1953 Corvette Fact Sheet
The Corvette
Is Introduced
After the incredible success of the prototype at the 1953 Motorama in New York City, Corvette went from being a concept car to a production car in just months.
General Year Information
The first Corvette was built on June 30, 1953 at the Flint, Michigan assembly plant. Model year production peaked at 300 units. Calendar year sales of 300 cars were recorded. T.H. Keating was the chief executive officer of Chevrolet this year.
By early 1954, Chevrolet announced that 315 Corvettes had been built and that production of the model had been shifted to the assembly plant in St. Louis. Programming, at that point, called for production of 1,000 Corvettes per month, by June 1954. The company predicted that 10,000 per year could be built and sold.
Models Offered
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The new 1953 Corvette had a fiberglass body, chrome-framed grille with 13 heavy vertical chrome bars, rounded front fenders with recessed headlights, no side windows or outside door handles, a wraparound windshield and protruding, fender-integrated taillights. The interior featured a floor mounted shifter, Powerglide automatic and a full array of gauges including a tachometer.
Buyers could order any color they wanted, so long as it was Polo white with red bucket-seat interior.
Engines
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lnline Six Cylinder. Overhead valves. Cast iron block. Displacement: 235.5 cubic inches. Bore and stroke: 3.56 x 3.93 inches. Compression ratio: 8.0:1. Horsepower: 150 @ 4200 RPM. Torque: 223 @ 2400 RPM. Four main bearings. Solid valve lifters. Camshaft Timing: Intake 243 degrees; Exhaust: 244 degrees; Lift: 0.4051″. Carburetor: Three (3) Carter Type YH one-barrels (#3706989) Model 2066S (early models); Model 2055S (late models).
Chassis Features
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- Wheelbase: 102.00″
- Overall length: 167.00″
- Front tread: 57.00″
- Rear tread: 59.00″
- Tires: 6.70 x 15
Body Paint Color Codes
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1953 Corvette
| Polo White ONLY |
Significant Options
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- There were no options in this year.
Power Train Options
- Automatic transmission with floor shift was standard. No other power train options were offered.
1953 Corvette
Production Figures
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- Corvette Series Number: 800
- Corvette Body Number: 867
- Body Style: 2-Door Convertible – 2 Passenger
- Factory Price: $3,498.00
- Shipping Weight : 2,705 lbs.
- Total Production: 300
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1953 Corvette Roadster
The 1953 Corvette Roadster was unique to American vehicles of its time. To keep costs down, GM executive Robert F. McLean mandated off-the-shelf mechanical components. It used the chassis and suspension design from the 1949–1954 Chevrolet passenger vehicles. 300 were built.
1953 Corvette Blue Flame Six
The 1953 Corvette was powered by a modified Chevrolet “Blue Flame” OHV six-cylinder featuring a more aggresive camshaft and three one-barrel side-draft carburetors. It produced an optimistic 150 HP.
1953 Corvette Interior
The 1953 Corvette Interior came in only one color – red. The exterior was also a single choice – Polo White. It did contain a full array of instrumentation, albeit offset to the cockpit center.