Corvette: Year By Year

    

About The Corvette

    

Corvette Specs

    

1963 Corvette

1963 Corvette Part Four

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Dashboard

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Dashboard

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette Dashboard

Like the body and the chassis, the interior was all new for 1963 and it was also a radical change. Aeronautics was in fashion at the time, so the inside of the new Corvette had a basis in airplane cockpits. There was a strong separation between the driver and the passenger. It was both good looking and easy to use.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Passenger Grab Bar

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Passenger Grab Bar

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette Passenger Grab Bar
The passenger "grab bar" was carried over from the C1 Corvettes and considering the performance increase, was needed more than ever.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Steering Wheel

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Steering Wheel

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette Steering Wheel
The new Corvette featured full instrumentation and a telescoping steering wheel. Another first for 1963: power steering.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Center Console

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Center Console

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette Center Console
As in previous years, the dashboard center included a clock, heater / ventilation controls and radio. Air conditioning (RPO C60; $422) was available for the first time in a Corvette, although only 278 were so equipped for 1963.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Seat

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Seat

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette Seat
Seats were reasonably comfortable, especially considering the other domestic offerings of the time. If "Saddle Tan" interior was ordered the seat material was leather, also a Corvette first.

Hide-away headlights made their Corvette debut in 1963 and were a rare sight at that time. They contributed to the sleek advanced styling of the Sting Ray. Exposed headlights would return in 2005, 42 years later. In 1963 they offered a number of advantages, as the headlights of the time were large and a problem to designers looking for an aerodynamically efficient design. The drawbacks included added complexity, cost and weight.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Closed

1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Closed

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Closed

The new Corvette headlights closed (above) and open (below). The early headlights featured fiberglass buckets; metal buckets were used later in the year and on the balance of the mid-years production.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Open

1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Open

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Open

Below: The mechanical action was via an electric motor and rotation was on the transverse center.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Drawing

1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Drawing

Close1963 Chevrolet Corvette headlight Drawing
1963 Corvette Assembly Line

1963 Corvette Assembly Line

Close1963 Corvette Assembly Line

The fuel filler door gets a emblem attached in what is obviously a staged photograph.

1963 Corvette Part Five

C2 Corvette Photos


1963 Corvette Options