Freshly Restored Big Brake Fuelie ’62 Hits the Marketplace

Rare options, a gorgeous color combo, and a high-performance pedigree combine to make this one hot classic Corvette.

Corvette Forum Marketplace isn’t just a place to buy nice late model Corvettes. If you appreciate the classics — and you should — there’s always a choice selection on offer.

One of our members, rburke of Medford, Oregon, is selling one of the most desirable early Corvettes of all. This 1962 Corvette has all of the right options, including the desirable — and rare — Rochester fuel injection.

There are also two very important RPO codes to consider. RPO 276 denoted 15×5.5″ wheels, while RPO 687 includes heavy duty brakes, steering, and suspension.

The Z06 package wouldn’t show up until the following year. As far as C1 Corvettes go, RPO 687 is as close as it gets to a factory competition package.

Meet the Z06’s Older Brother

In fact, the 1962 RPO 687 Corvettes are very similar to the 1963 Z06 cars. Both cars even used the same Rochester fuel injected 327 cubic inch small block V8. In 1962 Corvettes, this engine is rated at a healthy 360 horsepower. That number increased in 1963 to 375 horsepower.

If you’re measuring horsepower per cubic inch, it was the most power-dense engine in the Corvette lineup for decades. Naturally, this high-performance engine is backed by a close-ratio four-speed manual and a Positraction rear end.

Buyers also received finned brake drums with leather air scoops attached to the backing plates to aid cooling. Apparently, the small hubcaps found on the wider steel wheels also aided brake cooling.

Simply put, this is the nastiest Corvette you could order in 1962. There’s a good reason for that — RPO 687 was designed to make the already successful C1 Corvette an absolute terror in sanctioned sports car races all over the country.

The example seen here looks simply beautiful in silver over red. It’s a timeless, classy color combination, and we’ve seen it on every body style of Corvette from the C1 up to the new C8. This one may be our favorite.

The painstaking restoration was completed in August of last year. Correct, date-coded parts were used wherever possible. Just 100 miles have been covered since then. This one is a future show winner if we’ve ever seen one.

Of course, perfection doesn’t come cheap. With an asking price of $85,000, it costs nearly as much as a well-optioned C8 Corvette. If we had the choice, we might be inclined to pick this one.

Photos: Corvette Forum members

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