Lake Placid, Florida Resident’s Sano, Personalized C1 327 Corvette
by Scott Teeters as republished from Vette Vues
I know I’m preaching to the choir but Corvettes are unusual cars because if you get bitten by them when you’re young, it’s usually a lifetime thing. For people who aren’t passionate about driving, or have never driven a Corvette, and maybe only ever been a passenger, it’s hard for them to understand the affection. Driving a Corvette is a visceral, seat-of-the-pants experience. When behind the wheel, you don’t just “ride and steer,” you “DRIVE” the car like a team of wild horses.
Bill Test of Lake Placid is a “seasoned citizen” who has had the Corvette infection since 1967 when as a young man living in York, Pennsylvania, he bought a ’66 327/350 convertible. Ever since then, he’s never been too long between Corvettes. The white 1962 Corvette seen here with the button hubcaps is Bill’s 10th Corvette and he also has a Silver Green ’82, one of 723, the rarest colors of all ’82 Corvettes. The 1962 Corvette is arguably “the finished” C1 Corvette. While the C2 Sting Ray had been in the works for fully two years, the ’62 model was the most refined of the C1 Corvettes.
Spotter’s Guide Tip: the ’61 and ’62 models are almost identical, except for the most obvious detail, the ’62 model has the side rocker panel that’s similar to the one on the ’63 Sting Ray. There’s another, more subtle spotter’s guide tip that only us Corvette nutters pick up on – the button hub caps. This usually means “RPO687” otherwise known as the Big Brake Option. Starting in 1957, Duntov always made sure he had Chevrolet-engineered, heavy-duty parts for his Corvette racers. (Zora thought of all Corvette racers as “his” racers) RPO687 included special front and rear shocks, inner air scoops for the front and rear brakes, special metallic brake facings, finned brake drums with cooling fans and a quick-ratio steering adapter. The option also required RPO582 and RPO675, the 360-HP Fuelie engine and the Positraction rear. This was Duntov’s “racer kit” and the only visual giveaway was the button hubcaps. As I said, it’s something only NCRS and Corvette geeks like us are aware of. Otherwise, Big Brake “racer kit” Corvettes from ’57 to ’62, just look like a regular Corvette with button hubcaps – no special badges, body scoops, additional vents, bulges, or stripes. It’s too bad they didn’t have special external features, can you imaging how much they’d be worth?
But Bill Test’s car isn’t a Big Brake ’62 Corvette. Unlike modern Corvettes beginning with the C5 Z06 that was obviously something special with its unique wheels and scoops, from ’57 to ’62, the button hubcaps were the only indicator that a Corvette “might” be equipped with Duntov’s racer kit. I know it sounds silly that “button hubcaps” would be a tip off to racer parts, but that’s the way it was back then. Besides, since all Corvettes had snap-on full hubcaps, if a Corvette owner wanted to race his car, the hubcaps had to be taken off. Another “racer trick” was to remove the stock license plate bracket and small bumperettes. Cars in the state of Florida are not required to have front license plates, so Bill opted to clean up the front-end look by removing the unneeded hardware.
Racers would also remove the heavy front bumpers, but since this is a street machine, Bill opted to keep the bumpers, you know, in case he bumped into something. The only thing missing from Bill’s ’62 that would add to the quasi-racer look would be dual blue stripes running over the center of the car, round yellow driving lamps under the front bumpers, a louvered hood, and side-exiting exhausts. You have probably noticed from the side-view photo that Bill Test’s ’62 sits a little low in the front. Part of Bill’s Corvette history is a brief stint drag racing his 427/390 ’66 Corvette Coupe. Bill removed one coil from the front springs, “I just like that forward raked look.” Bill explained.
Lest you think that Bill Test’s ’62 Corvette is all-show and no-go, in 1962 the $484 327/360 Fuelie was at the top of the Corvette feeding chain. While Fuelies are sexy and cool, they could be temperamental and difficult to live with. But just 20-horsepower behind the Fuelie was the RPO396, solid-lifter 327/340 engine that only cost $107! What’a bargain! Mated to Bill’s 327/340 is a T-10 4-speed transmission and a Posi rear with 4.11 gears. With a curb weight around 3,100, the 327/340 with the 4.11 gearing delivered very quick acceleration, even with skinny bias-ply tires of the day. Unless an elderly Corvette is for “show-only,” using those old-world bias-ply tires is less than optimal. Bill’s ’62 rides on 205×15 Goodyear radials.
When Bill bought his ’62 in Sarasota, Florida in August 2010, the car had been given some refreshments. The suspension is stock but with new shocks, ball joints, and all the standard suspension attachment hardware replaced with new stock parts. Rear sway bar and traction bars are stock. The car had been recently painted, had a new-ish windshield, and few of the chrome pieces had been replaced. The interior had a new dash-pad and everything else inside the cabin is most likely original. Obviously the car’s previous owners were gentle on the interior.
We mentioned in the beginning of this story that this is Bill Test’s 10th Corvette and that he also has a rare Silver Green ’82 Vette in the garage. Bill’s eight other Corvettes have all been C2 and C3 350-horsepower small-blocks, with the exception of his very stout ’66 427/390 coupe that he drag raced. About the drag car, Bill commented, “I must have got a good engine because with just the addition of a solid-lifter cam, tune-up tricks, 4.88 gears, slicks, and a lot of fun practice, the best run I ever had was a 11.79 @117-mph. That big-block torque sure was a lot of fun!”
And speaking of fun, one of Bill’s favorite Corvettes was his silver 327/350 ’67 Coupe. Bill recalls, “I drove that car everywhere. The coupe body made it roomy and useful and it was one of the most dependable cars I ever had. Wish I hadn’t sold it!” Haven’t we heard that before?
Bill Test’s ’62 Corvette had 100,912 miles on the odometer when I photographed the car in April 2015. As we all know, performance cars are never really “done,” there’s almost always something else that could be done. Bill said, “After the nine C2 and C3 Corvettes I enjoyed, I just wanted a solid-axle Vette.” Looks to me that the only thing Bill really needs to do now is drive, drive, drive.
– Scott
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PS – The above article first appeared in a June 2015 issue of Vette Vues Magazine – The Corvette Enthusiasts Magazine. Subscribe today, HERE.
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