New under the hood

During this time frame, Bill Mitchell had taken over the job as a top designer at GM, replacing the retiring legend Harley Earl, and the addition of the reshaped Corvette tail on the 1961 model was one of the first things he did with his new promotion. This unique ducktail styling was actually a preview of the all-new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray.

Upfront, the revised ’61 Corvette saw the headlight bezels changed from chrome to body color and the abandonment of the traditional 9-tooth grille arrangement, both features that had been Corvette mainstays since 1958. The teeth were replaced with a flat, anodized rectangular-meshed grille that managed to give the front end of the car a freshened appearance. In 1962, the grille was given “black-out” treatment for its final appearance. These last cars of the “four headlight era” (1958/62) represented a blend of the past with the wrap-a-round windshield, with ‘50s front end and side styling and with the new tail, a suggestion of the excitement that was to come from the Corvette line in years to come.  

New under the hood for 1962 was the enlargement of the engine, in came the 327-cid version of the Chevrolet V8 engine and it had a 4.00-inch x 3.26-inch bore and stroke and was available in four versions. The base engine had 10.5:1 compression pistons and a single four-barrel carburetor, good for 250 horsepower @ 4400 rpm. Next in the line was a 300-hp version, which had the power peak at 5000 rpm, also running 10.5:1 pistons but with a larger aluminum four-barrel carburetor and redesigned intake manifold. Both of these engines used hydraulic camshafts.

The other two 327-cid engines had more high-performance equipment, inside and out. There was a 340-horsepower engine that featured a single four-barrel and a mechanical camshaft, and included in the special equipment was a dual-point distributor. This version revved to 6000 rpm and came stock with 3.70:1 rear gears, ideal for high-performance street driving, but for hard-core types, this engine package could be fitted with additional gear ratios from the factory, 4.11:1 and 4.56:1, serious drag strip gearing!

The top-of-the-line engine for 1962 was the 360-hp “Ramjet” fuel-injected version of the 327, which also had 11.25:1 pistons, dual-point ignition and mechanical camshaft, and atop the mill was a Rochester fuel injection system that increased power and performance. The performance gear ratios were also available on this engine and only those with an extra $484.00 ordered it. Today these cars and engines are highly sought after by collectors.

The owner is a car fanatic and he purchased the black-hued car shown, a “Resto-Mod” 1962 Corvette. Resto-mod is a style that can be achieved in a way with a car like this, part “restored” and part “modified,” it’s all up to the owner on how far to go in either direction.

“best of both worlds”

When he saw this Corvette and learned about the modifications done to it, he felt is was a situation that doesn’t come up often in the car world, a “best of both worlds” so to speak. The Corvette looks “classic” but once behind the wheels, it was obvious the machine had several modifications done to it without it becoming too radical for normal use.

First and foremost this is a real 1962 Corvette, but because it was a “garden variety” car with a standard power 327, and nothing really special about any options, the builder felt it was not necessarily a significant Corvette that should be restored to original specs, so it was treated to some special equipment!  

Perhaps the biggest change done to the vintage ‘Vette was the elimination of the stock frame and the replacement with an Art Morrison chassis, which uses modern “C4” fourth-generation front suspension pieces. These are considered “state-of-the-art” suspension parts (at least they were in 1984 when released on the all-new Corvette) and something that Zora could have only dreamed about back when the 1962 Corvette was being produced.

 The rear of the chassis for 1953-62 Corvettes uses a triangulated 4-bar rear suspension, with rugged Ford 9-inch rear axle housing with 3.90:1 gearing. This type of rear setup was to provide great acceleration control plus provides excellent lateral stability. To provide for a lower stance, the Art Morrison chassis features through-frame passageways for the exhaust system, which gives the required ground clearance to lower the frame down for better cornering and a lower center of gravity.

Using the big Baer brakes and coil-over shocks that come with the chassis system, they have tested these modified Corvettes and they will exceed 1-G force on the testing skid pad, delivering stability and braking like nothing Chevrolet engineers could have imagined back in the day!

A GM crate motor

Power for this revised Corvette comes from a 5.4L “300hp” GM crate motor, which was chosen for reliability and cost. To make this new engine a bit more exciting and nostalgic, a dual carburetion setup was added, using an Edelbrock C26 “dual Quad” manifold that is old school all the way! A pair of 500-cfm Edelbrock carbs were added, which are modern versions of the long-discontinued Carter units. Block-hugger headers  were used, as was a pair of ribbed Edelbock valve covers, both of which add the look of typical 1960s engine modifications that were so popular back when these cars were plentiful on the road. The engine is mated to a T-10 4-speed gearbox.

When the owner looked at this car for sale and estimated the costs involved for the beautifully-done interior upholstery work, flawless black paint job, fantastic chrome work throughout, cost of modern rolling stock, which are highly desirable Foose billet wheels as well as all the little features that make a car like this special, like all the powder coating done and the cost of the high-quality nuts and bolts, fasteners, etc., the decision was made to purchase this fully-completed version.