Modifying a classic C2 Corvette with an asymmetrical design is a gutsy move. But that’s what makes the “Outer Limits” 1963 Corvette for sale on eBay such a legendary car.
Here’s how it happened back in 1963. The ‘Vette was involved in a nasty high-speed crash with less than 100 miles on the odometer. Then, Ray Fahrner—the famous custom car builder and show promoter—spared the split window car from the wrecking yard.
Farhner dropped $950 on the frame and pile of parts emerging from the accident. He hauled the lot to his custom shop in Kansas City, Mo. Six weeks later, the car emerged with an off-kilter design inspired by Dean Jeffries’ Mantaray and Big Daddy Ed Roth’s Mysterion.
Disproportionate Design
The body modifications were extensive. The finned fenders are way taller than stock, and the wheel wells are radiused to accommodate the larger tires. This technique is a gasser-era hallmark.
But the most notable feature is the design of the front and rear fascia. They’re not symmetrical. A prominent extra fin runs from below the front grill, around the beak, and down the hood to the windshield. Meanwhile, a wide one-piece rear light panel stretches across the right side of Outer Limits’s sleek tail, with the license plate inset on the left side.
Chrysler designer Virgil Exner kicked off the asymmetrical trend in 1960 with the Plymouth XNR concept car. While the XNR never saw production, it created waves in the kustom world.
Virgil Exner’s 1960 Plymouth XNR concept car
Like No Other ’63 Split-Window Corvette
The Outer Limits Corvette changed hands many times. Each owner had a distinct view of how the car should look. As a result, it had more facelifts than Joan Rivers.
Consider the paintwork over the years:
- When Outer Limits first emerged from Farhner’s shop, the car sported light blue pearl paint with lighter and darker blends to accent the body lines.
- A Candy Red respray soon followed.
- The third paint job was a green-gold candy fade.
- Darryl Starbird, the renowned car builder, opted for a Candy Blue hue half a decade or so after the initial build. (He had a 392 Hemi installed, just for hoots.)
The Corvette fell on hard times in the 1970s. Builder Gary Logan worked at a NAPA Auto Parts store in 1979 when he found the pieces collecting dust.
Logan would go on to establish his own custom shop in Independence, Mo. That’s when he bought the Stingray and set out to restore it to its former glory. His crew did a faithful job of reconstructing the car.
A Museum Car in the Works
The drivetrain currently consists of a naturally aspirated 350 cubic-inch Chevy V-8, a Muncie four-speed manual transmission, and a 3.36:1 Positraction rear differential. This is the combo installed by Logan. While the engine sported a turbocharger at one point, the snail is long gone.
Y
et another owner opted for star-themed wheels and interior. The makeover included replacing the original build’s round headlamps with rectangular units in the 1980s. Burly side pipes soon sprouted from the rockers, as well.
Score one for star-power, as the multiple remakes by famous builders caught Robert Peterson’s attention. Outer Limits landed in the world-famous Peterson Museum in Los Angeles, Calif., which proudly displayed it for years. However, it left the Peterson collection in 2013.
The car crossed the block numerous times, with appearances at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale Auction and the Mecum Kissimmee Auction. The current owner purchased the car only recently but is now reluctantly parting with it. This ’63 is a cat with many lives.
That leaves one critical question: How will the next owner of Outer Limits remake the split-window one more time?
