If you’ve ever wondered if you were too tall to fit in a C1 Corvette, you can be reassured by checking out the cold start video for this 1962 Corvette being auctioned off on Bring a Trailer.
The seller, who is 6-foot-8, admits he has “to fold a little but once in, not too bad!” Makes me glad that later Corvettes have smaller, adjustable steering wheels, once you see how the humongous wheel on this car rests in his lap.
Interest in this last-year-of-the-first-generation Corvette has been solid so far, with the current bid already reaching $59,000 with five days to go.
We’re not surprised, at least based on the photos with the listing. A previous owner had restored the car, including a repaint in white, and the ensuing caretakers appear to have pampered it ever since.
Purists might be upset to learn that the original engine has been replaced by a 327 V8 hooked to a four-speed manual transmission. The new motor appears to have been built in 1966, features an aluminum intake manifold with a single carburetor, and seems to be running strong, 56 years later, in the attached video that shows a short run down the road.
Apparently enthusiasts may have been a little concerned over the radical ’63 on the way the next year because production during ’62 was up considerably over ’61, hitting 14,531 from 10,939. Nowadays, the last year of a generation usually has lower sales as customers are eagerly awaiting a “new and improved” generation.
The ’62, of course, offered a sneak preview of the upcoming Sting Ray with a similar rear end treatment.
This example is reminiscent of the original run of 300 Corvettes in 1953, with its white exterior and red vinyl interior. It also includes a matching auxiliary hardtop, an option chosen by 8,074 owners that added $236.75 to the original base price of $4,038.
The interior includes complete instrumentation with a 160-mph speedometer, a 7,000-rpm tachometer, and auxiliary gauges, along with a Wonderbar push-button AM radio, but the most impressive feature may well be the air conditioning, especially if you live in the South like us.
Source:
Bring a Trailer
Related:
‘Orange Crush’ 1977 Corvette Famously Paraded with Broncos Head Coach Red Miller in AFC Championship Celebration
Corvettes for Sale: Restored Barn Find ’63 Corvette Split-Window Offered on eBay
Corvettes for Sale: Spiderman’s 1995 Corvette with Greenwood Kit and More
-
The ’62 Vette came standard with the 327 engine, so purists won’t be “upset;” though a smaller number would be turned off if it proved to be a later version. If tach is original to the car, it was was probably born with the 327/340hp version that had solid lifters. Per photos, this was “my” first new Corvette, and have owned Vettes ever since. (I turned 80 in April.)
Comments are closed.