From The Classifieds: 1962 Chevrolet Corvette C1

Ask any aficionado of American sports cars for two vehicles that define the genre and there’s little doubt two names would come immediately to mind: Ford’s Mustang, and General Motors’ Chevrolet Corvette.

No disrespect to Carroll Shelby’s British AC-based Cobra, but the Ford and the Chevy were conceived in a totally different milieu, marketing-inspired creations that were as full-blooded American as Mom’s apple pie.

The Chevy was introduced in 1953, way before the Ford’s arrival in 1964, and was the bolder creation. Even though its chassis derived from a pedestrian Chevrolet sedan, complete with live-axle rear suspension, its spectacularly styled full-fibreglass body was a bold move from what was then the world’s biggest car company, known for its range of large, family and luxury cars (Cadillac for example).

The brainchild of legendary stylist Harley Earl, the Corvette came about largely as a result of enthusiastic public response to a show car built for the 1953 GM Motorama display at the New York motor show.

The futuristic two-seat soft-top was powered by a 235 cubic inch six-cylinder engine producing 150bhp and hooked up to a two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. Three carburettors, a higher compression ratio and a high-lift camshaft upped power over the basic Chevy engine, but the Corvette was not exactly super-fast. Zero to 100km/h in around 12 seconds would see it struggling in the wake of just about any of today’s light cars.
And despite the enthusiasm for the original show car, Corvette sales were not spectacular in its first years.

From that somewhat humble beginning, the Corvette grew in stature and performance over the years, always retaining the defining fibreglass body construction even if it was substantially modernised under the skin. Things were added like fully-independent suspension (with the second-generation C2 Sting Ray in 1963) and V8 engines (from 1955) that became ever-larger, and ever more powerful. A four-speed manual transmission also made it onto the options list.

The Corvette got a new look in 1956, with a new face and a smoother rear end, while further changes came in 1958 with the introduction of four headlights, and interior revisions. Through 1961 to the final in the series in 1962, various changes aimed at keeping the car fresh (Americans demanded a new look with every model year) took place, including an optional fuel injected version of the 327 cubic inch V8.

Early Corvettes were the ultimate cruisers. Just the thing for appearing at opening nights (providing there were only two of you), or ambling along Sunset Boulevard on a balmy evening. The beautiful scalloped sides, the “panoramic” windscreen and the lavish interior with its bucket seats, three-spoke sports steering wheel and floor-shifter for the two-speed auto transmission spoke of something almost other-worldly.

And so we come to this Roman Red 1962 C1 Corvette, which is on sale, complete with a roadworthy certificate, through carsales.com.au by its second owner. According to the owner, the car came to Australia two years ago from a Chevy dealer’s museum stock and has original matching numbers, along with a 327 cubic inch V8 and a new clutch for its four-speed manual transmission.

The car currently lives in the inner Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn and is on sale for $79,990.