C2 Corvettes of any model year are popular with collectors and restorers, but the first year cars generally carry a bit of a premium compared to their later brethren. Split-window cars can fetch stratospheric prices, and even the convertibles are worth a good bit of change, regardless of condition.  One option that always adds value is mechanical fuel injection, which made its way onto just 2,610 1963 Corvettes.

So imagine finding a ‘63 Corvette roadster with fuel injection in an abandoned garage in east St. Louis, with just over 30,000 miles on the odometer. That is the tale brought to us by our friends at Corvetteblogger, who report that this rare car has not just been saved, but fully restored.

The story goes that the Corvette was bought and driven for just 31,184 miles before being parked in a garage, where slowly, over time, a pile of garbage overtook it. The engine was removed from the car at some point (though it remained with the rest of the pile), and the garage itself was in danger of collapse. It could have been an ugly end for this Corvette, were it not for professional Corvette restorer Tim Thorpe, of Thorpe’s Body and Corvette Shop.

He drove past the garage regularly to check up on the ‘Vette, and as chance would have it he met the original owner’s son at a party. After negotiating a price, Tim bought the ‘63 Corvette, finding it in rough-but-complete condition. A month after pulling it from the garage, the building was condemned by the city. It took Tim another year to fully restore the ‘Vette, but the result is a gorgeous car with an incredible story to go with it.