Projects Mid Life Crisis 62 Vette

Squirrel has raced his cars hard enough - if he puts a cage on it; still be “street & strip”; never a poser

 

the problem with this car is that I need to put the top down during the day, and put it up at night, on my adventures. And I don't know how to install an NHRA legal roll bar and keep the top functional. They only let you run 13.50 in a convertible without a roll bar. Which is why I'm looking into some relatively minor updates to the engine...it runs mid-high 14s now.


meanwhile, I'm working on engine plans. now that I have an intake, and I located an original type AFB carb, and I have a plan for heads, I need to decide on valvetrain. The cam I have now is relatively small, rated for 1500-5000 rpm power band. With the 3.08 rear gears that let me cruise at 75-80 comfortably, I need to be careful not to lose too much bottom end. Hydraulic roller cams have more lift for the same duration as flat tappet, so that would help make power while keeping it working ok at lower rpm. I'm thinking about going to a hydraulic roller, but not sure on what duration....will 230 @.050 still let me get the car moving off the line OK with the M20 transmission, and my rear gears? can I go bigger? or should I go a little smaller? The cam I have now is flat tappet, 218 @050, 284 adv, .458 lift. The whole idea of the new heads and intake would be to be able to make power up to 6000-6500 rpm.

 

i think jim is just out to piss off the corvette purists, as if driving all over the country with a primer spot on the fender wasn't enough

 

There is no question about this fact and I don't think anyone has ever accused him of being a poser. The need for speed is in one's blood and as we get older we either choose to slow down, or decide to go fast again. I'm sure he will build his car however he wants despite what we think or don't think about it. And since I respect his builds, I do hope I get to run against and with him one of these days soon.

 

Does the top need to retain the power feature to put it up? Was wondering how it would work to have a light weight fold up top structure that could be stored in the boot and anchor to the roll bar and still attach with the windshield locks at the front end. Top framing wouldn't be 100% corvette, but it would look 100% correct from outside the car when up. And loosing the plumbing for the top would help offset the roll bar weight.

 

The top is manual on mine, power was an option. The deck lid hinges up, lift the top out, put the deck lid down, fasten the top to the windshield and the top of the deck lid. The hinging deck lid is really the problem. Might be able to remove the hinges, but then it still needs to fit inside the roll bar main hoop and rear down bars. Most guys who race these things fix the deck lid in place around the roll bar, and put a hardtop on the car.

 

Removing the hinges might make it work. The good thing is, you can make a mold of the deck lid and make some light weight copies that can be cut and relieved to try out other methods. Having a hard top that could be taken off would be similar to what I was thinking for the top. But a hard top would need to be trailered. The soft top should be able to be stored somewhere in the car. Cutting the new deck lid would allow you to work around the bars, but I would think you’d want the lid to have holes that slide on the bars and trim rings to make them look finished. Not sure if they would allow collars on the bar that would slide up or down and allow you to slide the deck lid out of the way if you wanted to. You could also put the bars in the outer edges of the deck lid, cut a new line inside of the bars that would still allow the majority of the lid to open. Rough idea of where the lid cut would be:

 

Hey Jim I have a brand new blower intake and probably enough stuff to put a blower together as you well know everything is better with a blower and is just as streetable as a single carb lol plus what is kooler than a early vette with a blower

 

Here is another good looking black 62 IMO. This one was out of Tennessee (Hot Rod May 1979). I had bought my first 62 in 77 and it was maroon but the paint was newish and done poorly. Stripped it down and painted it black. Always had an afffinity for this cover car, Allan Patterson's black 62 MP car and Paris Fish' 62. I put a chrome three point bar in my red 62 (to replace the old three point bar stubs that were still there). The NHRA does not like the three point bar as they are not allowed. Since I have run vintage they have not been too bad but two tracks asked me to remove it if I wanted to go faster than 12.0. They want the hoop and back bars as the very least to run quicker than 11.5 but that would necessitate me removing the gas tank and it is not worth it. It is a street car basically that I take down the track occasionally. More fun car than serious drag car if the truth be told.

Jim if you are serious on the Pontiac/Olds housings I have a couple out of 62 Vettes allegedly. Not sure how much they would cost to ship. Had plans for them but age is catching up with me and the only drag project in my future already has a Dana 60 with all new gears and axles so will keep that setup.

 

HAMB relay time MI to AZ

 

I get the feeling that the relay would be quick due to all of Jim's fans, but Jim would be quicker!
He posted proof of 15k in less than a year.

 

The May 79 issue of Hot Rod...yeah, I read that over and over....that was the month I graduated high school. It took me ten years to finally get a blower of my own, though

I don't know how serious I am about making my corvette go fast. I like driving it as it is.

Thanks for the offers! I'll think on it.

 

I used to be fast now I'm just halfassed, sometimes halfassed is better.
You can still have fun being halfassed

 

I'm having this same blower debate on a car that I have. Ironically enough, I have a really good deal staring me in the face for an 800 hp small block with a 671 on it... Decisions, decisions... I have now waited 38 years from when I first rode in something with a blown small block to possibly have one of my own. We will see. I did buy a spare hood to cut up just in case.

 

I already know all about the upsides and downsides, and cooling is one of the big downsides...gas mileage is another. The fun upside is pretty good, too.

 

You can keep this little car for the fun of driving it around, something you do a lot, and build a plan lll if you come across something you fancy! I really like the little Vette!

Or would that be plan llll?

 

Jim, regarding cooling issues. Does your car have all the factory rubber seals/tape around the radiator/core support?

Had a hood flutter/front end lift issue at speed on an O/T, used water pipe insulation to better seal around the radiator and to seal between the rad support and hood. Fixed the flutter and front end lift while reducing heat soak.
Usually opening the hood was akin to sticking your face in a blast furnace.
Now touching the air cleaner doesn't require an Ove Glove.

 

I doubt it, that's something I should look into.

The heat soak issue is still with me...but I have a pile of new parts to put on the car one of these days (when I get a few other things finished with other cars), and I'll probably find new different heat soak issues when I get the new stuff in place.

 

Don't you just love spring how every year we are pressured with new projects we have no desire to deal with?
We gotta love spring time!

 

Maybe the blower would fix the heat soak problems.

 

My friend that owns a chassis shop put a "show" roll bar in this hardtop 59, super tight fit. This was a race car from 60's - 80's, should've seen the cobbled up roll bar that was originally in it, scary.

 

That looks really ugly with the top off. Wish it was mine.

 

Roadkill Garage S09E04 Freiberger and Dulcich driving the Crusher Camaro on power tour west:

 

Dulcich is checking out my wife, he can tell she's really a Mopar gal.



Anyways, back to work on the car. I pulled the motor, and took it partway apart. I have to figure out how to get the hydraulic roller cam installed, as well as the aluminum heads. There are a lot of choices for parts for small block chevys, so it takes a while to figure out what I need.



I ordered pushrods that are designed to work with the new cam and lifters, but the head instructions suggest that they'll probably be too short. So I'll have to check the fit, and maybe order some custom ones. The cam has a lot of lift, so I have to get this right.

I also drilled and tapped the crank snout...Chevy used a bolt on the higher performance 327s. I'm going to install an SFI damper as well, and also a steel flywheel, good clutch, and SFI scattershield.

 

I like where you are going. I would like to see a parts list when you get it all bought. I have one built on paper, that I would like to compare it to.

 

Are you sticking with the Carter?

 

Sounds like you're building it to go racing

 

Looking forward to where this heads.

 

I got this intake from Scotty, and bought an original early AFB. We'll see how it does. The intake is something I really want to use, and it's the small bolt pattern, but with the larger bores than the low perf intake. Chevy got 340 hp out of it, so it can't be that bad. Also it was cast in the right time to be original to the car...which means something to me.

 

Yeah, I'll go racing...but it probably won't be fast enough to need the safety equipment. But it will be spinning fast enough to make me nervous without it. Previously I shifted a bit over 5000 rpm.