No pain, no gain, or so goes the old saying.
That’s certainly the case with this amazing 1962 restomod Corvette that reportedly took 10,000 hours of labor to complete into its mega award-winning condition.
The ’62, of course, marked the last year for the first generation of Corvette, but you’d be hard-pressed to get most folks to know this one is that model year with significant changes inside and out.
The most obvious change is the installation of a customized 1957 front end, featuring single headlights on the front end instead of the stock quad-light setup that left the St. Louis factory for ’62. Also complementing the beautiful silver exterior is a neat “duckbill” rear spoiler that flows nicely from a crease on each rear fender.
The interior, meanwhile, has been reupholstered in saddle brown leather with custom inserts throughout and features a custom dash made of what appears to be brushed aluminum with Dakota Digital Gauges. Other upgrades are electronic push button shifter, power windows, power-operated door latches, polished tilt steering column, leather and billet aluminum steering wheel, Billet Vintage Air control panel, polished pedals, cup holders, and an upholstered trunk opened with a remote fob. The instrumental panel is a little too plain for our tastes, but hey, it wasn’t my money that paid for it, was it?
Moving to the mechanicals of this Corvette, however, it’s hard to argue with what the restorers have done, with a beautiful and nicely crafted underside where you’ll find silver floors, wheel houses, tube chassis fabricated into the body, FAB9 rear end housing, driveshaft, 4-link out back with polished arms, coilovers all around, polished tubular lower control arms up front, disc brakes with drilled and slotted rotors on all four wheels, exhaust headers, and ceramic coated dual exhaust fitted with Borla mufflers.
Likewise, the engine compartment is one of our favorites, especially with its GM LSX 454 (7.4 liter) V8 powerplant that generates 627 horsepower and 586 lb-ft of torque. Under the power-operated hood are smoothed firewall and fender wells, custom valve covers and engine cover, polished intake, alternator and steering shaft, aluminum radiator, and electric cooling fan. Other performance upgrades include a new alternator and steering shaft, a GM 4L80E four-speed automatic transmission, and a Ford 9-inch rear end with Positraction inside an aftermarket FAB9 housing, not to mention rack and pinion steering.
The car is currently on sale (or that wording makes it sound like it’s available at a discount, doesn’t it?) for $289,900 at Vanguard Motors out of Plymouth, Michigan. (It’s worth your time to take a look at the rest of their gorgeous inventory, by the way).
That price tag may seem high, but this is a Corvette that has been a finalist for the Good Guys Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year, 2016; contender for the 2016 Ridler Award; and Select Six winner at Chicago World of Wheels, 2016 and has been featured at the 2016 SEMA Show and the Battle of the Builders as well as in Vette Magazine.
Be sure to watch the video below as it rolls down the highway, looking and sounding as impressive as its price tag.
Source:
eBay via AutoEvolution.com
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While I can admire the workmanship, it’s not really my cup of tea.
Apparently an awful lot of custom work but I’d rather have a stock appearing ’62. I watched the video and could only stay for 2 1/2 minutes,,,,,,, a bit too overboard on time spent to create this car and price. Sorry.
Don’t like it. Rear spoiler kills it, engine cover and interior design looks cheap, and the dash is totally out of place. Too much manipulating of everything. The paint does look fantastic though.
It’s a great work of art, but it’s not really a Corvette anymore. Ten thousand hours is like one person working full-time for 5 1/2+ years (or 2 people, full time, for…yeah, you got it). So it’s actually a new car of sorts.
If I wanted to pay that much (or maybe a little more) for a car, I’d get a Runge built for me. It would look better than fine in a show, but it would still have been made to drive and enjoy on the road.
But even better, I’ll keep driving my C7. Affordable, better-looking than I am, and driveable!
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