1960 Corvette Facts: What Do You Know About This Chevrolet Car?

Corvette is a fascinating car, well known as America's sports car.

The Chevrolet Corvette owners are proud of their possession. The C1 corvettes are a class in themselves.

The owners adore the glossy colors and the contrasting shiny interiors. The First Corvette ever made is still running well in Minnesota. This piece is a manual transmission. But the beauty lies in its spec-free white glazing color.

The interiors are bright red. The owners have loved and cared for the car really well. It can be sighted on the streets of Minnesota.

The Chevrolet Corvette (C1) is the first version of Chevrolet's Corvette sports automobile. It was released in 1953 and was manufactured until 1962. As the independent rear suspension was not available until the 1963 Stingray, this generation is known as the solid-axle generation. It was introduced with manual transmission.

Taillamps were integrated into the rear fenders. The strong grill teeth were the final improvements to arrive in 1960 models. Aluminum radiators were new features, although exclusively with the 270 hp and 290 horsepower fuel injection engines.

All fuel-injection engines also needed manual transmissions initially for the first time. Cascade Green from the '60s was metallic, exclusive, and rare in color. Only 140 corvettes were manufactured in this color.

Chevy Corvette, designed by famed vehicle designer Harley Earl, took influence from a variety of sources. Earl wanted to build a truly American sports vehicle after seeing all of the European sports cars that the American army brought home with them after serving in WWII.

The Nash-Healey, a two-seat sports automobile from Nash Motors, was another source of inspiration.

Earl and his crew developed 'Project Opel' in the early '50s, which evolved into the first Corvette. The C1 Corvette was produced for nine years before being superseded by the C2, or second-generation Corvette, in 1962.

Zora Arkus-Duntov was the principal Corvette engineer. He is fondly called the 'Father of the Corvette'. Duntov joined the team after viewing the first original vehicle at the Motorama event.

He was accountable for several of the car's improvements. Most of it resulted in the early racing success of the car. It leads to a successful Grand Sport program's execution.

One of Duntov's most notable achievements with the Corvette was transforming it into a recognized sports vehicle. Duntov's Grand Sport program debuted in 1962, the penultimate year of the C1 Corvette. The program's goal was to develop a lightweight racer Corvette capable of competing against premium cars.

History Of The 1960 Corvette

Chevrolet Corvette is a priced possession of a few people. They actually like to be called collectors. Corvette's cool features make it a special car. It can attain high speed due to quick transmission. But all this was not there from the beginning. Here is a glimpse into the history of these cars.

As the chief of GM's Styling Section, Harley Earl was a big enthusiast of sports cars. He saw that soldiers arriving from foreign service in the years after WWII were picking up MGs, Jaguars, and Alfa Romeos.

Nash Motors began marketing a pricey two-seat sports automobile, the Nash-Healey, in 1951. It was in collaboration with Italian designer Pininfarina. The British auto designer Donald Healey was also part of this.

Only a few average-priced versions were available for sale. Earl persuaded GM that a completely American two-seater sports vehicle was required. He and his Special Projects team began construction on the new automobile in late 1951.

Chevrolet had last produced a 2-door, 2-passenger convertible type in 1938. He inspired them to make a car that could proudly be called America's sports car.

In June 1953, the first production Chevrolet Corvette C1 came off a temporary manufacturing line in Flint, Michigan. This first batch of cars rolled out was restricted to 300 units. They were all black canvas soft tops. Having Polo White exterior color scheme and an equally iconic crimson interior.

They employed a 3.8-liter inline six-cylinder engine. This was not a V8. Corvette ran with three Carter carburetors. There were mechanical lifters.

It even had a high-lift camshaft under the hood. The engine was designated a special name, Blue Flame. It generated 150 horsepower and was coupled to a two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. The speed transmission was supposedly smooth.

Earl's C1 Corvette design is stunning and instantly identifiable. The style of the Corvette convertible is tight and small. There are sweeping lines running from the headlights to the back fenders. The other unique features are white-walled wheels.

The taillights emerged in classic '50s fashion. The chrome grille was distinctive. Instead of a steel body, GM shaped the Corvette with fiberglass. This is the first instance of such wide usage of the amazing technology of lightweight material.

Features Of The 1960 Corvette

A Corvette is well known for its features. They are unique and make the car identifiable from a distance. But there are many specific features that are associated with this model only. Read a little more about them below.

Chevrolet furnished the Corvette with aluminum radiators. The rarest color ever seen on a Corvette was used, which was Cascade Green. There are just 140 automobiles in this shade. The owners have maintained the color to date.

The Corvette reached 10,000 units per year for the first time in 1960. The base price for each car was $3,872. It has a fuel tank capacity of 24 gallons. The heater is an optional extra.

The convertible was available with a few more features. The 315 hp engine raised the cost of the car by $484.20. The four-speed transmission option added another $188.30, while Positraction cost $43.05 extra. Metallic brake linings cost $26.90.

In contrast, the cheaper alternative was to go with 6.715-inch Blackwall tires. The regular ones were whitewall tires. This change cost $15.75.

The fuel tank size was also optional later. Manual transmission could be changed with automatic transmission later. But this did change the speed of the car and engine performance. The heater was always available if the buyer wanted one.

Evolution Of The 1960 Corvette

As mentioned earlier, the first Corvette came out in 1953. But there were many subtle and major changes that took place over time. It was a dream sports car that also looked classy. So the changes that came eventually made it unique looking beauty that people liked to possess. With the improvements being made the sales enhanced.

The most noticeable difference was the maximum engine performance level. It was now a fuel-injection 283 CID V8 rated at 315 horsepower, which was 290 the previous year. All engines were now 283 CID V8s. While the other fuel-injection engine now generated 275 horsepower, up from 250 the prior year.

Soon the two-speed automatic transmission engine was discontinued. Onet three or four-speed engines were available. These were all in manual transmission only.

The base engine was a 4-barrel 283 with 230 horsepower. But two more options were available. They generated 245 Hp and 230 hp with almost the same fuel. A significant change was the inclusion of a rear anti-sway bar.

This greatly improved the stability of the solid rear axle. In 1960, new aluminum clutch housings were employed for the first time. It helped reduce the overall weight of the automobile.

1960 Corvette's Design

Corvette has a unique design. The weight was reduced by adding smart aluminum alternatives to the parts. The car has a signature shape that sets it apart from the others. The engine available is a V8 engine. But there are various horsepower options. The price varies accordingly.

The car's taillights were sculpted into the rear fenders. The next year, new rear lights were introduced that mirrored the car's headlights - four lights. Two lights were placed on each side of the vehicle, embedded in the bumper. These redesigned taillights were Corvette's distinguishing design features.

Options for engines were given. Manual transmission or automatic transmission. Even the fuel tank had options, 16.4 gallons or 24 gallons. Tubeless tires were a special feature.

Chevrolet Corvettes are still a cherished possession of speed lovers. The fuel injection engines work wonderfully well. They need a little care, and cars are ready to perform at high speed too. It has rightly been named the American sports car. Corvette comes with special features that make it a unique car.

FAQs

What engine was in a 1960 Corvette?
A V8 fuel injection engine was built in 1960 Corvettes.

How much horsepower does a 1960 Corvette have?
Though there were multiple horsepower options available in Corvette 1960 model, the most common was 290 horsepower.

How much does a 1960 Corvette weigh?
A 1960 Corvette weighs around 1356 kg.

How much did a 1960 Corvette cost?
The original price of a 1960 Corvette was $3,672.

Where is the VIN number on a 1960 Corvette?
The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for all 1960 Corvettes is placed on the steering column inside the engine compartment. The 1960 Corvette was the first to lack the VIN tag in the door jamb.