Reborn Roadster

A Well-Loved '64 Corvette Lives A A New Life As A Modernized Daily Driver

- Steve Magnante

Chevrolet built 22,229 Corvettes in 1964—8,304 coupes and 13,925 roadsters. Even after accounting for over a half century’s worth of losses to collision, theft, and attrition, there are still plenty left today to satisfy restorers and customizers alike. Better yet, when we use the term “customizer” in 2020, we’re mostly talking about resto-modders, aka folks who tastefully retain and respect the external appearance but go wild under the skin with chassis, suspension, interior comfort, brakes, and driveline upgrades.

But it wasn’t so long ago when customizers (often spelled with a “k”) turned the equation around, grafting hideous fiberglass wings, scoops, flares, and spoilers on the plastic body while leaving everything mechanical alone. Sadly, the result was often clownish and gaudy. But times and tastes have changed.

So, as much as we all love and respect a perfectly restored ’64 Rochester fuelie (1,325 built) or N03 “tanker” coupe (the 36-gallon fuel tank appealed to endurance road racers who didn’t have to stop as often to refuel), the plain truth remains,the rest of the Corvette herd is ripe for upgrading.

In stock trim, ’64 Corvettes just don’t drive as well as they look. Few vintage cars do. Though diehards don’t mind carburetors with manual choke cables, or drum brakes that put you in the next lane when stabbed, the core of the classic car audience has been spoiled by the new car experience. Today’s auction block results prove most buyers will pay much more for a nicely resto-modded Corvette (or Tri-Five Chevy, baby T-bird, ’65-’73 Mustang, GTO, and so on) than a concourse-correct relic sitting on skinny 6.70-15 whitewalls.