1962 Fuel Injected Corvette #106315

We are pleased to offer 1962 Fuel Injected Corvette s/n 106315, a time-warp racer that takes you back sixty plus years, to a time when going Production Class racing was just a matter of ordering the latest Corvette; knowing what Factory go-fast options were needed; bolting in a basic roll bar and seat belts and being signed off by your region’s SCCA racing school staff. In Dec., 1961 Dudley Higginson of St Louis ordered a new 1962 Corvette from Barford Chevrolet in Clayton MO with all the right stuff. The right stuff in 1962 included Heavy Duty brakes with Quick Steering (option # 687B at $333.60); a 360 HP 327 with Fuel Injection (option # 582A at $484.20) ; Off-road Exhaust (option # 441A at no charge) and 4:11 Positraction (option # 675M at $43.05). Dudley ordered them all and more. 1962 Corvette s/n 106315 was built to order on 01 Feb., 1962 and Dudley Higginson took delivery on 20 Feb., 1962. The total price with all the go-fast options was $5,237 but Dudley negotiated a $937 discount so the final out-the-door price was $4,300. With tax and financing through First National Bank of Bank of St. Louis the final price was $4,807.12. The Barford Chevrolet window sticker is still on the windshield.

1962 Corvette s/n 106315 was additionally fitted with a “bolt-in” roll bar; “aircraft” style seat belts; Goodyear “Blue Streak” race tires; an end-to-end painted double black stripe (including on the removable hardtop) and he was then “off to the races”. Mr. Higginson campaigned the car from 1962 up to 1966 at a time when many racers drove their cars to the track and on weekends. He drove as far north as Indiana and as far south-east as Florida to enter both regional and National races. Higginson never won a race, he never took the Pole, he never set fast lap; he just wanted to go racing. Dudley’s best finish was a second behind Delmo Johnson at the Central Louisiana Regional Jim Bowie on 04-05 August, 1962 in the “A” Production class. Over time Corvette s/n 106315 was nicknamed “Dudley” after her dogged owner.

A Bloomington Gold Survivor

Corvette s/n 106315 was an occasional weekend driver in the summer and always garaged in the winter. When parked in the late 1960s she had just under 30,000 miles. As per a letter (when people still wrote letters) from George Higginson, Dudley’s son, after the 22nd race the engine was replaced with a then-new high-performance 327 from Chevrolet and so the engine number pad is blank. Corvette s/n 106315 still carries the original Muncie transmission s/n 2106315 and date coded 05 Jan., 1962 plus the original 4:11 Positraction differential s/n L201 date coded 20 Nov., 1961. The body and paint are all completely original, (with the exception of some touch-up paint on the left front fender) as pulled off the track at the last race in 1966. In 1987 “Dudley” was sold by George Higginson, Dudley’s son, to her second owner, George Lyons of Eire, PA who first saw “Dudley” at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in 1987, when, as per George, he was “bowled over by all the original bits and documents”. In the early 1990s s/n 106315 went to Vinnie Giaquinto of Southport CT who also recognized the unique period perfection and amazing documentation and so entered s/n 106315 into the 1993 Bloomington Gold Survivor class. Their preservation work can best be described as “clean everything, destroy nothing”. The survivor class addresses four areas of the car. Interior, exterior, engine compartment and chassis. Judges must deem 75 percent of each individual area original to be passed. To pass Survivor judging at Bloomington, you must also perform a road test of roughly forty miles.”Dudley” passed them all and was awarded a “Bloomington Survivor Certificate on 26 June, 1993. As per the Bloomington Gold judges, “It is in the best interest of Historic Research to preserve this automobile in its present state as a benchmark for Corvette restoration”. Dudley was next invited to be on display at the National Corvette Museum, 2800 Scottsville Road, Bowling Green, Kentucky 42102, from 01 July to 15 Sept., 1994. Dudley next went to  Victor Cassella of Brantford, CT before being sold to the current owner on 10 July, 2001. 

Fully sorted and race ready.

The current owner is a hard-core racer and so had a SOVREN Log book # 522 issued on 11 May, 2002 with Dudley entered into the Spring Sprints; the Wine Country Classic; the Pacific Northwest Historics and the Monterey Historics in 2002. In 2003 Dudley ran at the Portland and Monterey Historics. In 2004 Dudley ran at the Spring Sprints and the Fall Finale before sitting out 2005. In 2006 Dudley ran at the Defrost Kickoff and the Pacific Northwest Historics. In 2007 Dudley ran at the Spring Sprints and the Wine Country Classic followed by the CSRG race at Sonoma raceway in 2008. Dudley sat out 2009 to 2013 where Dudley returned for two last races at the Sonoma and Monterey Historics and has since been an important member of the owner’s collection. Today Dudley is well prepared, fully sorted, is in race-ready condition and needs nothing. In early 2013 Dudley was treated to a full engine rebuild by RPM Enterprises, 4519 Sahalee Way, Redmond Washington and, as per the dyno sheets, the torque kicks in with 275.4 hp and 361 ft-lbs of torque at a mere 4,000 rpm. Torque peaks at 408.7 ft-lbs with 358.0 hp at 4,700 rpm while hp peaks at 438.5 hp with 348 ft-lbs of torque at 6,700 rpm. The recommended max shift point is 7,000 rpm with 433.4 hp and 325.2 ft-lbs of stump-pulling torque, giving a 3,000 rpm power band range from 4,000 rpm to 7,000 rpm.  

The original window sticker

For those who love both originality and documentation, Dudley comes with a copy of the original Window Sticker from Barford Chevrolet.

 
           More massive documentation

A copy of the original 1st National Bank of St. Louis financial agreement; 
A copy of the original Barford Chevrolet order form;
A copy of the original Bill of Sale-Window sticker, 20 Feb., 1962;
A copy of the Bloomington Gold Survivor Certificate
A copy of the Bloomington Gold Survivor Judging form
A copy of a photo of George Lyons Drag Racing, 15 July, 1988
A copy of Letter from George Higginson, 02 August, 1987
A copy of the National Corvette Museum showing, page # (1)
A copy of the National Corvette Museum showing, page # (2)
A copy of the National Corvette Museum showing, page # (3)
An original 1962 Corvette Owners Guide
An original 1962 Corvette Protection booklet
An original George Higginson 1986 title, front
An original George Higginson 1986 title, rear
An original Jim Bowie Race program, 04-05 Aug., 1962
An original Jim Bowie Race trophy
An original RPM Dyno sheet, page # (1)
An original RPM Dyno sheet, page # (2)
An original SCCA Driver’s Pass, Indianapolis 1962
An original SOVREN Log Book, 2012 to today
An original VETTE Magazine, August, 1994, cover
An original VETTE Magazine, August, 1994, page # (58)
An original VETTE Magazine, August, 1994, page # (59)
An original VETTE Magazine, August, 1994, page # (60)
An original VETTE Magazine, August, 1994, page # (61)
An original VETTE Magazine, August, 1994, page # (61)
An original Wonder Bar Radio instruction cover
Plus dozens of pages of sales contacts, parts, service work and more.

 Comes with a photo album and lots or race and setup docs

Dudley also comes with a large photo album with the docs listed above, plus dozens of pages of sales docs, parts and service docs and invoices
and a second photo album with twenty-five years of dyno sheets, engine specs, pre-race checks lists and longer-term preperation notes. 

  
Current Condition

Today Dudley presents as an battle-proven example of the last of the fuel injected, solid rear axle 1950s and early 1960s Corvettes. Beautifully preserved and prepared, the sixty plus year old paint still shows well and the body panels fit and finish proves Dudley never suffered the ignobility of battle damage. The many scrutineering decals on the windshield reveal a sampling of the many vintage racing events this car has run with the current owner. The competition stance is perfectly positioned on period correct 6 1/2 x 15 wheels from Summit racing with Hoosier 265/70-15 treaded race tires tucked under the wheel arches. Period correct side exit exhaust completes the profile of an amazingly original and well documented historic racer. The interior is all business with a form-fitting driver’s seat, Simpson Racing seat belts, the factory original gauges to monitor water temp, oil pressure, MPH and RPMs plus an Autometer tach with a warning lights red lined at 6,800 rpm, Autometer water temp, oil temp and oil pressure gauges and a Hurst shifter with a roll bar complete the sparse cockpit. 

Under the hood,  the engine and engine bay are prepared with historic reverence and modern safety elements to bring out as much performance as possible from the user-friendly Corvette 327 V8 engine. Thanks to the original Rochester Fuel Injection unit and careful dyno-tuning, the engine has a driver-friendly power curve from 4,000 rpm to 7,000 rpm. The engine bay features period correct aluminum valve covers, four-tube headers exiting to twin side exhaust plus the mandatory overflow tank and emergency shut-off pull cable. The underside of the car is remarkably clean and consistent, exemplifying the high level of care given to this car over twenty-five years of ownership. The suspension is beautifully detailed, the baffled Milodon oil pan provides plenty of lubrication, the chassis is nicely detailed and the fiberglass floor is damage free. Clever period-type ducts bring air to the option # 687B Heavy Duty vented brakes, which were state-of-the-art for 1962!

More original items and spares

Dudley comes with a spare 4:11 differential for short tracks such as Laguna Seca plus a 3:70 differential for longer tracks such as Pacific Raceway Dudley also comes with a spare T10 4-speed trans ready to plug in and the original 1962 steel wheels, still fitted with vintage Goodyear Blue Streak tires. Last but not least Dudley also comes with the original factory hardtop, still painted with the double black racing stripes.

What’s it like to drive

Getting in is easy, open the door and slide down into the seat, which fits my 5’9″ and 175 lb frame like a glove. Once in the seat just twist the key and Dudley doesn’t so much start as explode into raucous, thundering life. Anyone racing it must wear ear plugs. The clutch is positive, the Hurst shifter is easy to use and the steering is heavy at low speed but just right once at speed. The treaded Hoosier racing tires don’t have date codes but are at least five year old, probably more and so are as hard as hockey pucks. I accidentally started in 3rd gear and quickly realized I was in 3rd, but Dudley simply didn’t care. Because we’re in an industrial area there’s lots of traffic so for the video we kept it well under 5,000 rpm and short shifted. Once mildly on the gas any traffic in front seems to be coming at you in reverse gear and you’re well over the speed limit going into 3rd gear!  With the long list of vintage events displayed by the many scrutineeering decals on the windshield, Dudley is eligible for any full season of vintage events.

Priced to sell

Beautifully preserved and ready for further combat, this historically important 1962 Corvette is  backed by massive documentation, recent long-term professional ownership and years of professional preparation and race sorting. Our warehouse is surrounded by dozens of other automotive shops so exotic cars are common, but in making our video just pulling Dudley out of the warehouse and heading down the road brought them out to watch. This car exudes and delivers power and is eligible for a long list of vintage race events! Comes with two photo albums of docs, the SOVREN Log book # 522, the original hardtop and the original 1960s steel road wheels. All that’s needed to go racing is a check-over by a qualified race mechanic and a fresh set of tires.