As the world’s longest running sports car model and one of the world’s longest running car models period (together with Chevrolet’s Suburban), the Corvette is now a fixture in the minds of car enthusiasts. That makes it easy to forget that it was almost axed after three ignominious model years having sold poorly and made few friends within GM, its dealer network, or its owners.
The fundamental problem with the early Corvette was that it wasn’t developed as a sports car. There had been no true American sports car since the prewar days, and we’re talking World War ONE, with cars such as the Mercer Raceabout and Stutz Bearcat. The Corvette concept was a styling one first and foremost, with engineering taking a back seat at least initially, and this tension that would persist in the Corvette’s story for well over a decade.
It appeared as a styling exercise, and then as production viability was assessed, as much of the standard passenger car componentry was used as possible, including chassis, brakes, and suspension. Low production volumes meant that there was no case to tool up to produce the car with a steel body, so a newfangled material called fiberglass was used, which brought a tremendous learning curve that saw the finish of the bodies fall well short of customer expectations. Early cars were available exclusively in the shade of Polo White because that color showed the fewest flaws.
The use of the standard Chevrolet passenger car steering column, coupled with the packaging, meant that there was no space for the column shift mechanism, so the only available transmission was a two-speed automatic. This was mated to an inline-6 which was hot rodded and offered straight line performance that wasn’t too far off of that of the Jaguar XK120, but in terms of cornering and braking, the Corvette was simply not a contender.
1955 saw the introduction of a V8 and a 3-speed floor-shifted manual, but sales that year amounted to only 700 units after management insisted that the leftover 1954s be sold before any 1955s could be produced. Chevrolet, then as now, was among GM’s least costly brands, and the price of the Corvette meant few of the buyers stepping foot in Chevrolet dealers could afford the Corvette, and dealers were not sure how or to whom to sell them. This represents a misstep on the part of Chevrolet, who did not understand who sports car buyers were or what they wanted. They saw no issue with the decision to offer the car exclusively with an automatic transmission, and it was only through the later intervention of folks within Chevrolet who understood sports cars that the model survived to become the most successful sports car of all time.
That transition began with Zora Arkus-Duntov, who started at General Motors in 1953 after writing an impassioned letter to Chevrolet Chief Engineer Ed Cole after seeing the Corvette concept car on display. Often called the father of the Corvette, Arkus-Duntov had the genuine sports car chops (he had raced at Le Mans in 1952, and would do so again three more times) to turn the Corvette into a sports car. Through his tireless efforts, the Corvette became a genuine sports car, and the C2 generation, which appeared for 1963, represented the most complete expression of Duntov’s philosophy to date.
This was far from effortless, as the prevailing sentiment outside of the Corvette team was conservative and not sports car minded. Duntov would see himself (temporarily) banned from Chevrolet’s styling department (headed by the sometimes cantankerous Bill Mitchell) for advocating for engineering and motorsport concerns when the C2 generation Corvette was being styled. The stylist responsible for the C2’s iconic look was Larry Shinoda, working under Bill Mitchell, GM’s head of design. The car’s look was a distillation of 1961’s Mako Shark concept car, which while striking, generated a lot of lift to the detriment of high-speed stability. But at GM, styling was king and Duntov was forced to work within the constraints imposed by the styling department.
And work he did. The C2 was all new save for the excellent small block V8s carried over from the 1962 models. A new chassis allowed occupants to sit within rather than atop the chassis, which lowered the car markedly. Duntov understood that a world class sports car needed independent suspension, especially to succeed in a motorsports environment, and had battled for years to get the Corvette the IRS it deserved. That finally appeared in the C2, which employed a simple and thus cost effective independent rear suspension that worked beautifully and made GM bean counters happy as well.
Clothed in stunning (albeit not aerodynamically optimized) bodywork, the C2 finally cemented the legend of the Corvette, finally allowing a Corvette to sell more annual units than Ford’s Thunderbird had sold in its debut model year, 1955. The C2 was also the first Corvette available as a coupe, which actually preceded the open version of the car. The spilt rear window which became a hallmark of the 1963 model year cars was functionally annoying for drivers and was thus dropped after a year, ensuring that these early cars are especially collectible.
The carbureted 327 cubic inch engine was available in three states of tune: 250hp, 300hp, and 340hp. This particular example is an L76 340hp carbureted example with documented history via included invoices back to April 1973. At that time, it was purchased in Indiana by an owner who shortly thereafter had a new short block installed per the included invoice dated May 25th 1973. The car had several other owners in northern Indiana, and when the current owners bought the car in Indiana in 2013, it was described as having had two owners in the preceding 34 years.
In the late 2000s, the car was comprehensively restored to high standards. At that time, the car was changed from its original color of Ermine White to another 1963 Corvette color, silver blue. The restoration is photo documented and in November of 2009, the car scored 996 out of 1000 possible points at the Corvette Nationals.
The current owners have driven the car occasionally and conscientiously maintained it to ensure that it drives as well as it presents. Most recently, in January of 2025, the car received new tires, battery and a fuel system service as well. Other work performed over the years during the current ownership period include rebuilding the transmission, replacing the clutch and flywheel, overhauling all four brakes, overhauling the steering box (and fitting new steering coupler and stabilizer. A new exhaust system, starter, ignition wires, and driver’s door seal have also been fitted. The carburetor has also been tuned, the cap and rotor replaced, and a new driver’s door seal fitted. Numerous electrical fixes have been performed as well, including rebuilding the clock, sourcing and installing a correct Wonderbar radio, getting the heater blower motor, interior lights (including glovebox), parking brake warning light, and cigar lighter working properly, plus rebuilding the windscreen washer pump, replacing the headlights and the dimmer switch.
The car now runs, drives, and presents extremely well, and is complete with brochure, service records from the 1970s as well as the current ownership period, plus a photo album chronicling the restoration. The judging sheet from November 2009 is also included.
