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1964 Corvette - The Ultimate Guide

The drivetrain choices remained pretty much the same as they had in 1963: four 327 cubic inch diameter V-8 engines were mated to either a three-speed, a four speed manual transmission or the Powerglide automatic transmission. Of these engines, the two least-powerful engines returned with 250 and 300 horsepower at a 10.5:1 compression ratio. The high-performance engines, however, did receive some noteworthy upgrades. To start, the carbureted engine was improved upon with the introduction of a Holley carburetor instead of the original base engine’s Carter unit. The engine produced 365 horsepower.

1964 Corvette Special Editions

1964 was an interesting year for the Corvette in terms of concept cars and pushing the envelope.

The most innovative of the Bob McDorman Collection’s GM Styling Corvettes is this Blue Metallic one-off enjoyed by GM Styling legend Bill Mitchell. The unique paint is accented with a custom made die cast front grille and matching dual front fender vents. A willing 327 CI engine gave this gem all the performance the boss could have asked for...
"Bunkie" Knudsen ordered it up in the spring of 1964 for his wife, Florence. This car is as much of a gem today as it was when Florence Knudsen first saw it, so says its current owner, Chevy dealer and noted Corvette collector Bob McDorman. It had custom Pink Pearl paint and custom pink leather interior.
The XP-819, developed in the mid-1960s, was an engineering exercise to test a rear engine concept for the Corvette. The body was designed by Larry Shinoda. You can see styling cues in XP-819 that later appeared in Shinoda's famed "Sting Ray" design. A GM marine engine powers the car so the two-speed transaxle would operate properly. The entire chassis, suspension, and steering are custom made components unique to this car.
For the 1964 New York World's Fair, Bill Mitchell and his Styling team at the Tech Center customized a production Sting Ray under Shop Order #10361 with a variety of items that transformed the already impressive Corvette into a showpiece like no other.  An opening was cut into the center of the car's hood exposing a polished fuel injection manifold with the Corvette crossed flags in its very center.
Bill Thomas had one goal in mind when he designed and produced the Cheetah: beat the Ford Cobra. 25 examples were produced until sadly, the factory burnt down. After the blaze, chevrolet pulled out of the project. The power to weight ratio was phenomenal (it was almost 500lbs lighter than the cobra!). The V8 was pushed back as far as possible leaving the engine almost in the center of the car. Some examples were tuned as high as 520HP.
1964 Chevrolet CERV II Corvette
The CERV II was entirely Zora’s car. The CERV II was conceived early in 1962 and developed over the next year, after the GS program was squashed. The car was built under Zora's direction between 1963-'64. Zora had it in mind to develop a separate line of racing Corvettes but the idea got terminated by management.
When first introduced to the world by Pontiac in 1964, the car showed so much promise that Chevrolet (allegedly) put a swift end to its development to prevent its production from hindering the sales of the Corvette.  Afterall, with the introduction of the 1963 Split-Window Corvette, Chevy was finally seeing an increase in sales, something lacking for most of the first-gen.
The XP-819 Corvette prototype was introduced in 1964 by Frank WInchell and Larry Shinoda as the first, experimental, rear-engine Corvette coupe. The XP-819 was developed in the mid-1960's as an engineering exercise to determine if a rear-engine platform was right for the Corvette program. During that time, Chevrolet was still under a racing ban.

1964 Corvette Engines

Looking for information on the engines powering the 1964 Corvette? Look no further.

1964 Corvette Market & Sales Data

1964 Corvette auction and sales area. We share upcoming auctions, recent auction results, cool 1964 Corvettes we find for sale and commentary on the current market for the 1964 Corvette.

The Best Resource for 1964 Corvette News, Auctions, Reviews & Videos

Get all the latest news stories, upcoming auctions, prices, videos and more about the 1964 Chevrolet Corvette! The latest headlines here.

The XP-819, developed in the mid-1960s, was an engineering exercise to test a rear engine concept for the Corvette. The body was designed by Larry Shinoda. You can see styling cues in XP-819 that later appeared in Shinoda's famed "Sting Ray" design. A GM marine engine powers the car so the two-speed transaxle would operate properly. The entire chassis, suspension, and steering are custom made components unique to this car.
1967 L68 427CI engine in open hood of white C2 Corvette
By the 1960s the Corvette was beginning to hit its stride, especially in terms of performance. While the GM small-block reigned supreme initially, the 1960s would see the rise of the high-displacement big-block, complete with 400-plus horsepower. This was on par with the times, as the horsepower wars of the muscle car era were in full swing. This resulted in several extremely memorable power plants.
Exposed 1964 L76 engine sitting in blue Corvette with hood open
The 265 cubic-inch small-block served as the jumping-off point for further engine development. Chevrolet spent the following decade perfecting their earlier small-block, which eventually grew in displacement and became a testbed for early fuel injection technology. Further progress was made in 1964, with the release of the L76 V8. This potent small block proved quite reliable while dishing out more than enough horsepower.
Close-up of 1964 Corvette L84 engine
In under a decade, GM’s small-block received a substantial boost in displacement while also becoming the standard-bearer for several new internal developments in engine technology. These developments ultimately produced a new crop of small-block powerplants based on Chevrolet’s new 327 cubic-inch engine platform. Of the four 327 cubic-inch small blocks available in 1964, none topped the output of the fuel-injected L84 V8.
1964 Corvette Sales Brochures
Download this 1964 Corvette Dealers Sales Brochure for a quick look at the features of the car. The best way to describe the '64 Corvette Sting Ray: a sports car with a dual personality. Last year's classic was dubbed a designers coup for the way it fused celebrated ...
1964 chevrolet corvette convertible
Our team has scoured the web to find some great videos of the 1964 Chevrolet Corvette. The 1964 Corvette is the second model year of the second generation of the 'Vette and has a cult following. Unfortunately, finding good quality videos of '64 Vettes is getting harder due to their age and fewer of them surviving.

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