This 1962 Chevrolet Corvette is claimed to be all original by the seller, from its Ermine White paint to its black interior. Not only is it an original car, but it’s a fuel-injected one–one of 1,918 for 1962 according to the auction listing here on eBay. The buy it now is pretty darned high for us mere mortals. It’s located in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Being born in 1964, I’m a big fan of the C2 Corvettes, so I like the rear of this 1962 a lot more than the front. The C1 frontal styling past 1957 seems a little heavy handed to me, but that’s a personal opinion–perhaps yours is very different. On a totally different note, before I spent almost $100,000, I’d want a lot more and a lot better pictures to work from. Actually, if I were spending that kind of money, I’d be flying there and looking at the car. But that would require some sort of lottery or sweepstakes win.
Even the trunk looks pretty nice, apart from the weatherstripping. I’m hoping the white marks aren’t overspray from an unmentioned repaint. I do approve of the fire extinguisher in a big way!
While the interior isn’t perfect, it is very nice and does appear original. I don’t know how it works for the Corvette collector world regarding originality versus perfection; I’d love some of you fantastic plastic experts to weigh in on that in the comments so I can be educated–thanks in advance! And yes, that is a four speed manual transmission, and the specs include a positraction rear end.
Again, some of you experts can weigh in to tell us how original appearing this Rochester fuel injection system is; I just know it has the nice look of something not restored but well taken care of. Would you like to be the next caretaker? Do you think it really is all-original? And is it worth what they are asking? I look forward to your opinions!
Love them, but they drive awful….had a 61′ and a 62’……..huge steering wheel but they are cool….bit drive awful……
Agree, the C2s handle pretty poor. A ’62 FI like this one was the first Corvette I ever drove, and I couldn’t believe that they steered and handled just like a shortened Chevy sedan, which is what they really were underneath.
I had a year-old tri-carb Healey 3000 at the time, and I believed it could run rings around the Corvette on the road. The friend who owned the ’62 Corvette drag raced it and that’s all. He never even mentioned any other kind of competition. He sure did look good in it, though, especially with the top down.
The year prior to that, I had an MGA 1500 that I ran in a gymkhana—an ancient around-the-pylons competition on a big parking lot. It had 72 HP when new and probably less when I owned it. The car that ran before me was a ’58 or ’59 Corvette, and the driver tore around in big slides with wheels spinning and pieces of asphalt flying. His admirers gave him a big cheer after his run.
My run was 3 seconds faster than his, and I took FTD. I got a cheap little plaque with a sticky backing for that win, and I stuck it on the dash. Fortunately MGA dashes are painted metal, and when I sold the car for the Healey I was able to pull it off. I still have it, a relic from 1962.
Anyway, that win with the MGA 1500 wasn’t much of an achievement against the Corvette since it was on a tight course where you never got faster than about 50 MPH. I don’t think I could have matched the Corvette’s time at Sebring or Le Mans or even Lime Rock, but we never found ourselves at any of those places at the same time, so we never tested it out.
Great story! Thank you for the history. MGAs were definitely cool cars. But, given the choice today of this ’62 Fuelie or a pristine MGA, I think I’d choose the Corvette.
ccrvtt, I think I would agree with you. At my age, driving a ’62 fuelie like this white car would make me look way better than I actually do.
I’ve driven a grand total of 1 C1 in my life, & that was in the late 80’s. It was a 58 model, dual quad 283, 4 speed, black with red interior. Man that car was fast, & they will make anybody driving it look much cooler than they actually are, but it rode like a log wagon, & for the uninitiated, getting back out of it was an act for a gymnast.
With that being said, would I like to have it? Heck yea! I around learn how to get out of it, lol! But I can’t see mortgaging the house for it. Not to mention my wife would probably take it away from me.
Friend bought new and still owns it.
I got into one about 30 Years ago. With me being 6’7″, it took 2½ hours to get out.
Where is that extended stretch ‘vette that I can drive?
A beautiful car to look at, but for me, a plastic model sitting on a shelf is more practical.
I hear ya AL… I’m 6’4″, and getting into small cars is no easy fete. My wife (5’1″) has a Toyota Corolla. Me getting into the drivers seat of that car is comical, to say the least! Push the seat back as far as it will go, slide in somewhat sideways, as my “width” is wider than the allotted clearance! Then, push my knee down and drag under the steering wheel, followed by pulling my other leg in. I’ll take my van or a truck any day of the week!
I had a 60. Love that style.
Beautiful car and a car hauler to boot, too bad my wallet doesn’t carry that much cash.
4 speed, posi rear end and fuel injected! It’s Christmas! But kinda steers like a truck at least the one ’61 I ever drove. But ………..
From the pictures, it looks pretty correct and original, but you’d need to see it in person, to be sure. I always have a problem with ads where the seller claims a car is matching numbers, then doesn’t include any pictures of the stamp pad.
I love 62’s, I’ve had mine for 41 years. They ride hard, they steer hard, they are hard to stop, and at 6 foot, I hit my head on the soft top bows, but they’re still one of my two favorite years, 57 being the other.
Considering that the suspension under them, came out of a 49 Chevrolet, they handle a lot better than most people would think. I know, because I use to autocross mine, and did fairly well with it. White with a black interior is probably my least favorite color combo though. It’s just sort of boring.
I’ll probably get hate responses for this, but unless I was getting one for purely showing I’d pass on this one. I’d look for a less ‘perfect’ one, swap out the frame for an aftermarket one that allows usage of the C4 suspension, add an LS engine and a Tremec 6 speed and drive it like it was stolen. That would make it drive and handle like it should have in the first place. It’s nice but I’ve already seen a couple of this age for less $$ and sorry but can’t justify that kind of money.
A part time employee of my local Ace Hardware, drives a 1961 to work. (We are in Southwest Florida, and he’s retired from something else.) I was looking through a box of old car sales material and found a four page 1961 Corvette brochure. I gave it to him. He stated that someone had recently given him an owners manual that they had since 1961.
I remember Mini Coopers beating Corvettes in tight parking lot gymkhanas, especially when the course was set up by a British car club to put Corvettes at a disadvantage.
I wonder about the future of these cars. If this car is worth $100,000, then any potential buyer with that type of disposable income can head over to the local Chevy dealer and drop the $100,000 on a 2017 Corvette that will outperform the featured car, in every statistical area, in second gear. How much is nostalgia worth? I lusted after these cars when I was 13 years old. I’m 64 now and I don’t know if anybody needs me, but if I had the funds required, I would be at the Chevy dealer today helping a sales associate make his/her quota for the month. 2017 Grand Sport Coupe, Watkins Glen Grey, Tension Blue interior, 7-speed transmission, hash-marks on the fenders please.
One of my favorite Corvettes ( I could take or leave the F.I.) It had a real trunk. Not one “Route 66” comment. For shame. Marty is spinning in his grave.
http://www.imcdb.org/i282191.jpg
Almost left a Route 66 comment, but then again most of the shows weren’t on Route 66 anyway. Plus most people thought the car was red when in fact (from what I read on the series), it was either blue or brown (don’t remember which) because it showed better in b&w.
On the comment on the 2017: they are nice but the thing that messes me up on them is (according to the Chevy dealer) there’s something like 15 different computers in the car controlling almost everything. You can’t work on one of them without a EE degree and $20K+ in electrical test equipment just to diagnose a problem. I like to get my hands dirty on my cars having been unable to for a long time due to old injuries and it’s hard to even find the intake on the new ones let alone do much more than put gas in it and turning the ignition key. I also like the character of many of the older cars.
My 2 cents.
You hit the nail squarely on the head demonstrating why the car hobby has room for everyone. I am at the point where I prefer turning the key and putting gas in it. But I guarantee you if I met you and the ’62 at a Cruise Night, we would admire each others cars and have a few pops.
Cheers!
But sometimes there is no key to turn. and that is a shame.
I’m with Squanto, at my age, I like turning the key & driving more than tinkering. Oh I still have my projects, but once they are finished, I don’t want to have to work on them anymore. My last 6 builds have been EFI engines replacing carbureted engines, with the exception of the 87 GMC Sierra I’m currently working on. It came with a TBI engine, & I put a L33 5.3 engine from a 07 Sierra into it. Stock with the exception of a small truck cam, with the tune & good exhaust, it’s 400hp. And the TBI motor from the 87, went into my 64 K10.
With the exception of the electronics, the basics are still the same, get fire, fuel & air, & it will run. But instead of a dwell meter & vacuum gauge to tune, you are using a programmer & software. BTW, a decent scanner is less than 200 bucks, & HP Tuners or EFI Live with credits for 2 cars is less than $800.
What’s not to like about a car or truck with a 400hp engine, that will go 10k miles between oil changes, run a 100k miles on a set of plugs, & get 22 mpg, or more, with the AC running?
You guys, I am as old as you are. Trained on flatheads to wrench. Graduated high school in the 60’s. I love the computer cars because they actually tell me where to start. With help from my 20-something Son, I can literally fine tune the mix, the advance or retard, change the shift points, etc. From a laptop while sitting in the drivers seat. It has taken my basic knowledge and leveraged it to the Nth degree. What has really opened my eyes is that the factory tune is almost exactly where I would have my performance vs. efficiency settings also. The gearheads in Detroit and Ohio and Tennessee and Stuttgart seem to have our backs. With a warranty.
I can remember being at the side of the highway, trying to help my Dad re-tune his ’68 420G Jag. It had to be re-tuned about every 400 miles, especially when there were significant elevation changes (going to the coast through the mountains). What a pain, especially in the rain.
There used to be a one owner 62 fi in my town. had a bunch of mi on it when he passed went to his son in CA I still remember the sound of the FI unit very cool. it was Red on red great looking car.
Had a 1960 Corvette in 1966 that I thought as an 18 year old kid drove great.
I also drove a 1962 for a while that seemed nice to me also. Now I spoiled with
power steering and radial tires. Also got too big of a gut now to get behind the wheel in the C1’s. LOL
Porsche 356. Just sayin’
Must be the wife who want to sale and he don´t,thats why the sellingprice is over the limit ;-)
i live in grants pass an have seen this car at local shows, t’is as nice as claimed.
– The “old guy” exchange here made me laugh — I’m 75 today.
– The anti-white paint comments usually indicate a younger person who doesn’t know that “back in the day,” the American racing color was white (usually with a blue racing stripe.) White used to be the #1 pick, and it’s on the upswing today.
– Comments about C1 handling, though accurate compared to newer models, should be compared to other American marques in period. Dr. Dick Thompson and others had great success racing them.
– The car cited here seems spendy at $100K, but convert value of today’s buck to 1962 dollars and it seems more affordable. (I paid $3,879 for my first new Vette ordered from Dick Fencl Chevrolet in Illinois: 1962, 327/340 HP, close ratio 4-speed, 4:11 posi, radio delete, white over red.) Wish I could have kept it…
Years ago I remember hearing ads for a Fencl-Tufo Chevy dealer.