{"id":5289,"date":"2023-02-09T09:46:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T14:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/?p=5289"},"modified":"2023-02-09T09:46:33","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T14:46:33","slug":"bought-by-a-teen-for-1500-this-63-corvette-is-now-priceless-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/2023\/02\/09\/bought-by-a-teen-for-1500-this-63-corvette-is-now-priceless-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Bought by a teen for $1500, this \u201963 Corvette is now priceless!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bruce Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even in his teenage years, Brian Richardson had an eye for Chevrolet Corvettes. Turns out he also had a nose for buried treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richardson and his identical twin brother, Bruce, bought and sold Corvettes in northern California to help finance their college education in the 1970s, but Brian could never part with one of them: This 1963 convertible<\/a>, VIN 30867S100003, the earliest-known second-generation (C2) Corvette in existence and now a priceless collectible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mom worked for the DMV, and Brian wanted a fuel-injected Corvette,\u201d Bruce says of his brother, who died unexpectedly two months ago. \u201cHe came up with the brilliant idea to have her run the first 20 serial numbers, and he found #00003 in Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Mom Richardson was traveling to Los Angeles anyway, she drove to the address registered with the DMV and spoke to the owner\u2019s wife, who shared two pieces of important information: 1. The car didn\u2019t run, and 2. Her husband had just lost his job. Those two negatives added up to a positive for young Brian, who recounts the story in Larry M. Galloway\u2019s book, Corvette: 1963\u20131967<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1963
The Richardson brothers check out Brian\u2019s 1963 Corvette after it was returned to its original red paint. Courtesy Lainey Richardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI flew down soon thereafter and was able to see the car through a garage window,\u201d he told Galloway. \u201c\u2026 Later I made a deal with the owner over the phone for $1500. The next weekend my brother and I drove down and picked it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When there simply isn\u2019t another one like it, a car\u2019s value is impossible to pinpoint\u2014or, in the words of our valuation team, priceless. The deal for the Vette\u2014equipped with a 327-cubic-inch, 360-hp V-8 (L84)\u2014was completed on April 26, 1975. Taking inflation into account, the $1500 price tag is the equivalent of $8300 today. As the earliest-production second-gen Corvette in existence, however, it\u2019s in a league of its own. When verified, as this convertible\u2019s status is, the title of \u201cearliest known\u201d holds great weight in the collector market. Such a vehicle can easily sell for more than its top value in the Hagerty Price Guide<\/em>: In this Corvette\u2019s case, $180,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By any measure, Vette was an amazingly shrewd purchase, especially for a 19-year-old college student, but it probably wasn\u2019t all that surprising to anyone who knows the Richardsons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were always into mechanical things, trying to figure out how they worked, learning how to make them work better,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cOur dad died when we were 15. He was a businessman, and he had served as a tank commander in World War II. Our grandfather worked for Lockheed, and all of his tools<\/a> went to Dad, so we had a lot of them, and we used them a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we were 14 or 15, we bought our first car\u2014a three-cylinder, two-cycle German car called an NSU Prince<\/a>, which is about the size of a Mini Cooper. We drove it around in the back yard. We had go-carts and gas-powered skateboards and \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruce\u2019s wife, Lainey, interjects: \u201cWhen they were 10, they took apart their mother\u2019s washing machine, fixed it, and put it all back together. Can you believe that? Ten!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ian, Brian, Bruce, and Perry Richardson at Laguna Seca. Courtesy Lainey Richardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Brian and Bruce went to the University of California-Berkeley and became mechanical engineers. Between them, they have more than 100 patented inventions; Brian specialized in lighting, Bruce in biotech. Brian was also an Olympic bobsledder who competed in the two-man event at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. In addition to competing, he came up with an innovative sled design<\/a> that is still in use today. As for Bruce, he and his son, Perry, run AccelRaceTek<\/a>, a motorsports business in Los Gatos, California, that specializes in high-performance race car training, tech, and service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the Richardson brothers never lacked for brains, and Brian\u2019s purchase of a historically significant C2 provides automotive proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1963
Brian and Lee Richardson, with #00003, on their wedding day. Courtesy Lainey Richardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a genuinely significant car, likely the earliest existing C2 Corvette,\u201d confirms Hagerty contributor and Corvette expert Don Sherman<\/a>. \u201cIts original fuel-injected V-8 adds to its value, and the ability to trace the ownership chain helps as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpeaking from experience, C2 frames are susceptible to corrosion [rusting] because they were not painted by the manufacturer. Instead, they received a coating of tar-like stuff which didn\u2019t last forever. Since this car apparently spent its life in California, that\u2019s a plus for longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, the brothers\u2019 restoration work on the Sting Ray was meticulous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe car looked ugly when I bought it,\u201d Brian told Galloway. \u201cIt was originally red on red. One of the previous owners painted both the interior and exterior black. They even painted the carpets. The paint job was poor. In many places red was showing. The good news is they didn\u2019t replace the interior. They only painted it. So, I was able to see how it came from the factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI still have the original interior seats, carpets, and door panel covers [the panel shape is slightly different from later production]. The paint on the body looked horrible. The body had only been damaged slightly in the rear. All of the original panels were on the car. As I said, the engine didn\u2019t run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI drove the car for a short time and then took it completely apart. At the time, a lot of parts could be bought from Chevrolet. Things like weather strips, glass, and FI parts were still available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1963
Bruce Richardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bruce adds that his brother \u201cwanted to make it as close to its original configuration as possible. We worked on it and had it running within about a year, and we later did a frame-off restoration and got it into a real nice position. Brian also did a refresh about 10 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the car\u2019s Riverside Red paint and 327 fuel-injected engine, it has a four-speed transmission, positraction axle, radio, and both hard and convertible tops. Its aluminum knock-off wheels and white wall tires were also undocumented options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The body trim plate does not have a date code, but the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) confirms that #00003 was shipped on August 29, 1962 with a dealer code indicating it was for General Motors\u2019 use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that Brian\u2019s C2 is VIN #00003, and there is no recorded account of what happened to #00001 and #00002, he reached out to Corvette author and historian Noland Adams in 2009, hoping Adams could shed some light on their whereabouts. Adams, who died in 2017, wrote back, sharing a lengthy account of what he knew. He stated, without hesitation, that Brian\u2019s car is \u201cthe oldest existing Sting Ray.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1963
Bruce Richardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy haven\u2019t the first two Sting Rays, numbers 1 and 2, been found? I think I know why,\u201d Adams wrote. \u201c\u2026 First of all, why build pre-production prototypes? The answer is obvious\u2014build them about two months before the production run is scheduled [to begin] to check fit and function of all new, never-used-before parts. Soon, production of the new model will begin, and ill-fitting or ill-functioning parts must be replaced \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnother consideration is how the pre-production prototypes were dispatched. Assuming a coupe and a convertible model for the year in question, one example of each body style was scheduled to be destroyed in a barrier test \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adams wrote that, considering the importance that GM placed on these crash tests, \u201cI am certain that 1963 pre-production prototypes 1 and 2 were prepared for such a barrier test as quickly as possible \u2026 Apparently the next convertible in line was #00003, and it was used as a design check.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1963
Bruce Richardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adding weight to Adams\u2019 findings, Galloway\u2019s book discusses the differences between #00003 and production 1963 Sting Rays. Some (but not all) of #00003\u2019s unique features include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The front fender upper to the lower panel bonding strip on the inside of the front fenders behind the Fuel Injection emblem is a hand lay-up part and does not have a \u2018jog\u2019 to clear the emblem studs as all jobs that follow do.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The headlight mechanisms are sand-cast and appear to be manually machined; scribe lines made by the machinist are visible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The door outer panels have a cutout at the top rear \u2026 The stainless-steel trim bead along the top of the door trim panel does not extend the full length of the door trim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The windshield reveal moldings were handmade, as there is evidence of hammer marks and welds on the backside. They fit noticeably better than production moldings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The car (originally) had holes in the body for power windows and a right-side rearview mirror, which were filled with factory bonding adhesive (not bondo).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The luggage compartment rear carpet under the rear deck was salt and pepper, like 1962 models, while the rest of the carpet was red.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \"1963
    Bruce Richardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Considering what similar Corvettes have sold for in recent years, it\u2019s safe to say that #00003 is worth six figures\u2014maybe even seven. Why does that matter? Because even before Brian\u2019s fatal heart attack, he was thinking about what would become of his Corvette, since his wife Lee, son Ian, and daughter Shannon don\u2019t share his passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now Bruce and Lainey are in the process of selling the historic C2 on behalf of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWe haven\u2019t decided where and when,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cWe\u2019re considering Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, or maybe Mecum Kissimmee (both scheduled for January 2023). And everybody seems to be selling cars on Bring a Trailer these days, so that\u2019s an option, too. We\u2019re still trying to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Knowing the Richardsons, they\u2019ll make a smart choice, just like Brian did in 1975.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Bruce Richardson Even in his teenage years, Brian Richardson had an eye for Chevrolet Corvettes. Turns out he also had a nose for buried treasure. Richardson and his identical twin brother, Bruce, bought and sold Corvettes in northern California to help finance their college education in the 1970s, but Brian could never part with one of them: This 1963 convertible, VIN 30867S100003, the earliest-known second-generation (C2) Corvette in existence and now a priceless collectible. \u201cMy mom worked for the DMV, and Brian wanted a fuel-injected Corvette,\u201d Bruce says of his brother, who died unexpectedly two months ago. \u201cHe came up with the brilliant idea to have her run the first 20 serial numbers, and he found #00003 in Los Angeles.\u201d Since Mom Richardson was traveling to Los Angeles anyway, she drove to the address registered with the DMV and spoke to the owner\u2019s wife, who shared two pieces of important information: 1. The car didn\u2019t run, and 2. Her husband had just lost his job. Those two negatives added up to a positive for young Brian, who recounts the story in Larry M. Galloway\u2019s book, Corvette: 1963\u20131967. \u201cI flew down soon thereafter and was able to see the car through a garage window,\u201d he told Galloway. \u201c\u2026 Later I made a deal with the owner over the phone for $1500. The next weekend my brother and I drove down and picked it up.\u201d When there simply isn\u2019t another one like it, a car\u2019s value is impossible to pinpoint\u2014or, in the words of our valuation team, priceless. The deal for the Vette\u2014equipped with a 327-cubic-inch, 360-hp V-8 (L84)\u2014was completed on April 26, 1975. Taking inflation into account, the $1500 price tag is the equivalent of $8300 today. As the earliest-production second-gen Corvette in existence, however, it\u2019s in a league of its own. When verified, as this convertible\u2019s status is, the title of \u201cearliest known\u201d holds great weight in the collector market. Such a vehicle can easily sell for more than its top value in the Hagerty Price Guide: In this Corvette\u2019s case, $180,000. By any measure, Vette was an amazingly shrewd purchase, especially for a 19-year-old college student, but it probably wasn\u2019t all that surprising to anyone who knows the Richardsons. \u201cWe were always into mechanical things, trying to figure out how they worked, learning how to make them work better,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cOur dad died when we were 15. He was a businessman, and he had served as a tank commander in World War II. Our grandfather worked for Lockheed, and all of his tools went to Dad, so we had a lot of them, and we used them a lot. \u201cWhen we were 14 or 15, we bought our first car\u2014a three-cylinder, two-cycle German car called an NSU Prince, which is about the size of a Mini Cooper. We drove it around in the back yard. We had go-carts and gas-powered skateboards and \u2026\u201d Bruce\u2019s wife, Lainey, interjects: \u201cWhen they were 10, they took apart their mother\u2019s washing machine, fixed it, and put it all back together. Can you believe that? Ten!\u201d Brian and Bruce went to the University of California-Berkeley and became mechanical engineers. Between them, they have more than 100 patented inventions; Brian specialized in lighting, Bruce in biotech. Brian was also an Olympic bobsledder who competed in the two-man event at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. In addition to competing, he came up with an innovative sled design that is still in use today. As for Bruce, he and his son, Perry, run AccelRaceTek, a motorsports business in Los Gatos, California, that specializes in high-performance race car training, tech, and service. In other words, the Richardson brothers never lacked for brains, and Brian\u2019s purchase of a historically significant C2 provides automotive proof. \u201cIt is a genuinely significant car, likely the earliest existing C2 Corvette,\u201d confirms Hagerty contributor and Corvette expert Don Sherman. \u201cIts original fuel-injected V-8 adds to its value, and the ability to trace the ownership chain helps as well. \u201cSpeaking from experience, C2 frames are susceptible to corrosion [rusting] because they were not painted by the manufacturer. Instead, they received a coating of tar-like stuff which didn\u2019t last forever. Since this car apparently spent its life in California, that\u2019s a plus for longevity.\u201d Not surprisingly, the brothers\u2019 restoration work on the Sting Ray was meticulous. \u201cThe car looked ugly when I bought it,\u201d Brian told Galloway. \u201cIt was originally red on red. One of the previous owners painted both the interior and exterior black. They even painted the carpets. The paint job was poor. In many places red was showing. The good news is they didn\u2019t replace the interior. They only painted it. So, I was able to see how it came from the factory. \u201cI still have the original interior seats, carpets, and door panel covers [the panel shape is slightly different from later production]. The paint on the body looked horrible. The body had only been damaged slightly in the rear. All of the original panels were on the car. As I said, the engine didn\u2019t run. \u201cI drove the car for a short time and then took it completely apart. At the time, a lot of parts could be bought from Chevrolet. Things like weather strips, glass, and FI parts were still available.\u201d Bruce adds that his brother \u201cwanted to make it as close to its original configuration as possible. We worked on it and had it running within about a year, and we later did a frame-off restoration and got it into a real nice position. Brian also did a refresh about 10 years ago.\u201d In addition to the car\u2019s Riverside Red paint and 327 fuel-injected engine, it has a four-speed transmission, positraction axle, radio, and both hard and convertible tops. Its aluminum knock-off wheels and white wall tires were also undocumented options. The body trim plate does not have a date code, but the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) confirms that #00003 was shipped on August 29, 1962 with a dealer code indicating it was for General Motors\u2019 use. Knowing that Brian\u2019s C2 is VIN #00003, and there is no recorded account of what happened to #00001 and #00002, he reached out to Corvette author and historian Noland Adams in 2009, hoping Adams could shed some light on their whereabouts. Adams, who died in 2017, wrote back, sharing a lengthy account of what he knew. He stated, without hesitation, that Brian\u2019s car is \u201cthe oldest existing Sting Ray.\u201d \u201cWhy haven\u2019t the first two Sting Rays, numbers 1 and 2, been found? I think I know why,\u201d Adams wrote. \u201c\u2026 First of all, why build pre-production prototypes? The answer is obvious\u2014build them about two months before the production run is scheduled [to begin] to check fit and function of all new, never-used-before parts. Soon, production of the new model will begin, and ill-fitting or ill-functioning parts must be replaced \u2026 \u201cAnother consideration is how the pre-production prototypes were dispatched. Assuming a coupe and a convertible model for the year in question, one example of each body style was scheduled to be destroyed in a barrier test \u2026\u201d Adams wrote that, considering the importance that GM placed on these crash tests, \u201cI am certain that 1963 pre-production prototypes 1 and 2 were prepared for such a barrier test as quickly as possible \u2026 Apparently the next convertible in line was #00003, and it was used as a design check.\u201d Adding weight to Adams\u2019 findings, Galloway\u2019s book discusses the differences between #00003 and production 1963 Sting Rays. Some (but not all) of #00003\u2019s unique features include: Considering what similar Corvettes have sold for in recent years, it\u2019s safe to say that #00003 is worth six figures\u2014maybe even seven. Why does that matter? Because even before Brian\u2019s fatal heart attack, he was thinking about what would become of his Corvette, since his wife Lee, son Ian, and daughter Shannon don\u2019t share his passion. Now Bruce and Lainey are in the process of selling the historic C2 on behalf of the family. \u201cWe haven\u2019t decided where and when,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cWe\u2019re considering Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, or maybe Mecum Kissimmee (both scheduled for January 2023). And everybody seems to be selling cars on Bring a Trailer these days, so that\u2019s an option, too. We\u2019re still trying to figure it out.\u201d Knowing the Richardsons, they\u2019ll make a smart choice, just like Brian did in 1975.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,35,17,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-back-in-the-day","category-chevrolet","category-corvette-news","category-midyears"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5291,"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5289\/revisions\/5291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecorvettesociety.com\/CS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}