Loving the Woody too... The 1962 Corvette The big news from Corvette in 1962 was not the long-awaited Stingray - it was the Stingrays 327 cubic-inch engine, achieved wîth a 1/8 inch increase in bore and .25 increase in stroke. The 15.5% increase in capacity brought wîth it comparable increases in horsepower and torque, making Corvette even more fun to own and drive. It also made Americas Sports Car more competitive on the racetrack. The enthusiastic Corvette team at Chevrolet had plenty of goodies under the shelf, even as they worked on the Stingray, to support Corvette racers. The big engine for 1962 was the fuel-injected 327, now offered in only one highly developed state of tune wîth a solid lifter camshaft and free-breathing cylinder heads. It twisted tires into oblivion wîth 360 horsepower. Amazingly, 1,918 Corvette buyers in 1962 opted for this expensive high-performance option, 13% of 1962 production, plunking down $484.20 to enjoy the Fuelies mystique and performance. Out of those 1,918, however, only a few checked off the real racing packages on Corvettes list of Regular Production Options. RPO 687 was the first hurdle: Heavy Duty Brakes and Steering. It included a host of high-performance goodies that made a Corvette essentially unsuitable for street driving: special shock absorbers, air scoops for the front and rear brakes wîth deflectors (elephant cars) up front, metallic brakes (that didnt work until they reached blast-furnace temperatures), finned braked drums wîth integral cooling fans and a quick-§teering adapter. In 1962 only 246 Corvette buyers were sufficiently performance committed to select RPO 687.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:17:15 +0000
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