Barn Find: 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window, This Car Would Be A Tragedy.

The elderly gentleman had been the Corvette’s sole owner, and it had spent years parked in his barn.

The original owner stripped the Corvette back to its bare fiberglass, and you have to wonder whether he intended to perform a cosmetic refresh. A bit of detective work reveals a couple of spots of what appears to be Sebring Silver, which would’ve been this classic’s original color.

The owner mentions White in the vehicle summary, but I believe that he is probably referring to its unpainted state. While some might see the lack of paint as a disadvantage, it affords us a close look at the fiberglass. There are a couple of minor imperfections, but there’s no evidence that the vehicle has ever suffered any accident damage.

Looking beyond the lack of paint, all of the exterior trim is present, and it appears to be in good condition for a classic of this age. The same is true of the tinted glass, so on the surface, this looks like it could be a straightforward restoration project.

The Corvette features a 327ci V8, and studying the photos reveals a 4-speed manual transmission. It isn’t clear whether the vehicle is numbers-matching, but he does say that it runs well.

The day he towed this car away, its 82-year-old original owner had tears rolling down his face. It appears that this car had been a significant part of his life since it was new, and he almost certainly saw that part of his life disappearing with this classic.

I have two wishes for this Corvette. The first is that someone buys it and restores it to a showroom fresh state before an LS can find its way under the hood. To allow that fate to befall this car would be a tragedy, in my opinion. My second wish is that the person who buys this car takes it back to show the original owner when the work is complete.

Maybe they can take him for a drive so that he can relive former glories. It might assure him that the car that he has treasured remains cherished by its next owner. After years of devoted ownership, that seems like an appropriate thing to do.