John Martin and his team at Johnny’s Auto Trim brought home a coveted “Great 8″ award from the 2011 Detroit Autorama for this sleek and smooth 1962 Corvette. The build, which took over 10,000 hours to complete, was quite an undertaking for Martin’s young team.

The story behind this 1962 Corvette convertible started out simple enough. Bruce Milyard came to see his friend, John Martin, in Alamosa, Colorado, to inquire about having a car built for his wife’s 50th birthday. After searching for a suitable car to restore, Milyard and Martin finally found a weathered-looking Corvette in nearby Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“At first glance we knew it was pretty rough, and to build it would definitely be a feat,” said Martin, whose shop you can learn more about here.

Turning the car into a beauty would be no easy task, so Martin went right to work, coming up with a vision for its design with his friend, artist Kris Gosar who created a rendering.

Once the blueprint for the car had been drawn up, the crew began the four-year-long build. Martin and his young crew, which consisted of his daughter, son and nephew, completed all of the car’s extensive body work, including changing the front and rear wheel openings, peaking all of the body lines, and eliminating the rear bumpers.

To give the car a smoother appearance, the hood and trunk latches were removed and replaced with electric actuators, and the hood, trunk and doors were filled in solid, and new openings were cut to get a perfect fit. Martin and Gosar designed a unique “427 Fuel Injected” emblem that was sunk into the car with an added spear. (They also added the emblem to the engine cover.)

The hardest part of the build, said Martin, was painting the undercarriage.

John Martin shows off the Corvette's custom interior.

“The car was hung from the ceiling and Wayne Saunders from AAD shot the paint on the undercarriage upside-down,” said Martin. “My crew and I spent hundreds of hours sanding and buffing [it] upside-down—what a chore that was. Then the frame was painted, sanded and buffed. The drivetrain was then installed and the body mounted to the chassis. The bottom and frame were bagged to paint the top of the car.”

For the Corvette’s paint, Martin worked with Emmett Flowers of Professional Paint Supply in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to come up with a one-off green color they named “Champaign Mist.”

Under the hood sits a fully polished 520-horsepower LS7 engine connected to a fully polished 4L65E transmission with a custom Shiftworks shifter.  Martin’s nephew Aron and brother Mike built the stainless exhaust and custom tips.

“Mike spent numerous hours reworking the grille rings because they were originally in two pieces. The bumper had split through them,” said Martin. “Pieces from a Packard grille were used to make the rings solid and then [they were] re-chromed. The body was molded to fit the new rings while the stock grille insert was turned upside down and painted in the satin body color and a spear added. The two side grilles received the same modifications.”

For the Corvette’s interior, Martin custom-made the seats, door panels, console, trunk and headliner with matching spears. The interior also features custom one-off Classic Instruments gauges.

Throughout the build, what impressed Martin the most was his team.

“This teenage crew worked very hard [and put in] many endless hours,” he said, estimating it took somewhere around 10,000 hours to complete the Corvette.

When it was completed, Martin took the Corvette, nicknamed “Elegance” for its classy look, to the 2011 Detroit Autorama. It was selected from a field of hundreds of cars to become one of the “Great 8,” and a contender for the prestigious Ridler Award, one of the highest honors a classic car can receive. In the end, the Corvette didn’t take home the Ridler Award, but it did help earn Martin and his build team national recognition. It also made a great birthday present for his client’s wife.

Stat Sheet: 

Car:  1962 Corvette “Elegance”

Owner:  Bruce Milyard, Grand Junction, Colorado

Builder:  John Martin and his team at Johnny’s Auto Trim

Location:  Alamosa, Colorado

Interior:  The car’s interior leather work was stitched over the custom seating, center console and door panels at Johnny’s Auto Trim. The dash pod houses one-off Classic Instruments gauges and wraps around an ididit steering column and Genuine Boyd’s steering wheel.

Audio:  A Kenwood stereo system is hidden within the car’s center console. The build team used Lizard Skin insulation to improve the sound quality.

Powertrain:  The Corvette runs on an LS7 engine with a 4L65E transmission.

Body & Frame:  The car underwent extensive body modifications. The rear quarter panels from the door opening back were custom-made to be 2 inches wider. The body line on top of the quarter panel was raised 1 inch, peaked and lengthened 2 inches. The rear wheel radius was altered to accept the 19-inch Budnik wheels. The team eliminated the rear bumpers, installed Lokar taillights and frenched the license plate. The gas filler was moved to the driver’s door jamb. It leads to a stainless gas tank manufactured by Rick’s Tanks of El Paso, Texas.

Paint:  The Corvette was painted using PPG paint. Martin created the one-off “Champaign Mist” color especially for the car.

Tires:  The chassis rolls on Kumho  215/45ZR18 tires sized 18 x 7 in the front, and 245/45ZR19 sized 19 x 9 in the rear.

Wheels:  Budnik’s Gasser-style wheels were used, measuring 18 x 7 inches in the front and 19 x 9 inches in the rear.

Other Features: Kugel Komponents’ under-dash pedal and master brake assembly operate the car’s C4 disc brake package.

Tags: Award Winners, Cool Cars, Corvettes, Detroit Autorama, Featured Vehicle, Great 8 Award, Johnny's Auto Trim