Vehicle Description
1962 Chevrolet Bel Air 2 Door Sedan
The 1962 Bel Air was available in a wide range of body styles,
including a 2-door coupe and hardtop, as well as a 4-door hardtop,
sedan and station wagon. Among these, the 2-door pillarless hardtop
was only available for the 1961 and 1962 model years. The lack of a
B-pillar, coupled with the wrap-around front and rear glass led to
the popular, if unofficial, Bubble Top designation. Powertrain
selections were updated for the 1962 model, retaining the 235ci
inline six and 283ci V8, but introducing the 327ci V8 in 250 or 300
hp variants. At the high end, the 409ci V8 became available
following its successful introduction in the previous year's
Impala. Available transmissions included a 3-speed manual, a
4-speed manual transmission and a 2-speed Powerglide automatic.
(Thx to Chevyhardcore.com)
Here in the corridors of the Classic Auto Mall we have all kinds of
cars with all kinds of purposes. Some classics to be shown, others
to be driven, and others to do both. Here we have a classic that
exemplifies early 1960's suburbia, but with a deep dark secret
lying within and with a binder of receipts you'll know every part.
A modern drivetrain, suspension, and brakes make this seemingly
mundane grocery getter a great fit for the pro-touring/resto-mod
group. It is to be driven and can be shown,with either action
resulting in lots of smiles and thumbs up. Read on!
Exterior
From its chromed bezel dual headlights with quad headlights an
flanking egg crate grille, and lower wrap around one piece bumper,
to the polished stainless trim spear at its belt line, and the dual
sets of dual tail lights within more aluminum trim, and lower one
piece bumper this car sports plenty of nice brite-work, and chrome
to feast your eyes on. Wrap around chrome window surrounds, and the
shaving of all badges save for the CHEVROLET on the leading edge of
the hood shines brightly against itsrespray in Aztec Bronze. A
single small flaw can be noted in the rocker, just aft of the
molding in front of the rear tire. Otherwise, we see very straight
steel, with gaps that are laser straight. The lightly tinted glass
with new rubbers and window channels adds to the mystique as well
and remains crystal clear. 15-inch Vision wheels are mounted on all
4 corners with staggered low profile blackwall rubber in 215/70R15
and 235/70R15 format. We note the well done trunk area with its
beige leather side paneling, Aztec Bronze carpet and full size
spare tire residing within.
Interior
Award winning from the swing of the doors, where you'll find yards
of smooth saddle leather with decorative embossing. Shiny cranks
and the leather covered armrest are here too and on the armrest's
end is the blingy actuator. Inside, more yards of saddle leather is
covering a wide low back split bench up format and a big long bench
in the back. These chairs all use broad tuck and roll inserts and
more smooth leather for the bolsters. Turning our attention to the
all steel original dash where a curved two-tier design has
aftermarket gauges including the long sweeping speedo and some
other gauges and warning lights within the top floor, and on the
shelf, painted in body matching Aztec Bronze. A 1959 Chevy Impala
style steering wheel fronts this updated dash and the ignition
knobs and pulls are all shiny and wesee the addition of a Vintage
Air heat and AC controller as well as vents. Clean bronze carpeting
floods the floors, and a beautiful stitched beige headliner floats
above.
Drivetrain
The original inline 6 cylinder has been replaced with a very modern
and powerful 454ci V8. Within this is a Summit Racing .519 lift and
218 duration camshaft and feeding the right amount of air and
fossils is a 4-barrel carburetor. Bolted to the back of the mill is
a TH350 3-speed automatic transmission and putting the power to the
pavement is a 3.36 geared rear axle. A huge shout out to orange
painted block, heads, valve covers and air cleaner assembly.
Modern, reliable, and powerful!
Undercarriage
Power disc brakes are noted up front and in the rear are power
drums. They sit within a mostly rust free structure of black steel,
although few areas of surface rust are noted in photos. We see that
the rockers are solid as well as floor pans and toe kicks.
Hotchkiss provides the front suspension independent coil spring
form with tubular arms and new springs while in the rear we note a
4 link and coil spring arrangement with boxed control arms. Full
length headers handle the exhale and breathe a melodious tune
through a Flowmaster exhaust system.
Drive-Ability
I rose from my laurels and designer tea to get the chance to drive
this wolf in sheep's clothing. Sliding behind the wheel, thank you
for the tilt function, I was in early 60's heaven. I could almost
hear the pleas of "are we there yet?" from the back seat. Luckily a
twist of the key brought the big block to life and drowned out my
imagination and the technical blatherings of my cohort and partner
in crime. On the patented Classic Auto Mall test track this car
handled everything I could throw at it. Acceleration was endless,
handling was surprisingly firm for a smooth riding car, and braking
rivaled that of a new performance car. On top of that, the Vintage
Air A/C and heat kept the cabin comfortable no matter what Mother
Nature decided on during our drive. A few frowns crept up during my
drive; the first being a horn that wouldn't toot and the second
being that the wipers would actuate when the headlights were turned
on. The wiper switch itself served no function, and we noted the
odometer has not been calibrated.
Overall save for the few technicalissues, this car presents very
nicely, and goes like a rocket ship. With its modern engine, crisp
shifting transmission, nice leather interior, and well thought out
and updated undercarriage this is almost in "modernmuscle"
territory. A fine example of a grocery getter that is on
steroids.
21511F231037
2-1962
15-Bel Air 6 Cylinder
11-2 Door Sedan
F-Flint, MI Assy Plant
231037-Sequential Unit Number
TRIM TAG
04B-2nd Week April
STYLE 62 11511-1962 Bel Air 2 Door Sedan
BODY F016230-Flint Body #
TRIM 850-Aqua Cloth & Vinyl Bench
PAINT 918-Twilight Blue
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
