1963 Corvette is One Rockin’ Retro Quarter-miler

We would love to see this C2 line up against newer ‘Vettes at the strip. 

Over the past few years, we’ve seen Corvettes of recent vintage dominate at the drag strip. There are the C7s with their insanely tunable LT4s. The C6s, which are turning into bargain supercars. And, of course, the C5s, which are so affordable that they’re being modded in all sorts of ridiculous ways.

But for older Corvettes, their space in the collector’s world generally means that they’re too valuable to chop, channel, and send out to the drag strip anymore. That’s why we love this black and purple 1963 ‘Vette roadster being offered by Mecum at its Las Vegas auction on November 15 to 17. There isn’t much left on this C2 that came from the old St. Louis, Missouri plant. That’s just fine with us.

The car’s listing is brief, so there’s a lot we don’t know. But it does have a massive 582 cubic-inch V8 under that streamlined fiberglass bodywork. The blown and alcohol-injected mill is built on an aluminum block. Jessel rockers and timing belt keep things running right. A fresh Rossler Powerglide transmission with transbrake handles staging, launching and shifting duties. Out back, power goes to the rear wheels via a nine-inch pumpkin. Additionally, the front and rear Summit Brothers axles are tough enough to handle all that power.

In terms of safety, that hardtop is permanently attached over the IHRA-certified tube chassis and roll cage. A new fire suppression system has been installed, as well as a new parachute to slow you down. Mecum doesn’t have an estimate for this C2, but we’ve got a feeling that there are some racers out there who won’t be afraid to drop some serious coin on this thing.

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As much as we love seeing more modern Corvettes dominate the quarter-mile, we’d love to see this C2 at our local strip. Overall, the paint and appearance give it more of an ’80s vibe than a ’60s one. But that makes sense; that was the last time most people would look at a ’63 ‘Vette and think “drag car,” not “Concours restoration.”

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