Sometimes Corvette collectors cannot see the forest for the trees.  Too often their focus is on ensuring that every number matches and that their beloved sports cars are exactly as they left the factory.  The problem is that a Corvette is a sports car meant to be driven and enjoyed.  So when we come across a car like this 1962 Chevrolet Corvette for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Manahawkin, New Jersey, it shouldn’t be seen as a car with an incorrect engine that can’t be restored to perfection.  This worn but complete Corvette should be viewed as an opportunity to make it into a car that can be enjoyed.  With a $35,000 asking price, is there enough room left in the budget to build the drop-top driver of your dreams?  Thanks to T.J. for another awesome find!

Most folks look at a vintage Corvette at a car show and think it is all original if nothing stands out to them as modified or modern.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  To a true National Corvette Restorers Society Corvette lover, originality means that every single piece is correct for the car down to the date code.  If you look at Corvettes that have high point totals in NCRS judging, you see things like overspray and chalk marks because that is exactly what the car looked like as it rolled off the assembly line.  Nearly every sizeable part also has a date code that had better correspond with the build date as well.

So when looking for that perfect Corvette, a car that has won a major NCRS achievement like a Duntov Award can be considered nearly perfect.  That perfection comes at a steep cost.  Such cars are pricey and time-consuming to restore.  They also bring big money at sale time, and driving them as God and Zora intended rapidly degrades their value.  Most top-end Corvettes end up being trailer queens and are rarely enjoyed as anything other than museum pieces or as slowly rolling artwork.

Yet there are also hundreds of thousands of perfectly nice Corvettes out there that have a replacement engine and/or transmission.  Those all-important driveline numbers will never truly match, and that greatly affects their value.  Some enterprising souls may see that as an opportunity in disguise.  If you are going to drive a Corvette, why pay full price for a garage queen when you can enjoy a cheaper car so much more?  Add to that the modularity of Chevrolet engines, transmissions, and other parts and you can see the potential in a car like this 1962 Corvette.  You don’t even have to feel guilty about using reproduction parts.

This may come as a stunning surprise to readers, but not much information is given about this Corvette in the ad.  It has been sitting unused for ten long years.  The seller hasn’t tried to start it, but the motor turns by hand.  As you would expect from any car that has been dormant for a decade, the brakes do not work.  It does steer and roll easily according to the seller.  It is also equipped with both a hardtop and a convertible top.  We are also told that it has a clean title, the VIN tag is still present in the door jam, and a set of door panels is included in the sale.

Being a New Jersey car, the seller was thoughtful enough to post some pictures of the underside of this Corvette.  There is heavy surface rust throughout, but there doesn’t seem to be any rusted-through sections.  1962 was the last year for the first generation Corvette, and it still rode on arguably the same frame that the initial 300 hand-built Corvettes rolled out of the first assembly line for the car in Flint, Michigan.  Parts are still out there, as many of the pieces were from regular production Chevrolet cars of the era.

Under the hood is a 327 cubic inch V-8 backed up by what we assume to be a four-speed manual transmission.  This is a 1969 vintage engine and transmission combination, and the seller does not expressly state that it came from a Corvette.  It does have a set of Corvette aluminum valve covers along with some cheesy aftermarket accessories and the crustiest alternator known to man.  In the ad, it is stated that the car has 51,700 miles.  The new engine kind of negates that being a selling point.  If the original engine let go somewhere around that mileage, it is kind of a strong clue that this car was beaten on regularly.  Perhaps the owner knows more, as this is advertised as a two-owner car.

The appeal of this car is its condition.  Its condition is such that you would not feel guilty about making the 1962 Corvette of your dreams with this as your starting point.  Imagine how you would proceed if you could have any paint combination, any interior, whatever small block Chevrolet motor you wanted, any transmission from a two-speed Powerglide automatic to a Tremec six-speed manual, and any option on Chevrolet’s list for a C1 Corvette.  It would be nice to see such a personalized car in a sea of perfectly restored Corvettes.

What do you think?  Would you restore this Corvette or make it just the way you want it?  If you choose the latter option, please share in the comments exactly how you would build it out.