63 F.I. roadster

[John S.]

Can anyone give me some hints on what to look for on a fully restored 63 F.I. roadster, numbers all appear to match, but no documentation to prove it was original fuel car.
I'm going to view it this weekend, so any help on what might be the best to look for.

I have all the NCRS technical/judging manual and specs. Red/red car.

Any ideas on the value today of the car that has never been judged?

[Joseph K.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

it is very difficult to give you a cook book of items to look for. There are hundreds of items to look for. I would look for someone in your area or the area your going to to help you look. Some restorations are done very poorly and you could spend to much. The corvette magazine has a scale that shows the cost of C3's in the latest issue. The prices range on condition from the teens to the fifties based on conditions and available options. good luck and let us know how you make out. I have a 69 that I just did a frame off on and learned alot and I still have a lot to learn.

Joe

[Joseph K.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

Corvete magazine in a prvious issue all so does C-2 pricing. at first I thought you were talking about a 68. sorry Joe

[Clark K.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

I bought my very first Corvette six months ago and boy, did I learn a lot from the experience! I learned that even a $77K Sting Ray can cost you a sh** load of money to fix.

If you are interested in a certain car, ask the seller if you can have it checked by a mechanic. His/her answer to this question will give you valuable insight into the condition of the car. If he says "no", back away from this car.

Check the engine "stamp pad" on the right front corner of the block. Write these down and get back on this forum with those numbers. One of us will decipher them for you. Also, get the numbers from the trim plate (left plate) and the serial number plate (right plate) riveted to the horizontal frame member under the glove box. These numbers can be deciphered, too. These numbers will tell you whether the car is "numbers matching" and whether it has the original trim or has been customized.

The single most expensive item to fix is the frame because of all the labor required to remove the body. Have someone knowledgeable go over the frame with a "fine toothed comb". Rust in hidden areas is a bad sign, especially in the birdcage area.

Find out how many miles are on the engine and see whether he has any documentation for any major repairs. An honest private owner will still have the work orders/repair receipts and be glad to show them to you.
-Clark

[William C.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

If you are looking a an FI car, the best advice is to take someone with you (pay if you need to) who is knowledgable of the '63 FI cars. There are more one-year only 63 only and early-late combinations than you can imagine. If the car is unrestored, easier to look at than a restored one, but you are asking for 30 years of learning small details to be explained in a few sentences. The '63-64 Judging guide is a good start, but doesn't cover all the things to look for if you are looking at buying an original car.

[John D.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

I personally wouldn't buy a 63 FI unless I brought along a couple of 63 guru's with me as being a 63 owner I know that 63's are really tough to properly restore.
Then while the 3 of us were studying I think I would take a good look at the long fuel injection emblem on the drivers side. Check to see if the mounting stud on the emblem-the one closest to the firewall-is in fact going thru the band around the firewall. Then the speed nut would either be missing or only held on by a twist or two.
Then I would check out the radiator core support as the 63 is a one only year. Check out the air cleaner to see if its a repro or original. Then check out all the mounting hardware of the air cleaner and check out the location of the holes. Then i would be looking to see if the fuel injection unit and the distributor had a repro or an original ID tag. Look at the two tags. Check the distr tag '022 for the proper date. Earlier than the engine build date anywhere from weeks to a couple of months. Manual says 6 months but that is a little scary.
Check out the serial number of the injection to see if it is in the proper range for the engine build date. Check to see if the FI unit is in fact the correct one for the 63 as there are at least 3 variations in 63. Check out the exhaust manifolds to make sure they are correct. Especially look at the passenger side one. The list is endless.
Jump over to the interior and check out if the car has the correct red line tach. See if the oil gauge is correct.

But the best way is to pay a qualified appraiser to hope on a plane and go check out the car.
With enough cash clones are easily made.
Make sure the air cleaner adapter screws are 10/32 X 5/8" instead of 1/2" long.
Of course have someone check out all the tags. Below the glove box and the engine pad. Also check out the engine block to make sure it is in fact a 63. Good luck as you are gonna need it. JD

A new 63 owner just called me the other day and said he bought a restored 63 that has the wrong color interior. Check to make sure the tags match the colors or vise versa.

[John S.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

John,
Thanks very much for your info, I will check all that out. I will look at the car this weekend. If I have continued interest I would then need an expert like yourself to make an inspection for me for authenticity. Is this something you could do?
I believe you are back east, the car is in Kentucky. I had a 64 F.I. car that you had done the injection on a few years ago. Please let me know if you could do this after my inspection. I'll be back late Monday night.
Regards,
John

[John D.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

John, Sorry I would not be able to drive to Kentucky to look at the car. Also I am not qualified or insured to do such a job. Contact Dick Whitington or Chuck Berge here to do the inspection. Thanks, John D

[Rick A.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

Jimmy Gregg or Bob Young would be several others you could check with on possibly checking the car out for you - am sure there are others in the Kentucky neighborhood who could check the car for you

[Joseph K.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

John,

Here are the prices listed in Aprils Corvette Magazine for a 63 Roaster.

Needs TLC 29,000

Average 38,000

Good 57,000

Show Ready 78,000

Add 3,000 for 340 Hp, 15,000 for 360 HP, 1,200 for a Hard top, 5,000 for AC, 5,000 for OEM Knock off wheels

I think these prices are high and you should do better but this will give you an idea. Good Luck and let us know how you make out.

Joe

[Joe M.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

Then of course your original fuelly could have been crashed and repaired with service replacement parts or modified with newer parts from a later year. "Anything Goes".

Differentiate between an original factory made FI or a car that has a running FI unit. What is more important to you. Hard to sneeze at a good looking and running FI car, factory or not.

Depends on your intentions/ philosophy and how the seller represents the car and corresponding price.

[Troy P.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

I bought a red/red 63 Fuelie a number of years ago and still have it. While looking it over I questioned how complete it was and the owner said it was all there. So I had the sales contract written to state that the car was complete and to give me 30 days to so verify. After reviewing the AIM I noted some parts were missing, made a list of missing parts and went back to him for a credit.

Bottom line is I suggest you get the owner to tell you what's real and what may not be and then document that statement in the contract with 30 days to recind the deal or get a credit for the decreased value if it turns out not to be as he certified. An honest seller that is representing the car accurately should not have an issue with this. If he won't say and is selling "as is - no warranty" I'd worry and get an expert inspection.

[Joe R.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

John,

Sorry to burst a bubble but as all the above advice is good, all of the items listed can be reproduced. Not only can they be reproduced, they have been reproduced. Those cars that are fakes have received top flights, bloomington golds and have been sold for 100's at Barrett Jackson auctions.

The best advice is to hire someone that you trust to inspect the car and give their best guess if the car is real or not. I did use the word guess but it should be an educated guess by someone who is qualified to make that decision.

Another piece of advice would be, if you can afford to purchase the car and really like the car, buy the damn thing and enjoy the ownership of a 1963 FI Corvette. After all, you are the one that has paid for the satisfaction of ownership.

Also, bear in mind that there is NOBODY that can guarantee you 100% that any Corvette listed for sale is exactly like it came from GM.

Good Luck,

JR

[Stuart F.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

That goes for even an original owner car too. Over the years under different circumstances, we're all likely to have lost complete control over our car, for one reason or another. Take mine for example; I had it stored in two different places during the time I was in service or working contracts in SEA. My buddy had the car with him in California for several months as well, though I trust he informed me about any service he had done. I also had it serviced and repaired after I hit a deer in the early 90's. That Corvette shop, without authorization, changed out my master cylinder, my starter, my fan clutch, and my windshield wiper motor. I thought I had an understanding with them about consulting with me for approval on any items they thought needed repair/replacing - but, they fell back on the old "blank check" defense, or "there was a misunderstanding with the service tech." about what he was supposed to do, etc., or "sorry, but the old parts went out with the scrap man"! I was recovering from open heart surgery at the time so, in effect, I lost control of my car. I only recently replaced the master with a correctly date range piece. My original starter shot craps within the first few thousand miles anyway, so that didn't bother me. I had a spare fan clutch, but my W.W. motor is still what they put on. Then too, there is normal wear and tear on any car; mine blew the original valve covers off due to a crankcase explosion, I broke the rear spring when I lost it backwards at an off ramp, and I bounced it between telephone poles on another off road excursion (that caused only cosmetic paint damage, whew!), i.e. I didn't buy it to store in mothballs hoping for appreciation or to trailer from one show to another.

Stu Fox

[Clem Z.]

Re: 63 F.I. roadster

That goes for even an original owner car too. Over the years under different circumstances, we're all likely to have lost complete control over our car, for one reason or another. Take mine for example; I had it stored in two different places during the time I was in service or working contracts in SEA. My buddy had the car with him in California for several months as well, though I trust he informed me about any service he had done. I also had it serviced and repaired after I hit a deer in the early 90's. That Corvette shop, without authorization, changed out my master cylinder, my starter, my fan clutch, and my windshield wiper motor. I thought I had an understanding with them about consulting with me for approval on any items they thought needed repair/replacing - but, they fell back on the old "blank check" defense, or "there was a misunderstanding with the service tech." about what he was supposed to do, etc., or "sorry, but the old parts went out with the scrap man"! I was recovering from open heart surgery at the time so, in effect, I lost control of my car. I only recently replaced the master with a correctly date range piece. My original starter shot craps within the first few thousand miles anyway, so that didn't bother me. I had a spare fan clutch, but my W.W. motor is still what they put on. Then too, there is normal wear and tear on any car; mine blew the original valve covers off due to a crankcase explosion, I broke the rear spring when I lost it backwards at an off ramp, and I bounced it between telephone poles on another off road excursion (that caused only cosmetic paint damage, whew!), i.e. I didn't buy it to store in mothballs hoping for appreciation or to trailer from one show to another.

Stu Fox

i bet the sold your "good" parts to someone who was willing to have the "correct" parts at any cost. corvette collecting used to be about the cars then the people but now it is about the money. JMHO