Dateline: 9.4.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1953 to 1962 C1 Corvettes!
Over the years, Corvettes have evolved into ultimate American supercar. Yea, there are a handful of high-end exotics that can walk away from a C6 ZR1, but with enough $$$, you can do nearly anything. But like Hobbits from the Lord of the Rings trilogy series, Corvettes turned out to be the most unlikeliest of heroes when you look at the earliest Corvettes. While the ‘53 – ‘54 Corvette was a fine-looking car compared to its contemporaries, good looks will only get you so far. Thankfully, the 265 Chevy small-block arrived just in time. If there had been no SBC engine, the Corvette never would have made it into the ‘60s.
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The difference between a ‘53 Blue Flame Six and a ‘62 Fuel Injected Corvette with the racer kit options is astonishing. By ‘62, Fuelie Corvettes had a near strangle hold on SCCA A/Production racing. Established racers such as John Fitch and Dr. Dick Thompson helped carry the banner forward and start up racers including the great Dave MacDonald, and Dick Guldstrand made a name for themselves with C1 Corvettes. One thing about those old C1 Corvette racers that’s never pointed out is that many of the lessons learned on how to make those old solid-axle Corvettes fast on a race track were later applied to the early Trans-Am Camaros.
I have been attending the Corvettes at Carlisle Show for over 15 years and every year I notice fewer and fewer of the old Vettes. Be they lovingly restored, hot rod, or retro street rods, C1 Vettes are sweet! Enjoy the slide show! – Scott
PS – We have art prints of every year C1 Corvette from ‘53 to ‘62. You can check them out HERE.
Here’s the BEST way to keep up with K. Scott Teeters’ Corvette blog!
