C2 The Second Generation of Corvette 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967


The year is 1963 and a new Corvette generation is born, enter the Sting Ray. Many Corvette enthusiast think that the midyear Corvette's (1963-1967) are probably the best design and innovation of all the generations. With the design team of Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda doing their magic on the body the Corvette chief engine and what many call the father of the Corvette, Zora Arhus-Duntov (however I consider Zora the father of Corvette performance) was building a new chassis for this new generation Corvette. The wheel base was reduced by four inches and the new frame was stiffer than the previous X member style frame. For the first time the Corvette had a real sports car style suspension with four wheel independent suspension. The 1963 Corvette marked the first for a few items such as the first fastback coupe, the first time for the flip up head lights and of course the independent suspension also the famous split rear window design. Knock-Off aluminum wheels were introduced as an option in 1963, although there was no record of any of these wheels being on a car when delivered to a customer. There was an issue with the tubeless tire sealing. The early models had an AM radio with a signal-seek but later in the year the car came with an AM-FM radio. The hood on the '63 had simulated vents in the front of the hood on each side of the center raised area. The four speed transmission was now manufactured by Muncie. Production for the '63 Corvette was a total of 21,513 of which 10,594 were coupes and 10,919 were convertibles.

The 1964 Corvette no longer had the simulated hood vents yet the recessed areas remained and gone too was the famous rear split window. A three speed fan was added to help the ventilation in the coupes. The steering wheels in all 1964 models had a rim made of plastic simulated walnut-grain. A total of 22,229 Corvette's were produced in 1964 with 8,304 being coupes and 13,925 came off the line as convertibles.

The 1965 Corvette was redesigned with the three opened vertical louvers on the front fenders. The depressions in the hood that was on the '63 and '64 were no long present in the '65 edition. A totally new engine option was available in mid-March of 1965 and that was the L78, 396 rated at 425 hp. Still available was the small block 327 with different outputs ranging from 250 hp up to 375 hp. Four wheel disc brakes became standard equipment on the '65 Corvette, but the buyer still had the option of ordering drum brakes and receive a $64.50 credit. A first for the Corvette was the power antenna that was standard equipment. The grill bars were changed to black however the outer trim remained in the bright finish; this makes the '65 grill unique to all the other Mid-Year Corvette's. This was the last year for the fuel injection and the only year that the 396 Big Block would be offer in the Corvette. Production numbers for the 1965 model year was a total of 23,564 (some number show 23,562 but two '65 models were built after the production run officially ended) 8,186 were coupes and 15,378 were convertibles.

With the introduction of the 1966 model the new 427 cubic inch big block became available. There were two options for this big block the L36 was originally rated at 400 hp and the L72 rated at 450 hp. However shortly after their introduction their ratings were dropped to 390 for the L36 and 425 for the L72. This was done as many think for insurance reasons only and nothing was changed in the engines. The small block 327 came in only two versions the 300 hp or 350 hp.. The changes to the '66 were subtle but there were a few changes. The functional and non-functional roof vents from the previous years were eliminated on the '66. Backup lights became standard equipment on the '66 model. The production numbers continued to climb with a total of 27,720 rolling off the assembly line and of those, 9,958 were coupes and 17762 were convertibles.

The 1967 model year would be the last year for what is commonly called the mid-years and the shortest of all Corvette generations. The '67 can be identified by the five louvers up from the three of '65 and '66 on the front fender. Again the small block 327 engine packages remained the same as the '66 model However the 427 was now available in four different horsepower ratings. The mid L36 rated at 390 hp , followed by the L68 with 400 hp, next was the L71 that came with a Tri-Power setup and rated at 435 and finally the L88 pushing 430 hp running a single Holley four-barrel carburetor pumping 850 cfm of which there were only 20 of these produced. The '67 Big Block cars were easy to spot with their new signature hood known as the Stinger. Although this hood were to be specific to big block cars only a few small block cars game out of the factory with this hoods due to lack of the stock hoods at time of assembly. This year saw a drop in production numbers with only 22,940 total produced and 8,504 were coupes while 14,436 were convertibles. An interesting point in this year's numbers was that almost half of all the Corvette's produced were equipped with one of the big block motors.

In the C2 generation blue was a popular color, with every year but one offering at least two shades of blue and some years had three different shades offered. Also many famous race courses had their names used in the color chart, such as Daytona, Sebring, Goodwood, and Riverside to mention a few. Record keeping on the exact number of units painted in a specific color were not well keep, therefore there are some numbers not known or the total number shown in the paint code section does not match the total number of car produced for that year.

C2 Corvette Sting Ray Paint Codes

1963
900 - Tuxedo Black - N/A
912 - Silver Blue - N/A
916 - Daytona Blue - 3,475
923 - Riverside Red - 4,612
932 - Saddle Tan - N/A
936 - Ermine White - N/A
941 - Sebring Silver - 1,516

1964
900 - Tuxedo Black - 1,897
912 - Silver Blue - 3,121
916 - Daytona Blue - 3,454
923 - Riverside Red - 5,274
932 - Saddle Tan - 1,765
936 - Ermine White - 3,909
940 - Satin Silver - 2,785

1965
AA - Tuxedo Black - 1,191
CC - Ermine White - 2,216
FF - Nassau Blue - 6,022
GG - Glen Green - 3,782
MM - Milano Maroon - 2,831
QQ - Silver Pearl - 2,552
UU - Rally Red - 3,688
XX - Goldwood Yellow - 1,275

1966
900 - Tuxedo Black - 1,190
972 - Ermine White - 2,120
974 - Rally Red - 3,366
976 - Nassau Blue - 6,100
978 - Laguna Blue 2,054
980 - Trophy Blue - 1,463
982 - Mosport Green 2,311
984 - Sunfire Yellow,- 2,339
986 - Silver Pearl - 2,967
988 - Milano Maroon - 3,799

1967
900 - Tuxedo Black - 815
972 - Ermine White - 1,423
974 - Rally Red - 2,341
976 - Marina Blue - 3,840
977 - Lynndale Blue - 1,381
980 - Elkhart Blue - 1,096
983 - Goodwood Green - 4,293
984 - Sunfire Yellow - 2,325
986 - Silver Pearl - 1,952
988 - Marlboro Maroon - 3,464

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