Test Lab 61 1963 Corvette Heading to Mecum Kissimmee

Oct 25, 2019

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Test Lab 61 1963 Corvette Heading to Mecum Kissimmee

As the 2019 auction season winds down we’re beginning to catch a glimpse of the myriad of Corvettes that’ll be available in the annual January auction blitz. Mecum has already posted up hundreds of cars that’ll be offered at their gargantuan January 2nd-12th, 2020 Kissimmee event.

Late last year we told you about a unique early 1963 Corvette. The Daytona Blue on Blue car, owned by Brad Cook, is the 101st C2 Corvette built and wears a copper “Test Lab 61” tag on the left rear frame rail. Back then we were trying to help the owner gather more information about this car since much of its history is a mystery. While a couple folks did reach out with some ideas or even cars with similar frame tags, we still don’t know anything about the first 20 years of this car’s life.

Here’s a quick summary of what we do know about this car. It was 101st Corvette built-in 1963 having been assembled on September 11th, 1962. The NCRS Shipping Data Report shows that it was delivered to Dealer Code 0 in Zone 0 which is the General Motors Tech Center in Warren, MI. The engine’s numbers don’t match, but the date codes its major components are consistent with the build date of the car. The engine block was cast on May 11th, 1962, assembled on September 7th, 1962, and has a non-Corvette RB suffix code on the stamp pad. The intake sports an experimental X in the casting number and is dated August 27th, 1962. The fuelie cylinder heads are dated August 3rd, 1962. Other unique engine features include a 6-quart oil pan, 8-inch harmonic balancer, a 340hp AFB carb, the late dual point distributor, and solid lifters. It has a 4-speed transmission and a 4.56 rear end. Save some well-done rear fender flares, it looks just like a stock 1963 Corvette.

Today the car is in good driver condition. The paint shows its age in spots and the interior has some fading. Under the hood, we see some graceful aging on the metal components. Overall you see the usual wear and tear, but you’ll also note that this car has been preserved rather than restored. The intent was not to change any of the unique features in order to maintain the car’s history, even though we still don’t know much about it.

Now it’s time for this mysterious Corvette to potentially find a new home and what we believe will be its 5th owner. In January it will be making the trek from Michigan down to Kissimmee, Florida where it will be offered as Lot R505 on Saturday, January, 11th.

Like before, if you’ve got any information on this car or would like more info on it go ahead and reach out to [email protected] and we can get you in touch the owner. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the NBCSN broadcast in January for this curious piece of Corvette history.