1962 Corvette
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 23
Likes: 1
1962 Corvette
Need a little help! I have a 1962 Corvette that I have been waiting to give to my Dad for his 70th Birthday. The car is basically Stock and as you all know is a @itch to drive!! I really would like to make the car easy for him to drive - any suggestions to make this happen would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,576
Likes: 118
From: Conroe Texas
They aren't that hard to drive at all, just not as comfy as a modern car.
Radial tires in place of "correct" bias ply, along with a good set of gas shocks will help the ride.
Nothing you can do about the manual steering without spending a LOT of money to hack a power steering setup into the car.
You can add aftermarket A/C, several here on the forum have done that.
Radial tires in place of "correct" bias ply, along with a good set of gas shocks will help the ride.
Nothing you can do about the manual steering without spending a LOT of money to hack a power steering setup into the car.
You can add aftermarket A/C, several here on the forum have done that.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 299
Likes: 6
From: Troy New York
Need a little help! I have a 1962 Corvette that I have been waiting to give to my Dad for his 70th Birthday. The car is basically Stock and as you all know is a @itch to drive!! I really would like to make the car easy for him to drive - any suggestions to make this happen would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Jeff is right...a good set of radials and gas shocks will help. I just put on new 5 leaf rear springs this past year and it gave a tremendous improvement in the ride.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,743
Likes: 146
From: Chuckanut WA
If the king pins and front suspension have not been rebuilt, that together with a regular grease job, properly inflated radial tires that are as close to stock tread width as possible make them quite easy to drive. Rebuilt and properly adjusted steering box and steering linkage help a lot too.
Very nice birthday gift, I must say.
Very nice birthday gift, I must say.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,550
Likes: 652
From: Richmond VA
I drive mine daily and did 12 hours in it last Saturday. I have never felt the car was difficult to drive. If you do the few things stated in the above posts and your dad don't try to parallel park he will have a ball. Guaranteed to make him feel 30 again.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Inverness FL
St. Jude Donor '07
They aren't that hard to drive at all, just not as comfy as a modern car.
Radial tires in place of "correct" bias ply, along with a good set of gas shocks will help the ride.
Nothing you can do about the manual steering without spending a LOT of money to hack a power steering setup into the car.
You can add aftermarket A/C, several here on the forum have done that.
Radial tires in place of "correct" bias ply, along with a good set of gas shocks will help the ride.
Nothing you can do about the manual steering without spending a LOT of money to hack a power steering setup into the car.
You can add aftermarket A/C, several here on the forum have done that.
Bill
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 14,641
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From: Mustang OK
2026 Corvette of the Year Finalist - Modified
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Need a little help! I have a 1962 Corvette that I have been waiting to give to my Dad for his 70th Birthday. The car is basically Stock and as you all know is a @itch to drive!! I really would like to make the car easy for him to drive - any suggestions to make this happen would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
With a frontend in good condition (might need a rebuild), proper adjustment to the steering, and a good alignment, radial tires inflated to 31-33psi, it should handle fine.
FAT tires on wide wheels will adversely affect steering, badly worn frontend parts and PARTICULARLY if it is misaligned, will all contribute to poor handling/steering.
I'm almost 69 and have a fast steering adapter on my 56 with a stock frontend, the suspension is in top condition and it has a proper alignment and I drive the hell out of my 56 with no problems.
Tom Parsons
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 23
Likes: 1
Thanks for all the suggestions but I guess there were a few things I left out!!
1. The car is a driver although numbers matching
2. Wide tires / custom wheels front and back
3. Narrow Steering Wheel
4. All front end parts in good shape
I was kind of the thinking of going with the Jim Meyer setup that Orion had suggested?
Thoughts: Good / Bad / Ugly??
Thanks Again!
Just want him to be able to enjoy it as much as I have!!
1. The car is a driver although numbers matching
2. Wide tires / custom wheels front and back
3. Narrow Steering Wheel
4. All front end parts in good shape
I was kind of the thinking of going with the Jim Meyer setup that Orion had suggested?
Thoughts: Good / Bad / Ugly??
Thanks Again!
Just want him to be able to enjoy it as much as I have!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,934
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From: Norwalk ohio
2019 Corvette of the Year Winner
St. Jude Donor '15
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,901
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From: Inverness FL
St. Jude Donor '07
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,251
Likes: 62
From: Imperial Missouri
Thanks for all the suggestions but I guess there were a few things I left out!!
1. The car is a driver although numbers matching
2. Wide tires / custom wheels front and back
3. Narrow Steering Wheel
4. All front end parts in good shape
I was kind of the thinking of going with the Jim Meyer setup that Orion had suggested?
Thoughts: Good / Bad / Ugly??
Thanks Again!
Just want him to be able to enjoy it as much as I have!!
1. The car is a driver although numbers matching
2. Wide tires / custom wheels front and back
3. Narrow Steering Wheel
4. All front end parts in good shape
I was kind of the thinking of going with the Jim Meyer setup that Orion had suggested?
Thoughts: Good / Bad / Ugly??
Thanks Again!
Just want him to be able to enjoy it as much as I have!!
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
From: Ft Worth TX
I'm almost 67 and my 62 is not hard to drive just hard to park.
My garage is in the back of the house and when I drive in I have
to make several turn back up turn pull forward turn back up turn
pull forward into the garage and I'm out of breath by then.
I need power steering! But its lots of $$$.
My garage is in the back of the house and when I drive in I have
to make several turn back up turn pull forward turn back up turn
pull forward into the garage and I'm out of breath by then.
I need power steering! But its lots of $$$.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 14,641
Likes: 4,687
From: Mustang OK
2026 Corvette of the Year Finalist - Modified
2025 c1 of the Year - Modified Winner
2024 C1 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2023 C1 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2015 C1 of the Year Finalist
I'm almost 67 and my 62 is not hard to drive just hard to park.
My garage is in the back of the house and when I drive in I have
to make several turn back up turn pull forward turn back up turn
pull forward into the garage and I'm out of breath by then.
I need power steering! But its lots of $$$.
My garage is in the back of the house and when I drive in I have
to make several turn back up turn pull forward turn back up turn
pull forward into the garage and I'm out of breath by then.
I need power steering! But its lots of $$$.
From the front
From the back
Tom Parsons
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 23
Likes: 1
WOW - Beautiful cars!!
Hey Tom do you have to get a running start to bust through that snow drift??: rofl: Down south we only see that in pictures!!
First Gear - very nice! I am assuming from the pictures you did the Meyer front and back?? Also - did you lower the car further or is that the out the box height of the Meyer system? This is exactly the way I would like the car look and hopefully drive.
Thanks for the help guys! His B-day is in February so I have to make some decisions pretty quick!
Hey Tom do you have to get a running start to bust through that snow drift??: rofl: Down south we only see that in pictures!!
First Gear - very nice! I am assuming from the pictures you did the Meyer front and back?? Also - did you lower the car further or is that the out the box height of the Meyer system? This is exactly the way I would like the car look and hopefully drive.
Thanks for the help guys! His B-day is in February so I have to make some decisions pretty quick!
Racer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 448
Likes: 6
From: ALLEN Texas
1961 Power steering
If you have about $600 and a couple of days, you can add
power steering to the 62. It will steer like a new car and you can
add power brakes later (hydroboost). No changes to the front end.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...-steering.html
Ray
power steering to the 62. It will steer like a new car and you can
add power brakes later (hydroboost). No changes to the front end.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...-steering.html
Ray
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
From: Ft Worth TX
Ray,
I'm in Ft Worth. Not healthy enough to work on my cars any more.
I got CHF. Do you know someone that can do the labor and what they would charge.
PS there is an all corvette show in Ft Worth this Sat.
http://www.cowtownvettes.org/Events/...1511_CS_I.html
I'm in Ft Worth. Not healthy enough to work on my cars any more.
I got CHF. Do you know someone that can do the labor and what they would charge.
PS there is an all corvette show in Ft Worth this Sat.
http://www.cowtownvettes.org/Events/...1511_CS_I.html
