1962 Corvette 327-340hp 4 Speed

[napa68]

I've got this 62 that I bought a couple of months ago. I purchased the car from another dealer friend, who is retiring and closing up his shop. He got this car (plus 1 other) from a local widow back in 2021. The previous owner had the car since late 1983. The car shows 88k miles.

No real discernible history is known about the car. The VIN number puts this car as being produced in November of 61. The story that came with the car....... it has a warranty block in it. The block is dated July 23rd, of 62. I don't know how credible the warranty story is, as the heads are 462's dated in 66. That added to the fact it has a non finned 8" balancer. The engine pad is clean with no stamps, nor any machine marks that would indicate the typical machine shop work that would appear on a deck. Having said all of that, I'll take the high road and just call it an NOM. The car does have it's born with close ratio T-10 4 speed. The rear end housing is the correct positraction housing, although the center section is currently a non "P" case dated 64. I seem to run into that an awful lot on these C1's.

What the car does have is a body and frame to just die for! I cannot find one spot in this body that would indicate any post St. Louis glass work. The car has been repainted in it's correct Ermine White, although the jambs look like they are original paint in addition to the hardtop. The chrome, stainless, pot metal, and window glass are really nice. All of the window glass is original to the car / hardtop with the exception of the windshield. That makes sense given the mileage and it has had a replacement dash pad installed.

I bought this car a couple months ago with the intention of reselling at some point. It had some needs, but nothing major. I sent the car over by my Dad's place (I didn't have room at the time) and he took the time to clean the car up, clay out the paint, and hand rub the car. In no time at all, he fell in love with the car and bought it. My Dad was just gushing over the body and how nice the car ran / drove. Then, fast forward another few weeks. My Dad falls in love with a 63 SWC I bought from Nick (Supreme Deluxe). Some horse trading over a couple of beers, and I own the 62 again.

This week, the car got delivered up here into the great white north. I'm getting busy doing what I normally do on these cars. A small handful of things needed tending to, but no big deal. Now this is where the problem comes......I'm starting to fall in love with the damn thing myself. Here goes the thread on my process.

The car is originally optioned as a hardtop only (no convertible top). It has the obligatory Wonderbar radio, heater, and whitewall tires. I've been tuning on the carb, adjusted the dwell, threw some real timing into it, along with fresh fuel and voila, this runs REALLY good! I pulled the wheels, cleaned and adjusted the shoes, flushed the hydraulic system, to find the front bearings packed with white lithium grease. Repacked the bearings (they looked amazingly nice) As I write this, I am waiting for the new front grease seals to show up from the parts store.

As I progress, I'll post some updates.

Tim























This should really clean up nice! How bout the glasspacks? They sound really good!




Yuck!




Check out the original sealer in the rain gutters...


All the body seams look this...... nice and crisp. Just they way they left the factory

[olredalert]

----Looks like a really good driver, Tim. Exceptional body. Love the pic of the trunk with the bullets still on the tail lights. Wondering if it's worth chasing down heads that are dated to the block (not the car). Or maybe dated to the car as it's possible that only the short block was replaced at the time and original heads were used up until 66 and then replaced....Bill S

[napa68]

Originally Posted by olredalert

----Looks like a really good driver, Tim. Exceptional body. Love the pic of the trunk with the bullets still on the tail lights. Wondering if it's worth chasing down heads that are dated to the block (not the car). Or maybe dated to the car as it's possible that only the short block was replaced at the time and original heads were used up until 66 and then replaced....Bill S

Great minds think alike. Don't think for a minute I haven't been looking for some 461X's. The late 61 castings would support the warranty story, but then it's still a story. My thoughts are if this were to stick around (and then I have to sell SOMETHING else), A good set of worked over 461X's and an LT-1 cam, I'd have a package that would pull 7000 RPM and be an absolute hoot to drive. And not one number in that motor to worry about! Of course the original T-10 may protest that type of behavior.

Regardless of that nonsense, the car is an awesome driver that will turn heads and be a treat to cruise.

[Too Many Projects]

Every time I read about you and your Dad, drinking beer and car trading, I'm reminded of the old saying "cut from the same cloth". I'm willing to believe it's not just the same bolt of cloth and the only thing that separates you two is the cut it took to make 2 pieces. Congratulations on having such a wonderful relationship with a Dad that raised a good Son.

[SupremeDeluxe]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

Congratulations on having such a wonderful relationship with a Dad that raised a good Son.

Well said there. That’s a rare and very fortunate situation, indeed.

Tim, when you were telling me about this car, I didn’t realize it was white/red. My ideal C1 color scheme. This is definitely my (our) kind of car. The 1962 design is so restrained/refined versus the earlier C1s.

[napa68]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

Every time I read about you and your Dad, drinking beer and car trading, I'm reminded of the old saying "cut from the same cloth". I'm willing to believe it's not just the same bolt of cloth and the only thing that separates you two is the cut it took to make 2 pieces. Congratulations on having such a wonderful relationship with a Dad that raised a good Son.

Thanks Mitch. We have always been tight. I see him more as a best friend, than my Dad. As you can imagine, some of our shared interests have occasionally made my Mom and Tracey a little upset with our decision making processes

[TimG]

What a pretty car, Tim. That will be a great Northern Wisconsin summer car.

[napa68]

Here is after the 1st and 2nd pass on the bottom of the car. There looks to be some staining of the glass that I suspect I'll never be able to improve. It looks like I am up getting up against the factory black out by the rear wheel wells.

I also found a couple of marks on the diff housing after the 1st cleaning

[Too Many Projects]

Wow, it's coming out quite clean, bet it's making a heck of a mess on the shop floor.
Any idea if the glass packs are Porter's ? I've looked at them at BTTF but never purchased a pair. Always wondered how they sound.

[olredalert]

----Tim,,,At this point you would be surprised what you could do with lacquer thinner and a whole bunch of rags. I did a virgin 63 coupe several years ago and went a bit overboard. It deserved it as the body was unbelieveable. I had a hard time giving it back to my customer as I knew he was going to drive it. Even minimaly any miles would have bothered me. But, I admit to being too anal!...Bill S