Daily Slideshow: 62 Corvette Got More than a Restoration

Honey Do's

Mick Parkerson is a car enthusiast with his fair share of rides, so naturally, he wanted to share this passion with his wife Sandy. In 2012 they bought this 1962 Corvette to function as Sandy's personal cruiser. The car was in good mechanical shape with its 300 horsepower 327c.i. engine mated to a 2-speed Powerglide transmission, but was a bit rough around the edges and could have benefited from a new paint job. In any case, the car made for a great driver and Sandy would increasingly rack-up the miles behind the wheel of the old C1. With Sandy making such long road trips in the car, Mick figured it was time to freshen up the old Vette in order to be able to take Sandy wherever she wanted to go.

>>Join the conversation about this 1962 Restomod C1 Corvette right here.

A Hidden Agenda

Mick pitched the idea to Sandy that the car's paint and interior could use a little TLC, so he wanted to take it off of the road for a bit to address the issues. Apparently Sandy agreed because Mick obviously knows what is best for their vehicles, but what she was not prepared for was an 18-month wait for the work to be completed. Clearly Mick had much more elaborate plans than a simple repaint and interior refresh, but Sandy wouldn't realize that such an extensive restoration of her Corvette restomod had taken place until a year and a half later.

>>Join the conversation about this 1962 Restomod C1 Corvette right here.

Upgrades Aplenty

This little Corvette was redone from the ground up. Mick opted to replace the entire original chassis and accompanying components with a modern Art Morrison unit. Mick entrusted Mark's Garage located in Fort Worth, Texas to perform the chassis swap. The Art Morrison chassis really brings the car into the modern age with components such as tubular control arms, coilover suspension, and a four-link rear setup. Other goodies include a Strange Engineering 9-inch Ford rear-end with 3.50 gears and a limited-slip differential, and a disc brake swap via Baer 6-piston calipers and 14" rotors. Covering the brakes are a stylish set of chromed Circle Racing 17x7" aluminum wheels that look strikingly similar to the original hubcaps, but with a modern touch. Wrapped around the wheels are a set of classy whitewall 225/50R17 tires courtesy of Diamond Back Classic Tires.

>>Join the conversation about this 1962 Restomod C1 Corvette right here.

Inside & Out

The body received its share of love too as the Bright Brothers in Alvarado, Texas shot the car in this beautiful white PPG finish. The chrome bits, such as the bumpers and trim pieces, were all replated by JB Chrome Plating in Forth Worth, Texas to give the car that extra exterior pop. For the interior and trunk, everything was reupholstered with rich red leather and matching red carpeting throughout, but now featured a few modern amenities. In the center console is a custom unit that houses a Kenwood touchscreen stereo as well as the controls for the Vintage Air A/C system. A couple of USB outlets are placed in the car to keep accessories such as cell phones and the like charged-up while on longer trips. Cruise control has been retrofitted as has a backup camera setup, thus improving comfort and convenience.

>>Join the conversation about this 1962 Restomod C1 Corvette right here.

A Resto-Revolution

With such an extensive build, there was no way that Mick was going keep the aging 327 small-block around, so he ordered a 430 horsepower LS3 crate engine to provide the power. Mark's Garage installed the engine as well as a 4L70E 4-speed automatic transmission built by Phoenix Transmissions. Cooling is improved with an LS-compatible aluminum radiator provided by Mattson's Custom Radiator. The exhaust setup features black ceramic-coated Art Morrison headers that run into a 2-1/2" system before exiting through a pair of MagnaFlow mufflers. The LS3 turns the Vintage Air A/C compressor and 160-amp Powermaster alternator via an Eddy's Motorsport accessory drive system. When Sandy finally got the car back she may have been expecting something akin to slight facelift on her Corvette, but instead received an entirely new and incredibly awesome restomod. Mick claims all of their cars are built to drive, which is a good thing because Sandy has already put nearly 10,000 miles on her freshly-built 1962 Corvette. We'd say she is definitely enjoying the ride!

>>Join the conversation about this 1962 Restomod C1 Corvette right here.

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