Vehicle Description
The 1963 Corvette was the first with hideaway headlights and the
first with available Soft Ray-tinted glass, AM/FM radio and leather
seats. It was also the first with optional factory air
conditioning. Only 278 of the 21,513 Corvettes sold that year
incorporated factory air, most of them also featuring the
Powerglide automatic transmission, a fact that makes this superb
4-speed Split Window Sting Ray a very rare specimen. To call the
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray revolutionary is an
understatement. Both the chassis and body were brand new designs.
The chassis incorporated independent rear suspension with a
multi-leaf transverse leaf spring, and a coupe body was available
for the first time in Corvette's 10-year history. One of the
boldest features of the Bill Mitchell-designed Sting Ray coupe was
a central wind split that flowed from above the windshield back
through a rear window divider to the rear deck, resulting in the
now famous "split window" designation for 1963 coupes. According to
NCRS/GM Shipping Data Records, this car was produced on May 8, 1963
and delivered new to Ray Benson, Inc. in Utica, New York. Today
featuring a spectacular body-off restoration by the Naber Brothers
of Houston, Texas, it is correctly finished in Silver Blue metallic
paint with a black interior and features a matching-numbers
drivetrain composed of the L75 327/300 HP V-8, 4-speed manual
transmission and 3.36:1 Positraction third member. It rides on
6.70x15-inch white-stripe tires with full wheel covers and is
equipped with the aforementioned factory air conditioning, power
steering, power windows, aluminized exhaust and an AM/FM radio. A
well-sorted example showing just over 70,000 original miles, this
rare factory air 4-speed coupe comes with impressive documentation.
In 2009 it earned Bloomington Gold and NCRS Top Flight
Certification, and Al Grenning's highly respected Classic Car
Affirmation Service affirmed the engine stamp pad. The
factory-original trim tag remains intact and the owner's manual and
sales brochure, title search, restoration receipts, Bloomington and
NCRS certificates and judging sheets are included. Extremely rare,
factory correct and well documented, this 1963 Split Window Sting
Ray has everything to recommend it to the most discerning Corvette
enthusiast.
