1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

[John M.]

Did anybody notice that the 1962 Corvette that was taken out of the sink- hole at the NCM has a silver V and lettered trunk emblem? The 5^th edition judging guide for 1961-62 says they are ALL gold, NOT silver.

[Dennis C.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

Did anybody notice that the 1962 Corvette that was taken out of the sink- hole at the NCM has a silver V and lettered trunk emblem? The 5^th edition judging guide for 1961-62 says they are ALL gold, NOT silver.

Anyone know the history of this car as far as any restoration or replacement? I understand it had tender loving care all its life by the original owner and never or rarely saw rain. Could this emblem be the original? Many years ago when I took a real good close look at my ‘62s trunk emblem, which I had no reason to believe was not original, I would have bet (and still would) that it came from St. Louis with a silver trunk emblem, only to be scorched by the sun for the next ten years in this emblem’s solar furnace of design and construction to burn a somewhat partial color to parts of the silver that some might call a burnt gold. An original ’62 owner friend of mine has had a silver trunk emblem on his car since day one. Could it be time to change the Judging Guide to reflect that ‘62s came from the assembly line with a random mix of both silver and gold trunk emblems?

Save the Wave …………. JGM

John,

I don't think you are going to see silver in the 61-62 JG as being original anytime soon. All of the Bowtie cars I have looked at had gold emblems, not silver. Having said that, there are others here who have seen many more original cars then I have.

Let's see what every one else thinks.

Regards,

Dennis

[John F.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

My original #00029 trunk emblem looks goldish. See pics.

[Larry C.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

For whatever it's worth, I bought my '62 in April 1965 when it was still in near pristine condition having approx. 28,000 miles on the odometer. The rear emblem was gold then and it still is, and even though it's been exposed to much sunlight over the past many, many years and now over 114,000 miles, the gold color hasn't seemed to change any - to silver or any other color.

This is not to suggest that some '62s did not come out with silver emblems. My 62 also has the original gold-anodized grille which didn't change color over those same years either. And, several years ago, I purchased two other original gold grilles. Just adding to further debate about what is "correct".


My '62 was built in mid/late June 1962.

Larry

[John M.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

My 62 also has the original gold-anodized grille which didn't change color over those same years either. Larry[/QUOTE]

Larry,

Remember when once-upon-a-time they also said that the gold grille didn't exist?

Save the Wave ............ JGM

[David D.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

I believe I remember one of the reports saying that the car was equipped with two four barrel carbs. Nice car
but does it have to be whatever we believe 'right' is to be in the museum??

[Steven B.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

In '62 still wishing for a Corvette I ordered two 1962 FI side emblems and a 1962 trunk emblem from my local Chevy dealer. It is gold. Steve

[Joe M.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

Starting in around 1963, after the 1962s were finished, the emblem vendor started producing the silver emblems as service replacements and continued to make them until around 1982. I would guess it was a cost saving deal for GM. The weight of the emblems also dropped from 6 oz to 4 oz about the same time. I purchased a 6 oz emblem that was silver.

[Mike E.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

Starting in around 1963, after the 1962s were finished, the emblem vendor started producing the silver emblems as service replacements and continued to make them until around 1982. I would guess it was a cost saving deal for GM. The weight of the emblems also dropped from 6 oz to 4 oz about the same time. I purchased a 6 oz emblem that was silver.

Joe,
do you have documentation of any kind for that? Do we know it was 63 for sure? Do we know they changed the thickness in 63 also? This question has come up regularly over the years, and we have not been able to document anything to be able to put it to rest. There is an original owner of a 62 who still has it with low miles, and he contends his came silver. My two bow tie cars, one a 40k mile car, always up here in the land of limited sun, stored under a parachute in the owner's mom's garage, and it is gold, as is the one on the 60k mile Chicago and Wisconsin car.

[Art B.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

I realize this thread is about 1962s. I purchased my '61 in 1988 and it had the rear emblem with silver lettering and the V also silver. It was getting a bit scratched and I decided to replace it with a reproduction which had the gold lettering and the gold V. On the one I took off, the lettering was bolder and the flags were more distinct. My guess is that Joe may be right and it was an early reproduction.

[John M.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

I believe I remember one of the reports saying that the car was equipped with two four barrel carbs. Nice car
but does it have to be whatever we believe 'right' is to be in the museum??

David,

[Mike E.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

John,
I'm merely speculating here, but I'm guessing the original owner saw some crazing in the plastic, (which always happened) and went down to GM and bought a silver repacement. Those were available for a looooong time from GM. 35+ years?

[Joe M.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

I purchased a 6 ounce emblem with silver lettering and it was in the GM box, yellow and black. There was a note scribbled on the box that gave the date it was received at the dealership and who they were holding it for. The year was 1963. Unfortunately, I no longer have the box. I have purchased around 50 emblems and that was the only 6 ounce silver emblem I ever came across.

Here is why the original owner of the 1962 thinks he has a silver original emblem. He is partially accurate. The process used to make the emblems involved a layer of 24 karat gold with a layer of sterling silver behind the gold. Over many decades, the gold fades away until the sterling silver layer remains. If you look closely at original emblems, you can see various stages of gold deterioration.

[Joe M.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

I purchased one of the silver service replacement emblems in the original box and the data punch card taped to the box showed that it was picked from the warehouse in 1982. That is the latest date I have seen on service replacement emblems.

[John M.]

Re: 1962 Trunk Emblems revisited

John,
I'm merely speculating here, but I'm guessing the original owner saw some crazing in the plastic, (which always happened) and went down to GM and bought a silver repacement. Those were available for a looooong time from GM. 35+ years?

that



Could the NCM have gotten any of the original owner info and some pictures when this car was donated? Who out there has good contacts with the NCM and can answer this question?