The 1963 introduction of the second generation Corvette (C2) marked the first ever production Corvette Coupe, and featured the split backlite that was first designed by Harley Earl, and was incorporated into the Larry Shinoda and Peter Brock body design by Bill Mitchell.
The innovative new chassis was designed by Zora Arkus-Duntov, who disliked the split window design, which lead to its one year only production. However, many of the engine and chassis components from the C2 production run from 1963 to 1967 were carried over to the C3 Corvette.
The Niagara Corvette Club is able to boast of 3 of its Club members owning this special vehicle, coincidentally all finished in Tuxedo Black.
Bob Johnston’s C2 is black with red interior, and has the 340 HP 327, 4 speed transmission, knock off wheels, side exhaust pipes, and vintage air conditioning. The car is in near mint condition, and is reported to be the first Stingray brought into Canada, by the owner of Gorries Chevrolet. It was built in St. Louis on Oct 11, 1962. The dealership owner went down and brought it back to his showroom in the next few days. Apparently, people from all over Canada came to view the new look. Bob was told by one of his retired salesman that he would not sell it for quite some time. Bob has enjoyed it for some time, but is considering a sale in the future.
Larry Gibson’s car was imported into Canada about 1972-1973, when cars had to be 15 years old to qualify for importation. Since it did not qualify, it was brought in parts, the frame one weekend, the body the next week end, and the rest of the parts later. It was being restored as it was re-assembled, and was purchased by Reg Mills, who completed the restoration. It was a “Quad C” show winner/contender at every Corvette show from 1976 -1979, looking much like it does today, but had black wall bias tires.
After purchasing the Vette in 1979, Larry continued to show it for about two years, but became tired of the preparations for the show circuit and started to drive it regularly, including Road Rallies and even Autocross events. With regular use (and racing abuse) over 20 years, it needed to be freshened up, and got a high performance rebuilt engine (still looks like the 340HP 327), and new paint (but same interior) about 1999. More recently it got 3.08 rear gears to keep up with highway traffic. Larry enjoys driving it regularly.
Dan Mowbray has 2 Split Window Coupes, both black as well. The first model came from Connecticut, is in untouched condition, and features a black leather interior, a 327 cubic inch 250 hp engine with a 2 speed Powerglide, 4 wheel drum brakes, and spinner hubcaps.
The second model came from Wisconsin, has a black vinyl interior, currently features a modified 350 cubic inch engine with a 4 speed Borg Warner manual, and a 4 wheel disc brake conversion.
