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Chevrolet Corvette 1953

As introduced in 1953, the Corvette was mostly a thrown together experiment. Production was limited to 300 units total, so sales of the entirely new model was not a problem.

Right: The first Corvette reaches the end of the assembly line on June 30, 1953. The first 15 cars were built, all by hand, in the back of a customer delivery garage in Flint Michigan. The rest came from a new facility devoted to Corvettes in St. Louis which had a capacity to build 10,000 cars a year. The first two were engineering test cars and according to official records, were destroyed. Of the first 300 Corvettes, approximately 225 are known to exist today.

All 1953 Corvettes were Polo White with a red interior and a black canvas top. There were two options offered: a signal seeking AM radio ($145.15) and a heater ($91.40). Although listed as options, all 1953 Corvettes were equipped with both items. The base price was $3,498.00, including the federal excise tax and $248.00 for shipping and handling. The radio had an interesting feature: since fiberglass is electrically inert, the antenna was simply incorporated in the trunk lid. This would not be possible with a steel body.

When introduced in 1953, the Corvette featured the “Blue Flame” six cylinder engine. This is not as the Chevrolet engineering team wanted things, but they had no choice. Although other GM marques featured V8 motors they were not willing to share; a very different situation compared to years later when various divisions would feature the same powerplants. It was renowned for reliability but with a rating of 105 HP, performance and sportiness was not included. The engineering staff responded with the usual engine upgrade methods. A more radical camshaft rubbing on solid lifters, dual valve springs, and a higher compression ratio cylinder head (8.0:1; previous was 7.5:1) all contributed to the effort. The most benefit was achieved via an upgrade to the induction system (right). Three Carter type YH sidedraft carburetors featuring “bullet” air cleaners with an aluminum manifold was incorporated and the output soared to 150 bhp at 4,500 RPM

Corvette 1953

Corvette Parts

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The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car that has been manufactured by Chevrolet since 1953. It has been proclaimed as “America’s Sports Car.” It is built today exclusively at a General Motors assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, but in the past it was built in Flint, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first all-American sports car built by an American car manufacturer. The National Corvette Museum and annual National Corvette Homecoming are also located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

For 54 years, Corvettes have combined very powerful engines with relative affordability. Examples of engine power include the 400 hp (298 kW) LS2 or 505 hp (377 kW) LS7. Older generations of the Corvette have been criticized for being crude and lacking in refinement by European sports car standards, and their on-limit handling is a divisive issue garnering both praise a nd reproach.[1] Recent generations of the Corvette, however, are widely seen as being much improved in these areas.[2]

Corvettes tend to emphasize simplicity over technical complexity. Where nearly all competing marques rely on smaller displacement, more complex and faster-revving engines, the Corvette uses a simpler overhead valve (OHV) design coupled with a larger displacement to make up for the lower rev limit pushrods impose. The result is usually less expensive to manufacture and maintain. Another example of this philosophy is the continued use of transverse leaf springs in the suspension. This has fueled the aforementioned “lack of refinement” argument, although the Corvette’s units differ substantially from traditional leaf springs, being made of a composite material and arranged in such a way as to act as stabilizer bars.

via: wikipedia

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