Written for the VetteNet
Info by.......Mike "Doc" Cobine . - Procrastination RacingCopyright © 1996 - 2001 VetteNet and all authors as listed.
This section is under construction and will change as time permits.
Corvettes has been wonderfully unique from other cars through the years, but even to the most die hard fan, they have often been very similar to each other. This is not the final word in detecting the year, but it is merely a guide to assist you. Remember, for some of these cars, there has been as much as 40 years of crashes, customizing, and restoring to various levels. What is described here is how each year differed when new but after all these years, you could easily find a '67 hood on a '63 or a '76 nose on a '69. So don't assume any car is a certain year by one difference only. You must evaluate the overall car for items. Of course, you could just check the VIN but in some cases, those have been changed, too.
Remember, this is only the most simplified of guides. If you want more detail on differences between years, you should consult some of the Corvette technical and judging manuals which have been written. This guide will merely give you an overall view of the more obvious changes.
I also have corrected a couple of mistakes. Obviously, the '96 Pace Car doesn't exist. I guess I had a little brain fade.
Good luck and enjoy,
Doc
|
|
|
| Straight Axles | Sting Rays | Sharks | C4 -Current | C5 - The Next Generation | |
|
|
|
|
1953 |
The first year. The production differed from the Motorama show car in the chrome side trim and other changes. All '53s are white with a red interior. Only 300 '53s are produced but there are 315 cars built, some of which are pilot or test cars for both the '53 model and the '54 model built in St. Louis. All production '53s are built in Flint, Mich. The body sits on a frame with a center X member that stiffens it and has a 102 inch wheelbase. The front is a mix of A arms and knuckles on coil springs and a center drag link steering mechanism. The rear has a standard type straight axle on leaf springs. |
|
1954 |
The biggest change in 1954 is the addition of other colors that white exterior and red interior. Sportsman Red, Pennant Blue, and Black are added. Of course, if the '54 is white with a red interior, it is hard to determine if it is a '53 or '54. |
|
1955 |
The V8 engine became available and as such, an enlarged "V" in the Corvette script above the side trim strip is on V8 models. The 6 cylinder models continued the 6 volt electrical system while the V8 models used the new 12 volt system. |
|
1956 |
The new body style came out. Gone are the grills over the headlights and the rocket pod taillights. The headlights reached forward from the fenders and the taillights sat frenched in the rear fenders, only a small red lens deep inside a chrome recess. A side cove is added which reached into the front wheelwell. A small fake scoop sat atop each front fender just in front of the windshield. Roll up windows are now included as '53-'55 had only removable side curtains. |
|
1957 |
Fuel injection and the 4 speed became available this year. The body is the same as the '56. |
|
1958 |
Another new body style. Quad headlights marked this new style as did a louver across the front of the side coves. Three chrome spears are across the cove opening. In '58 only, the hood had a fake set of louvers and the trunk lid had thick chrome bars running forward across the lid. Taillights are now a red lens the length of the chrome recess for a smooth look. |
|
1959 |
Gone are the chrome bars on the trunk lid and the fake louvers on the hood. The body is much cleaner with removal of fake styling gimmicks. |
|
The 1960 is virtually the same as the 1959. | |
|
The sharp edge of the Sting Ray tail appeared on the '61, being different from previous years. The toothy grill also gave way to a cleaner chrome insert. The traditional round nose emblem is gone for a thin chrome emblem with crossed flags. The side coves remained the same and are the last year to offer a contrasting color in the cove area and the chrome trim around the cove. | |
|
The '62 gained the 327, so this is the big excitement. But with all the years that have passed, you may find any engine in one today. The side coves lost the two color option and are now only the same as the body color. The chrome trim around the outside of the cove is gone, replaced by a fiberglass ridge, and the three chrome spears are now replaced with a grill. The front grill changes and the nose emblem changes also. This is the last year of exposed headlights and the last for a trunk. | |
|
|
|
| Straight Axles | Sting Rays | Sharks | C4 -Current | C5 - The Next Generation | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The Sting Ray arrives! The all new Sting Ray is unlike any car before or since. The hidden headlights were so different from earlier years it is easy to tell the difference. But from 1963 to 1967, they began to look alike. The '63 shared a grill with the '64 only. The fake grills on the flat hood are '63 only. On the coupe, the obvious difference is the spilt window. The side louvers in the roof behind the door are smooth. The side louvers are two horizontal indents only, non functional and only lasted to 1964. Hubcaps look like a silver pan with six thick chrome bars holding it. A spinner covers the center.
The wheelbase is shortened to 98 inches. The front suspension is all new and uses the A arms of the Impala to give unequal A arms in front and an independent rear suspension that holds the car up with a transverse steel leaf spring. Single trailing arms on each side locates the rear wheels. The biggest difference is the new coupe, with its split rear window. The convertible is equally new, even as some thought it similar to the '62, since there is no trunk. Luggage on both cars is in an area immediately behind the seats and the gas tank is moved to the traditional trunk area. Interior: The dash had cone shaped silver instrument centers. Door panels are simple flat panels with vertical ribs and the door locks are located near the back of the door in a red knob that served as a reflector. The top of the seat backs came to a point, unlike the '63 prototype that is seen on many catalogs and magazines. The first part of the year only the AM Wonderbar radio was available. Later the '63 AM-FM arrived and with AM-FM in red and green. The carpet has edging on all the pieces, which makes the interior look like separate pieces are used to cover the floor and luggage area. Driveline: The 327 line up is the same as '62 with the 250hp, 300hp, 340hp, and 360hp FI. The Borg Warner T10D 4 speed transmission gave way to the new Muncie in January. This Muncie is unique as the input shaft housing is smaller than 1964 and up. | |
|
1964 |
The '64 is similar in many ways to the '63 but the fake hood grills are gone, leaving only a pair of hood indentions. The roof louvers now have grills in them and so will the '65. The driver's side is functional, with a forced air system in the luggage area. The split window is gone and a huge one piece window fills the back. |
|
1965 |
The hood is finally smooth, or at least for some of the year. The introduction of the big block 396 made a hood bulge necessary to clear the air cleaner. The hood bulge has a functional grill on each side of the bulge. Each 396 car gets a Turbo Jet 396 emblem on the front fenders. In all cars, the side fender louvers become functional. The side louvers are now three vertical cut outs that bring hot engine air out. The front grill is slightly different than the '63-'64 in that it is black and has a different number of slats. The coupe roof still has grills in the roof louvers, with the drivers side functional. The hubcaps are a fake mag wheel with 6 spokes. |
|
1966 |
The '66 Corvette is very similar to the '65 in appearance. The front grill is now a cast pot metal egg crate design. On the coupe, the roof side louvers are gone and the roof is smooth behind the door. The lower rocker panels are ribbed again like the '63 but they are black. The front left corner of the hood has Corvette Sting Ray added to it, just like the rear right has had for '63 to '67. It is not the same emblem, but simply looks like it. The hubcaps gain a more mag wheel appearance, with 5 chrome spokes on a dark gray center. |
|
1967 |
The last of the Sting Rays. '67 is the cleanest body yet, with only the Corvette Sting Ray emblem on the rear deck. The exception is the 427 emblem on the hood of the big block cars. Of course, the big block hood with a scoop appearance pretty well tells you this is a 427. Unfortunately for Corvette fans today, this is by far the most popular hood ever made and has found its way on Corvettes of many years in both original and aftermarket form. The side fender louvers are unique to this year only, being a series of forward slanting slats that function to pass engine air out. The back up light has moved from the inner taillights to a rectangular light in the center of the rear panel between the taillights. Hub caps are gone. Rally wheels are standard but they are 6" wide. The Bolt on aluminum wheels resembled the knock offs but are held by five lug nuts hidden behind the center cone. |
|
|
|
| Straight Axles | Sting Rays | Sharks | C4 -Current | C5 - The Next Generation | |
|
|
|
1968-1972 often called the Bumper Cars for their chrome bumpers; 1973-1982 often called the Rubber Bumper Cars. | |
|
|
|
| The Mako Shark lives! The Sting Ray body is gone now and the Coke®-bottle shaped body had taken its place. The chassis is basically the same but the body is all new. Items that turn out to be unique to '68 from later years are: no Stingray logo above the 4 side louvers (gills), backup lights are under the bumper, four red taillights ('69 - '82 have only two), silver front grills with round corner parking lights, a push button door lock that opens the door, no metal tips on the removable hardtop, black rocker panels, 7" wide Rally wheels. The round exhaust pipes are '68 and '69 only. DOT mandated side markers are small square lights on the front and rear fenders. The coupe features a scooped out roof line without the fastback look of the Sting Ray. This drastically cuts the interior room, but is not noticed too much as the roof panels on the coupe are removable to permit an open air "convertible" feel. The Rear window also removes and stores in a tray under the rear deck. There are three hoods, depending on the engine. The wipers hide under a trap door that pops up when they are running. The wiper door and the headlights are vacuum powered.
Interior: Interior is like a jet fighter or space ship. Gone are the two rounded pods for a flat, straight dash that arches down and away from the driver and passenger, giving more interior room, which is very much needed since it is removed elsewhere. The door panels are '68 only, with a sculpted look of fat armrests and shoulder supports and scooped out area to place the arm. Door pulls change three times, originally with only a molded recess, then a plastic insert as the recess tends to tear, and finally a horizontal pull along with the plastic recess. The ignition switch is in the dash and is the last Corvette to have this, as the key moves to the steering column as part of the thief prevention systems. The center console has the fiber optic monitors and a set of cross flags only. Driveline: The engine is basically the same as '67, except the large journal small block has appeared. This is the last year of the 327 in a Corvette. 327-300hp, 327-350hp, 427-390hp, 427-400hp, 427-435hp and a bit more public, the 427-430hp L88, although it is still intended for racers only. The big blocks receive a different hood with a v-shaped rise and wide, flat look rather than the center bulge of the small block. The lower hood profile requires the intake manifolds to be redesigned on the big blocks so that they are virtually flat and actually have their runners go down into the lifter valley some. The L88 with its high rise manifold gets a special hood that is unmistakable due to a bulge in the standard big block hood that rises another three inches and opens at the rear to bring in cold high pressure air off the windshield. All big blocks have 427 on the side of the hood bulge. The Rochester QuadraJet carburetor appears for emission purposes and only the 400, 435, and 430 hp engines have a Holley. | |
|
1969 |
The Stingray name returns to the front fenders above the 4 gills. The push button is gone and the handle flap now opens the door. This makes a cleaner design but will later prove to be a hassle as the flap spring tends to break or fill with ice in the winter, making opening the doors a hassle. The back up lights move to the inner two taillights, so the Stingrays only have two red taillights, and remains this way until 1984. The front grill is now black. The four side gills have an optional chrome insert package that make each appear as a chrome louver. This is '69 only but are easily installed in '68s. The round exhaust pipes are '68 and '69 only. Sidepipes are only '69 from the factory but are easily retrofitted to any '68 to '82. The '69 and up hardtops gain small stainless steel tips to protect the pointed tips by the rear window when the top is off the car. |
|
1970 |
The cheap plastic grills are gone and in typical Chevrolet fashion, the lightweight grills are replaced with heavy pot metal items that weigh much more and will corrode severely, such that maintaining a quality look is very hard without replacement. The same happens to the simple and clean side gills as a heavy pot metal egg crate grill becomes an insert into the side. The front parking lights become large and square with a clear lens. The fenders develop a heavy look as lower fender flares are added, to cover the wider 8" wheels. As is discovered in '69, the wider wheels can cause the fenders to take a beating from rock chips so the lower fender is flared out at the rear to block the rocks and debris like a mud flap. |
|
1971 |
The '71 repeats a pattern known in Corvettes as providing a virtually identical car to the previous year. This is partly due to the strike at GM in 1970 which made the '70 model a very short year. Other than engine changes, mainly due to dropping the compression for the unlead gasoline to come in 1975, the '70 and '71 are nearly the same. One change is to the orange parking light lenses during the production run, although some still have clear. |
|
1972 |
This is the last of the design. Basically, the car is the same in later years but the rubber bumpers for impact protection change the cars forever. The rear window is still removable but the fiber optic system is removed so that the alarm system can become standard. |
|
1973 |
The most obvious change is the rubber front bumper that is introduced to meet the crash standards. This bumper is the same in '74 but different from '75 up in that it had a straight line to the point. The rear chrome bumpers of previous years are retained. The side louvers are replaced with a single slot opening with an indented area behind. The rear window in the coupe is no longer removable. This provides a better weather seal against leaks and more interior luggage room as there is no need for the window storage tray under the deck. The hood is a functioning cold air intake, or cowl induction, hood and looks the same for both the small block and the big block, with a wide raised area that sweeps forward towards the front. The new hood eliminates the wiper trap door and leaves a gap where the wipers can come out. |
|
1974 |
The rear chrome bumpers are now replaced with the rounded rubber bumper. '74 is unique in that it is the only one with a split in the bumper. |
|
1975 |
The rear rubber bumper is now one piece without the split of '74. Corvette is still spelled out in individual letters on the bumper. The front bumper no longer has a straight line on each side of the V it forms. Near the center, a section of the front bumper cover merges back into the bodywork. This will continue for several years. Fake rubber pads appear on both bumpers as bumper guards. These remain until 1979. |
|
1976 |
The convertible is gone! All 1976 Corvettes are coupes. A new Corvette emblem is on the rear bumper instead of the letters. The rear deck vents, which were only used in non-air conditioned cars anyway, are gone. |
|
1977 |
The last of the vertical rear window cars, the '77 also is devoid of the Stingray script on the fenders. The Corvette emblem on the rear bumper is different than '76. |
|
1978 |
The new fastback style makes these easy to recognize. This is the 25th anniversary and all '78 Corvettes carry the 25th Anniversary emblems on the gas tank lid and the side fenders. A Silver Anniversary model is announced with a two tone paint scheme. About the time it is released, news of a special Indy 500 Pace Car is announced with special two-tone paint. This causes confusion to many who rushed to buy the Silver Anniversary, thinking it is the Pace Car replica. A Pace Car edition comes out later, with 6502 copies made for sale. The Pace Car is black over gray with special aluminum wheels while the Silver Anniversary model is Silver over Gray and standard optional aluminum wheels. (You could get the SA with Rally wheels.) The Pace Car also has special seats, front and rear spoilers, and a special VIN to prevent counterfeiting the cars. |
|
1979 |
The '79 is cleaner than the '78 due to the lack of the huge 25th anniversary emblems that are attached everywhere. The Pace Car spoilers are now an option on any Corvette. A new Corvette Cross Flag emblem is used. |
|
1980 |
New front and rear bumpers incorporate spoilers into their design so the added on look of the '79 spoilers is gone. Side grills filled the old side vents in the front fenders, the first time these have changed since 1973. |
|
1981 |
Some of the '81s arrive from Bowling Green, the first time for a new Corvette plant location in 28 years and the first time Corvette is built in two locations. The body is basically the same, with minor changes. A two tone paint scheme is available for the first time since 1961 on Bowling Green produced cars. |
|
1982 |
The last of the body style. In the Collector's Edition, the rear window becomes an opening hatch to allow greater access to the rear luggage area. The CE also has a distinctive two tone paint scheme to separate it from the standard '82. |
|
|
|
| Straight Axles | Sting Rays | Sharks | C4 -Current | C5 - The Next Generation | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| There is only one left. It is white with a blue interior. For years it has lived inside the Corvette plant at Bowling Green but has been moved to the National Corvette Museum across the street. The '83s are all test cars and there are no production ones sold. | |
|
1984 |
The '83 is released as an '84. The body changed drastically and yet brought back memories of the '68 with its vertical rear panel and large round taillights. The hood opened in a clamshell design, where all of the engine and suspension are exposed. The rear window as a hatch on all models now. The chassis is now partly unibody, partly frame, as the Lotus inspired backbone chassis holds the car together. The wheelbase is shortened to 96 inches. The IRS is retained but now uses a 6 link set up rather than the old 3 link set up. Fiberglass transverse springs support the car at both ends. Much of the suspension is made of aluminum. Brakes are larger and a newer design, requiring 16 inch wheels. |
|
1985 |
The rub strip on the front fenders now says "Tuned Port Injection" rather than "Cross Fire Injection like the '84. |
|
1986 |
Possibly the first thing noticed is the third brake light. These are added and sets the '86 off from previous years. A convertible is available as the Indy 500 Pace Car replica and is the first convertible available since 1975. |
|
1987 |
Interior: |
|
1988 |
Possibly the first thing noticed is the wheels. '88 had a different style wheel for the standard 16" design and a 17" wheel came out for the Z51 and Z52 options. |
|
1989 |
Interior: |
|
1990 |
The ZR-1 is released. The ZR-1 is easy to spot, looking like a Wide Track® version of the Corvette. |
|
1991 |
The bumpers are rounded from the sharp edges they had. The side louvers changed to narrow horizontal insets. The four taillights are now rectangular in a convex rear bumper, similar to the ZR-1. |
|
1992 |
Interior: |
|
1993 |
This is the 40th anniversary of Corvette and a Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Model is available. All get 40th Anniversary badges but only the Ruby Red gets the special Anniversary Model touches like special seats and emblems. |
|
1994 |
Interior: |
|
1995 |
The last year of the ZR-1. The standard Corvette received a new side louver design, where the leading edge is raised around a single opening, with ridges on the indented surface. The Indy Pace Car appears again, in purple trim. |
|
1996 |
Several models are available this year: the Collector's Edition, the Grand Sport, and the standard Corvette. The Grand Sport is available only in Admiral Blue with a huge Arctic White stripe down the center of the car. This is to bring back memories of the '63 Grand Sport. |
|
|
|
| Straight Axles | Sting Rays | Sharks | C4 -Current | C5 - The Next Generation | |
|
|
|
|
1997 |
The body brings to mind a mix of the late 3rd generation Firebird nose, the rear clip and greenhouse of the NSX, and old Corvette coves and side louvers mixed together. Or so is the opinion of some. |
|
1998 |
The coupe body is the same, with a few new colors added. Of course, it is a pretty minor change. The convertible has been added. A Pace Car version is out again, for the '98 Indy 500. And to outdo the previous pace car versions, this one has some very wild graphics on the sides. |
|
|
|
Copyright ©1994-2004 VetteNet and all authors as listed. Use of this material is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America.
Corvette, Chevrolet, Mako Shark, Sting Ray, Stingray, ZR-1, Camaro, Nova, and Chevelle are trademarks of the Chevrolet Corporation, Detroit, Michigan, and remain their property.
Rochester Ram Jet is a trademark of Rochester Carburetor and General Motors Corporation.
Other car names are the trademarks of their respective companies.
Other trademarks as marked in the text are trademarks of their respective companies.
In plain, simple language, don't copy any of this. Someone owns it!