A Little History
It was only
appropriate to document the Historical 50th Anniversary of the Corvette
with a Photo Series of the five generations that made up these 50 years.
Since we owned a Torch
Red '93, we set out to find a Red Convertible (torch red or close) to
represent each of the five generations for this photo shoot. Our
first quest was on our trip to Nashville, TN, & Bowling Green, KY, for the
50th Celebration in June of 2003 - this quest turned up a bust with us
unsuccessful in finding a C1 willing to participate. While at the
Cowtown Vettes Annual Car Show, it dawned on me that we had representation
of all five generations of red convertibles, four of which were CTV
members - now it was time for History!!!! Thanks to Don, Fred, Jim &
Gail agreeing to do the photo shoot, my quest for a Five Generation
Picture was going to be a reality.
Within each generation
of Vette, several models were produced, which did result in changes for
each model year, some more significant than others. Our Five
Generation Photo Series does provide a look a the major styling
differences of the C1 thru the C5 Corvettes. From what we all know,
the C5 generation will end with the 2004 model year Corvette - the C6 will
debut in 2005.
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'58 Facts:
'58 changes included
new body panels, new instrumentation with tach, new upholstery, factory
installed seat belts, louvered hood, chrome trunk spears, the first Vette
with four headlights, only nine teeth in the grill, and all were painted
with acrylic lacquer
9,168 Convertibles
with a $3,591 base price
1,399 painted Signet
red, 756 which had the 2-tone white cove |
'65 Facts:
The '65 had a black
painted grill, the front fender louvers changed to three functional units,
four wheel disc brakes were standard, instrumentation was changed to black
with white faces, optional knock-off wheels with gray paint between fins,
the first power antenna as standard, new upholstery features, it was the
last year for fuel injection until the throttle body in '82, side-mount
exhausts, teakwood steering wheels, telescopic steering columns and
goldwall tires debuted
15,378 Convertibles
with a $4,106 base price
7,983 with white tops
3,688 were painted
Rally red (cpe & Conv) |
'69 Facts:
The '69 production
year had a production of 38,762 which was a record not broken until '76.
Options included side exhaust, the ignition key was moved to the column
which touted a 15" instead of a 16" steering wheel. The wheel width
went from 7" to 8", the fender vents changed, the V8 went from 327 to 350
cu in displacement along with "Stingray" (one word) reappeared on the
car's exterior.
16,633 Convertibles
with $4,781 base price
15,347 blk vinyl
interior,
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'93 Facts:
Vette's 40th
Anniversary brought a special edition Ruby Red option, all leather seating
with 40th logo on the headrest, subtle changes to the base LT1 which made
it quieter and increased torque from 330 to 350 lb/ft, the passive keyless
entry (PKE) system debuted (GM first), 8.5 x 17" / P255 / 45ZR17 front and
9.5 x 17" / P285 /40ZR17 rear wheels & tires as standard, the wheels were
machine finished
5,692 Convertibles
with a $41,195 base price
3,172 Torch Red - a
new color in '93 (total qty for cpe & conv)
996 white tops
703 red leather
interior |
'01 Facts:
This was the debut of
the Z06 model, which touted a 385hp LS6 engine with titanium exhaust
system, Goodyear F1 Supercar tires (non-run flat) on unique wheels with
interior and exterior trim differences - all hardtops for '01 were Z06
models. For standard models, there was an increase to 350HP, maximum
oil change interval increased from 10k to 15k miles, a lighter more
durable battery with absorbent glass mat (AGM), better weather stripping,
second generation active handling was standard and all '01 engines were
built in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada
14,173 Convertibles
with $47,500 base price
7,192 were Torch Red (cpe
& conv) |
Photos shown on following pages are the property of Doug M. and may
not be used without prior written consent.