•My guess is that nose and tail blocks are later additions/repairs (based on the parts of the red pigment that are sanded away).

•Would also guess the the red pigment is also not original, because I don't remember the "competition band" fad happening til '64 or '65. But Rich will probably have a more accurate idea of what sorts of color schemes he was using in '63 (and the board apparently was made LATE in '63).

•Weight. If the red color job WAS, in fact, added later, it will probably mean that the board is on the heavy side, even for one of that era. Pre-leash boards tended to get a lot of rail dings, so sometimes guys would add pigment jobs to hide them when they decided to sell the board. That almost always added significant weight. Remember that color was not air-brushed on back then: it was a whole 'nuther coat of resin with pigment mixed into it. So on a used board, the gloss would be sanded off, then a pigment coat added, then a new gloss coat. If this was being done by an amateur, the process could transform a decent board into a REAL slug just due to the added weight (please don't ask me how I know this). As Rich has stated here previously, even adding color when current boards are being made will add weight (as opposed to a clear finish). Also remember that that the blanks used back then were far denser than those in current production and that the glassing schedule was usually double 10-oz. or single 20-oz. with deck and tail patches (though, if memory serves, Rich was one of the first shapers to start experimenting with lighter glass jobs). If you intend this board to be a wall hanger, weight won't matter. But if you want to actually try to RIDE it, it might feel pretty clunky to you, especially when you also factor in the big "D" fin, 50-50 rails and relatively flat rocker.

•And speaking of the fin, it looks like it may have been moved forward at some point. Again, Rich will have the definitive answer, but most boards of that era had the trailing edge of the fin set closer to the tail block.

•All in all, it looks "modified" and a bit on the beat side to be considered stunning and collectable.

Just my 2¢...