1958-1961 Chevrolet Corvettes - Remember When...

The hottest engine on the street in stock form was almost always the 270 horsepower, twin Carter WCFB carb Corvette 283. It pulled strong from 2,800 to 5,800 rpm. A whopping total of 9,636 were sold from 1957 - 1961. Parts department induction and cam sales probably quadrupled that

The '57 283 hp fuelies were top runners too but as we remember, a lot were factory-tuned too lean for max power. But with the turn of an enrichment adjustment screw the Rochester fuel-injection came to life big time. The 6.70-15s were no match and the car would immediately spin sideways upon full throttle

My father bought this '61 Corvette new at Doane Motors, Dundee, Illinois, in December, 1960 (serial number 100463, 270 hp, 4-speed, 4.11:1 Positraction). We drag raced it from 1961-1963

Great Lakes Dragaway, Union Grove, Wisconsin: Two '59 Corvettes go at it in 1960. Left car is running Atlas Bucron soft rubber tires. Balls of rubber are smoking off the tread as the car launches. Note vintage flagman starter.

Great Lakes Dragaway, Union Grove, Wisconsin: Two 315 hp '61 fuelies going at it. Both have recap slicks, engines are tweaked and both run mid-high 13s.

Except for the width of the seat pleats and a few other incidentals, the 1959 and 1960 Corvette were identical. Sales were 9,670 and 10,261 respectively. Chevrolet parts departments nationwide sold thousands of Duntov cams, dual quad set-ups, Rochester injections, four-speeds and Positraction units to owners of earlier Corvettes as well as to 1955-1960 Chevy big car owners.

During this time period, Chevrolet Engineering was loaded with high performance talent. Long-time pal, Lou Cutitta (shown) was Zora Arkus-Duntov's dyno man for decades. Here he is tuning the '57 SS Corvette at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1987 - Chevrolet's featured year.

Back in Corvette's early years, each new Corvette owner was given an official factory Corvette pin and a gold embroidered patch like this one.