Chevrolet Corvette C3.html



Chevrolet Corvette C3

Manufacturer	Chevrolet
Parent company	General Motors
Production	1968–1982
Assembly	St. Louis, Missouri Bowling Green, Kentucky
Predecessor	Chevrolet Corvette C2
Successor	Chevrolet Corvette C4
Class	Sports car
Body style(s)	2-door coupé 2-door convertible
Layout	FR layout

Base model

Production	1968–1982
Engine(s)	350 CID (5.7 L) Small-Block V8

For an outline of all the Chevrolet Corvette generations see

Main article: Chevrolet Corvette

The Chevrolet Corvette C3 is a sports car patterned after Chevrolet's "Mako Shark II" (designed by Larry Shinoda), produced between 1968 and 1982. It is the third generation of Chevrolet Corvettes built and marketed by Chevrolet.

This generation has the distinction of being introduced to the motoring public in an unorthodox — and unintended — fashion. 1968 marked the introduction of Mattel's now-famous Hot Wheels line of 1/64-scale die cast toy cars. General Motors had tried their best to keep the appearance of the upcoming car a secret, but the release of the Hot Wheels line several weeks before the Corvette's unveiling had a certain version of particular interest to Corvette fans: the "Custom Corvette", a GM-authorized model of the 1968 Corvette.

In 1969, GM enlarged their small-block again to 350 in³ (5.7 L) and the ZL1 option was offered, with an aluminum 427 big-block engine listed at 430 horsepower (320 kW) but generally accepted as delivering at least one hundred horsepower (75 kW) more than that.^{citation needed} This option cost $4,700 (the ZL1 was a $3,010 option that consisted of an assortment of aluminum cylinder block and heads on top of the $1,032.15 L88 race option.), and only 2 were ever built.^[1]

In 1970 the 427 big-block V8 was enlarged to 454 in³ (7.4 L). Power peaked in the 1970 and 1971 models, with the 1970 LT-1 small-block putting out 370 hp (276 kW) and the 1971 454 big-block having its last year of big power with 425 hp (317 kW). In 1972, GM moved to the SAE Net measurement for power (away from the previous SAE Gross standard), which resulted in lower values expressed in reported horsepower. Along with the move to unleaded fuel which required lower compression ratios, emission controls, and catalytic converters, power continued to decline and bottomed out in 1975 — the base L48 engine put out 165 hp (123 kW), and the optional L82 engine put out 205 hp (153 kW). This was the lowest power Corvette since the first year of production. Nevertheless, Car and Driver magazine found the Corvette to be the fastest accelerating American car for 1976, with a 0-60 time of 7.1 seconds. Power remained fairly steady for the rest of the C3 generation, ending in 1982 with the 200 hp (149 kW) L83 engine.

Styling changed subtly over the generation. In 1973, the Corvette dropped the front chrome bumpers for a urethane-compound "5 mph" bumper but kept the rear chrome bumpers. In 1974, The rear chrome bumpers became urethane, too, making 1973 the last Corvette model year with any chrome bumpers. 1975 was the last year for the convertible, and 1978 saw the introduction of a glass bubble rear window to "freshen" the car appearance for it's 25th Anniversary. Corvette production hit its peak in 1979, at 53,807.^[2] In 1980, the Corvette got an integrated aerodynamic redesign that resulted in a significant reduction in drag. 1980 was also the introduction of many weight-saving components such as thinner body panels and an aluminum Dana 44 IRS differential (instead of the previously used but arguably stronger iron GM 10 bolt IRS diff).^[3]

Special Editions

Collector Edition

The 1982 Collector Edition was the first Corvette hatchback, foreshadowing the C4 Corvette. It included a "cross-fire" TBI fuel injected engine good for 200 hp (149 kW). 6,759 Collector Edition Corvettes were produced that year, out of a total production of 25,407.

The Collector Edition also had special aluminum wheels designed to look like the bolt-on wheels of the 1967 car. A special color scheme was used inside and out along with Collector Edition badges. The Collector Edition had a "0" in the sixth digit of the VIN rather than the "8" found on standard Corvettes. This was the first Corvette to sell for more than $20,000, with a base price of $22,537.59.

Indianapolis 500 pace cars

The C3 Coupe was chosen as the pace car for the 1978 Indianapolis 500^[4]. To celebrate this choice on its 25th year of production, Chevrolet produced just over 300 replica pace cars. That number was increased later due to high demand, with Chevrolet deciding to produce one replica for every Chevrolet dealer in the United States at the time, 6,502 cars in total.

The replicas were equipped with a fancy two toned color scheme (black on top and silver on bottom with a red line circumventing the car an inch below the intersection of the other two colors) with several sticker emblems on the door and behind the rear fender wells. The pace cars were equipped with otherwise optional tinted glass t-tops and rear spoiler.

Special VIN numbers

The VIN numbers of the replicas differed from the standard Corvette. An example VIN number is 1Z8748S420001. The 1Z87 was the code for all models, the first 4 was the engine (in this case the L-82), the last 5 digits signify the actual number the car had. The pace car last five vin #'s began with 9 (example 900189)

ZR1

The ZR1 option is an $1,221.00 option available exclusively with the LT-1 engine option. It was a special racing package that included the solid-lifter small-block engine, heavy-duty four-speed transmission, power brakes, aluminum radiator, and a revised suspension with special springs, shocks, stabilizer bar, and spindle-strut shafts. Since it was competition equipment, the ZR1 could not be ordered with power windows, power steering, air conditioning, a rear-window defogger, wheel covers, or a radio.^[5]

ZR-2

It is a 1-year option originally planned for 1970^[6], but officially released in 1971 for $1,747.00. It included the racing equipment options in ZR1, but it is an option for the LS-6 engine. Per GM policy, 1971 Corvette engines were detuned to run on low-lead fuel, except for the LS-6 454, which was rated at 425 bhp (317 kW) on premium gas. 188 cars in the 1971 model included LS-6 engine, with 12 cars including the ZR-2 package.^[7]

Production notes

Engines

1975 Chevrolet Corvette convertible

Chevrolet Corvette C3 Stingray coupe

St. Louis "Last Day" 1981 coupe

Chevrolet Corvette C3 coupe

1969 Chevrolet Corvette C3 coupe‎

References

See also

• Chevrolet Corvette

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Chevrolet Corvette C3

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Chevrolet Corvette

• Chevrolet Corvette: 1968-1982 at the Open Directory Project