There is a group of Corvette afficionados known as the National Corvette Restorers Society, or NCRS, who are dedicated to preserving and restoring older Corvettes. Although some criticize them for obsessing on details, no one can fault their expertise and their contributions to the library of Corvette information. John T is now an advanced judge for the NCRS, an expert on ‘61 and ‘62 Vettes, but he wasn’t always one. It all began in 1979, when he saw a newspaper ad for a ‘62 Vette. It was not exactly a show car, being pretty worn-out, but it had all the original parts and the body was sound. It was a fuel-injected, four-speed car with few options. It did have the original Wonderbar AM radio, though, although it was not in perfect working order. John had loved this particular year Vette since they first came out, but could not afford one. This one was the right price and he bought it. He drove it as it was until he retired in 2003. Then he began a three-year frame-off restoration, doing most of the work himself. Among the things he did was rebuild the engine, transmission, fuel-injection unit, suspension and brakes. He also redid the interior and made needed body repairs. The main things he had done by others were rechroming and repainting, as well as rebuilding the radio. Stepping back a moment in time, he joined the NCRS in 1982 and by 1990 had become a judge for NCRS awards. He learned a lot about how to do a restoration and, after he had redone his ‘62, began to enter his Vette in adjudicated NCRS events all over the USA. In 2006, he received the Top Flight Award. That meant his car was restored authentically to how it must have left the factory in 1962. Then, in 2007, while at an NCRS regional meet in Las Vegas, disaster struck: a wiring fire. However he brought it back home and, with the help of wife Sophia working under the dash, they brought their Vette back to life. In 2008, they received the Performance Verification Award from NCRS. That means that everything worked as it was supposed to work from the factory. The most difficult was the windshield washers. When you push the button, the washer should squirt water while the wipers make seven swipes, then five more after the water stops. Although most did not work right from the factory, they had to perform flawlessly to get the award. After much frustrating work, the ‘62's worked perfectly and got the award. Finally, in 2008, the ‘62 received the esteemed Duntov Mark of Excellence Award. Named after Zora Arkus-Duntov, the man who made Vettes the performance legends they are today, it is only for the most exceptional cars who pass all the previous qualifications. John and Sophia plan to keep going to the NCRS events and, no doubt, will win even more awards. It is truly an NCRS Vette.

1962 was the last year for the 20 year-old technology of the straight-axle suspension for Corvette as well as this body style. Although the four-wheel independent suspension of next-generation Vettes had better handling, the classic looks of the C1's make them the most desirable model.

Mechanical fuel injection was introduced in 1957. 1962 was the last year for this particular “dog house” or housing design, with a 360 HP rating for its 327 CID engine, the first year for that size engine.

1962 was the last year for this dash design, which had undergone major changes in 1958. Almost everything was different in 1963.

2010 © Ron Cherry