‘62 “Barn-find” Auction
Non-original engine, but might have been equipped new with the rare FI engine
This 1962 Corvette looks quite original, right down to the wheel covers, but sadly it doesn’t have its original engine. The seller speculates that the car was built with the fuel-injected engine, but it now apparently has a ‘65 327ci engine. The fender badges lend credence to the possibility that it might have left the factory as a fuelie.
This photo depicts how this C1 appeared before cleaning. The difference is astonishing, considering that the seller thinks that the Honduras Maroon paint is original. After over 60 years, a close inspection would be required to corroborate that claim.
The ad description states that the body is in good condition, the body bonding strips are intact, and that the chrome responded well to polishing. The convertible top canvas doesn’t look too bad and, as a bonus, the included factory hardtop seems to be in decent shape as well.
If this car has indeed been a west coast car in a dry climate, the frame might be free of significant rust and corrosion. That would need to be verified because I didn’t see any good pictures of the underside.
Although this C1 is not numbers-matching, at least the replacement engine is a vintage 327 ci V8 from 1965 with 300 hp. It’s not clear from the auction ad whether the four-speed transmission or other major mechanical components are original.
A few clues aside from the fender badges point to the possibility that this Corvette was originally a rare fulie. One clue is the high-RPM tachometer in the gauge cluster that would be the correct one for both the 340 hp and 360 hp engines. Another clue would be if the driver’s side inner fender has the two holes that were used to locate the Fuelie’s air cleaner.
The optional fuel-injected 327 that produced 360hp added $484.20 to the sticker price, and therefore accounted for only around 13% of total sales.
Aside from the aftermarket shifter and radio/cassette player, the interior looks original and in very good condition, even though there is an apparent split on the driver’s seat. The rest of the interior and the dash also look tidy.
There’s a lot of interest building in the auction for this car. The current high bid is at $39,100.00 at this writing and the auction doesn’t end until Wednesday, March 5th at 12:17 PM. The reserve price set by the seller has already been exceeded, so the high bidder is going to be the next owner. What do you think the final price will be?
Here is the link to the auction:
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