C1 1953-62

All early Chevrolet Corvette factory exhaust manifolds are cast iron. Since the manifolds are cast, the actual casting number and date are raised above the actual surface of the part. Most casting numbers are visible when the manifold is installed on the engine. The casting number location and casting date location will vary from year to year and sometimes manifold to manifold. Some manifolds will not carry a casting date at all. Small block manifolds do not carry a year designation. 2" outlet small block manifolds will have a casting date, while most 2 1/2" outlet manifolds do not have a casting date. There were two types of manifolds being cast for Corvette, the first from the Flint, Michigan built engines, which were cast in Saginaw, Michigan. All small block Corvettes used these manifolds. The second type was cast at the Tonawanda Engine plant and all Corvette big block engines used these manifolds. The big block manifolds will be discussed and identified in the second installment of this article.

The camshaft is the one part of the internal combustion engine, which has the most bearing on how that engine will operate. The basic function of the camshaft is to control the timing, the length, the speed, and the height of the intake and exhaust valve openings inside the cylinder head. The camshaft in all Chevrolet engines is located within its own bearing chamber below the cylinder head face and above the oil pan rails. There have been some minor changes in rear camshaft bearing face design, but for the most part the camshaft has remained the same from 1955-82. It is important to verify which type of block, rear bearing face and camshaft bearing you need before you invest in a camshaft.

This article will focus on the different types of Corvette trim Tags that were used from 1955-1982. There were numerous changes over that period and we hope to cover the majority of those changes in this article. We will cover the rear differentials in brief detail to point out the specific differences that exist.

I’ve been a car guy since I was 11 and have owned several muscle cars…never a Corvette though. So, it made sense to buy a Vette so I could better understand our customers, the community, and hobby/lifestyle. After hours of research, I decided on a 2001 C5.

The 1966 Sting Ray’s styling was very similar to the ’65’s, but there were some subtle changes. The Corvette “script” emblem was an elongated, more vertical style and was affixed to the hood and rear deck. The grille was now a plated, square mesh, cast unit. The roof B-pillar vents that had been both functional and non-functional in previous mid-year Corvettes (1964-1965) were now deleted. Another cool thing about the ’66? This was the intro year for the legendary 427!

The 1965 Sting Ray marked the third year of “C2” production. All models were manufactured at GM’s St. Louis Assembly. 1965 was the first year a big-block engine would find its way between the fenderwells of a Corvette, in the form of a Mark IV 396 generating 425 horsepower. Styling changes included removing the hood depressions that were common to the 1963 and ’64 models. The horizontal grille bars were now black with the outer grille trim remaining bright – this made the ’65’s grille one of a kind. Also, the front fender “gills” now sported three functional, vertical slots.

1968 Corvette L88

Although the wheelbase and most of the chassis carried over from 1967, the 1968 Corvette was an all-new design, and marked the start of “C3” production. Both the exterior and interior of the new car were completely restyled. The coupes now featured removable T-tops as well as a removable rear window. Production for ’68 was 28,566 units, made up of 9,936 Coupes and 18,630 Convertibles. Only 80 of the coupes were L88-equipped.