1962 Chevrolet Corvette

Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Manual

20867S113268

Clear

Gasoline

I am planning on retiring next year, and sadly I think I would have more use for the extra money than I would have for my Corvette. That being the case, I am putting my 1962 Corvette up for bid. The body and interior of this car are original with the exception of an aftermarket radio and Hurst shifter. It is what I call a "ten footer". That means if you stand 10 feet away, it looks like it is in show condition, but closer inspection reveals the minor flaws of a "driver". The chrome bumpers are in excellent condition, but the chrome around the windshield and side windows is showing some pitting. The windows are all original and in good shape, but they do show the wear of being almost 50 years old. The Honduras Maroon paint shines like new, but there are a few nicks as one might expect. Both seats are fine with no tears or rips, and the carpet is also fine. The padded dash is not cracked anywhere, but there is a small area on the right side where it has begun to pull away from the windshield. All the gages (including the clock) work fine and are accurate. The speedometer reads about 10 mph fast due to the change of the rear end gearing. The hard top is in great shape and its glass is clear. You will note from the pictures that I don't have the soft top latched. That is because it has NEVER been up and has shrunk so badly that it won't latch. It would have to be replaced if you want to use the soft top. The soft top frame is in fine condition and works well. The frame car's frame is in great shape with only the slightest bit of surface rust on the A-arms. The frame itself doesn't show any rust or deterioration. All four tires are like new and the spare is new. The jacking equipment is all there and the trunk is clean with no damage or deterioration of the mat. When I bought the car, it had a very tired 350 CI engine with an even more tired Muncie 4-speed which was hooked to the original 3.23 single wheel rear end. I have replaced the rear end with a 3.55 positraction unit (in the correct case) that was professionally built by Danny Miller's Rear Gears in St. Louis. I have also replaced the Muncie with a correctly dated and professionaly rebuilt Borg-Warner 4-speed transmission with Hurst linkage. I replaced the engine with a 4-bolt main 350 bored to .030 over and decked. I had a new crankshaft, rods, pistons, rings, etc. professionally balanced. It has a high volume oil pump, Edelbrock high flow water pump, Edelbrock Performer aluminum heads, Edelbrock Performer RPM roller hydraulic camshaft with hydraulic roller lifters, new pushrods and roller rocker arms. It also has a Edelbrock Torker II intake manifold with a 800 cfm Edelbrock carburetor with electric choke. I replaced the distributor with an HEI unit with the required cam drive for the tachometer. I installed and alternator and a new high flow radiator so it runs nice and cool in the hottest weather. It has Hedman headers with the Jet Hot treatment and Flowmaster mufflers. The car has disk brakes on the front with drum brakes on the rear. All this sends somewhere between 400 - 450 HP to the rear wheels with great torque all the way from about 1500 to 5500 RPM. It has proven to be extremely reliable and it starts, idles and runs very well. In other words, the car is mechanically almost entirely new with absolutely no known issues. For the "purists" out there, I am including with the car the original radiator (in great shape), a new original style motor mount (I changed the style), the original front brake drums and master cylinder, the original interior kick panels (I installed new ones with speakers in them), the original 3.23 single wheel rear end, and a correctly dated 327 bare block. The block would have to be sleeved because it has been bored to .060 and has rusting in the cylinders. I'm also including a Edelbrock carburetor calibration kit in case you want to change tyhe tuning of the carburetor. Also included is a very nice full car cover as well as a nice two piece cover for storage of the hard top off the car. You will also get the original professional appraisal report that I had done when I bought the car in June, 2002. Of course that appraisal was done with the old, tired 350 and Muncie still in the car, so it's completely outdated, but it may be of interest to you. Don't ask me what the reserve is because I won't tell you. I can tell you that it is set at the original appraised value before all the improvements were made to the car. Also please don't suggest a trade. As I said, the only reason I'm selling is for the money to supplement my retirement next year. I have listed the car as "local pick up only", if you want it shipped, all arrangements will have to be handled by you. Full payment must be received and verified before I will release the car and/or the title. If you have questions, please email and I'll try to answer as soon as possible. Thanks for looking and good luck.On Jun-28-10 at 10:31:41 PDT, seller added the following information: Over the weekend I read the appraisal that I have in full and discovered that I had not correctly remembered the appraised value. Since I promised the reserve would be set at the previous appraised value, I have lowered the reserve to reflect that value.On Jul-03-10 at 06:34:46 PDT, seller added the following information: I should have also noted that all receipts of items in the car will be included in the sale. These show things not mentioned in the narrative above like a new full under dash wiring harness, new clutch cross shaft with balls, new rear brake lines and wheel cylinders, etc. Basically, as I said before, the entire drive line is either new or rebuilt.