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

(Click on Photo to Enlarge)

A Certified Milestone Car

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

ORIGINAL, UNRESTORED DARK METALLIC 'DAYTONA BLUE' W/ NAVY BUCKET SEATS. A REAL NUMBER'S MATCHING 327/360 H.P. SOLID LIFTER FUEL INJECTED MOTOR , FOUR SPEED,/ POSITRACTION, HIDDEN ELECTRIC HEADLIGHTS, SIGNAL SEEKING AM/FM, WOODGRAIN PLASTIC STEERING WHEEL, WONDERBAR RADIO, SPINNER HUBCAPS / NYLON BIAS PLY TIRES. 60K ORIG. 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), HIDDEN HEADLIGHTS- ELECTRICALLY OPERATED, AND SEVEN EXTERIOR COLORS. I ACTUALLY LOST THIS CAR IN A NASTY DIVORCE SETTLEMENT IN 1980 BUT, WAS ABLE TO BUY IT BACK AFTER 20 YEARS. I ORIGINALLY SOLD IT IN ORDER TO PAY THE ATTORNEY'S TO A OLD MAN IN COVERALLS FROM TEXAS " WHO PRODUCED OIL WELLS". I CAN NEVER FORGET HIM BECAUSE HE PAID ME OUT OF A HUGE CANVAS BANK BAG FILLED WITH 100'S OF CASHIERS CHECKS... ALL MADE OUT TO HIMSELF. I WAS OFFERED THE CAR 20 YEARS LATER FROM A CAR MUSEUM IN VA. THAT WAS LIQUIDATING THEIR INVENTORY. WHEN THEY DESCRIBED THE CAR, I SAID "DAYTONA BLUE WITH NAVY INTERIOR AND NO KNOCK-OFF'S ....WAS THE CAR FROM TEXAS?" !T HAD TO MINE. SURE 'NUFF, IT WAS. I BOUGHT IT BACK. THIS CAR WAS SURVEYED BY THE PRES. OF THE N.C.R.S. ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO. 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 Saddle Leather (the only color avail. in Leather) and only 2,610 got Fuel Injectio n( 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 19,919 Convertibles.

This particular car is quite 'strange' for us because the owner, here at Dreamcars, 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 someone called and started describing the car;

"Daytona ( Dark Metallic) Blue (only seven exterior colors were available that year) with Navy Interior ( not too many built in that color combo), Standard Spinner Hubcaps (ditto; many "Fuelies" were added by dealers or individuals w/ Knock-Off Wheels), Positraction, 327/360 h.p., AM/FM, Whitewall Tires and Matching Numbers w/ 60, 700 original miles"...he fell out of his chair ( and naturally, bought it on the spot) . This car was originally purchased from the President of the WORLD OF WHEELS CAR SHOW in Indiana and then driven to Fla.(a memorable trip as an 18 wheel truck blew a rear tire right next to the car!, sending the owner spiraling off the highway- thankfully, not hitting anything). 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 2 years ago, when the gentleman sold the building the cars were stored in. It was restored 25 years ago but, still shows extremely well. Some of our customers ask us if it is Air Conditioned?, but only 1.3 percent '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 Vette 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, first to offer Power Steering & Brakes, Real Leather Option and Air Conditioning (small block only-278), first to have the highly criticized Split Window, first to have Hidden Headlights ( since 1942 Desoto), first to endure Aerodynamic Testing at Cal Tech Wind Tunnel, the very first Coupe for Corvette, and the first to be 4" shorter than any previous model. Especially humorous since they almost developed the Stingray Coupe as a FOUR SEATER ( first drawn 1962)!

NOW ON PERMENANT DISPLAY IN OUR MUSEUM COLLECTION