CHEVROLET CORVETTE REVIEW

The Chevrolet Corvette, 'America's Sports Car', has been produced by Chevrolet since 1953 during which time there have been 6 generations; the C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and the C6. However, the original is still the one you want... 

In it's time the car has become an all-American icon, being driven by 'the faceman' in the A-Team, Prince releasing a song titled 'Little Red Corvette' and ious generation Corvette's featuring in many video games.

General Motors took this on board and began harbouring the image, even claiming the Chevrolet Corvette 'as American as apple pie and hot dogs' in a 90's ad campaign. Also key to the Corvette's success has been it's instantly recognisable, oft outlandish design.

From the four circular tail lights, to the Corvette's trademark 'Sting-Ray' body styling, down to the flip-up headlights, a Chevrolet Corvette is striking and unmistakable from any angle. As well as striking design the Corvette is known for it's sporting heritage, it's distinctive, ovalled, double flagged badging being a nod to the car's racing lineage.

Corvette's philosophy in creating a performance car differs from the approach taken by european manufacturers. Corvette's use powerful, large displacement engines to achieve speed, with emphasis on simplicity rather than technical complexity.

The result is a car that is powerful whilst remaining affordable and easy to maintain . This formula has received criticism from Europe for being unrefined and causing erratic on-limit handling, although it has no doubt aided the car's iconic muscle image. The first generation Corvette, the C1 (also known as the 'solid axle' corvette) began production in 1953 and ended in 1962. The engine impressed, achieving impressive reviews due to it's power output of 290hp and it being one of the first engines to produce 1hp per cubic inch. 1963 saw the release of the C2, which ran until 1967.

This year also saw the release of the Corvette Sting Ray coupe, sporting distinctive split rear windows (later discontinued due to safety issues) and bonnet vents. '65 saw Chevrolet add all round discs and the option of a 6.5L V8. Chevrolet later added side exhaust pipes and a 7L version. A particular variant of the C2 is now considered amongst the most collectable Corvettes ever produced.

The Grand Sport never reached most Corvette dealers as only 5 were built and was devastatingly quick, if not frightening. Delmo Johnson described the car as 'the only car I ever drove that would lift the front wheels off the ground in all four gears'. Production of the C3 ceased in 1982. Again the engine capacity was increased, with the entry level now being a 5.7L. Also the engine was moved to run on unleaded fuel due to emission controls.

Over the course of the 3's run, styling changes included a glass bubble rear window, an optional opening hatch at the rear on the collectors edition model, the end of the use of the 'Sting Ray' badge and the addition of urethane bumpers in place of the earlier chrome items. The 1983 release of the C4 saw the Chevrolet Corvette receive a complete overhaul in terms of design. The car was praised for it's sleek, aerodynamical design and dealers reported the car sold exceptionally well, with competitors Mazda dropping their RX-7 from the U.S market due to the Corvette's success.

The C4 Corvette had some interesting spin off derivatives, Twin Turbo Corvette, the Callaway Twin Turbo, the ZR-1 and most notably, the Grand Sport. The 330hp Grand Sport took it's name from the original Grand Sport model from 1963 and was only available in blue with a white centre stripe and two red hash marks above the front arches, along with black five-spoke alloy wheels. The Grand Sport was released in 1996 to celebrate the end of the C4's run.

The C5 was released to praise with critics proclaiming the car was improved in almost every way in comparison to the C4. The C5 also saw the Corvette's 50th birthday, Corvette staged an event to celebrate the occasion with some special previous cars on hand; including the Corvette SS and the Le-Mans class winning C5-R. General Motors also released the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Commemorative Edition to celebrate the Corvette's 50th, the car featured a unique paint job and a carbon bonnet.

The most impressive C5 produced was undoubtedly the 7000 cc V8 C5-R racer which ran in the Le-Mans series. The C5's replacement, the C6, was released to even stronger reviews with the car being heralded as the most refined Corvette ever. Over it's run the Chevrolet Corvette has earned many accolades including; twice being voted 'Motor Trend' magazine's Car of the Year, appearing in 'Car and Driver' magazine's yearly Top 10 eleven times and being voted joint 'Best Engineered Car of the 20th Century' by the Society of Automotive Engineers amongst others. As of 2005 Corvette became a marque in its own right. This was cased by the rebranding of Daewoo to Chevrolet in Europe, forcing General Motors to drop the Chevrolet name and make the Corvette its own brand.

CHEVROLET CORVETTE C3 REVIEW

The third generation Corvette lasted for 14 years and became an American icon. Glassfibre means no body rust either.

Although the C3 Corvette was born in the 1960s and passed away in the 1980s, these cars just seem to encapsulate 1970s American automobile extremes. They were loud, brash, huge and aggressively styled but also suffered from the same safety and emissions emasculations that bedeviled all US cars of the era, with V8 power peaking at (a reported) 560bhp in 1969 but dropping as low as 165bhp during the mid-1970s.

The design dated back to 1965 and the Mako Shark II concept car. However, thanks to the continuation of glassfibre for the main body – which had been in use since the first Corvette of 1953 – much of the chassis, running gear and engines could be carried over from the previous Corvette generation. As before, convertibles and coupes were available, but the ‘plastictops’ had removeable roof panels and rear window. That sports car essential, pop-up headlamps, were also fitted.

The C3 gradually moved away from pure sports car towards being a GT – chrome bumpers disappeared for 1974 and convertibles vanished the following year. Production ended in 1982. 

VITAL STATISTICS

ENGINE                      5737cc/V8/OHV

POWER                       250bhp@5200rpm

TORQUE                     285lb ft@4000rpm

MAXIMUM SPEED         124mph

0-60MPH                    7.4sec

Fuel consumption         13-19mpg

TRANSMISSION           RWD, 4-spd manual or 3-spd auto

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Body beautiful

On the glassfibre shells, you should look for stress cracks and starring developing around door, bonnet (sorry, hood) and boot (we mean, of course trunk) apertures, plus the windscreen and wheelarches. Problems are more likely on convertibles, but also look for issues with the latches and weatherstrips on T-top coupes – they can leak. Uneven or differing paint or rough GRP patches points to repair, possibly after an accident. Wide or uneven gaps in the panels also point to previous crash damage. It’s important to get underneath and check the steel frame for rust, especially the rear suspension trailing arm mountings and the bottom of the windscreen pillars. The ‘rubber’ bumpers tend to disintegrate and are difficult to refit.

Engine issues

The V8 engines are rugged and unstressed in the Corvette. Obviously, keeping cool can be an issue, so keep an eye on the temperature and look for ‘mayonnaise’ under the oil filler cap and mixing of oil and water, denoting head gasket issues or even a warped cylinder head. Check the coolant isn’t rust-coloured and there’s no excessive exhaust smoke under acceleration. Oil drips are quite common but shouldn’t be big leaks, especially not from the bellhousing which suggests a rear engine seal past its best. Oil around the bottom radiator hose points to the front seal being worn.  

Transmission revamp?

Both manual and automatic gearboxes are usually quite trouble-free, but age will bring synchromesh issues on manuals as well as noise and difficult selection. Autos should change up and down smoothly.

What lies beneath?

The C3 continued with the independent rear suspension of the C2 and it’s quite complex, requiring somebody with knowledge to set it up properly. Clunks from underneath point to the rear trailing arm front bushes having failed, while squeaky clatters suggest a driveshaft universal joint is protesting. All C3s have four-wheel disc brakes, which are prone to rust in the lines and calipers. Conscientious owners often fit stainless steel replacements.

The inside story

Check for damp carpets as soft-top/roof panel leaks are common. Upholstery is leather or vinyl – the former lasts longer but is costlier to repair, while the latter splits around seams. Try out all the electrics, as dodgy/corroded connections and bad earths (due to the high GRP content) can cause things to stop functioning. Don’t forget the vacuum operated pop-up headlights (and, on earlier cars the windscreen wiper covers) as the system – a complicated maze of hoses, valves and actuators – is prone to leaks.

OUR VERDICT

Corvettes come closer than other classic US machines to what we over on this side of the Big Pond regard as a proper sports car drive. They’ve actually got half-decent handling, thanks to that enormously robust chassis and lighter weight plastic body – they certainly behave better than a Mustang. Even at their most strangulated, there’s still enough muscle for entertaining performance and those that do have the power the V8 Gods intended are just blistering.

But, essentially, it’s the looks and status that most recommend the C3. They’re such a famous and distinctive shape, yet they’re not seen that often over here. So, you’ll never be short of attention. And, who knows, maybe some of the adoring public will have a whip-round to help finance the fuel bills.