Over the years, Chevrolet’s Corvette has consistently delivered world-class performance and style, at a lower price of admission than its overseas rivals. The 1955-’62 Corvette was a sports car by definition—a great beginning—but “world-class” it wasn’t. That changed in 1963 with the introduction of the Sting Ray: a car that laid the groundwork for virtually every Corvette afterward. The original Corvette’s old-school, X-braced frame, kingpin front end, solid rear axle, and worm-and-sector-style steering were out. In their place came boxed, welded frame rails with ladder-type crossmembers, a ball-joint front end, a recirculating-ball steering box, and independent rear suspension. Eventually disc brakes and howling big-block engines upped the ante further.
A graceful-looking coupe body was also part of the lineup, kicked off by the one-year-only, and now legendary, split-window coupe. Styling across the board was thoroughly modern and proved to be timeless—the 1963-’67 Corvette is easily one of the most memorable Chevrolet automobile designs of all time.
Call these cars what you will—C2, mid-year, Sting Ray—they’ve long been among the most sought-after collectible Chevrolets and have attracted a devoted following as well as a vast support network. As such, they’re one of the true, blue-chip post-war American collector cars, reliably appreciating and commanding strong prices.
There are many, many variables to consider when shopping for a 1963-’67 Corvette, so generalizing about values can be tricky. On average, the ’63s have historically led the way, the ’64s have been the most affordable, while the ’65-’67s benefited from improvements like standard four-wheel disc brakes and the availability of Mark IV big-block engines. The ’63 “split-window” coupe has long been the C2 halo car, but a 435-hp, 427-powered ’67 easily serves to bookend high-value Sting Rays.
To look at it another way, for decades it seems, a desirable C2 could set you back as much or more than the base price of a new Corvette. There was a time when a mid-year Sting Ray delivered comparable or vastly better performance than newer Corvettes, but that ended decades ago. Since the latest days of the C4, the power, handling, and creature comforts of every Corvette generation have improved dramatically. C7 and C8 Corvettes are bona fide super cars and it’s common to find that the same people who own newer ’Vettes have a mid-year or two (or more) in their garages—but they drive the wheels off their late-models.
Along those lines, restomodding mid-year Corvettes has become more and more prevalent since the rise of the LS-series small-block. Google “mid-year chassis” and you’ll find an array of vendors offering upgraded, replacement underpinnings that let you drop an old Corvette body over modern suspension and a modern drivetrain. The performance, comfort, and style of professionally restomodded mid-years has added another wrinkle to the Corvette market. Many of these cars sell for prices that surpass stock, restored ’Vettes—even highly desirable ones. For instance, at Mecum’s 2023 Indy sale, a heavily restomodded, highly detailed, ’63 coupe, powered by an LS3 V-8 paired with a Tremec five-speed manual, sold for $495,000. It’s common now at big auctions to see six-figure sums realized for C2 restomods. We’re not here to debate the virtue of stock versus modified, but restomods are obviously in demand and they aren’t going away.
So, are you ready to buy a 1963-’67 Corvette of your own? You’ll find plenty to choose from among the pages of Hemmings Motor News and on Hemmings.com, typically ranging from about $40,000 on the low end to high six figures. Joining The National Corvette Restorers Society will pay dividends during your search and while you own any Corvette. Also, there’s likely a Corvette club in your area with members who’d be willing to advise you. That said, here are some general points to keep in mind.
Body and Frame
The Corvette took a huge technological leap forward for 1963, and the architecture would endure for two decades. The ’63 wasn’t mid-engine, as Zora Arkus-Duntov would’ve liked, but it incorporated a lot of what he had learned in racing. The C2 Corvette still used a full frame, but that’s where the similarity with the previous car ended. The big X-member was eliminated in favor of welded steel rails connected by five ladder-type crossmembers that helped make the chassis 90 percent stiffer. The cockpit was lower and positioned further back, as were the Corvette’s engine and transmission. This helped bring the car closer to a 50/50 front-to-rear weight balance and lower the center of gravity. With equal spring rates, the ’63 chassis had a more balanced feel and would roll 18 percent less in a turn than the ’62. The front end was modernized with spherical ball joints and shared some parts with the Chevrolet production passenger car line. A recirculating-ball steering box turned the front wheels via relay-type linkage (mounted behind the front wheel center lines), and a steering damper was incorporated on cars with manual steering. Power assist was also available for the first time.
The C2’s chassis is also one of its most common sources of trouble. The main frame rails are prone to rusting, as is the rear “kick-up” behind the cabin and in front of the rear wheels. The rear trailing/control arms, too, are rust prone. In the front, the frame can crack where the steering box mounts. It’s possible to fix all of this, but to do the job correctly is labor intensive and expensive. There are Corvettes out there that have had subpar repair work performed on the frame, so be forewarned, and check any candidate over carefully.
Leaky glass and top seals in Corvettes can contribute to another C2 problem area, rust on the body’s inner bird cage—the metal substructure that supports the fiberglass body panels. The inner door frames, the door pillars, and cowl area at the base of the windshield are all prime spots for corrosion. Radiator supports and gas tanks are also well-known spots for rust to take hold.
Accident damage to body panels is another area of concern. Obvious patches, misaligned panels, missing or damaged bonding strips are all clues to a car’s condition, but might be hard to spot if you don’t know where to look. The front and rear fenders are common areas to look for damage, as is the hood. The repairs will be most noticeable on the backside, but on the surface, you might see signs that body filler has been used over seams to conceal patch work: a wavy surface, sand scratches, dimples in the filler, etc. Aftermarket one-piece front ends for Corvettes are widely available and decent quality—fine for a weekend driver, but not authentic. If you’re looking for a correct or correctly restored car, an expert will know how to spot the bonding strips used to connect the upper and lower fenders and the nose panels.
Though it seems like a minor detail, C2 headlamp buckets that are broken, badly repaired, or revolving slowly can be a hidden expense as well. Parts and motors are available, and motors can be rebuilt.
Suspension and Brakes
Disc brakes didn’t debut on the Corvette until 1965, so the 1963-’64 cars were equipped with 11×2.75-inch front and 11×2-inch rear drum brakes. Power assist and sintered metallic brake linings were optional. Four-wheel disc brakes were used on Corvettes starting in 1965 and were formidable by 1960s standards. The rotors were 11.75-inch, and big four-piston calipers provided the clamping force. Power assist was still an option with discs and, in fact, remained on the Corvette option list until it was made standard issue in 1976. Parts to renew original Corvette brakes are available as are upgrade kits to retrofit discs to earlier cars. Aftermarket high-performance brake kits are also available.
The front suspension in the C2 is fairly standard GM fare—coil springs, control arms, tubular shock absorbers, etc. The parts are widely available and inexpensive. The big news was the Corvette’s independent rear suspension that was innovative and elegantly simple. The differential carrier was mounted to the frame, helping keep the car lower, reducing rear unsprung weight, and keeping the driveshaft angle constant. It was a three-link design where the half shafts doubled as the upper links; simple strut rods bolted below the differential housing, extending to each wheel, were the lower links, while control arms on each side served as longitudinal links. A leaf spring mounted parallel to the rear axle, and bolted below the differential housing, served as a no-fuss stand-in for more elaborate and expensive coilover units. The C2 (and C3) Corvette chassis wasn’t perfect, but it was ingenious in its use of conventional parts to achieve an exotic result.
The rear axle/suspension is a reliable, time-proven setup, but one that can be labor-intensive to completely overhaul when things get tired. Common high-wear or maintenance items on C2 (and C3) Corvettes are the rear spindle/wheel bearings. Replacing these can be a lot of work, though it’s much easier performed with the correct bearing setup and installation tools. If you jack the rear of a ’Vette up, grab a rear wheel at the top and bottom, rock it and notice a lot of deflection, it might be time to tackle the bearings, or it could be wear in the U-joint/axle half-shaft yokes.
Transmissions and Differential
C2 Corvettes came with a three-speed manual as the base transmission, with the option of a four-speed manual or a two-speed Powerglide automatic. The Borg Warner T-10 was first used in 1963 but was replaced by the Muncie four-speed manual before 1964 production. In 1966, buyers could choose among the M20, which had been offered since 1963; the close-ratio M21; and the close-ratio heavy-duty M22. When test driving, listen for a raspy or rattling sound indicating a worn throwout bearing, and check for clutch slippage on acceleration. Popping out of gear could indicate a worn or misadjusted shift linkage, work shift forks, worn sliders, worn gear engagement teeth, or all of the above.
Powerglides are often labelled as leaky, but transmissions in cars that sit a lot tend to have the most issues. Check for signs of a leaking filler tube seal (at the base of the tube), pan gasket or output shaft seal.
A Positraction limited-slip differential was optional with all rear axle ratios, which throughout C2 production included 3.08:1, 3.36:1, 3.55:1, 3.70:1, 4.11:1 and 4.56:1. Whining noises could indicate an improperly set up or worn gear set, or possibly worn bearings. A chattering noise from the differential clutches could be a sign that the fluid and limited-slip additive are overdue for replacement.
Engines
Mid-year ’Vettes were offered with a choice of three engines: the 327 small-block (which was the standard powerplant through the C2’s production run), the 396, and the 427. Initially, the fuel-injected 327 was the highest performer, offered with 360hp in 1963, and 375hp in 1964-’65. In mid-March of 1965, Chevrolet’s Mark IV big-block was first offered in the C2, displacing 396 cubic inches and rated at 425 hp. For 1966, the thundering 427 was released in 390-hp and 425-hp varieties.
In 1967, the 427 was offered with 390, 400, or 435 hp. For $368.65, buyers could opt for the L89 option, which puts aluminum heads on top of the triple-two-barrel carbureted 435-hp 427, but there were just 16 takers. Also for 1967, the legendary L-88 427 was offered, a full-race engine made optional for homologation purposes and laughably rated at 430 hp.
Chevrolet big-blocks and small-blocks are cheap (and easy) to rebuild when compared to Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Ferrari engines. But just the parts to put together a stock, mild small block can cost $1,000 and good machine shops seem to be harder and harder to find in some areas of the country. Correct underhood components can be difficult or expensive to locate, particularly for big-block cars, so if originality is important, buy the most complete car you can find.
For many buyers, authenticity is as major a concern as condition when it comes to a C2’s engine. Experts contend that even lowly 250-hp 327s are being faked so that a seller can claim the car is “numbers matching.” If you’re buying a car because of its pedigree, ask for documentation and get an expert to check the car out for you.
Beginning in ’65, Corvettes began shipping with Protect-O-Plates stamped with information particular to a car—including the engine, transmission, rear axle, interior/exterior colors, etc.— but these were often lost over the years. On a ’67 you might be lucky enough to find a car with an intact build sheet that came affixed to the top of the fuel tank, or a “tank sticker,” revealing all of the car’s original equipment, including the engine.
Interior
The aftermarket is serving the demand for C2 interior parts pretty well, and the major components needed to make the inside of your Corvette look new again—door panels, seat covers and carpet kits—are, for the most part, available and not wildly expensive. Consoles, automatic shifters, and certain trim pieces for certain years can be tougher to locate, though. The ’63, in particular, has some unique pieces that can be expensive to replace. An original glovebox door assembly, for instance, can be tough to find if the one in the car you’re considering is missing or damaged. It’s now being reproduced, but costs about $500. The trim tag, located on the cross bar under the glove box, next to the VIN tag can tell you the car’s original interior color and material (among other things) if it’s in question.
Conclusion
Is now the best time to buy a C2? Prices overall have been on the uptick since the pandemic, and on average seem to be well above what they were just 10 years ago. How much you spend of course is entirely dependent on what your tastes are. If you’re looking for an NCRS Top Flight winner, you can expect to pay top dollar. If nothing but a ’63 coupe or convertible will do, expect to pay a premium for a nice example or pay a premium to restore one of these due to its many one-year-only parts. An original big-block Corvette is attractive too, but high demand has led to high prices. If you want a car to drive and enjoy, a ’64 can be a fun proposition, especially if you factor in the many aftermarket upgrades that are now available.
Parts Prices
1965 vinyl seat cover set………………………………………………. $ 520
Big-block side exhaust kit 1965-’67………………………………. $2,800
1966 knockoff-style aluminum wheels (repro)………………… $2,600
1964-1965 radiator support (with fuel injection)……………… $ 800
Small-block aluminum radiator, 1965-’72 ……………………… $1,300
Chrome big-block valve covers, 1965-’74………………………. $ 100
Muncie four-speed rebuild kit……………………………………….. $ 280
Power steering kit (repro)……………………………………………… $ 470
Rear half shaft with U-joints, 1963-’79…………………………… $ 210
Trailing arm, bearing, rotor assembly, 1965-1982………….. $1,100
What To Pay
Mid-Year ‘Vettes, Generally Speaking
Generalizing about prices and collectability of any car can be dangerous, but some broad observations about C2 pricing might be the best advice we could offer the mid-year Corvette hopeful. At the top of the pecking order is the 1967 Corvette. The average price of the ’67 cars is the highest of any year C2, skewed in part by the six-figure prices being paid for 400-hp and 435-hp 427 Corvettes. Small-block 1967 cars can be found in the $40,000-$70,000 “sweet spot” mentioned earlier.
Next would have to be the 1963, desirable because of its one-year-only split back window and having a high average value due to the one-year-only availability of the Z06 package.
You might think that the first-year availability of the 427 in the 1966 Corvette would make it a runner-up to the ’63 in terms of value and collectability, but in reality, 1965 seems to be a more popular vintage with collectors. The ’65 is the equivalent of a “Greatest Hits Edition” for mid-year Corvettes—it included options and features that were available on the ’63 and ’64 cars, but not available in ’66 or ’67, and vice versa. Fuel injection was available for the last time in ’65, but disc brakes were a first. The Mark IV big-block was also a possibility on a ’65.
That leaves 1966 and 1964. Generally, if any C2 could be considered “entry level,” it would be the 1964. Lacking the 1963’s novelty and the 1965’s updates, it tends to lag behind all other C2 editions—at least when on average. Calling the ’64 “affordable” these days would depend on your definition of the word, and well-optioned, ultra-clean 1964 Corvettes can cost as much as one from the more so-called desirable years.
As mentioned earlier, before spending a substantial amount of money on a C2 Corvette, it’s not a bad idea to consult an expert. Moreover, to know what said expert is going to be looking for, pick up one of the literally dozens of Corvette guides that have been written and join the National Corvette Restorers Society (www.NCRS.org)
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