1964 Corvette Sting Ray: one-piece glass, the 365 and 375 hp 327s, how to verify one and 2026 prices

GM’s 1964 shop manual supplement puts the headline plainly: “The pillar dividing the rear window has been removed and a new, one piece rear window has been added to improve rear visibility.” The 1963 remains the only factory split window, so a 1964 with one is a conversion (see Reading a 1964’s numbers, and the fakes).

The rest, per the Corvette Black Book page reproduced in GM’s 1964 Heritage Center kit (the Black Book is a hobby reference), Corvette Action Center and Hagerty:

• The hood. The two recesses stayed; the 1963’s trim panels inside them didn’t. The 1965 went flat, so the 1964’s hood is a one-year design, and on a convertible it’s the quickest way to tell a 1964 from a 1963 (CorvetteForum, 2013).
• A fan in the coupe’s roof. A three-speed fan pulled cabin air out through new vents in the driver-side roof pillar, worked by a pull control under the dash. Owners say it clears stale air, not a fogged rear window (CorvetteForum, 2022). The 1966 lost the vents.
• Trim. A simpler rocker panel and a restyled fuel door (Hagerty). The two horizontal fender vents carried over; the 1965 got three vertical ones.
• Inside. A walnut-grained plastic steering wheel, black instrument recesses, squarer seat backs with no tilt mechanism, chrome door release knobs and new two-tone trims (silver or white with a second color).
• Body mounts. GM’s supplement describes “new, lower frame body mounting brackets to accommodate new body mounts”. Hagerty adds sound insulation and extra shift-linkage bushings.
• A second body maker. Some bodies now came from Dow-Smith in Ionia, Michigan, part of A. O. Smith, though every car was assembled in St. Louis. Corvette Action Center counts 1,579 coupe and 2,836 convertible bodies from Dow-Smith. That matters on the trim tag.

What stayed: the ladder frame, independent rear suspension, 11 in drums and 98.0 in wheelbase. GM’s June 1964 weights put a base three-speed coupe at 3,125 lb curb and the convertible at 3,110 lb. (The 1963’s 3,015 lb comes from a different GM form, so the gap isn’t proof of a weight gain.)

Every 1964 had a 327 cu in V8 (4.00 in bore, 3.25 in stroke). The top two grew: the carbureted L76 went from 340 to 365 hp and the fuel-injected L84 from 360 to 375 hp. Ratings are GM’s gross figures from its January 1964 engine data, prices from its December 2, 1963 list, counts from the Black Book:

GM also rates the base engine at 210 hp net. One early GM page prints 11.25:1 compression for the top two; three later ones say 11.0:1. Fuel injection cost $107.60 more than in 1963 and went into about half as many cars (2,610 in 1963). GM recommends premium fuel for all four.

Gearboxes and axles

GM calls the 1964 three- and four-speeds “new, improved,” with new ratios: 2.58:1 first for the standard three-speed. The M20 four-speed ($188.30, 19,034 cars) was a wide-ratio box (2.56:1 first) behind the 250 and 300 hp engines on 10,538 cars, and a close-ratio box (2.20:1) behind the 365 and 375 on 8,496. The M35 Powerglide ($199.10) went into 2,480: 904 base engines, 1,576 L75s. That leaves 715 three-speeds, by subtraction.

The rules, from GM’s power teams and price list:

• 250 and 300 hp: three-speed, wide-ratio four-speed or Powerglide, on a 3.36:1 axle. A four-speed car could take the G91 3.08:1 highway axle for $2.20 (2,310 cars).
• 365 and 375 hp: close-ratio four-speed only (1963’s top two could still take the three-speed), on a 3.70:1 axle; 3.08, 3.36, 3.55, 4.11 and 4.56 came only with Positraction.
• Positraction (G81, GM’s limited-slip differential, $43.05) went into 18,279 cars, more than four in five.
• Power steering with 250 or 300 hp only. Air conditioning with 250, 300 or, new for 1964, 365 hp; never the fuelie.

Road & Track’s March 1964 L75 Powerglide coupe, as reproduced by Corvette Action Center, ran 0–60 mph in 8.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 15.2 seconds at 85 mph. That’s the mild end of the list; the L76 and L84 made 65 and 75 hp more than its 300.

GM’s December 2, 1963 price list has no Z06. The two options that replaced it are written in by hand at the foot of the page, and GM’s January 1964 dealer data spells out what each one held:

• J56 special brakes, $629.50, 29 cars: finned 11.2 in composite drums with a cooling fan inside each, vented backing plates, an air scoop at each front brake, sintered iron linings and power assist with a dual-circuit master cylinder.
• F40 special suspension, $37.70, 82 cars: a 0.940 in front anti-roll bar, 550 lb/in front springs, a seven-leaf rear spring at 305 lb/in and rear shocks with 1.375 in pistons.

The zone letter says both were “Available late January, 1964.” Both needed the four-speed, Positraction and a high-performance engine, but GM’s papers disagree on which: the letter ties J56 to the 365 hp engine and F40 to the 375, while a handwritten note on the price list says both require the L84. This guide won’t pick between them.

The N03 big tank wasn’t part of the split. It was already its own option in 1963 (63 cars, per the 1963 guide) and simply carried on: 36.5 gallons, coupe only, $202.30, on 38 cars, against 20 gallons standard.

The options that matter

Prices are GM’s of December 2, 1963; counts are the Black Book’s.

Of the hardtop cars, 1,220 took it in place of the soft top. The Black Book prints power steering at $75.35, the 1963 price, and splits air conditioning 1,069 coupes and 919 convertibles.

Two arrivals: K66 transistor ignition was new for 1964, and the knock-off wheels finally reached customers. No 1963 is confirmed delivered with them; for 1964 the Black Book says delivery “was certain,” with three-bar spinners only.

Seven colors, and the counts

Another 24 cars had non-standard paint or primer, which brings the total to 22,229 exactly. Satin Silver was new and free, where 1963’s Sebring Silver had cost $80.70. A black, white or beige soft top came with any color.

GM’s color and trim chart pairs Ermine White with all 20 interiors and Saddle Tan with saddle trims only, but the Black Book says other combinations were possible. An odd pairing isn’t wrong by default; the trim tag has to back it.

Nothing in a 1964’s serial or trim tag names its engine, so the premium versions (the fuelie, the L76, a J56 or F40 car, a big tank) live in date codes and paperwork.

Serial and build month

GM’s identification page: 4 for 1964, 0837 for the Sport Coupe or 0867 for the convertible, S for St. Louis, then a unit number from 100001 to 122229. New for 1964, the serial tag had a space for the dealer to stamp the delivery date; in May 1964 a Chevrolet zone bulletin told service departments to add dates dealers had missed (via Corvette Action Center). An original stamped date is a useful piece of a car’s story. The Black Book’s month-end serials date the car:

The engine pad and the reused codes

Every engine was assembled in Flint. The pad stamp reads F, month, day and suffix: GM’s example, F1210RF, is a fuelie built December 10. Owners also look for the car’s serial derivative beside it. The Black Book lists 14 suffixes (GM’s dealer page shows the basic six):

• Manual gearbox: RC 250 hp, RD 300, RE 365, RF 375.
• Manual with air conditioning: RP 250, RQ 300, RR 365.
• Transistor ignition: RT 365, RX 375; RU is a 365 with air and transistor ignition.
• Powerglide: SC 250, SD 300; SK and SL are the same two with air.

The trap: RC, RD, SC and SD meant the same in 1963, and RE and RF were 1963’s 340 and 360 hp codes. The block (3782870) and heads (3782461; 3795896 on the base engine) are 1963 castings too. Only the date and serial derivative tie an engine to a 1964; the 1963 guide covers the other side.

The axle’s two letters plus a date give the ratio: CZ 3.08, CA 3.36, CX 3.70 conventional; CJ 3.08, CB 3.36, CC 3.55, CD 3.70, CE 4.11, CF 4.56 Positraction. The four-speed’s code is on the left lower cover flange of the case.

The trim tag and its two calendars

The tag under the dash carries the body style (64 837 or 64 867), body number, trim, paint and a build-date code. Corvette Action Center’s example: G11 (March 11, 1964), 64 867, body S7403 (St. Louis), trim 898FA (red leather), paint 940AA (Satin Silver).

The catch, per Corvette Action Center’s body-code table (opens in new tab): two calendars. On a St. Louis body, A is September 1963 and K is July 1964; on an A. O. Smith body, A is January 1964 and G is July 1964. Establish the body source before calling a tag wrong.

Real fuelie, or a carbureted car dressed up

The L84 carries the year’s biggest premium (classic.com’s 1964–1965 benchmarks put it about $50,000 over the L76), so it’s the 1964 most worth faking. Owners advising a shopper on a “numbers matching” 1964 fuelie coupe gave their checklist (opens in new tab): RF or RX on the pad, a 6,500 rpm tach redline, the right Rochester unit, the injected engine’s own manifolds and distributor, and ownership history (CorvetteForum, 2011). The Black Book lists the units as 7017375 early, 7017375R limited use and 7017380 late, and the fuelie distributors as 1111063, 1111064 and 1111070.

That shopper walked away from a December 1963 car with a late 7017380 unit. An early car with a late unit is a question, not proof of a fake. Air-cleaner holes in the left inner fender prove little: the 1965 guide explains GM’s service parts carried them for every engine.

NCRS, the National Corvette Restorers Society, calls converting a carbureted car to fuel injection with numbers to match counterfeiting. Paperwork decides; the C2 guide lists what helps.

The 1964 split window

A 1964 with a split rear window is a conversion, and they sell openly: on Bring a Trailer, a 1964 turned split window, on a tube-frame chassis with an LS-based engine, made $250,000 on July 14, 2026 and $243,000 on October 6. A factory split window’s serial starts 30837S. One poster says more 1963s went the other way, to one-piece glass (CorvetteForum, 2015).

GM’s 1964 dealer paperwork, as transcribed by Corvette Action Center (the originals weren’t seen for this guide), shows most trouble hitting early cars and being fixed in production. Most important first:

1. The four-speed shifter (DR #691, September 8, 1964). Early cars stripped knob threads, broke reverse-inhibitor cables and could break the reverse-blocker pin’s weld “and allow undesired reverse engagement” (opens in new tab). Production got a new mechanism and a brass-insert knob; the early all-plastic knob (GM 3846842, OEM) fits either lever, the late knob only the late one. The lockout was revised again for 1966.
2. Starting in gear on a Powerglide car (DR #658, March 10, 1964). On some early cars the neutral safety switch could hit the underbody, allowing “the engine being started while the transmission selector is in a drive position” (opens in new tab). Shims fixed it; the plant corrected it from serial S103661, an October 1963 car.
3. Vapor lock. Chevrolet’s 1964 Product Data Book warns that 365 and 375 hp cars, and air-conditioned ones, “may experience a fuel vapor lock condition during high ambient temperatures.” Late cars got a bigger pump with vapor bleed holes; early cars take pump GM 6415325 and elbow GM 3855147 (OEM).
4. Heat on air-conditioned cars. A faulty vacuum valve on a few early cars shut off the heat at maximum (TSB #1012, July 1964; valve GM 3839651, OEM; correct from S104235, early November 1963), and the blower ran slow on MEDIUM on cars built through December 16, 1963 (Service News, March 1964; resistor GM 3843168, OEM).
5. The hood support. Some early 1964s had its safety hole drilled through one side only (Service News, January 1964).
6. Running changes to the clutch (DR #645, February 1964), and a corporate bulletin on gear clash in 1963–1964 three-speeds (TSB #1008, July 1964).

What the federal files hold

NHTSA, the US road safety agency, has one owner complaint (opens in new tab) for the 1964: a left rear wheel came off while driving, filed in August 2000, no cause given, and this guide won’t guess one. There’s no recall at all. The complaint file starts in September 1994, three decades after these cars were new, so its quiet proves nothing.

The bills that decide a 1964’s fate belong to the generation: the rusting steel birdcage inside the body, the frame’s rear kick-ups, old crash repairs and overheating. The C2 guide covers them.

1. The serial. 40837S or 40867S, then a unit number no higher than 122229. Find its build month in the serial table in Reading a 1964’s numbers, and the fakes.
2. The trim tag. Read its month letter on the right calendar: St. Louis or A. O. Smith body first, then the month.
3. The engine pad. A suffix that fits the car’s equipment (an air-conditioned 365 is RR, or RU with transistor ignition, never RE), an assembly date before the car’s build date, and the serial derivative. RE or RF alone proves nothing.
4. Paper for every premium. Fuel injection, the L76, J56, F40 or the big tank. A J56 or F40 car built before late January 1964 is a question mark on GM’s own timing.
5. The fuelie details. RF or RX, a 6,500 rpm tach, a Rochester unit that fits the build date, the right distributor. Fender holes count for nothing on their own.
6. The shifter. On an early four-speed, reverse should need the lockout, and the knob should be tight.
7. A Powerglide car should crank only in Park or Neutral. One that cranks in a drive range has the fault DR #658 describes, and needs fixing before it’s driven.
8. A hot-day idle on a 365, 375 or air-conditioned car. Stumbling after a hot soak points at the vapor-lock bulletin.
9. The birdcage and the frame, on a lift, by the C2 guide’s list. They cost more to fix than everything else here put together.

On Bring a Trailer (opens in new tab), 44 cars from the 1964 model year were listed between January 1 and October 22, 2026, and 29 sold, at a median of $62,000: this site’s calculation from sold prices, without BaT’s buyer’s fee (5 percent, $250 minimum, $7,500 maximum). “Titled stock” means the title doesn’t call the car modified or a conversion; it can’t show a replacement engine, and one stock-titled coupe’s listing describes a “replacement 327ci V8.”

Three fuelies is a tiny sample: a coupe at $107,000 (October 17) and convertibles at $94,375 and $60,500. An L76 coupe brought $89,000 (October 7) and two L75 coupes $66,000 and $68,750; the cheapest stock sale was an L75 convertible at $39,250. Another 15 cars didn’t sell, at a median high bid of $70,000.

The C2 guide and the best Corvette years guide use June 10 to October 6, 2026: 10 titled-stock 1964s at a $60,250 median, the lowest of the five C2 years.

Hagerty’s price guide (opens in new tab), January 2026, condition #3 (Good), as captured by the Internet Archive:

Its order is odd in places (an L75 coupe under a base coupe), and it sits below what two of the three fuelies brought on BaT. Read it as a guide value, not a price tag.

classic.com’s (opens in new tab) May 2026 benchmarks cover 1964–1965 together: $82,319 for an L76, $132,533 for an L84. Its L84 record is a 1964 coupe it lists as highly original, 13,000 miles: $770,000 at Mecum Kissimmee on January 16, 2026. One car, not a market. The three sources measure different things, so don’t average them.

Buy a coupe with the 365 hp L76 and the close-ratio four-speed, its pad suffix (RE, or RR, RT or RU), date and serial derivative fitting the car. It’s the year’s hottest carbureted engine, mechanical lifters and all, in the body that shows off the one-piece glass. Hagerty values it barely above a base coupe ($55,500 against $54,200), though BaT’s one L76 coupe this year brought $89,000. Without paper for the L76, pay for a milder car.

The budget path is a carbureted convertible, at a $55,250 median on Bring a Trailer this year, the cheapest group of 1964s in the table in Bring a Trailer, Hagerty and classic.com on the 1964.

A fuelie is a documents purchase: pay for the injection only when the Rochester unit, the pad and the build date agree and the papers carry them. Skip any 1964 sold as a split window near a 1963’s price, and any car whose premium the paperwork can’t back.

Against a 1963, the 1964 trades the split window for 25 more horsepower from the L76 (15 more from the fuelie), new gearbox ratios and a clear view out the back, at the lowest median of any C2 year. That’s America’s sports car at its best value: crack the roof-pillar vent, wind the L76 toward its 6,200 rpm peak in second, and spend the money you saved on the birdcage.

The C2 guide covers the rust, the fakes and all five years; the 1963 guide the year before, and the 1965 guide the year after.