[VIDEO] Steve Magnante Checks Out an Unrestored 1963 Corvette Split Window with Rare Factory Air

I can’t remember the last time I saw a 1963 Corvette with factory air conditioning.

Considering Chevrolet built just 278 of them that way, that’s not shocking.

But factory air is only one of the fascinating features of this remarkably original Ermine White split-window coupe featured in a walk-around video by Steve Magnante during a visit to the Happy Days Collection in Gran, Massachusetts.

It also has a Saddle leather interior, Powerglide automatic transmission and a 300-horsepower 327 under the hood.

In other words, somebody walked into a Chevrolet dealership in 1963 and ordered a Corvette quite differently from the way most collectors would spec one today.

And that’s what makes it so interesting.

The 1963 model marked the debut of the completely redesigned Sting Ray and, for the first time, Corvette buyers could choose a coupe. Chevrolet built 21,513 Corvettes that year, including 10,594 coupes.

Only the ’63, of course, got the famous split rear window.

Designer Bill Mitchell wanted the ridge running down the center of the car to continue through the rear glass, giving the Sting Ray its distinctive spine. Complaints about rear visibility helped bring a one-piece window for 1964. What might have been an annoyance in 1963 became one of the most recognizable Corvette styling features ever.

But it’s what’s inside this one that really separates it from the crowd.

Chevrolet’s C60 air-conditioning option cost $421.80 — serious money in 1963 — and only 278 buyers checked the box.

This isn’t a modern Vintage Air system added years later, either. Magnante points out the original factory equipment, including one subtle clue under the hood: Chevrolet had to move the battery from the passenger side to the driver’s side to make room for the A/C components.

Even the vanity plate celebrates the car’s rarity: AIR 63.

Then there’s the interior.

The Saddle leather seats were another uncommon option, installed in fewer than 500 Corvettes that year (despite their relatively affordable cost of $80.70), according to Magnante. More than six decades later, they remain remarkably well preserved.

Between those seats is another surprise — a two-speed Powerglide automatic rather than the four-speed manual most collectors might prefer today. Only 2,621 buyers chose the automatic in 1963.

Would a four-speed be more fun?

Probably.

Would I change this one?

Absolutely not.

There are plenty of restored Corvettes rebuilt into somebody’s idea of the perfect combination. An unrestored survivor tells you what somebody actually wanted when the car was new.

And this buyer apparently wanted to be comfortable.

Leather seats. Air conditioning. Automatic transmission. Radio.

Not a bad way to travel in 1963.

Especially with a 327 under the hood producing 300 horsepower, one step above the base 250-horsepower engine.

The car also provides a rolling lesson in Corvette history. Along with the one-year split window are other 1963 details, while underneath was one of the biggest changes of all — Corvette’s new independent rear suspension, replacing the live rear axle of previous generations.

Four-wheel disc brakes were still two years away, so drums handle stopping duties at all four corners.

But specifications only explain part of this car’s appeal.

Its real attraction is originality.

This isn’t a freshly restored split-window assembled from reproduction parts. It’s an unrestored survivor that still shows how Chevrolet built it — and how one buyer chose to equip it — more than 60 years ago.

Someone ordered it in Ermine White, chose Saddle leather, spent more than $400 to stay cool and decided he’d rather let a Powerglide handle the shifting. Collectors today might make different choices.

I’m glad he didn’t.

Because finding a 1963 split-window Corvette isn’t impossible.

Finding another unrestored one equipped quite like this?

As Magnante puts it: “Good luck.”

Source:
Steve Magnante / YouTube

Related:
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[VIDEO] 1963 Corvette Split Window Gets its First Wash in 21 Years
[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Rescues an Unusual 1963 Corvette Split Window Parked Since the ’90s

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