1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-window resto-mod

This ’63 Corvette Split-Window resto-mod, Lot 1320, sold for $220,000, including buyer’s premium, at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction in Scottsdale, AZ, on January 13–20, 2013.

I’m a midyear guy. After more than 30 years as a member of NCRS, a high-level Master Judge, multi-year Corvette Technical Manual Contributor and owner of Duntov, Bloomington Gold and concours-winning Corvettes, I have always evaluated Corvettes in terms of what they were when delivered to the ordering dealer — and without subsequent owner or dealer-inspired options.

But this car, and the price it achieved here, represented a continuing trend that even die-hard original Corvette guys like me can’t ignore: the Corvette resto-mod.

Building the icon

Bill Mitchell, GM’s Design Studio Chief, and Zora Duntov had a series of knock-down, drag-out screaming matches about the ’63 Split-Window design and the long nose of the midyear Sting Ray generation. Zora repeatedly said he couldn’t see out the back of these cars (which is true) and that the nose was too long to see the road well (also true).

Mitchell let the split disappear in 1964 for several reasons. The first was cost, as one piece of glass was a lot cheaper than two, considering the additional stainless trim and labor. And the visibility issues were very real. Overall, I think Mitchell simply had to defer to Zora’s engineering acumen. It wasn’t all about style, as much as Mitchell might have wanted it to be.

The result was the one-year-only Split-Window design, which today is distinctive, iconic, and coveted by collectors.

Original looks, all-new performance

Resto-mods/resto-rods and Pro Touring cars generally feature donor bodies that resemble their production year but have modern powerplants, suspensions, brakes, interiors, electronics, paint, and tire/wheel combinations. For almost 25 years, these custom Corvettes have shown a gradual and steady increase in market acceptance and demand.

Jeff Hayes, owner of American Speed Shop in Bloomington, IN, built this ’63 resto-mod to honor the 50th anniversary of the Split-Window Corvette. It was one of three similar C2-based resto-mods he sold at the auction. All of them featured late-model Corvette running gear, original bodies and custom stock-themed interiors. The other cars were Lots 1318, a 1965 convertible sold for $159,500, and 1319, a 1967 convertible sold for $162,800.

Gotta have it

The $220,000 high bidder on this red ’63 was Dick Wurster from Bakersfield, CA. This car presented very well — so well, in fact, that Dick and Jeff Hayes had several discussions in Scottsdale prior to its time on the auction block. They had come to an agreement — Dick would commission a duplicate of this red ’Vette if his bidding was unsuccessful. That’s just how bad he wanted it. As it turned out, he was the highest bidder at the auction. 

Think $220,000 is a lot of money for this car? Last year’s Pro Touring Corvette top honors went to B-J Lot 1278 — a ’62 Champagne Mist car with a chromed LS7. It made $401,500. Second in line was Lot 1010.1, another ’62 that got hammered at $357,500. For 2013, another ’62 went for $396,000 and another ’63 Split with an LS7 went away at $264,000. Clearly, there’s real money at play in this segment.

An investment or a driver?

So, here’s the question: Where are these resto-mod Corvettes going? They’re expensive at auction, and building one takes a huge amount of time and money from start to finish. If you buy one of these as a fresh build, can you recoup your investment when you sell down the road?

Ostensibly, these cars’ owners buy them to drive. Bill Verboon, a well-known resto-mod builder, reports that one of his custom Corvettes has more than 18,000 miles on it. Our subject car was built to be driven. Or it was built to be shown, with a significant “wow” factor relating to its high level of craftsmanship along with its modern usability.

A hybrid Corvette

In a sense, this car falls between two categories. Modern high-performance Corvettes are great drivers, while vintage Corvettes tend to be better collector cars. What you see here is a hybrid of the two: a top-level show-stopping driver with vintage Corvette looks and modern performance, all at a price that reflects what it is now, not what it once was. This falls pretty far outside what I’m used to dealing with when judging original as-delivered Corvettes for NCRS.

Values on already-built resto-mods, like this car, fall as time goes on. As the industry moves forward, once-cutting-edge components become yesterday’s news, and resale prices will suffer, even if the cars are not used. What’s going to happen to the value of this ’63 once someone builds a similar coupe with C7 parts?

My guess is that cars like this will sell for 50% to 60% of their new price after just a few years, regardless of whether they’re driven. That’s a similar trend to what you might see on a new Corvette — and thousands of people still buy new Corvettes every year. With this, like with each of those, people find that lost value in the use of the car. And this car has significantly more curb appeal than a 2013 model.

Car builder Jeff Hayes was a bit disappointed on this sale, and buyer Dick Wurster was equally happy for the same reason. Comparing the dozen or so other resto Corvettes in build quality, design-engineering and drivability, I think this was very well bought for a “new” old car. Now the new owner just needs to pack up his things, pick a far-off destination, and hit the road.