of the car. Of course, in my H.O.
I say add the horsepower, gears, suspension & breaks, customize the interior, gauges etc, but LEAVE the body ALONE!
Oops, that should be “brakes,” not ‘breaks.”
I DID read Joe Haska’s comment. And, yes I think there is room for respect on his and the others hard work, but this one still looks goofed up again, IMHO.
The only two cars I thought were really cool mods were the Batmobile, and The Munster’s “Coffin Kicker.” Two exceptions to the no rules rule!
~Respectfully,
Phil.
I liked the Monkees modified GTO Monkeemobile … of course I was fifteen at the time … but the Munster Koach and Batmobile were teen admirations also …
Phlathead, I believe the cars from the Munsters TV show were “Munster’s Coach” and “Grandpa’s Coffin.” A replica of the latter was on display at our local Redneck Rumble a few years back. Body was EASY to replicate…it was a fiberglass coffin, of course. Then, there is the clear canopy that only a dead person would want to sit under to steer the car!
Little_Cars,
How does a “Dead Person” steer a car?
With his pheet??
Hideous (IMO)! It would only be useful in a ‘How to screw up a 1963 Split Window Corvette’ display.
After reading joe Haska’s comment, I’m ashamed of myself.
Considering that the car was toast, I applaud the work performed by Farhner. They certainly applied a lot of jelly to that toast.
Musta been jelly, cause jam don’t shake like that….
I’m sure when they ” customized ” they had no idea what the future value would be on a one year only car. I wouldn’t give 7500.00 for it. But that’s my opinion.
Don’t like it at all ruins the whole concept of what the corvette is, I’ve had several corvettes in trash condition and have never violented them to this extent I have a 65 corvette that has been abused to the fullest extent and still would not invest time and money in it to make it look like this I’m applaud
I like the comment “Should be in a museum”! Absolutely, with no front or rear bumpers, how long would that survive on the street? Personally I don’t care for it but that’s a personal thing.
I agree. I’m an automotive artist. The ’63 Stingray is an iconic design. I had one for a while and wish I’d never sold that beauty. I kind of like what they did to the rear but that FRONT, Yikes, is hydrous, even for a sixties custom.
I remember when the ’64 came out, without the split window and fools replaced them with single windows. Later owners were putting the spits back. The spit never bothered me. I’m glad that, in spite of all the other questionable “custom” work, the split window was retained.
Hey, what do you want ??? It got saved from the junkyard, didn’t it ? Cool one-off, IMHO
They have violated this former corvette. This thing isn’t worth scrap price in my opinion and who ever violated this car should not be allowed to touch any other car again, Only my opinion as a corvette owner.
At least it’s not a 4×4 chassis. Could always be worse. I’d drive it…better than walking. And you’ll always have a 1 of 1 to brag about.
This is a tutorial on how to totally ruin a 63 split window Corvette! I wouldn’t give you a dollar for it!!! It borders on sacrilegious! Totally ruined a rare 63 split window!
After the accident, they should have let it go to scrap. This is hideous, hard to get the image out of my brain.
Not only do I like most of the custom touches, I love how much it angers the Corvette purists, most of whom could sit on a lump of coal and turn it into a diamond.
Steve, Many think what they sit on is a diamond only to be reunited with the limp of coal and yes, I am a Corvette owner.
Everybody forgets these cars weren’t instant “classics” . People bought them and did whatever the hell they felt like because no one was thinking “You know this SWC is going to be worth $100,000 in 2021”. I was 10 years old in 1963 and 2021 to me was science fiction stuff. Just like this car.
It always amazes me how you guys, “don’t get it “,you are so absorbed by what you think is right today, you forget you weren’t the first ones here and you know nothing of the past history, and then you make comments that show how little you understand ,how we got to this point. I am pushing 80 and I was a kid when Ray Farner ,was a show producer with World of Wheels, Auto Rama , ISCA etc. and Bob Laravee and Daryl Starbird ,were the kings of The Car Show Circuit. This was the era of the Car Shows and the Show Cars. When this Corvette was built ,it was done to be a star at these shows. It wasn’t a rare 63 fuel injected split window Corvette, it was an over the top show car ,to promote and win these events.
Fast forward to the early 1990’s ,I was recruited by Championship Auto Shows (Bob Laravee) to be one of their producers, for a big show, that had at one time been one of their better events, but they had stopped doing it. I had a track record of producing some successful local events, on a smaller scale and they gave me the opportunity, to work for them, and bring the show back. I jumped at the chance, and got to learn ,about all the early history and meet the people in the industry, that I had only read about. It was an assume experience and fast tracked me on to, starting my own company, that went on for 20 more years, producing car shows.
I have been extremely lucky to get the opportunity to work in an industry that I loved and got to participate in ,during some of it’s still most popular years. It’s hard for me not to comment, when I see statements and opinions, that just show me, how little some of you know about the history, of how all this started. I guess enough time has now passed to a place, that a 63 Corvette Show Car ,from a previous decade or more, can be ridiculed for how ugly it is and how could someone do that to such a rare car. It seems I really am aging, when I am surprised that some you “don’t get it.”
Great context and putting on car shows during the “Golden Age” of custom cars must have been a lot of fun and a lot of work. You are a lucky man. Have you thought about writing a book about your career? Put me on the waiting list if you do. Back in the day in Buffalo, the Clutch Artists “Auto-rama” was, to me and my dad, the first sign of Spring. We never missed it. In fact I had a hot dog with sauerkraut the other day that took me right back to the 1964 National Guard Armory show and the hot dogs we used to scarf down with root beers. Thanks for the memories.
Frank, Thank you for the nice reply, its hard for me, when I read some reply’s as it is obvious , the nay sayer’s don’t understand the history. You are also so right it was a very special time, and I was lucky to go from a complete gear head soaking up every hot rod and custom, magazine’s and car show ,I could find. Thinking of Ed Roth, George Barris , Boyd, Pete and Jake and all the folks that were celebrities, and icons to me. They were my role models and heroes, just like other guys only thought of sport stars, I thought of car guys. Then as a lucky break, World of Wheels was looking for a producer for there then retired, Denver Show. They asked Darrell Mayab if he knew anyone that could do it , and he said yes, but I doubt that he will. He then called me and ,I said are you crazy of course, I will do it, and the rest is history. I was living my dream, almost immediately, I wasn’t reading about these heroes, of mine ,I was meeting them, socializing with them and doing my dream job, I would have done it for free.
Like you said, I could write a book , but I doubt it would sell. But to get thrown in that car culture ,that I just inherently loved, was a dream come true. It is certainly an era that has moved on and has changed, like every thing does ,I think I am so lucky to be a small part of it and participate up close and personal.
If you ever want to B.S. about the good old days give me a call jhaska@comcast.net 303-668-4994
I loved the Clutch Artists shows and we went every year. Masten Ave!
Sure it wasn’t birch beer?
Joe- keep an eye out for an email from “leaf4…
I am 76 years old and fully agree with you. The purists can like what they like but in our time this is a work of art. Thank you for your comment.
@ Sparks- We need to convince Mr.Haska to find a publisher! Further proof about this car being the pinnacle of the Custom Car Culture is the fact it was voted “Best Corvette” in 1965. The naysayers prove once again they are often wrong, but never in doubt. Lol. Have a great day.
@ Gerard- Are you aware of the response to so-called Modern “degenerate” art from a certain group of folks in Germany from around the mid-1930’s to around 1944? If not you should do some reading on the topic. In the end they were on the wrong side of history and not very good art critics.
You’ll have to admit that Pablo’s art is pretty well received as is.
Joe, I’m 74 and I’m not a purist. I don’t like the looks. As a practical useable vehicle, I don’t see the likelihood of it showing up at ‘cars and coffee’. The work done is very well crafted, but to my eye, it’s bizarre.
Joe – Thanks to you & Steve S. for both of your comments…..I completely agree with both of you !!!
– Ray Guardiano
are you the Joe Haska from Denver if you are I met you at the riddler award and then I brought my radical yellow 32 ford Victoria to your show. for what its worth I loved your show. hope you are doing well I agree young people don’t have any idea what started it all.
take care joe be safe
Jim yes it is me , I remember that weekend ,we had a ball, and I was so excited that you would come to Denver. You probably know my job with World of Wheels was cut short ,so I went off on my own with Graybeard Promotions for a short 20 years. I have now retired to Phoenix AZ. and the amazing weather and car culture here, I love it. Still have my 34 Coupe and working on my 6th 53 F-100, its almost done and then I plan on kicking back a little and building no more complete cars, no matter who asks. Whats up with you , I hope you still have a great collection of cars. Several Nebraska guys down here ,one even has one of Boesh’s builds, an early Vette, he is a neighbor Larry Clauson.
Thank you, Joe, for your comments.It is a shame that some did not experience what you did. As a 76 year old, I loved the show cars of the day, and always wished that I could see them in person. Relied on Hot Rod and Rod and Custom Magazines to see their beauty. Now all I have is a 1/18th scale “Beatnik Bandit” which some wouldn’t like either. Thanks Joe
Kudos for your comment. Customization is personal and not everyone will get it. The current trend of stance and lower is just as polarizing. Is this car “my thing”? No, but I can appreciate the craftsmanship which is just as, if not as important as the finished product. Besides, everyone knows the worst custom job was the poor car in Corvette Summer. ‘:>)
I personally LOVE this car, and I would totally and “sacreligiously” drive that car around fearlessly, letting any possible wear and tear worries befall the next owner. I think it’s a work of art and a piece of history, but one that people everywhere should see at all sorts of local shows and swap meets, etc. HOWEVER lol I think that if I did own it, that I would almost certainly HAVE TO restore the original round taillights back to it. I can live without the center roof ridge, the hood grills, the steel bumpers, and all the other mods. It is those iconic round taillights that DEFINE the C2 ‘Vette, for me Sir…
Again – the car would never disappear, get destroyed, or be beyond any quick fixes for a new owner, once I left it to this world. So I would most definitely drive it and show it off – not recklessly or wantonly, but with respect – and yet no with fear of any rock hits or road dust. And I’d get lots of and oohs and ahs wherever I went…I wonder if that baby has a radio?!
As usual everyone is crying over nothing. The car was new and like many it was ruined a short time later. A body guy got it for next to nothing as they would. Instead of getting factory parts he opted to make it a custom. What did he have to loose? It was an era. Pick up any vintage car rags.
Even the model kits of the day offered different ways to build the kit. Think of the AMT 3 in 1.
*lose
Joe Haska … you nailed it. You should write down your story hope you took a lot of pictures. I’d love to hear more from you
Help! My OCD! But seriously…this thing would drive me nuts. It’s cool, but it’s definitely waaaaay too asymmetric. I need absolute symmetry!
I guess my father should be shot for this?
https://media.fotki.com/2v2JeckaCxAhT9W.jpg
Your father’s mods are great. Please provide specs (carbs, 1/4 mile times, etc. if available). Thinking and acting outside the box is to be applauded.
Asymmetrical furor and stock Vette reverence has been cranked up to 12 on a scale of 1 – 10. Does no one remember the 1960 Plymouth XNR? Unlike the XNR I don’t find this Show Car having an esthetic high point.
What is amazing is that no one has mentioned the superb Bosley Special designed by 19 yr old Richard Bosley in 1952 and completed in 1954 at a cost of $9,000. The Bosley is the red coupe in eBay photo #3 which has the “show car” flanked by the Bosley and a Rolls Royce.
Read the article by Road and Track’s John Bond in the August 1955 issue as presented on Geoff Hacker’s Undiscovered Classics:
https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/forgotten-fiberglass/the-bosley-mark-i-sports-car-road-track-august-1955/
ps: check the Peterson Museum’s article/vid that shows Bosley’s “Interstate” GT coupe which was built on an original Corvette SR2 chassis for more.
GMC/ Chevy 292 .030 over. the head was made from a pair of 2.02 fuelie heads. My dad worked at Grumman aircraft an the machining, welding and block mods were done there on weekends Carbs were D’ ltoro’s off a V6 Fiat. Three speed manual trans and rear gears were either 5:13 or 5:30 with welded spiders.
Ran H/G or I/G class depending on what track and whether IHRA, AHRA or UDRA. He raced this in the mid to late 1960’s and as I remember (being 16 years old or so then) it ran low 11’s high 10’s
…depends. What kinda times did it run and what class did it run in?
In the early 70’s, there was a fellow named Joe Lemely who raced a blue c2 fastback like that at Riverside Raceway near Proctorville, Ohio. His was a GMC six that would wind really tight. I was a kid then, he must have had a billet crank in the thing, if they had been invented then ?
He bought the car from my dad. He replaced the IRS with a solid axle and added a 4 speed close ratio box.
Wow, so much hate. Before I read the comments my first thought was that it was too bad they couldn’t carry the asymmetric idea to the (admittedly) rear windows.
About my only change to this car would be the steering wheel, it looks kind of cheesy in my opinion, like somebody’s mommy did the leather wrap.
Yeah, it’s a shame this was built using such a rare foundation, but I can certainly appreciate the imagination and hard work that went into this car.
I don’t like it- in that it’s “not my style”, but I appreciate the artistic vision, effort, expense, and commitment it took to build it. It is indeed an icon of the former days of American automotive glory. If it wasn’t for people with the vision displayed here we’d still be huddled in caves eating nuts and berries.
Lots of modern “Non-Neanders” STILL eat nuts and berries, but could you imagine cool cars of the 30’s & 40’s coming off the line with non symmetrical front ends?
Very surprising they ignored the ultimate bold step of shifting the rear-window split to the left or the right. But they couldn’t have known at the time it would be a one-year feature and signature design element.
Some of the comments made are completely asinine. Do you see the car in the picture. It was a wrecked pile of crap. It was bought and customized because that was the ONLY thing to do with what was left. It would have cost much more to repair or restore to factory specs. That includes today.it would take more money than it’s worth.i just can’t believe a 1/5th of you call yourselves car guys. Y’all sound more like crybaby guys. I don’t understand why you guys look at barn finds. You know more than anyone, you don’t really like anything. You have advice needed or not. I’d remove comments because all but a few you are going to whine, cry, piss & moan?
Had a auto shop teacher in high school after chatting about wrecks we’ve seen and cars hauled off to scrap, that with the right amount of talent, vision and bank practically anything can be rebuilt. One of the best examples being “special” cars and also WWII aircraft. Shame they don’t have the extra classes in many schools like auto, wood, art, and metal anymore.
I’m in the same boat with Joe Haska and a few others that get it. Those of you that weren’t around in the 50’s and sixties don’t understand when someone does something different than the norm. These 63 splits were almost a dime a dozen for years. It’s always been on the top of my want list. Had a chance many years ago to buy one at a Corvette for 23K and thought that was an outrageous price. But give the guy who did this a bit of respect for taking a trashed piece that would’ve ended up in a crusher and making something special out of it “years ago”. Not everybodys’ taste, but that’s life. Right?
Small point here, but lets show a little respect, okay?
The name is Robert E. PetersEn,
His entity was PetersEn Publishing and later the PetersEn Museum. The car hobby owes this man endlessly for its’ very first POSITIVE presentation to the world. He and his company gave car guys a voice for over a half-century.
And his wife was a knockout! Life was good for Mr. PetersEn.
Pete was profoundly cool and deserved everything he had, including Margie. She was a MAJOR babe, even into her 60s.
Legend has it that Pete and Carroll Shelby cut quite a swath through the female population of… well… anywhere they were. Margie was a spokesmodel at one of the PPC shows, Pete asked her out and proposed within a week.
Fewer know that Pete and Margie lost their two young sons in a private plane crash in the mid-70s. I remember hearing the paging announcement at the SEMA Show that year. That loss took a lot out of them but they hung in, bigtime, and persevered, eventually becoming the icons that they deserved to be.
I was just a lowly freelancer/columnist at PPC, but he was always complimentary and encouraging.
I like it and am glad Ed Roth didn’t get hold of it. The mods stopped at about the right place for what it is.
hey asymmetrical exist in 99% of cars (not all race cars) there is only one steering column, one gauge cluster, one steering box so on and so forth, so if you hate asymmetrical so much then why dont you get out of the vintage car hobby, personally i love it, would i do it to a ´63 split window today, no, but back then yeah why not, tbh i love it, better than it being crushed, but hey thats just me and i respect that that shop saved a wrecked 63 C2 vette
Well, I have had some good chuckles reading some of the comments. I have to admit, I have a slightly modified (restomod) 63 Split Window. I was told it was not numbers matching so I went ahead and did some bolt on mods to the 327/300 hp engine which had a Munsie 4 spd with a 4:11 rear end. After we bought the bolt on parts I had the person doing the modifications check the numbers because I had never do so. Guess what? The numbers matched but we had already bought the parts… We put on Jegs aluminum heads, Edlebrock intake, headers, new brakes, fiberglass rear spring and new front springs, (the car was sagging like me), carpet, a 5 spd Tremec, etc. I’ve owned the car for over 35 years and it still has the red lacquer paint. I recently checked the number and it was originally white. I retained all the parts so it would be easy to put it back to stock. At first glance, it looks stock and it’s a fun car to own and a lot of people comment on it.
Just a bunch of pieces and parts.
I have no idea where you are, but when You said National Guard Armory it brought me back to all the shows at ours. I’ve been away from my home town so all I can say is I hope they didn’t tear it down like they did a few miles west in our former DownTown.
In Rochester NY now. The armory memories are of Buffalo. The car shows were right across the street from War Memorial Stadium, “The Rockpile” where the American Football League Buffalo Bills played. Can you imagine a pro football stadium smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood? You took a bus or parked on a side street and hoofed it to the stadium.
Went to the World of Wheels show in Washington, DC sometime in the early 1970s. I remember seeing a blue fur-covered car of some sort. And all the CHROME! To my pre-teen eyes the custom cars of the era were things I’d only seen in magazines until WOW came to town. Only went that one time, after which my father and I started building custom models like competitors in the great British BakeOff!
For me, the history of this car doesn’t add any value, nor does the customization. I’m quite certain it would be worth more in it’s original configuration…
I’m going to the World of Wheels this weekend in Omaha!! I wish this was there to see!!
You have a good attitude. Have fun!!
Obviously it’s a love it or hate it situation. I definitely don’t love it.
Odd non symmetrical front end with 1 headlite on drivers side & 2 on the passenger side! …
http://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2021/030921_6b.jpg
I can see it as a Gran Sport. All custom stuff off. Then it will definitely look like a Vette again. Text me, ready to offer but nowhere near 75k
Really terrible photos…
Final comment, I promise. The King of Asymmetrical was Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. Go look at his creations again, especially the Mysterion. If you think you know more about 1950-1960’s custom car design and what folks thought was cool during his time, than have at it and continue the chat.
I ran across a piece the other day, a 1962 interview with George Barris, the KING, the ULTIMATE VOICE for all times regarding custom cars.
Just ask him, he’d tell ya that. All day long.
His take in 1962 was that Asymmetrical styling was THE NEXT BIG THING! And that EVERY CAR FROM DEEETROIT would soon be as lopsided as you could imagine. Didnt quite turn out that way, I think maybe one model Plymouth and the Avanti were the only identifiable examples.
Joe Haska, Write the book! When you’re gone, so will the stories you have. Keep the memory alive.
I remember going to a couple of World of Wheels shows in Bakersfield y-e-a-r-s ago and a few Blackie Gejeian shows. Loved them.
Such hate…ok, some thoughts: This car is emblematic of, and celebrates, a particular era that is no more. It was meant to be provocative then, as it obviously still is now. If it wasn’t made into this showcar, it would simply have been scrapped (as too expensive to fix). Absolutely there can is beauty in asymmetry too (just go to any museum, look at much of modern architecture, or just about anything in nature). But tastes of course change & few would build this car today. They’d build something else awesome and over the top (probably for SEMA) that some will ridicule 50 years later for “desecrating this (now rare) car and not being with the times…” But, heh, I won’t be around by then :)
The Barn Finds gurus need to get a Joe Haska podcast put together ASAP.
Went to a Cars and Coffee today in Cape Coral this morning and this very Corvette showed up. I like original cars best but, this Corvette was amazing. The young guy that owns this car is a car guy just like everyone here. Was awesome seeing the car in person.
Very good to hear that. Thanks. Too bad everyone is on to the next BF shiny object.
I’m 63 and have loved this car for 30yrs now. It’s not for everyone, but for me, it’s ABSOLUTELY perfect!! I’m doing my best right now to buy it! I’ll let you know if I’m successful or not!!
I am the proud new owner of the Outer Limits, and I am the last owner it will ever have, it’s being repainted by my friend and top customizer Dave Shuten, he promises to make the paint job “Jaw-Dropping”
CT Fletcher – congrats!
Keep us posted with links to some pictures.