In late September 1999, Rob and Sue Fearon became the proud owners of a Fawn Beige '62 fuelie. During the search for their special Corvette, they traveled many miles and attended many events. They spent a lot of time reading and listening to those people with experience...all in an effort to make the right choice to find the "perfect Corvette." The car they finally found was different than the others...it wasn't restored-it was an unrestored original. Yet, both Rob and Sue knew within minutes that this was the car they were going to buy. They called it "R Fate."
But the story of this '62 has several twists. The car itself has certainly had more than its 15 minutes of fame. In fact, it has been owned by a series of notable collectors-true Corvette enthusiasts.
The car's first exposure to fame was being featured in the 1976 book Corvette, The Sensuous American, Vol. 1, No. 2 by Michael B. Antonick. At that time the car was owned by Jerry Wadsworth. Jerry had bought the car from the second owner and had written to Antonick to get his car in the upcoming book. The car's actual appearance in the book is somewhat unusual in that Wadsworth was not very well known; it is always more attractive to publishers to have celebrity's cars featured. In this series, Antonick opted for a "reader's car" section and the '62 fuelie was on its way to fame.
Soon, the time came when Wadsworth had to sell the car. As with many Corvette owners of the day, he sold the car in order to purchase a new home. The next notable owner was Chip Miller
For this part of the story, it's interesting to note that almost every fuelie owner has developed his or her own special starting techniques to deal with the sometimes recalcitrant early FI systems. In a conversation with Chip, Rob and Sue learned that he had owned the car for six years, from 1980 to 1986. The sale of the car had been a bit of an impulse. Chip had taken it for a drive one day. When he stopped to gas up, it wouldn't re-start. Chip had not yet developed his own special techniques. But it was too late, the decision to sell had been taken.
The car moved to Long Island, NewYork, for the next 12 years and then to Michigan. It was here that Bob Gold found it while searching out collectible cars for various clients. Bob was actually there to look at another car when he saw the '62. He fondly remembered the car from the days when his friend Chip Miller had owned it. Bob encouraged his good friend David Yamall, a mid-year fuelie collector, to buy the car as one way to round out his collection. David couldn't resist considering its incredible unrestored condition, low miles, and rare color combination.
At the same time, Rob and Sue had been searching for about eight years for their first 'classic' Corvette. Subconsciously, Rob always had a '62 in mind. It was the year of his birth and he had always liked the exposed headlights and the duck tail design of the back end...and he wanted a roadster. They both wanted a car that would stand out with a rare color combination. In 1998, Sue saw a beautiful Fawn Beige '62 at Carlisle. That was it. The search focused on a '62 Fawn Beige Corvette.
Once the decision was finally made, the search intensified. But the results were disappointing. In the summer of 1999, they decided that they were going back to Carlisle to look one more time and they registered in advance for the Bob Gold Auction event. In fact, the auction tent was their first stop when they arrived at Carlisle. Sure enough, sitting under the tent they first saw David's '62. They immediately expressed interest in buying it, but David had brought it to Carlisle with the intention of selling it through the auction.