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Here's the story:
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 9 - 1959 Corvette
1959 was a year of
refinement for the Corvette and toning down from the excesses of 1958. By the
end of the '50s the country was experiencing a minor recession and car sales
weren't very good. It's interesting that the Corvette's sales actually
increased in '59 to 9670 units from 9168 in '58. Very few cars could make that
claim. The Corvette was making money, but not enough for GM. Since Chevrolet
was in full swing on the Corvair project, the changes to the marginally
profitable '59 Corvette were very minimal.
The obvious external changes on the '59 Corvette were the elimination of the
louvered hood and the chrome trim on the trunk lid. More subtle was the
addition of 10 slots on the hub cap to aid brake cooling. Those were the only
external points of difference on the '59. The cleaner look was well received.
The interior received a storage bin under the passenger side grab bar and the
door knob was moved forward for better ergonomics. A common complaint of the
'58 was the almost total lack of side support from the seats. So the '59 had
reshaped seats to help keep the driver's seat planted behind the wheel. The
calibration of the dash instruments was improved, and the gauge lenses were now
concave to eliminate glare and improve readability. For safety reasons, a
T-handle reverse-lockout was added to the 4-speed shifter. Twin sun visors were
also a new option.
Under the body, radius rods were added to the rear axle to partially fix the
Corvette's wheel hop problem. Shock mount points were improved as well as improved
nitrogen-filled shocks. Front and rear springs were stiffened to offset
additional weight. New performance options included 6.70 x 15 nylon blackwall
tires and a simplified off-road braking package. There also was an oversized
24-gallon fuel tank for "long trips." Fewer than 200 oversized tanks
were sold between 1959 and 1962. Under the hood, the full line of 283
cubic-inch carbureted and fuel injected engines were available as they were in
1958.
New ground may not have been broken this year, but the '59 Corvette was still a
very desirable sports car. Motor Trend magazine tested a '59 Corvette against a
356 Porsche and concluded that if a buyer liked the idea of having one of the
world's quickest sports cars, then pick the Corvette. What more can you say?
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