- February 5
- 1953 Corvette EX-53 is assembled, and numbered #3951 Proving Ground Demonstrator. [901.43]
- February
- The General Motors Motorama show opens in Miami, Florida. A light yellow 1953 Corvette prototype joins the Corvair and Nomad. The Corvette was modified to accept a removable hardtop. [259.59]
- February 17
- The Detroit Auto Show opens for press previews, in Michigan. The Ford Motor Company shows its new two-seat convertible, calling it a "personal car", with the name "Fairlane". Two days later, the official name Thunderbird will be announced. (Ford's entry in the sports car market becomes a major part of General Motors' decision to continue production of the Corvette.) [1] [6] [104.20] [259.153] [580.40] (February 20 [3.20])
- (month unknown)
- A second Corvette show car is modified to feature a removable hardtop, is painted green, and tours Canada. [259.59]
- March 17
- At the General Motors Training Center in San Fernando, California, Chevrolet dealers in the area learn sales and service information about Corvettes, then drive away 28 1954 model Corvettes to dealership lots. [259.125]
- March 24
- A new styling model Corvette, S.O. 2151, is completed, ready for management presentation. Proposed design changes include a concave cross-hatched metal front grill, phony hood scoop, four diagonal openings behind the front wheels, larger trunk and lid. (Due to poor sales, the styling changes are abandoned. None of the proposed changes reach production. The car resurfaces in 1982 in California in rough shape.) [90] [104.26] [259.99] [580.39]
- (month unknown)
- The camshaft on production Corvettes is changed, increasing horsepower from 150 to 155. [148.14] [176.28] [259.35]
- The McCulloch company completes building their first supercharged 1953 Corvette. The system reportedly boosts horsepower from 87 to 117. [221.40]
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^^^ advertisement ^^^
- April 7
- McCulloch Motors begins selling supercharger kits for Corvettes. [259.170]
- April 27
- At the General Motors Training Center in Chicago, Illinois, Chevrolet dealers in the area learn sales and service information about Corvettes, then drive away 44 1954 model Corvettes to dealership lots. [259.128]
- (month unknown)
- Exhaust extensions from the rear bodywork are extended from two to six inches, with built-in baffles. [148.22] [259.33]
- May
- A photographer from GM Photographic is assigned the task of documenting the Corvette assembly line process. [259.11]
- May 17
- Chevrolet Engineering work order 19049 M.S. #1 cancels the 2-barrel V8 for Corvette, making the 4-barrel the base V8 engine for Corvette. [901.43]
- (month unknown)
- General Motors relaxes its restricted sales policy of Corvettes, allowing the general public to buy them. [104.20] [259.132] [580.36] [585.92]
- Air cleaner inlets on production Corvettes are changed from "bullet" style to a quieter dual "pot" apparatus. [148.22] [265.20]
- June
- Chevrolet invites forty members of the automotive press to St. Louis, showing them the whole Corvette assembly line process, and handing out photos for press usage. [259.11]
- Corvette production at the St. Louis facility reaches 50 cars per day. However, due to slow sales, production is stopped for weeks at a time for the rest of the year. [107.12] [147.46] [259.13] [580.37] [585.93]
- 1953 Corvette Experimental Test Car #856/EX-54 completed being converted into first readward-biased Cadet II rear-engine prototype test vehicle, the Q Car. [903.65]
- (month unknown)
- Chevrolet Engineering installs a functional prototype Chevrolet V-8 engine in a 1954 Corvette, which is given experimental record number EX87. [259.194] [269.46]
- At the Mexican Road Race, a Corvette is entered but ends on the first leg of the race with a rod through the block. [337.22]
- Joe Pike founds the first Corvette club. [177.26]
- July 9
- Chevrolet Engineering completes 1955 Corvette V8 Powerglide Chassis blueprint drawing 3718108. [901.43]
- August 20
- At a NASCAR-sanctioned sports car race at Raleigh Speedway, Chevrolet races a stock-engined 1953 Corvette. [259.199] [821.6]
- September 9
- Ford begins production of the Thunderbird sports car. [84.7] [259.153] [580.40]
- (month unknown)
- A General Motors executive tells Zora Arkus-Duntov that Corvette is finished, that no more would be built. [538.31]
- October
- The first V8-powered Corvette is built, 265-ci with 4-barrel carbureter. The first 3-speed manual Corvette is also built. [226.46a]
- October 15
- Zora Arkus-Duntov writes a memo to Edward Cole and Maurice Olley, noting that the Corvette appeared to be a failure. He suggests that to drop the Corvette would be an admission of failure, and a public embarrassment to all of Chevrolet. He suggests some modifications to the car, and improvements to the sales effort. He urges General Motors not to cancel the car, but to create a separate department within Chevrolet to oversee Corvette development. [90] [230.40] [259.137] [488.66] [901.43] (October 14 [133.31] [256.123])
- October 22
- Ford Thunderbird cars arrive in dealer showrooms. 4,000 orders are placed on the first day. [259.153] [260.19]
- (month unknown)
- Chevrolet begins advertising the Corvette in the automotive press. [260.14] [580.37] [585.93] (May 1953 [10])
- Tubeless tires begin to be used on 1954 model Corvettes. [148.23]
- Chevrolet decides that the new V8 engine would be available on 1955 model Corvettes. [259.37]
- The Chevrolet Studio begins designing the 1956 Corvette, transforming the full-size 1953 clay model. [269.0]
- December 9
- Zora Arkus-Duntov writes "Preliminary Report on Corvette 3-Speed and Overdrive. Comparison of 4.11 and 3.7 Ratios". His report concludes overdrive is not worth it, and 4.11 ratio too high. [901.44]
- December
- Chevrolet begins offering a small block 265-ci V8 engine as a Corvette option, for US$135. [186.148] (September [121.56])
- December 29
- Zora Arkus-Duntov reports to Maurice Olley that he is pursuing purchase of Jaguar's 4-speed manual transmission as the best choice compared to GM's Hydramatic 4-speed, Chevrolet 3-speed, and Oldsmobile 3-speed. With the Jaguar 4-speed, a Corvette V8 top speed should be 125mph. [901.44]
- December
- Production of the 1954 model Corvette ends, with over 3600 made, but over 1000 unsold. [5.27] [42.17] [111.3] [148.22,24] [260.14] [454.26] [580.37]
1955
- January
- Production of 1955 model Corvettes begins. [148.24] [259.111] (October 28, 1954 [453.21] [871.12])
- The General Motors 1955 Motorama show opens at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. The Biscayne prototype is displayed, employing many Corvette design ideas, and is presented to management as a new direction for the Corvette. The LaSalle II roadster is shown, a two-seater with side coves behind the wheels. [79.58] [259.177] [286.56]
- January 29
- General Motors first begins officially using a circular emblem with "CHEVROLET" at top, "Corvette" at bottom, and flags in center. [146]
- (month unknown)
- Harry C. Dumville Jr. replaces the engine of 1953 Corvette #1123 with a 265ci V8 engine, with two 4-barrel Carter carburetors. Engine casting date is 1953 JUL 27. [898.64]
- Brake lining material on production Corvettes is changed to reduce fade and wear. [104.28]
- Edward Cole assigns Zora Arkus-Duntov to investigate John Dolza's fuel injection system, for application in Chevrolet cars. [271.178]
- The interior rear-view mirror on production Corvettes is replaced with a slightly larger unit, with a vertical adjustment thumbscrew mechanism. [148.24]
- Vinyl-coated fabric material is introduced for soft tops on production Corvettes, in addition to canvas tops used previously. [148.25]
- February 2
- Chevrolet issues Dealer Bulletin #6-1955 announcing 1955 V8 Corvette with Powerglide now in production at St. Louis Corvette Assembly Plant. [901.46]
- February
- The basic design of the 1956 model Corvette is completed. [90] [133.35] [256.127]
- April 1
- The color Pennant Blue is discontinued in use on 1955 Corvettes. [148.25] [259.120]
- Ed Cole secretly assigns Zora Arkus-Duntov to work in John Dolza's secret T-101 fuel injection program at the GM Tech Center Engineering Staff. [898.71]
- April 16
- A fiberglass model of the restyled (1956) Corvette is shown to Chevrolet management. [1] [90] [260.22] (May 16 [269.12]) (May [488.66])
- (month unknown)
- The exterior paint color red is first made available for 1955 model Corvettes. [222.18]
- A new three-speed manual transmission is completed, and testing begins on production Corvettes. [259.121]
- Zora Arkus-Duntov fits a fuel injection system to a 1955 Corvette for testing. Test track results show a power increase of almost 10 percent. [271.178]
- Three-speed manual transmissions are first offered in 1955 model Corvettes, only on the V-8 engine model. [3.20] [28.41] [42.20] [133.35] [148.25] [227.29] [256.186]
- July 8
- Norm Brown begins his first day of work for Chevrolet. His first duty is to assist scrapping the Corvette Nomad show car, and possibly the Biscayne show car. [259.73]
- July 31
- A work order is written for a new camshaft designed by Zora Arkus-Duntov for a 150-mph Corvette speed run. [512.70] [895.53]
- (month unknown)
- Zora Arkus-Duntov begins experimenting with suspension modifications, on a test Corvette with 195-bhp engine. [6]
- Chevrolet design studio staff create a dream car for the 1956 GM Motorama shows, called Corvette Impala. The Corvette grille and grille surround are incorporated, as well as other Corvette components. This hardtop five-passenger sports sedan shows the name "Corvette Impala" on the front emblem and rear license plate. [269.87]
- August
- A special 1956 Corvette is created at GM Styling Studios for Prince Bertil of Sweden. Differences include front emblem replaced by a large "V", large grille shell with flat black screen instead of teeth, tail pipes exiting through lower rear side of rear fender, chrome spears on trunk lid, gas filler in center at front of trunk lid, narrow whitewall tires, and Dayton wire wheels. [269.155]
- September
- At Watkins Glen, Addison Austin races a 1955 Corvette with V-8 engine and automatic transmission. He finishes 7th in class and 10th overall. [337.22] [512.72]
- General Motors designers begin work on a new Corvette style for a 1958 model, based on the Oldsmobile Golden Rocket dream car, and the Mercedes-Benz 300SL. [580.86]
- (month unknown)
- The 3-speed shifter boot on production Corvettes is changed from leather to rubber with a metal bezel stamped with gear locations. [259.122]
- October
- Zora Arkus-Duntov gains Edward Cole's approval to prepare a Corvette for speed tests at Daytona in January. Zora's target speed is 150-MPH. [229.55] [271.178] [522.26]
- Two new 1955 Corvettes are ordered to be prepared for racing at Daytona. [259.199]
- Zora Arkus-Duntov begins modifying EX87 to make it extremely streamlined for racing: fiberglass tonneau covering passenger compartment, stock windshield replaced by small driver's side windshield, headrest with fin, and 3-speed manual transmission. [231.28] [259.199] [522.26]
- November
- EX87 (1954 Corvette with V-8 engine) is moved to Chevrolet Engineering, and assigned tracking number 5951. [269.46] [522.26]
- (month unknown)
- Russell Sanders, director of Experimental Department, has Corvette #3951 rebuilt for use as a courtesy car. (Probably at this time, the car is assigned number EX-122.) [697.44]
- Design work begins on what will become the 1958 Corvette. [5.53]
- December
- John Fitch writes to Chevrolet chief engineer Edward Cole, suggesting he become a sports car consultant, to help develop the Corvette into a world-class sports car. [132.27]
- December 14
- At General Motors' Arizona Desert Proving Ground, Zora Arkus-Duntov drives 1955 Corvette test car #5951 X-87 to 155.2mph. [901.42]
- December 20
- Zora Arkus-Duntov drives EX87/5951 to just under 163 MPH at General Motors' Desert Proving Ground near Mesa, Arizona. The mule Corvette incorporates Duntov's special camshaft, giving the 307-ci engine 275 horsepower. [269.46] [512.70] [522.27] [895.53]
- December
- Production of 1955 model Corvettes ends. [148.24] [259.117]
- A team from Chevrolet, including Zora Arkus-Duntov, takes three Corvettes to Daytona Beach, to attempt a 150-mph run. The three cars are: 1953 model with 1956 powertrain (three-speed manual and V8 engine), 1955 model with 1956 powertrain, 1956 prototype with three-speed manual and 307-ci engine. Due to bad weather, the high speed testing waits until January. [90] [237.27] [260.23] [269.49] (early 1956 [42.24])
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