His first Corvette experience was in a 1962

• Positraction axle…..43.05.

• White sidewall tires…31.55.

• Engine ventilation…..5.40.

The all-red cockpit was restored with the matching seat belts coming from Albuquerque, N.M. The previous owner told Mr. LaRue the original fiberglass auxiliary top had been stolen. In 1980 Mr. LaRue located a black top for sale in the Shenandoah Valley. It looked good on the silver car.

After it was shipped to a specialist in Pittsburgh, refurbished, given new plexiglass windows and a white headliner and then was painted a matching sateen silver, it looks great.

A set of 6.70x15-inch four-ply Goodrich Silvertown tires are wrapped around the wheels, which sparkle with the standard Corvette-issue fake knock-off hub wheelcovers.

Although the speedometer is ready to indicate speeds up to 160 mph, Mr. LaRue reports, ‘The front end starts lifting at 120 mph.’ Aerodynamics in 1962 weren’t what they are in 2005.

The 7,000-rpm tachometer is in a separate housing atop the steering column. The red line is at 5,000 rpm. After that you’re on your own.

No backup lights were offered on the 1962 Corvette, red lenses filling all four of the cavities below the character line that wraps around the rear of the car. A separate defining ridge starts in the cockpit and extends down the deck lid around the Corvette emblem.

The 1962 Corvette was the last one to afford the driver a view of an engine hood with two pronounced linear bulges reminiscent of the engine hood on a 1957 Chevrolet.

Because Mr. LaRue’s Corvette did not leave the factory with an air conditioner, he cools himself during warm-weather motoring by opening the wide cowl ventilator.