1962 Chevrolet Corvette

Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Manual

Gasoline

Reserve price lowered!!! There is NO HARD TOP INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION. This is a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette, serial or VIN number 00098, which means it was the 98th 1962 Corvette built. Its build date was approximately August 18th, 1961 – very early in the production run. Not much is known of its original equipment other than that it was equipped with a manual transmission, two tops, and a non-fuel injected 327 motor. It also had factory Honduras Maroon paint with a black interior. This particular car has been around the track a few times. I purchased it in the summer of 2001 from a Corvette parts and restoration shop outside of Detroit, where it had been sitting outside for some time. (I had originally seen the car at this shop in the early ‘90s, sitting inside with lots of parts stashed on top of it. At that time it was a custard yellow color with four rectangular taillights and the front bumpers shaved off. The car sat there for many years and I know that it had already been sitting in that spot for at least ten to 15 years prior to that.) In the very late ‘90s, the shop owner made a deal with a local body man to “refurbish” the car to get it ready for sale. This body man changed the taillights to the current six Corvette lights and painted the car white. He did a very poor job on the paint – perhaps he strained it with a sock prior to shooting one very thin coat on it. I also know he changed the hood and wheels but I am not sure what other work he did to it at that time. The car was in this state when I purchased it in the spring of 2001. I brought the car home, washed it, took the hard top off and went for a drive. The motor ran poorly, the steering was horrible, the brakes were inadequate and the lights barely worked, the carpet was in shreds and there was no insulation. It was perfect! I vowed to do at least one major project on it each year. That first summer, the project was to replace the motor, as it had spun a rod bearing shortly after purchase. The motor that was in the car when I bought it was a 350 CID 2 bolt—nothing special. I replaced that motor with a 4 bolt 355 CID with some upgraded parts, newly rebuilt heads and new internals. None of these parts are big dollar but were all new at the time. The engine runs great, though the valve seals are starting to show their age. I retained the HEI distributor and alternator that were on the car when I bought it. When the engine was out, the engine compartment got a good scrape and a new coat of paint. The radiator was pressure tested and all the hoses were replaced. The trans also got a new clutch and throw out bearing. The carb was replaced as well. The exhaust is an old set of mid-year Corvette side pipes mounted under the car. It’s in good shape except for the very ends, where there are some rust holes in the downturns. The manifolds are new 2 ½-inch repop ram’s horns. The following spring, the carpet came out. The entire interior was cleaned and a hole in the trans tunnel was discovered where there was interference with the shifter. That hole was covered with sheet tin and pop rivets bent to maintain the original tunnel contour. I then completely insulated the cabin and added new carpet, which looks great with a stock shift plate. The next major issue to be resolved was the wiring. The car still had the original wiring and it had been hacked and spliced numerous times during the previous 40 years. I bought a brand new Lectric Limited wiring harness and two pigtails for the extra taillights, and then carefully spliced in a fusible link for the alternator making for a very nice, factory-looking, brand new wiring system complete with a new fuse block from the head to the tail lights. The gauge cluster also came out and the speedometer was rebuilt. The tachometer, which was inoperable due to the updated HEI distributor, was removed and replaced with a Sun Super Mini Tach in its place and wired into the new harness. All the connections were professionally soldered and heat shrunk and then routed in the factory paths. Heck, even the cigarette lighter works! As previously mentioned, the steering was terrible. There was a really bad skip right at the top of the wheel when driving straight. Given the expense of new or rebuilt steering boxes, I took mine to a professional. Together we took the box apart, found a big rust spot in the worm gear, cleaned it up, welded new metal on to the tooth and then carefully filed the profile back in. I also took the drag link and other steering parts apart and replaced all the seals and worn out parts. I won’t say the car steers like a new Vette, but it steers very well. The brakes were also a recurrent problem. Taking all the drums off disclosed two sticky wheel cylinders and they were replaced. All the drums were sanded to reveal that they were in pretty nice shape despite their neglect. Several of the hoses were replaced as needed and the rest of the lines and blocks proved serviceable. Later that summer, the shocks were replaced at all four corners with KYB Gas-Adjust shocks. The rear springs and shackles were replaced as well, including all the spring bushings. Next, the Muncie Wide ratio 4 speed transmission developed a very odd noise at speed. The trans came out and was gone through. Several of the synchros were replaced, along with the seals and gaskets, the main and rear bearings, and anything else that was questionable. The throwout bearing was replaced again as well. The trans cross member is a custom job but works very well being made from thick plate steel. The next winter, the seats came out. All of the soft top brackets, the body mounts under the seats, the main brace inside the gas tank compartment, and the seat belt reinforcements were either replaced or refurbished. It became clear that the cabin held water for some time as many of the brackets and braces were rusted for several inches at the bottom. The rust was cut off the soft top brackets and new metal was welded in place, the welds ground off, and the entire bracket repainted and reinstalled. The body mounts behind the seats were replaced with all-new hardware. There is no convertible top but all the mounting brackets are in place. The main brace inside the gas tank well came out and was refurbished and reinstalled with all new rivets. The gas tank was removed and cleaned inside and out and was found to be in very nice, original shape. The hoses and clamps were replaced and the sender was gone through to ensure its accuracy. The gas tank well was also cleaned thoroughly and the rubber gas neck filler hose was replaced. At this point, the entire fuel delivery system has been gone through and all the parts replaced as needed. The headlight buckets were removed and all the plastic adjustors and screws were replaced. The buckets were blasted and repainted and everything was reassembled and reinstalled. The frame is very solid from front to back, though it was rust-proofed at some point and the tar is scaling off of it. The only bad points that I can see on it are the exhaust cut outs on the X Frame where the bottom portions of the holes have been removed. It’s ugly but not hurting anything and will be an easy fix. Otherwise, the frame is all original. The supports in both kick panels where they mount the dash board to the frame are rusted out across the bottoms. The body mounts in the rocker panels must be rusted as well, since the bolts won’t budge and there is no room for tools under the dash or in the rocker panels. The stock rear end has been completely removed and replaced with a complete and freshly built custom Ford 9-inch from a truck. The center section is a new rebuild as well with all new posi parts, 3.70 gears and new Moser 31 spline axles. The axle housing was professionally narrowed to allow for larger tires. The new, stock-style springs were re-arched and another leaf was added for much stiffer launches. The rear shackles were flipped over for a taller ride height and the strut bars were removed. The new Moser axles are fitted with 7/16-inch studs and threaded holes for ½-inch studs for racing. It is all hung with new traction bars. The truck axle is a professionally built and narrowed piece with big Ford end bearings and the flanges are heli-arc welded on. The spring perches are brand new as well and are heavy duty. This rear end is set up for big horsepower! This rear axle also accommodates an 11-inch heavy duty brake drum – much larger than stock. The drive shaft needs to be shortened and the brakes in the rear need to be sourced and put together. This means there is NO drive shaft and NO rear brakes or parts. The stock 8.8" Corvette axle is very week, that's why I put in the Ford 9". The axle in this car is a beefed up Ford 9" with 31 spline Moser Axles and new heavy duty "big ford" end bearings. The entire rear end is brand new with 0 miles on it. The posi is freshly rebuilt as well. I built the rear end with the intention of putting at least 550 horses in the car and drag racing it. This axle should be bullet proof to at least 650 horses if not more. The axles are also drilled for 1/2 inch wheel studs as well. The paint job is a 30-footer at best. As stated earlier, there appears to be just one coat of white with no clear. The jambs have been painted but there are many chips and cracks in the paint in them and the body as well. There is one dime-size hole in the glass under the right front headlight bucket. This is an easy repair when the rest of the body is done. The convertible top deck lid had hinge issues but they were professionally repaired and the lid looks and works great from underneath. The top of the hood has many paint cracks but the glass appears to be in good shape. There was a very large chip going several layers down near the cowl but that has been repaired by a non-professional. There have been some repairs done to the front end above the wheels that will need attention if you are looking for an NCRS look, but otherwise should be fine. Other minor cosmetic work will need to be done around the headlights, grill mouths and taillights to make a beautiful car but all are serviceable for a drag car. The rear bumpers are in decent shape, though not show quality. There are no front bumpers, brackets or mounting provisions since they were all removed many years ago. The windshield frame is solid but needs a re-chrome for a show car look. The rest of the exterior trim is in similar condition – needs help to be perfect but nothing for a drag car. The interior follows the same theme as the exterior – serviceable but not show quality. The door panels have been screwed into the doors repeatedly in different places so there are a few extra mounting holes. The same goes for the sill plates. The carpet is now ten-years-old but has had very little wear. The seats are in very nice original condition. The dash pad looks great but the edges are starting to curl. The radio hole has been cut out for a new style stereo. The oil gauge is from a different car, though all the gauges work fine, and the Speedo was rebuilt as mentioned above. The windshield and door glass are in decent original condition but they are not perfect. The windshield does have some minor pitting, though there are no chips to speak of. The door glass needs new felts all around. The weather stripping on the car is in overall bad shape – but there is no convertible top or wiper motor so stay out of the rain. I know that I did a lot more little things to the car over the last 10 years and I am sure more will come to me. Please feel free to ask any questions or for pictures of anything specific. I am sure there are a lot of other minor things that I have done to the car to make it better but these are the most valuable ones. The car is not perfect; its 50 years old but it will be a sweet and fast car with some more time invested. I hate to sell it and I will not sell it for less than its worth. Please feel free to email me with any questions and I will be happy to get you additional pictures or information on request. The car is located in Detroit, Michigan and can be picked up from here upon purchase. A $2,000 non-refundable deposit is due either in cash or by bank wire transfer within 48 hours of the close of the auction. Full payment due within 7 days of close of auction. Buyer is responsible for all fees, including money transfer or Paypal fees over the sale price, taxes and shipping fees. I may be able to trailer the car to your location for an additional amount to be set up an negotiated after the completion of the sale and payment in full. Again, please feel free to email me with any questions.For additional photos of nearly every aspect of the car go see my Flickr.com account and search for Peter Hern or to flickr DOT com/photos/31892927@N05/. Again, please feel free to ask any questions to peterhern at yahoo.com or 313-220-8467. No trades, please. There is NO HARD TOP INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION. Thank you for looking,Peter