Back in the eighties, Wendy Merc’s husband, Bob Krug, was looking for a project to work on. She says he had always wanted a Corvette and, one day, a friend told him about a ‘barn find’ located in Champaign, Illinois.

Wendy says Bob and his buddy went downstate to check it out. The woman who owned it made it clear she didn’t have much use for it. The Vette was Fawn Beige with a manual white top and it was in great shape. After agreeing on a price, the only thing they did was put some gas in the tank, and he drove it home to Chicago.

Once Bob had the car in his garage, he started tearing it down. Everything was taken apart down to the frame. The whole restoration process took roughly ten years. The original engine was replaced with a 1970 Chevy small block, LT1-350 crate motor with 11.0:1 compression pistons, an Edelbrock roller cam (212/222 duration), competition cam roller rockers, and Pete Jackson gear drive timing set. It has an Offenhauser intake manifold with two Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetors.

To keep this ’62 Vette cool, there is an electric fan set up (it was running hot waiting in line to get into the shows). To help it breathe, it has dual exhaust with Flow Master mufflers. Originally, the car came with a Muncie 4-speed manual transmission, but Wendy had a hard time pushing down the clutch pedal. In 2016, she had a GM TH700R4 automatic transmission installed by Midwest Corvettes in Burr Ridge, Ill. The differential is a 4.11:1, Posi traction unit. The Rally wheels are 15-inch, with spinner center caps and trim rings. The tires are B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A’s.

While Bob was working on the body, he decided that he wanted to add a third taillight to both sides (a.k.a. California style). He went into the garage and told Wendy, “I don’t want to be disturbed. I only have one shot at this.” After four months of planning and measuring, he perfectly installed the extra taillights, using a hole saw and a piece of PVC.

In 1992, with the bodywork done, it was time to paint. He opted for Riverside Red which Wendy says sometimes looks red, sometimes it looks orange. The interior is done in black leather with the Corvette logo stitched into the seat backs, and a black convertible top, by Mark’s Interior, New Lenox, Ill.

While the total frame-off restoration took approximately ten years to complete, most of the work was done by Bob and some friends who helped out along the way. Bob got to enjoy his dream car for many years until he passed away in 2015. Today, Wendy keeps his memory alive by taking his car to car shows and cruise nights, as often as she can.

Over the years, Bob’s distinct third taillight has impressed judges at many of the events. Wendy says she enjoys talking about the car and tells stories about how she would watch Bob work on it. She was there through the whole process. According to Wendy, the thing she enjoys most about the Vette that she affectionately calls Little Red is the pure nostalgia of it, and the whole classic car experience.