Aircraft Hangar Find: A 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 4-Speed

This 1963 Chevrolet Corvette is now being offered for sale on eBay after spending many years sitting under a layer of dust at the Salem Municipal Airport in a hangar next to a Cessna.

We’ve featured many barn finds on Silodrome over the years, and more than a few garage finds, but this is the first aircraft hangar find on the books. It’s being offered for sale with a clean title, a California black plate, and low reported mileage.

Fast Facts – A 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 4-Speed

• The Corvette was first shown to the American public at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on the 17th of January 1953. No one knew it at the time, but the Corvette model family was about to become America’s most famous sports car, and a worthy rival to the many high-end sports cars coming out of Europe.
• The second generation Corvette, commonly referred to as the C2 Corvette, debuted in 1963 with wildly different “Sting Ray” styling, a new improved chassis, and four wheel independent suspension offering improved handling.
• The C2 Corvette would remain in production from 1963 until 1967 when it was replaced with the third generation model. It was a relatively short production run by Corvette standards, but it remains one of the most iconic and desirable versions.
• The car you see here is a 327 V8 1963 Corvette with a 4-speed manual transmission. It’s listed as running and driving well but it’s been off the road since 1996 sitting in an aircraft hangar at the Salem Municipal Airport, also known as McNary Field. The car is now being offered for sale on eBay with a clean title and a California black plate.

The Sting Ray Arrives

In 1963 when Chevrolet took the wraps off the all-new “Sting Ray” Corvette the American automotive world was somewhat taken aback. The new design was incredibly futuristic and unlike anything else on the road, with its styling taken from the earlier Sting Ray Special and XP-720 experimental cars, then honed in a wind tunnel for optimal aerodynamics.

The C2 Corvette was primarily the brainchild of two men, Zora Arkus-Duntov and Bill Mitchell. Duntov was a former racing driver who would become known as the “Godfather of the Corvette.”

Mitchell was a highly influential automotive designer who penned some of the most memorable American car designs of the age, including the 1955-57 Chevrolet Bel Air, the 1949 Cadillac Coupe deVille, the Chevrolet Camaro, Buick Riviera, Cadillac Seville, and of course, the second generation Corvette.

Under the revolutionary styling of the C2 Corvette’s lightweight fiberglass body was an all-new chassis developed by Duntov and his team with a focus on rigidity – they fully intended the new model to be a production-built, race-capable car and made no attempt to hide it.

Whereas the earlier C1 Corvette had a live axle rear end the new model had independent four wheel suspension, an unusual feature for the time when even the then-current Ferrari 250 GT series cars had live axle rear ends.

Four wheel disc brakes were introduced for the 1965 model year, another unusually advanced feature, and depending on the choice of engine the C2 could produce as much as 425 bhp. There weren’t many sports cars in production that could touch a well-set up Corvette and in many respects, it was the C2 that set the standard for all the Corvettes that would follow, more so than the earlier C1.

The 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 4-Speed Shown Here

The vehicle you see here is a first year 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, it’s fitted with the 327 cubic inch V8 which was producing up to 340 bhp depending on the version and specification. This car has a 4-speed manual transmission and it’s finished in blue paintwork with a black vinyl interior and a white soft top. It was originally painted black, and it comes with a factory hardtop.

Looking over the images the car does appear to be in decent condition, though it’s important to note that the engine is a replacement unit, so the car isn’t matching numbers. This means the value will be lower in the eyes of collectors, but for someone looking for a more affordable C2 Corvette who isn’t concerned about such things it could be a good option.

The odometer is showing just 62,022 miles, this may very well be original as the car has been off the road since 1996, almost 30 years, sitting in an aircraft hangar at the Salem Municipal Airport, also known as McNary Field.

The eBay listing notes that the car is very clean and solid, with a clean underside showing no rust or signs of previous damage. They also say the body is straight with no signs of bondo, though ideally it’s always best to inspect vehicles in person or have a trusted inspector do it before any money changes hands. Given how long the car has been sitting it’s safe to say it will need a full recommissioning at the very least, with extra care paid to the brakes, drivetrain, suspension, and electrical system. It would be a good idea to add some fresh tires before too much driving is undertaken also.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here on eBay. It’s being sold out of Independence, Oregon with a Buy It Now price of 47,000 USD. Bidding is currently underway, and at the time of writing the reserve price hasn’t been met.

Images courtesy of eBay Motors + ShelBob