1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1 Roadster
In 1953 the Corvettewas debuted at the Motorama display at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. It was conceived by Harley J. Earl. It was a two seat convertible built by GM aimed at capturing the small car market from manufacturers like Jaguar and MG. All 1953 Corvettes were convertibles with black canvas tops, Polo white with red interiors, and built by hand.
Power came from an existing Chevrolet 235 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine. Modifications were done to it such as a three carburetor design and dual exhaust which resulted in higher horsepower ratings. The 150 hp 'Blue Flame Special' engine was paired with a a2-speed automatic gearbox. The first twenty-five vehicles used the standard Chevrolet 'baby moon' passenger car wheel covers due to a shortage of wheel covers.
1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1 Convertible
During the 1953 production year, 300 Corvettes were produced making it the rarest production Corvette - not including the racing variants, concepts, and specialty models. 255 are still in existence. In 1953 the base price for the Corvette was $3,498 with a heater and AM radio offered as optional equipment. The heater could be purchased for $91.40 and the AM Radio for $145.15.
1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1 American retro car
Production of the Corvette began in mid-1953 with only 300 examples created, including the pre-production Motorama show cars. The 1953 models were created in Flint, Michigan and moved to Chevy's St. Louis Plant a year later. Due to the low production figures, many of the cars parts were hand fabricated or modified from other existing Chevrolet parts.
1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1
This example is number 103 of the 300 examples produced. It was found in 2003 as part of a Pennsylvania estate. It had been stored, unrestored, and untouched for over forty years. It was treated to a 2,000 hour body-off-frame restoration which brought it to NCRS Top Flight standards. The paint is lacquer in keeping with the historical accuracy. All of the gauges, WonderBar radio, speaker power pack, and clock have been rebuilt and are in working condition.