Steve Magnante's 1001 Corvette Facts. Steve Magnante

before the single latch was phased in.

      43 In 1955, changes were made to the material used to make the folding top. Vinyl-coated fabric replaced the canvas used in 1953–1954, and some early 1955 bodies. Softer and less prone to wrinkles, the vinyl-impregnated material was part of an industry-wide trend away from the more utilitarian canvas.

      44 The third Motorama Corvette offering for 1954 was a roadster fitted with a removable fiberglass hardtop and roll-up door glass, details that would not appear in regular production until the 1956 model year. Until then, all Corvette roadsters had awkward snap-in side windows and manually operated folding soft tops.

      45 Chevrolet finally improved Corvette’s image with hard-core sports-car fans with the 1955 introduction of an available Saginaw 3-speed manual transmission. All previous thoughts of adapting passenger-car column-shift equipment were dropped in favor of a simple, fast-action, floor-mounted shift lever. A new fiberglass floor hump with a boxed tower was added to the floorpan to suit the new shifter. About 75 manual transmissions were factory installed in 1955; all were teamed with the new 265-ci V-8.

      46 Corvette’s distinctive wire-mesh headlamp covers were originally intended to be rendered in clear Plexiglas to match the clear license-plate enclosure on the trunk lid. Concerns over fogging and diminished light efficiency prompted the switch to the chromed “fencing masks” that appeared in production.

       The 1961 Jaguar XKE may have realized Harley Earl’s original vision of clear headlamp coverings, but the wire mesh “fencing-mask” alternate has become even more iconic.

      47 At the rear, the enclosed license-plate compartment did exactly what Harley Earl’s design team feared the enclosed headlamps would do: It fogged up in humid weather and created dribbles of moisture on the inside of the clear plastic lens. In 1954, Chevrolet added a small chamber behind the license plate to accommodate two small bags of absorbent desiccant.

       Looks like it’s time to replace the desiccant material behind this fogged-over rear license plate.

      48 Anticipating a steady flow of Corvette-body business, MFG built a massive factory in Ashtabula, Ohio, which was the largest of its kind in the world at the time. However, the unexpectedly poor sales of 1954 Corvettes (27 percent of the cars produced, or 1,076, were still at the factory by January 1955), spelled potential disaster. To help activate the idle MFG workers, Chevrolet saved the day with a contract to make the fiberglass quarter panels, tailgate, and spare-tire carrier for the new-for-1955 Cameo pickup truck. Throughout its four-year production run, MFG produced 10,621 Cameo cargo beds (5,520 in 1955, 1,452 in 1956, 2,244 in 1957, and 1,405 in 1958).

      49 In a move that would have given the not-yet-organized National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fits, the delightfully styled bumperettes affixed to each end of the Corvette body were virtually useless. Bolted directly to the fiberglass body with no connections to the frame of the car, they gave way instantly in collisions and were essentially ornamental. The NHTSA was formed in 1970 and was responsible for the controversial 5-mph bumper mandate that later compromised Corvette styling.

      50 It took a sympathetic consumer to overlook the many bodywork flaws seen on factory-fresh Corvettes. With a body made up of more than 60 individual parts that were bonded together, joints, flanges, and other visible surface unions were rampant. It was up to the skill level of the worker, and diligent quality supervision, to deliver blemish-free results. That said, poor door fit and visible bonding strips and seams beneath the paint were par for the Corvette’s course. Today’s restorers generally achieve surface perfection, but a look at any verified survivor reveals the lumpy truth.

ENGINE AND DRIVELINE

      51 Chevrolet took a lot of heat for launching Corvette with an automatic transmission and waiting until 1955 to offer a more sporting manual transmission. But a look below the speedometer hints at something most critics failed to see. Of all the possible places to mount the parking-brake warning lamp, the stylists stuck it directly above the steering column. It just so happens that Chevrolet’s column-shift-type steering column (as used in passenger cars) has its actuator rod positioned in this same location. Could the Corvette’s chrome-plated steering-column finish plate have been designed to accept the passenger car’s 3-speed column shifter as an alternative to the Powerglide automatic?

       The parking-brake-warning lamp lens sits exactly where a column-actuated manual-transmission shift rod would pass through the dash. Is this a coincidence?

      52 I couldn’t photograph it, but trust me, it’s there (I felt it with my hands). Directly behind the instrument cluster is a horizontal structural brace supporting the steering column and dash assembly. Directly behind the parking lamp lens, and precisely where a 3-speed column-shift actuator rod would pass, this brace is formed with a hump that serves no purpose except to allow passage of a shift actuator rod. These clues suggest Chevrolet considered offering a column-shifted 3-speed manual transmission, but held off. Was there concern that the balky three-on-the-tree would be as unpopular as the Powerglide automatic?

      53 The eventual shifter used to manipulate the two-speed Power-glide was a floor-mounted lever set conveniently next to the driver’s right leg. Much more sporting than the column-mounted handle used on Powerglide passenger models, it was a step in the right direction. It also cut costs and complexity compared to the maze of links, pivots, and bell cranks that would have been required for a passenger-car-style column shifter, whether manual or automatic.

       Offsetting its stodgy Powerglide transmission, the first Corvette tapped into the cool factor, and utility, of a floor-mounted shift lever. All subsequent Corvettes shared this detail.

      54 To increase output from 115 to 150 hp for 1953 Corvette duty, the venerable 235-ci Blue Flame inline 6-cylinder engine was fitted with a trio of horizontally mounted (side draft) Carter YH carburetors, with high-flow split-outlet iron exhaust manifolds, full-length dual exhaust, a mechanical cam with .405/.414-inch lift (intake/exhaust), dual valvesprings, and aluminum 8.0:1 compression pistons to deliver 150 hp at 4,200 rpm and 223 ft-lbs of torque at 2,400 rpm. Unlike later years where certain Corvette engines were shared with passenger cars, the triple-carbureted 6 was not offered elsewhere.

      55 To achieve a respectable 53/47 (front/rear) static distribution of Corvette’s 2,850-pound curb weight, the engine and transmission were positioned 3 inches lower and a full 7 inches farther back in the chassis as compared to a Chevrolet sedan.

      56 The low-slung body shell hugged the top of the engine and called for a special rocker cover with a sloping leading end. The traditional upright radiator was too tall, so the expansion tank was separated and positioned alongside the engine’s rocker cover, on the passenger’s side. This began a long tradition of Corvette-specific cooling systems with remotely located radiator expansion tanks.

      57 A quick way to tell a 1953 Corvette 6 from a 1954–1955 unit is to check the valvecover hold-down bolts. First-year engines used two centrally mounted acorn nuts to secure the cover to the cylinder head, while 1954–1955 engines switched to four pan-head screws, positioned lower, around the flange meeting the cylinder head. The revised layout better clamped the gasket to prevent oil leaks. This valvecover and head redesign also applied to GM’s passenger cars and light trucks during the same time period.