The Original"
1953-1962
- The first Corvette rolled off the assembly line on June 30, 1953.
- Sales of 1953 Corvette were substantially less than expected. Due to their high price and relative lack of performance compared to other sports cars, Chevrolet only sold 183 of the 314 Corvettes produced.
- The Ford Thunderbird came out in 1955 and proceeded to sell 10 times as well as the Corvette. It is against this that Harley Earl designed a new Corvette and approval was given to produce this new design for 1956. This new design is widely regarded as a classic among Corvettes and it helped the Corvette become a legend among American automobiles.
- For 1957 the V8 was increased in displacement to 283ci and produced 250hp using the new Rochester fuel injection system, hydraulic lifters and 9.5:1 compression. With 10.5:1 compression and a Duntov cam, the engine could produce 283hp out of 283ci. The magic 1hp/ci performance number. With this engine the Corvette could run the 1/4 mile in 14 seconds at 94mph. That is serious performance even by today's standards.
- The 327ci small block was introduced in 1962. Its maximum horsepower version used 11.25:1 compression, larger than normal valve ports and a Duntov cam. It produced 360hp at 6000rpm. The grill was blacked out and the exterior trim was designed to give the car a cleaner appearance.
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"Meet The Pop-Up Headlights"
1963-1967
- Quad hidden headlights were added to the Corvette in 1963. Hidden headlights became a distinctive feature of the Corvette from 1963 onward.
- Disk brakes arrived just in time for the introduction of the Chevrolet big block. The big block displaced 396ci with 425hp. The 396 did this with a single four-barrel carburetor and was cheaper to produce than the small block with fuel injection. The hood design was changed to make room for the taller height of the big block and its four-barrel carb.
- Engine displacement increased again to a maximum of 427ci for 1967. The factory rated it at 425hp, but performance testing indicated that it was closer to 450hp.
- The incredible L-88 427 was built for 1967. This was a very limited production engine that produced 560hp according to tests done outside of Chevrolet. This engine allowed the Corvette to turn the 1/4 mile in under 13 seconds with 0-60mph times of under 5 seconds. The L-88 Corvette was set up primarily for racing and such things as a heater and defogger were not included.
- 1967 was the first year to have three hoods: the small block hood, the big block hood, and the L-88 hood, even though externally the L-88 looked like the regular big block hood.
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"Birth of a Stingray"
1968-1982
- Emission control equipment was installed on the first 1968's in the fall of 1967 even though the federal law required it only as of January 1, 1968.
- The 1970 - 1972 Corvettes were the last to feature chrome bumpers front and rear. In 1973, the front bumper changed to body-colored flexible plastic. In 1974 the rear bumper followed suit.
- 1979 was Corvette's highest production year.
- The 1981 Corvette was the first to use a computer.
- In 1982 fuel injection was offered again in the Corvette after not being available for 17 years.
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- Production was shifted from the plant in St. Louis, Missouri to the new plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The new Corvette plant was among the most highly automated anywhere.
- *Because of quality control problems in the initial production run, Corvette production was halted and no 1983 Corvettes were produced for sale. Some were produced for engineering tests and for quality control purposes, but these were not for sale. It was too late into the model year by the time the problems were taken care of, so the C4 Corvette was introduced as a 1984 model.
- In 1986, Lotus in England started producing the LT5 engine. This motor was based on the 350 cubic inch Chevrolet small block. The most important distinction between this engine and other Corvette engines was its use of four valves per cylinder. It incorporated twin double-overhead cams and produced 375 net horsepower.
- For 1992, the Corvette came with the LT1 small block that produced 300 horsepower.
- In 1996 the Corvette was offered in four basic models:
` The standard coupe
` The convertible
` The Grand Sport which was blue with white stripes and came with the LT4 small block with 330 horsepower. It came with black finish 5 spoke wheels.
` The Collectors Edition which only offered silver for its exterior paint. It also had chrome plated emblems instead of the normal black finish. The Collectors Edition came with the silver finish 5 spoke wheels
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Isn't Technology Great?"
1997-Present
- Because of a more modular design the 1997 Corvette takes 55 hours to build. The previous generation C4 took 70 hours to build.
- A new small block was introduced in 1997. The LS1 small block shared no parts with the previous small block engines. At 345 HP, the new LS1 represents a significant increase over the 300 HP of the LT1. Almost 90 pounds of weight was saved by changing the block from cast iron to aluminum. The overall engine weight reduction over the LT1 is 44 pounds.
- The transmission is now mounted in the back. Placing the transmission over the rear end helps improve traction, interior room and front/rear weight balance.
- The 0.29 drag coeffient(cd) is one of the lowest in the automotive industry.
Corvette HISTORY...............
Linear Mode
