Classic DREAMCARS Mount Dora, Fla. (352) 385-1945 www.classicdreamcars.com

                   

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1963 CORVETTE 'FUEL INJECTED' STING RAY "SPLIT WINDOW" SPORT COUPE

A Certified Milestone Car

A GREAT, ORIGINAL, UNRESTORED, DARK METALLIC 'DAYTONA BLUE' "SURVIVOR" W/ NAVY BUCKET SEATS. A 'REAL' NUMBER'S MATCHING CALIFORNIA CAR WITH THE 327/360 H.P. SOLID LIFTER FUEL INJECTED MOTOR , FOUR SPEED, WITH OPTIONAL POSITRACTION, HIDDEN ELECTRIC HEADLIGHTS, SIGNAL SEEKING AM/FM, PLAIN NAVY BLUE STEERING WHEEL (NOT WOODGRAIN), WONDERBAR AM /FM RADIO, SPINNER HUBCAPS / 'WHITEWALL' NYLON BIAS PLY TIRES, ORIGINAL CLEAR PLASTIC FLOORMATS AND AN INCREDIBLE 60,263 AUTHENTIC MILES.  STANDARD EQUIPMENT INCLUDED CIRCULAR GAUGES, TACHOMETER, DUAL EXHAUST, EXTERIOR REAR VIEW MIRROR, , HEATER & DEFROSTER, SAFETY BELTS,VENTED CABIN, ELECTRIC CLOCK, FAKE HOOD LOUVERS AND SPLIT REAR WINDOW (THIS YEAR ONLY). PLUS THE USUAL ELECTRICALLY OPERATED HIDDEN HEADLIGHTS, TRIGGER SHIFTER, BEAUTIFUL 'SPINNER' HUBCAPS.  OFFERED IN JUST SEVEN EXTERIOR COLORS THIS IS ONE OF 16% PAINTED IN IT'S ORIGINAL COLORS OF "DAYTONA BLUE". PURCHASED ORIGINALLY IN 1978 FROM STEVE TANCY, THE ORIGINAL PROMOTER OF THE 'WORLD OF WHEELS SHOW" IN INDIANAPOLIS. EVERY NUMBER MATCHES !!!  NO, IT'S NOT FOR SALE.

NOW ON DISPLAY IN OUR MUSEUM COLLECTION

THE STORY:

It was Friday 12:53pm, November 22, 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Little Stevie Wonder released his first LP album, Social Reform continued in the South as 'Bull' Connor (City Public Safety Commissioner for Birmingham, AL) gave the o.k. to release guard dogs to chew on Civil rights Demonstrators, Liz Taylor got paid $1mil for starring in the film "Cleopatra", Joan Baez and Bob Dylan performed together at the Newport Jazz Festival, Jerry Lewis and Stella Stevens starred in the hit movie "The Nutty Professor", Kodak developed the Instamatic Camera, Johnny Depp (actor) was born while Patsy Cline, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Robert Frost (poet) all died.
With seeds planted by Bill Mitchell, Larry Shinoda and Zora Duntov, the Corvette Sting Ray Special Racer and Experimental XP-720 laid the groundwork for the legendary 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe and then the Sting Ray Convertible. Their Dream Car was designed with pivoting headlights, smooth fastback profile, doors that cut into the roof line, belt line dip, and split rear window ....despite Zora Duntov's grumbling, all those features ended up in the production line Sting Ray that followed. Although this Vette had no trunk lid, less fiberglass and twice as much steel than was ever used before, luggage space was sacrificed for sheer beauty. The new Sting Ray Coupe was born !

Now she's considered a Milestone Car by the Milestone Society, as well as, by any true, red-blooded American. The 1963 Corvette Coupe is seen as a pivotal car for any Classic Car Collection. General Motors Designer, Larry Shinoda, takes credit for 'holding the line' on the dorsal spine that began at the hood and continued at the creaseline across the roof and down the tip of the boat-tail canopy. Believe it or not, the only nay-sayer of the original design was Zora Argus Duntov, himself, who criticized the rear visibility. The 'real' hood vents originally intended for production were also sacrificed 'to make budget' on the production line. Replaced by the fake chrome vents, some see them as the only fault in design. Today, the 1963 Corvette Split-Window is seen as a coveted classic for not only it's distinctive silhouette but, rarity and performance.

Underneath, the new ladder frame replaced the old "x" braced chassis but, far more noticeable, was a new Independent Rear Suspension...a three-link set-up with double jointed drive shafts on either side and a transverse leaf spring. Power Steering was available for the first time and even Air Conditioning ( except on the more powerful of motors). Only 1,114 Vettes got Leather ("Saddle" was the only color avail. in Leather) and only 2,610 got Fuel Injection ( both Coupe and Convertibles). Four Speeds were the most popular, with Four out of Five cars being built with them. Output from the carbureted 327 v8 ranged from 250 h.p. to 340 h.p. While the $430 Fuel Injected version belted out 360 h.p. Performance was 'stellar' with the 'fuelie' hitting 60 m.p.h. in just 5.6 sec. and blasting through the quarter mile in 14.5 sec at 102 m.p.h. Even Road and Track bragged "The Corvette sticks [with] great gripping gobs of traction".

The Sting Ray's debut was heralded with as much bally-hoo as the E-Type Jag just a few years earlier, as the public screamed "Yes..Yes" to it's revolutionary design and performance. Sales, of course, followed suite with 10,954 Coupes sold and 10,919 Convertibles.

This particular car is quite 'strange' for us because as the owner, here at Classic Dreamcars, I lost this (actual ) car to lawyers' fee's in a divorce in 1980 and thought he would never see it again. You can imagine, after 20 years, when a Museum called and started describing the car to me. In his description he said:

"It's a Daytona ( Dark Metallic) Blue 1963 'Fuelie' (only seven exterior colors were available that year)... with Navy Interior ( not very many built in that color combo), Standard Spinner Hubcaps ( many "Fuelies" 'later' had "Knock-Off Wheels w/ TWO Bar Spinners added by dealers or individuals to bring more money when actually NONE left the factory equipped that way), Positraction, 327/360 h.p., AM/FM, Whitewall Tires and Matching Numbers w/ 60, 000 original miles"...I recognized the car,  fell out of my chair and naturally, bought it on the spot .

This car was originally purchased from the first Promoter of the WORLD OF WHEELS CAR SHOW in Indianapolis, who also promoted the shows in Birmingham, Chattanooga and Shreveport.  A famous drag-racer ("The Godfather"- 73 Vega "Fuel FC" catagory) he was also an avid car collector. After scrutinizing the car (condition, compression test etc) I bought it in 1978 and immediately drove it to Fla. (a memorable trip as an 18- wheel truck blew a rear tire right next to the car!, sending me spiraling off the highway- thankfully, not hitting a single object). It was sold during the divorce, in 1980, to a Oil Tycoon in Texas where it resided for 4 years. It then sold to a Museum in Virginia, where it resided for 16 years, until  about 12 years ago, when the gentleman sold the building the cars were stored in and offered it to me with 38 'other' cars. It is an original Southern California car that was sold to Steve Tancy by Bob Wingate near Los Angeles (San Dimas), CA.  Steve told me he bought two cars that trip; a 1957 Chevy "Black Widow" and the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 'Fuelie' Coupe.  This car is almost all original save one paint job, having been 'restored' 35 years ago but, still showing extremely well. Some of our Museum patrons ask us if it is Air Conditioned?, "NO" -  only 1.3 percent base motor '63 Vette's came with A/C and NONE combined with Fuel Injection. This is the consummate collector's car as it is considered a Milestone Classic.

It is the First Corvette to....."

Be absent a deck lid ( despite the fact the first 'experimental' "Stingray" had a lift back)
 Have 'a proper' glove box door
 Have a new improved Heater and Cowl Induction Air System
 New 'easy-to-read' Gas Gauges
First to have the old fuel flap door replaced with a Racing Style Gas Door
 First Vette offered with Independent Rear Suspension
 To offer Power Steering & Brakes as an Option
 Real Leather Seat Option (only in ONE color)
First  Air Conditioned Corvette (available small block only  -  278 made)
To have the highly criticized "Split Rear Window"
 First to have Hidden Headlights ( since 1942 Desoto)
 To be subjected to Aerodynamic Testing at Cal Tech Wind Tunnel
The Very first Coupe for Corvette
First to be 4" shorter than any previous model
 (Especially noteworthy since they almost developed the Stingray Coupe as a FOUR SEATER  first penned in 1962)!

NOW ON PERMENANT DISPLAY FOR YOUR VEIWING PLEASURE IN OUR MUSEUM COLLECTION

* STATS ON THIS CAR:  ONLY 12% OF PRODUCTION IN 1963 WERE FUEL-INJECTED CARS. YET, 83.54% OF ALL 1963 CORVETTE'S CARRIED A 4-SPEED TRANSMISSION. 16.15% WERE PAINTED "DAYTONA BLUE" AND 42.69% WERE SOLD WITH AN  AM/FM RADIO DESPITE THE FACT THERE WERE ONLY 228 FM RADIO STATIONS WERE EVEN BROADCASTING AT THAT TIME (SOURCE: "BILLBOARD" JUNE 29 1963). NO STATS ARE PRINTED ON THE BREAK-OUT OF FUEL INJECTED COUPES VS. CONVERTIBLES THAT YEAR ! (SOURCE: "CORVETTE BLACK BOOK" BY MIKE ANTONICK, WEB-CARS.COM AND VARIOUS OTHER BOOKS)