Resurrected 63 racer

[Frank D.]

New acquaintance who just bought some front bumpers from me today (a 30-something Chevelle/Camaro guy) shared these photos of a 63 "barn find" he just picked up yesterday. Original interior, high horsepower tach, solid frame/birdcage, out of Maryland.
Low 50K purchase, some guys are just lucky. Thought you'd enjoy a "blast from the past".

He's new to Corvettes so I'll be "walking him through" the split window experience for a time. Originally a riverside red car.
This setup just screams "the 70's"...

[Mike E.]

[Gary B.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Certainly an eye catcher. Maybe more racy, than racer.

[Frank D.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

I haven't got the whole story yet...purportedly the car has seen some 1/4 mile runs...

[Bob W.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Frank, Looks to be a good find for the price. Did he say what his plan is ?

[Frank D.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Frank, Looks to be a good find for the price. Did he say what his plan is ?

Right now, we are just walking through things and he wants to get it somewhat back to original, e.g. putting front bumpers back on it and finding correct seat belts (I wish him luck); it appears to have been a 340hp car but haven't verified that completely yet.

He's a Camaro guy so he may "flip" this after some things are straightened out (one headlight bucket is frozen up, etc.)....
Maybe some different wheels.

[Frank D.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Just talked to the kid again and he's gonna flip it, .
If it was 10 years ago I'd be jumping on it...(after a look-see of course)..

[Frank D.]

https://youtu.be/GIj3ihJb7SE

[Mike M.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

frank: re the 63 out of maryland---is the floorpan modified for a 57 olds rear end? regards, mike

[Frank D.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Apparently not, lools very stock im the rear with intact blonde finerglass floorboards. Significamt rust tho.

[Mike M.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

thanks frank. as it was from Maryland, I thought it might have been a 63 I helped the local speed shop prepare it for dragstrip time. the shop owners gave me all the parts they removed from the SWC in exchange for me fiberglassing the floor pan to accept a modified 57 olds rear end(tubbed). that was in the early70's. owners name was Buck something or other. mike

[Michael G.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Frank, any update on condition? How bad is rust, front fiberglass, etc.? Thanks,

[Frank D.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Frank, any update on condition? How bad is rust, front fiberglass, etc.? Thanks,

A bit of one. This young guy is a car detailer out of Richmond, VA and his Dad is helping him get the car ready to sell. They installed a set of front bumpers and crossbar they got from me yesterday and ran into some trouble on the RH side as the lower part of the bumper got "tweaked" during shipping and the lower brace is not fitting well - they are working on that today. The car appears to have the original front end but is likely to have been hit on one side; both headlight buckets work but one is ill-fitting and looks bad. I walked the owner through some troubleshooting things over the phone to determine if maybe the rotational hardware needs adjusted (eg "Y" stops, etc) vs bad body damage repair. Fortunately the car doesn't have the hallmark fender flares of the period so they don't have to deal with that.

The duo says the kick-ups and birdcage are good but the underside looks pretty scaly to me, if I were buying the car that would be a concern. I suspect the car sat in that garage over some concrete flooring in humid conditions for a good while. The car is quick, with no strange noises or smoke and pulls strong at all RPMs (I am told). It supposedly has the rock crusher Muncie.

The son wet sanded and buffed the car out and the paint "pops" pretty nicely if you like the look (not my cup of tea tho). If it were mine the rally wheels would have to go as well but I don't think they want to incur the expense to deal with that, which I understand.

THey located a correct, date-coded side view mirror and installed it. They are Camaro and Chevelle guys so they are going through some youtube videos I made of "things to look for" when evaluating a C2 (specifically a 63).

[Michael G.]

Re: Resurrected 63 racer

Thanks Frank, from the pics on CF it looked like maybe a badly repaired front collision might have caused the headlight misalignment. Doesn’t sound like a bargain, (a lot of expensive work to bring it back) but SWCs are not cheap these days. Red/black are good colors though and it seems to have a lot of original parts.

[Frank D.]