1962 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible

Bill Verboon knows what he likes in a Corvette, and he builds his cars accordingly. We last caught up with Bill in our July 2000 issue, "Modern Conveniences." That C4-suspended, LT1-powered '62 (which also graced our cover that month) combined an understated, classic look with substantially upgraded technology. As Bill puts it now, "I need a classic car with modern, state-of-the-art parts, to go fast and far, in comfort" That first '62 certainly fit the bill, but, even as he finished that car, Verboon was already formulating ideas for a more radical hybrid. "After having so much success with that first Vette," he told us, "I thought I would take all of my ideas of what a modern, straight-axle Corvette should be, and put them into the next one."

When Bill and his wife, Karen, discussed a theme for the car, their thoughts were influenced by the fact that they'd just ordered a Millennium Yellow 2000 with a tan interior. Smitten by that particular color combo, they decided to go with a "2000" theme, and Bill directly got to work. Bill had already located a suitable donor car, a '62 that was "a No.3 driver." The 327/340 roadster wasn't what he was looking for in a resto project, but Bill considered it the perfect starting point for his ultimate modern solid-axle.

The first step was to strip the veteran Vette down to the bare bones. The frame was then sent to Paul Newman's Car Creations of Templeton, California, who performed their special brand of chassis magic by modifying the old rails to accept the complete front and rear suspension systems from a '91 ZR-1 donor car. Newman and crew also prepared the frame to accept an updated powertrain (more on that later). The not-so-new, but definitely improved frame ended up yellow powdercoated and polished before final assembly, but, of course, there were many more hours of work before that point was reached. The "new" C4 suspension pieces were polished before being assembled to the frame with Energy Suspension bushings. The stock ZR-1 monospring was retained at the rear of the car, where it was attached to a C4 differential sporting stiffer-than-stock 3.73:1 cogs. Verboon opted for a Vette Brakes & Products front spring, a piece that allowed him to drop the frontend 2 inches, while Bilstein shocks reside at all four corners. Steering is handled by a stock late C4 rack-and-pinion, but Verboon wanted something special in the steering column department. Ken Kallison of ididit was up to the challenge, and with Verboon created the sharp aluminum billet tilt/tele unit the car now sports.

When it came to the braking system, components were sourced from a variety of companies. The stock brake pedal wears a Lokar pad (as do the clutch pedal and the through-the-floor pivot gas pedal), and works to actuate a Car Creations master cylinder. Stainless steel lines then connect to the stout Baer calipers, which work with drilled and slotted rotors to provide braking force at each corner. Anticipating the need for wide and sticky rolling stock, the seriously upgraded '62 chassis rolls on chrome 2000-style Corvette wheels: 8.5x17-inch up front and 9.5x18-inch out back with Firestone Firehawk RFWs, 245/45ZR17 in front and 295/40ZR18 in the rear.