C1

Wellcome

Home

First generation corvette 1953-1962..

These pics are from different sites.. So they aren't mine..

just for the record :P

1953 : with only 300 produced, this beautiful corvtte roled of the assembly line on June 30th 1953, And came with only one colour, White with red interior.

the engine was a Blue flame 6 cylinder with

hp 150 @ 4500rpm
and a compression ratio of 8:1
Two speed powerglide

all 53's were convertible.

1953 Corvette

1954 : With 4 new colour's, the '54 came with a newer camshaft and longer exhaust tips and a biege convertible soft top instead of the black in '53. the removable hardtop turned the cute convetible to a roadster in minutes.

engine:

155hp @4500rpm
0-60 in 11 seconds
price was $3523

1955 : got two new colours, copper and gold. new tachometer that read 6500rpm. only 674 vette's built. the vette could reach 120mph! and 0-60 in 8.5 seconds.

specs:

265cid V-8 engine or I-6
hp: 195@5000rpm, Tq : 260@3000rpm
or 155@4200rpm and Tq: 223@2400rpm
price was $2934

55 engine

1956 : Got a newer design with a single headlight. a new V-8 that produced 245hp to make it jump from 0-60 in 8.9 seconds. 3 engines made:

265cid hp 210@5600 Tq 270@3200
265cid hp 225@5600 Tq 270@3200
265cid hp 240@5600 Tq 270@3200

1957 : Same body design, same colours. just a bigger engine dissplacement. Base Price was $3465 with 5 different engines to choose from :

283cid hp 220@4800rpm, Tq 300@3000rpm
283cid hp 245@5000rpm, Tq 300@3800rpm
283cid hp 250@5000rpm, Tq 305@3800rpm
283cid hp 270@6000rpm, Tq 285@4200rpm
283cid hp 283@6200rpm, Tq 290@4400rpm

57 vette

1958 : 9168 vette's produced. with new dual head lights. this was the roadster of the year in the USA.. known for its black and white cove colour. base price started at $3631. and $215 for the hardtop. New instrument panels infront of the driver, and a 9 teeth grill.

Engine's for the '58 :

59 vette..

1959 : Just new interior design. and same engine specs. this '59 could do 0-60 in 7 seconds.

1960 : With minimal body canges the vette's engine rose from 290hp to 315@6200 rpm and 295@5100 lb/torque and a compression ratoi of 11.0:1 . producion rose to 10,261 units. the 315 hp engine cost an extra 484.20$ over the base sticker price.

1961 : Stayed the same except for the colours.

Final year for the coloured coves. also optional was direct flow exhuast and heavy duty suspension $333.40 .

1962 : The vette got supped up with a 327cid that gave it 360hp. not much change but looked more sophisticated with its single colour body paint & coves and chrome surroundings.

final year for the C1 and this design... this was the most popular vette with 14,531 units produced.

engine's were: