Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette made its first appearance in 1953. The now famous classic Chevrolet Corvette got its cool name from a sailing warship back in 1856-1887. The warship was a smaller frigate somewhat larger the standard coastal patrol ships of the day. But Corvette frigates were big enough to handle a single gun deck.
In the beginning in 1953 the first of the classic Chevrolet Corvettes were built by hand by the customer delivery center up in Flint, Michigan. Still suffering a shortage of metal from World War II there was a new product developed called fiberglass. The first of the hand-made bodies for the Corvettes were made out of this revolutionary new product.
Standard Chevrolet parts were used for the chassis to build the new Corvettes. The famed Blue Flame inline six-cylinder truck motor with the 2 speed powerglide automatic transmission was used in the first models. The Corvette had drum brakes but the gutless inline six got some power modifications. It included a three carb intake manifold for some extra excitement. Early in 1954 a Paxton supercharger became an option installed by the dealer for more power.
The Chevrolet Corvette project would have died a quick death and be left in history. If it wasn’t for the introduction of Chevrolet's first V-8 in 1955 the 265 cubic inch engine breathed new life into the project. The new V-8 was paired with a new three speed manual transmission which provided the needed extra power for the Corvette. This turned the new car into a real performer. Another factor to the popularity was the competition from Ford's new Thunderbird in 1955. You know Chevrolet would not be outdone.
To date we have had six generations of Corvettes. They call the versions C1 to C6.
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