The 1963 Chevrolet Corvette had dramatic styling, living up to its Sting Ray badge with a design that included gill-styled side sculpting, sharp creases, hidden headlamps and that famous split rear window on the first Corvette coupe.

Still, there are those who are nostalgic for the original 'Vette, which for the last few years of its production was characterized by deep, tapered "coves" that flowed from just behind the front wheels back into the door panels.

But as often is the case, nostalgia can blur reason.

"The '62 was the last of the straight-axle Corvettes and was one of the worst to drive," notes Tim Mills, national sales manager for Classic Reflections Coachworks, which puts '62-style bodies on modern -- and easy-to-drive -- Corvette chassis.

Classic Reflections Coachworks was established more than a decade ago in Lakewood, Wash., where Doug and Carolyn Graf were the local Budweiser distributors. Doug and Carolyn had dated in a '62 Corvette. Doug wanted another but one with all the modern conveniences and ride quality. So he found a '62 body and stretched a 1993 Corvette chassis to fit beneath it, a project that consumed 5,000 hours of his time.

The car drew a lot of attention at auto shows and more than a few inquiries from people who wanted one of their own. When Chevrolet launched the fifth-generation Corvette for 1997, Graf realized its lengthened chassis might make reproduction of his car feasible. He enlisted a group of engineers from Boeing's skunkworks to help with the needed "reverse engineering" and then had tooling created to produce new carbon-composite body panels and other necessary parts that transform a modern Corvette into a classic.

Classic Reflections Coachworks now has 32 employees and can produce a car a week. Nearly 60 have been built so far. Eleven are in the shop going through the process.

It costs around $90,000 and takes 12 weeks to convert your 1998-2004 model year Corvette into a car that looks like a classic but can be driven daily and dependably and with all the modern comforts.

For more information, call (253) 582-5830 or visit www.crcoachworks.com, which in addition to other features allows people to follow the progress of their vehicle's build process.