Daily Slideshow: 1963 Convertible L76 Stored Away for 45 Years

Was it too good to be true?

What would you do if you heard from someone that a guy who knows a guy that says he has had a Corvette sitting in a barn since the early 1970s? Brian Murray was told just that and went straight to the fellow who owned that Corvette. Murray, who is a Corvette restorer and collector, had always had a dream of becoming the owner of a pristine barn find. “I called him (the owner) and set up a time to look at the car.”

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Not what Brian expected

The Corvette that had been sitting in a climate-controlled garage was once a project car that had been abandoned decades ago. “I figured, you know, it’d be in pretty rough shape. He gave me this address and directions,” which led Murray on an hour or so drive “way back out on a dirt road, and about a half-mile off the road, down a two-track.

“When I walked in there (the barn) I said, ‘oh, this thing is not actually a barn.’ I mean it was a barn, but it was heated and clean.” 

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Nothing a little Turtle Wax can't fix

Parked before Brian was the '63 convertible, in immaculate shape, but was covered in a layer of dust that. “He (Vince) said he bought the Corvette from the original owner in 1964. His wife drove it until the early 1970s when he decided to take it apart and restore it. Then, they started having kids and he said he never got around to it. So, there it sat.”

So, on the floor near the car were the original numbers matching 340 horsepower 327 L76 engine, the original four-speed, and the rear end. 

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Shaking off the rust

Inside the car were red vinyl bucket seats and door panels that were in good condition. The carpet was faded but the bright trim on the moldings and windshield were in perfect shape. The body was in great shape except for one of the bumpers having a bit of rot on the bottom. Murray thinks that the chrome must have chipped off and allowed rust to invade the component. The plan for the car is to take a trip to a paint guy to see if the Riverside Red can be "wheeled out." 

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Coming soon

Since Murray restores Corvettes, the project was right up his alley. “I asked him what he wanted for it, and he told me.” Ever the gentleman, the sales price was not disclosed but Murray does admit that the figure was a very good one. Restoration of the 1963 is coming up in the fall once Murray's current project involving a '75 is completed. The odometer on the '63 shows how cherry this car will be once the resto job is complete reading somewhere under 70,000 miles. 

>>Join the conversation about this 1963 Convertible Barn Find Corvette right here.

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