The Mid-Year Story

Since the inception of the Corvette in 1953, it was no secret that many within General Motors and even within Chevrolet had conspired to do away with the fiberglass bodied sports car. The car was low volume, and lacked the profitability to which GM was accustomed. But the Corvette had a strong image. Ed Cole, Zora Arkus-Duntov and Bill Mitchell formed the team that would become Corvette's salvation. Bill Mitchell, who replace Harley Earl as GM's design chief in 1958 was a major proponent of the Corvette. Ed Cole was the primary player in keeping Corvette alive despite a growing number of detractors, was promoted to Chevrolet general manager in 1956. Zora Arkus-Duntov became Corvettes top engineer in 1957. With this group a talent forming the core, development began in earnest on an all new Corvette in the late 1950's and becoming quite focused in the early 1960's. A name had to be selected for the new automobile, and Bill Mitchell, an avid fisherman and lover of sharks, and deep sea creatures selected "Sting Ray". Zora's comment was, "It's a dumb fish!" but Mitchell prevailed.

Without the aid of computers, wind tunnel testing, and such modern "necessities", Zora and his team of talented engineers, and Bill Mitchell's young Japanese-American designer, Larry Shinoda (the primary stylist who designed the XP-755 Mako Shark for Bill Mitchell in 1961) came up with what was indeed an all new Corvette. One look at the sleek design made you long for the open road, and the advanced engineering proved up to the task. The 1963 Corvette "Sting Ray" was an instant success. Initial demand for the attractive Sting Ray was so great, the adding an extra shift at the St. Louis plant couldn't even help keep up. Sales soared by 50% to 21,513 up more than 6000 units over the previous year. 1962 proved to be the last year Corvette sales would drop below 20,000 and the last year Corvette would not have a coupe in the model lineup.

New features introduced in 1963 included four-wheel independent suspension, retractable headlamps, and a "Split-Window" on the rear of the coupe. (Zora and Mitchell had another argument over this one… Zora maintained that the pillar would limit the drivers visibility, but Mitchell liked the design. The "Split" was on the 1963, but Zora won out and it was dropped for 1964). Also new was the "cockpit style" interior, and a host of new options, including the Z06 performance package (360hp fuel injected engine, knock off wheels, 36 gallon fuel tank, Positraction, four speed manual transmission, heavy duty brakes, dual master cylinder, sintered metallic brake linings, front brake air scoops, heavy duty stabilizer, and heavy duty springs and shocks front and rear), air conditioning, and the Muncie four-speed transmission. There was a beefed up frame, quicker steering, self adjusting brakes with an 18 percent increase in lining area, steel reinforcing for the fiberglass body, a lower stance, and the new model was also shorter and narrower. Only 199 buyers chose the Z06 option package in 1963.

The Z06 Sting Ray was not the "meanest" Corvette built for 1963 however, that title when to the Grand Sport, a purpose built race car looking a lot like the ill-fated Corvette SS of 1957. The Grand Sport project began in 1962 with Duntov's engineers fashioning a special lightweight Corvette, based on a tubular steel, ladder-type frame. Using various aluminum components, a special hand made fiberglass body with super thin panels, and magnesium Halibrand knock-off wheels also saved weight. Brakes were large 11.75 inch disks at all four wheels. Initial plans called for a 377ci small-block engine with four Weber carburetors for the Grand Sport. But neither became a reality. The first Grand Sport was fitted with and aluminum 327 fuelie while awaiting the 377 V-8 still in development. Before the 377 could be finished, GM announced a racing ban, instructing all divisions in January 1963 to cease racing projects immediately. Only five of the 125 planned Grand Sports were produced before that order came down. All five underwent various mechanical and exterior modifications, taking on a varied succession of scoops, flares and engines. Both small and big blocks were used over the years and two of the GS coupes were later converted into roadsters for competition at Daytona in February 1964. After a second racing ban (Corvette engineering was clearly still supporting the five Grand Sports) the five Grand Sports were sold off, and like the SS and the SR2's before them, all five Grand Sports are today in collectors hands.

Chevrolet was proud of the 1963 Sting Ray, and rightfully so. Car Life awarded it's "Engineering Excellence" award to the new Corvette, Motor Trend described the new Corvette as being "far in advance in both ride and handling of anything now being built in the United States", and Car and Driver stated "Steering effort is very low, cornering behavior is extremely stable, and the car inspires a high degree of confidence." The new Corvette even impressed Road & Track.. .. Just a few of the things the normally import oriented publication liked were: The curved side glass, redesigned windshield, improve heater, spare tire mounted in it's own housing underneath the car, better weight distribution with 48% front and 52% rear, the front crossmember, welded rather than bolted to the frame, and the all new options. Zora Arkus-Duntov was quoted as saying, "For the first time I now have a Corvette I can be proud to drive in Europe."

The next big advancement in Corvette happened in 1965, when four-wheel disk brakes were made standard equipment and two of Corvette's greatest engines crossed paths. Chevrolet's fuel-injected small-block a major part of the Corvette mystique and to top power plant since 1957 was offered for the last time in 1965 it's high option price ($538) and the fact that the more dependable carbureted 327's have become almost as powerful made it an unjustifiable option. But even more powerful was the all new for 1965 396ci Mk IV V-8, Corvette's first big block engine. The 396 "Big Block" produced 425hp. To accommodate 425hp between the Sting Ray's front fenders required various modification, the most noticeable being a bulging hood with functional louvers. Both the chassis and driveline were strengthened, cooling was improved, and a close ratio four-speed with a Positraction rear end were necessary. The new Corvette could turn the quarter mile in 14.1 seconds, quicker than any other standard production car other than the AC Cobra. But, Chevrolet had more come… In 1966, the 396 was bored to 427ci and in 1967 three Holley two-barrel carburetors were added to the intake manifold and the 427 produced 435 real horse power. The amazing L71 Option. Under "normal" driving, the middle two-barrel worked alone. When the accelerator was stomped, a vacuum signal brought the other two carburetors into action. In Car and Drivers words, "The response brought some serious neck injuries". But, the hottest Corvette in 1967 was the racing inspired L88. A warning label found inside the L-88 carried this message: " WARNING: Vehicle must operate on fuel having a minimum of 103 research octane and 95 motor octane or engine damage may result." Chevrolet rated the L-88 at a token rating of only 430hp but the actual output was estimated at upwards of 550hp. It was declared an "off road" vehicle. Only 20 L88 Corvettes were built in 1967, 80 were built in 1968, and 116 were built in 1969. The second generation of Corvette never produced the world-beater Zora Arkus-Duntov had hoped for, but the reputation on the street was not dimmed. The second generation of Corvette were will be remembered as great cars!