It had to be exciting to extract this Corvette from its resting place. The fact that it was covered with boxes of junk probably didn’t even phase the happy party in charge of the task. What they uncovered is not perfect, but is worth some serious consideration if you’re in the market for a split window Corvette. It’s located in Snohomish, Washington and is listed here on eBay with no reserve. There’s an interesting story behind it too so keep reading!
Supposedly, the previous owner was also the first owner. They wanted a green Corvette, but that wasn’t an option in ’63 so they picked a silver one off the lot and had it resprayed before taking delivery. They then proceeded to enjoy the car until about 1973 when they parked it in their garage. And that’s where it sat until the current owner came along. It took a while to convince the owner to sell the car – nine years to be exact!
That had to be an exciting day! Possibly more so than the day it was picked up brand new. The new owner took the time to rebuild the carb and get the engine running again. It’s still not a daily driver, but is claimed to run, stop, and turn. The 327 V8 was the only engine size you could get, but it was available in multiple levels of output. This is the 300 horsepower one, so it slots near the middle. It would interesting to see what other options this one came with.
Inside you’ll find an automatic shifter popping out of the center console. I can also spot a Wonderbar radio and controls for the air conditioner. The soft surfaces look shot, but everything appears to be present. New upholstery, carpet, and a dash pad would really work wonders in here. Hopefully the gauges and trim can be cleaned up with a good polishing. This was more of a cool cruiser than a full out street bruiser, but that’s alright by me.
It would have been hard to believe that the paint could look this bad after 10 years if we didn’t know it had been resprayed when new. Most would want to repaint the exterior, but I’d just restore the drive train and interior and leave the outside alone! The paint or lack thereof gives the car a cool look and would make it stand out among the sea of shiny restored Vettes. Just be prepared to here the words “When are you going to paint it?” a lot!
I used to own two 63 convertibles. I know the split window is very desirable and this car is in decent shape for restoring, but the current bid is $65,000. Crazy in my opinion. Unless it’s the car of your dreams.
I think it probably is to a lot of people. The C2 is the nicest looking to me.
It all boils down to what a person is willing to spend and the other person will to sell!
Make it road worthy and safe.
I am not sure what would be the most fun driving this car or the peoples offers to buy it. Because they want to buy it and you owe it to them to accept their offer.
In several ways I wonder about the story. To start with the dash looks terrible and most times they only look that bad when they have been exposed to a lot of sunshine, which according to the story this 1 hasn’t been. Same goes for the paint job, I just don’t see it working that bad for the length of time it was supposedly driven although it averaged about 10,000 miles per year is the stated mileage is correct.
Spectacular car. Hopefully the new owner will bring it back to life. Thanks for sharing.
I sure wouldn’t turn down a car like this if the opportunity came my way, and I could afford it. I question the repaint and where the car sat. I’ve seen some shoddy paint jobs last a lot longer than that. I would never consider driving this one around and leaving the body as is. Being fiberglass, the P-word wouldn’t necessarily apply but ‘Patina’ is still the old Indian word for ‘Lazy Bodyman.’ Full restoration would be the order of the day for this one….
How many split windows are left that a Corvette affocianado can afford.
This is a rare find, price is commensurate and yes gonna cost, but like one person mentioned, streerable level, not perfect draws eyes with fat wallets and will always do so.
The 327 only needs a cam and carb change to jump power.
Bring it back, glass done slow, to smooth for repaint, drive it until too old to drive with coins in pockets even then.
There is more difference then cam and carb, like heads there was 3 different valve sizes, and on the highperf they used dome pistons. Which with today’s fuel you wouldn’t want the dome pistons.
I am absolutely astounded and flabbergasted. I am picking up my jaw off the floor and putting my eyes back into their sockets. If I was drinking coffee, my spit-take would be covering the computer screen. Why? Someone actually took the time to uncover, dig out, and pull this car out into the sunlight. They cleaned it up and then took pictures. It is amazing in this day and age someone would expend actual energy to do that. Bravo!
Now… on the other hand… if this was a CL ad, it would be just a crummy, blurred cellphone picture of it buried in the garage, a one sentence description and the seller taking “offers” (whatever that means).
Always amazed at the amount of garbage these cars are buried in. Clutter I can understand, my garage has clutter, most garages have clutter, but the amount of just plain old garbage is unreal.
Hello
Wow what a great car bonding strips look good. Doesn’t look like it had been hit before. These type 63 split window coupe finds were about 35 to 40k a few years ago. I would pay 40 k gladly for this car now
Except that the bid is now at $65K and they are not done
I am sure an awful lot of people would pay $40k for it now. It’s worth $60k. Always wanted one, Likely never afford one though. I’ll keep dreaming (less work that way too!).
3 years ago bought a SWC 327/340HP 4sp in 2+ condition for $75K. I’m astounded at this price.
Blows my mind how someone can treat such a beautiful car the way this one was. Very undeserving.
I’m not a Corvette guy except for 63s with 327s. The best body with the best engine. This pup was rode hard and put away wet. Missing belts, rusty motor. cracked upholstery and dash pad with paint worn/falling off to the glass. This old girl sat outside for a length of time. I don’t believe the barn story. It might have been in a barn or garage recently but it didn’t do a lot of time in one. That being said, there is a lot of potential here. I like the writer’s idea of leaving the exterior as it is. I’d put some cool wheels and tires on it got a little juxtaposition. maybe some rallys, no trim rings or caps . . .
Nice car…. You probably want see another one that nice for sell in a while ,I would like to own it!!
It wouldn’t be for sell!!!
Got to love persistent flippers! I just bought a solid little old lady owned 57 Tbird for a grand. $1000 that’s right and I have intention of selling it!
If you are not being sarcastic I surely wouldn’t brag about beating an old lady out of thousands of dollars in the purchase of her car.
I like 63 SWC’s but that’s just crazy money. For what it needs, add that to the price and you have what fully restored ones are going for today. This is just turning into crazy money on some of there. Whether a SWC, a Hemi or whatever, the little guy can’t afford them any more.
I like split window Corvettes, but…..
I wouldn’t buy this car without a NCRS expert on these with me when I looked at it. Forget everything the seller says and go with the NCRS expert.
The seller disqualifies himself as any kind of authority on vintage cars when he talks about this car having “the most amazing patina I have ever seen”. He needs to find out what the word ‘patina’ means. Also the words ‘original and untouched’. He also doesn’t seem to know the car’s build…or maybe he doesn’t want to tell us. Too bad. It might be a good car to base a restoration on but the listing isn’t very encouraging.
Definitely with U Scotty, keep the original (sometimes sacrilegious P word) & drive the wheels off it!
it does NOT have “controls for the air conditioning”
standard dash with a radio option
it does have an add on a/c control head under the glove box though
Could it be an 8 track
player?
Upon further investigation I do see an aftermarket A C compressor
No I don’t think so. It looks to me it is a reverb for the radio. I had one in mine and it looks exactly like it
That’s not patina, that’s ugly.
Many people seem to think that the lasted discovered; Split Window 63, 61 bubble-top, 67 427/435 vette, you name it, is the last one on the planet. When you consider that a lot of our favorites were made in mass quantities it is my opinion that there will always be another one to be discovered underneath a pile of boxes just like this one.
When you think about it, other than a vette that got totaled or burned to the ground none would have been crushed for scrap metal because they are mostly fiberglass. None would have been turned into farm machinery like a model A. None would have been destroyed on a dirt circle track like a 36 Chevy coupe.
None would have suffered the fate of a Corvair. Why, because they have always been admired and cherished too much. As a result they all got poked in a shed to get discovered for years to come on Barnfinds.com
Who knows what lurks behind barn doors? The “Shadow” knows!
Upon further investigation I do see an aftermarket A C compressor
It’s not too hard to understand the lustful wanting desire for these cars when you start looking at the details and style this car had built in.. very impressive-beautiful as-is or restored.
Wow! Split window 63. I was in high school when these came out. Even then they were very controversial, and only one person in my high school had one. Funny, I don’t remember those rear bumpers being so huge. I’ve seen some go across Barrett Jackson and mecum for over 100grand. They were in great condition though, you could probably have way over that in this one all said and done at the current bid. $100,000.00 to some people is like $10.00 to me, expendable money, but not investment money.
Absurd bid at $65,000.00. Somebody is smoking something………
Phase or faze?
Persistent flipper. Harassed the owner for 9 years and wanted it so much he can’t wait to sell it. Wonder how much he ripped the owner off. They make my skin crawl.
Wow, love this, love the work needed, love the potential. I’m going to Ebay and bidding right now!
OH. I’m back. 65K. NVMD.
The current owner harassed the original owner for 9 years to sell it to him so he could…flip it for a profit? What a tool! Probably told the old man how it was his dream car and how he would get it on the road and treat it like if deserved to be treated etc etc. All he was after was a profit by giving the old man a fraction of what the vulture knew it was worth.
Probably but not always.
I wonder, do you guys get mad at stockbrokers, real estate investors, etc. etc. when they “flip” their products and make money, or is it just flippers of old cars?
I used to get annoyed with flippers, too. But now I look at it a little differently:
This Vette sat wasting away in the owner’s garage since NINETEEN SEVENTY FREAKING THREE. If it was still there, you guys would be saying “oh what a waste. What a stupid owner to let a split window sit rotting away under a bunch of trash”. Right? Of course I am, I see those comments daily here.
So the current seller kept in contact with the owner for nine years (and you have no idea if the seller “harassed” the owner or not), finally got a deal done for a purchase price that you have no idea about, and now has it for sale. Then you complain how much it’s been bid up to, as if the current seller has control over that.
Let’s face facts: if any of you could have bought this Vette for, let’s just say $25k, and turned around and sold it for $65k, how many of you would NOT have done that? If any of you say “me” you are lying through your teeth. The current seller of this Vette brought a car to market that was wasting away for decades under a pile of junk and most likely would have continued to do so without his persistence in trying to buy it. Someone will buy it, dump a ton of $$$ into it, take it to shows, yell at people for breathing on it, and look down his nose at anyone with a post-1968 Vette, just like every other split window owner does.
I’ll tell you a short story: for many years there was a 1961 300G wasting away in the back of a repair shop’s lot. I would see it off and on as I would go past the shop over the course of 5 years. Man, did I want that car. It was and still is one of my dream cars. Finally, I had means and a place to put it, so I went and asked what was up with it. Long story short, after another year of negotiation and trying to get the title, I bought the 300G. I got it to my garage, and started going through it. It was in worse shape than I had been led to believe. I started researching parts costs (the spark plug wire set was $600!), and I realized that as much as I loved the car, I could not afford to do a restoration on it the way it deserved. It was a tough pill to swallow, but I ended up selling it to a gentleman who turned it into a 100 point show car, but only after spending 2 years worth of my salary on it. If I had not bought that 300G I can guarantee you that, because the owner of the repair shop didn’t know how to get a title, it would still be rotting away behind his repair shop instead of going to Pebble Beach.
Ended: May 23, 2018 , 3:44PM
Winning bid:US $75,100.00
[ 47 bids