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Chevrolet Corvette C1 (1953–1962)
The Chevrolet Corvette C1 is the first generation of a sports car built and marketed by Chevrolet, produced from 1953 through 1962.
Design
General Motors hired designer Harley Earl in 1927. Earl loved sports cars, and GIs returning after serving in Europe during World War II were bringing home MGs, Jaguars, Alfa Romeos, and the like. Even the small independent automaker, Nash Motors, began selling a two-seat sports car in 1951. The Nash-Healey was made in partnership with the Italian designer Pinin Farina and British auto engineer Donald Healey using Nash Ambassador engines and manual transmissions with overdrive. Earl convinced GM that they also needed to build a two-seat sports car. Earl and his Special Projects crew began working on the new car later that year, which was code named "Opel." The result was the 1953 Corvette, unveiled to the public at that year's Motorama car show. The original concept for the Corvette emblem incorporated an American flag into the design, but was changed well before production since associating the flag with a product was frowned upon.
Production
Taking its name from the corvette, a small, maneuverable fighting frigate (the credit for the naming goes to Myron Scott), the first Corvettes were virtually handbuilt in Flint, Michigan in Chevrolet's Customer Delivery Center, now an academic building at Kettering University. The outer body was made out of a revolutionary new composite material called fiberglass, selected in part because of limiting steel quotas left over from the Korean War. Underneath that radical new body were standard Chevrolet components, including the "Blue Flame" inline six-cylinder truck engine, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, and drum brakes from Chevrolet's regular car line. Though the engine's output was increased somewhat, thanks to a triple-carburetor intake exclusive to the Corvette, performance of the car was decidedly lackluster. Compared to the British and Italian sports cars of the day, the Corvette was underpowered, required a great deal of effort as well as clear roadway to bring to a stop, and even lacked a "proper" manual transmission. Up until that time, the Chevrolet division was GM's entry-level marque, known for excellent but no-nonsense cars. Nowhere was that more evident than in the Corvette. A Paxton supercharger became available in 1954 as a dealer-installed option, greatly improving the Corvette's straight-line performance, but sales continued to decline.
Zora Arkus-Duntov
General Motors was seriously considering shelving the project, but two events occurred. The first was the introduction in 1955 of Chevrolet's first new V8 engine since 1919, and the second was the influence of a Soviet emigre in GM's engineering department, Zora Arkus-Duntov. Although not a part of the original Corvette project, Arkus-Duntov made available late in the 1955 model year the 265 cu in (4.3 L) engine with a three-speed manual transmission. These options helped the car compete with the new Ford Thunderbird that came only with a V8, and turned the Corvette from decidedly "lackluster" into a "credible performer". Arkus-Duntov improved the car's positioning and image, thus earning him the rather inaccurate nickname of "Father of the Corvette".
The first generation is commonly referred to as a solid-axle, based on the fact that independent rear suspension (IRS) was not available until 1963.
Options
The first generation started in 1953 and ended in 1962, with the noteworthy addition of optional fuel injection in 1957. This new induction system first saw regular use on a gasoline engine two years prior on the Mercedes-Benz 300SL "Gullwing" roadster. Although the Corvette's GM-Rochester fuel injection system used a constant flow style fuel injection system as opposed to the diesel style nozzle metering system of the Mercedes' six cylinders, the system nevertheless produced about 290 hp (220 kW). The number was underrated by Chevrolet's advertising agency for the 283HP/283 in3 (4.6 L) V8 one hp per in3 slogan, making it one of the first mass-produced engines in history to reach 1 hp/in3. In 1962, the GM Small-Block was enlarged to 327 in3 (5.4 L) and produced a maximum of 360 hp (268 kW). Other early options included Power windows (1956), hydraulically operated power convertible top (1956), four speed manual transmission (mid 1957), and heavy duty brake and suspension options (1957).
Oldest unit
The oldest Corvette in existence is believed to be the EX-122.[2] The EX-122 was a pre-production prototype that was hand built and first shown to the public at the 1953 GM Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on January 17, 1953. That car can now be seen at the Atlantic City Showroom and Museum of Kerbeck Corvette.
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Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:31:23 +0000
Author: supermade
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