Soon after its electrifying 1953 New York introduction, Chevrolet’s Corvette was infused with small-block V-8 power by 1955 and tirelessly developed by Zora Arkus-Duntov and his Corvette engineers into a formidable racing contender. In 1956, the Corvette shattered speed records at Daytona Beach, and during the late 1950s, it utterly dominated SCCA production- class road racing, culminating in international success with a 1960 Le Mans class win with Team Cunningham. In large part, the Corvette’s rapid rise to racing success was rooted in the growing pipeline of high-performance factory options developed by Arkus-Duntov and his engineers, yielding a virtually track-ready Corvette from dealer showrooms. Among those competition upgrades was Rochester fuel injection by 1957, plus a succession of high-performance braking, cooling and suspension systems. Upping the ante for 1963, the dramatic new second-generation Corvette Sting Ray was carefully refined for 1964, shorn of some of the styling excesses of the previous year, and endowed with select handling upgrades. Available powertrains were numerous, based around four versions of the famed 327 CI small-block V-8, which was topped by the fuel-injected RPO L84 unit, uprated to 375 HP for ’64. Record sales of 22,229 units for 1964, including 8,304 coupes and 13,925 convertibles, confirmed the Corvette’s market stature and continuing excellence in the era’s crowded international sports car market. One of the keys to the second-generation Corvette’s growing road-racing prowess was the “big” RPO N03 extra-capacity 36-gallon fuel tank, initially available only on Corvette coupes from 1963 through 1967. Just 38 Corvettes featured this competition-type option for 1964, including this example, which is powered by a legendary matching-numbers, fuel- injected L84 327/375 HP engine. Finished in Ermine White with a black interior, this high-specification Corvette benefits from a body-off restoration completed by the Bowtie Shop in Billerica, Massachusetts. Importantly, the Corvette retains its factory-original body/ trim tag. Other desirable performance features include a 4-speed manual transmission, 4.11 Positraction rear end and F40 heavy-duty suspension, and most all factory- correct-type components are present including the spare, jack, jack tools, knock-off wheel hammer, seat belts, washer system, shifter, shielding, air cleaner, alternator, distributor, idler pulley, spark plug shields, hoses, hose clamps, fuel-injection unit, fuel-injection fuel filter, finned balancer, 6-quart oil pan, exhaust heat shields, expansion tank, radiator, gas door assembly, bowtie mirror, glovebox door and T-3 headlights. Predictably, this Corvette received NCRS Top Flight honors in 2013 with a 97.5 judging score out of 100 possible points. Documenting this exceedingly rare, one of 38 N03 “Big Tank” 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe are the owner’s manual packet, ownership history dating back to 1977, the NRCS Top Flight certificate and judging sheets, show boards and the corresponding NCRS Shipping Data Report.
