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1960 Chevrolet Corvette
The 1960 Corvette was the final version of the rounded-tail C1 body introduced for 1958. It retained the fiberglass two-seat roadster, clean hood and deck, quad headlamps, tooth grille, body-side coves, and split bumpers. Production reached 10,261 cars, a new Corvette high at the time.
Every documented production Corvette used a 283-cubic-inch small-block V8. The standard single-four-barrel engine produced 230 gross horsepower. Dual Carter four-barrels produced 245 horsepower with hydraulic lifters or 270 with a high-lift mechanical-lifter camshaft. Rochester fuel injection produced 250 horsepower with hydraulic lifters or 290 with mechanical lifters.
The often-repeated 315-horsepower figure needs a boundary. Chevrolet assigned CY and CZ suffixes to planned 275- and 315-horsepower aluminum-head fuel-injection combinations and published those outputs in engineering material. The same manufacturer reference states that retail delivery of a 1960 Corvette with factory-installed aluminum heads has not been confirmed. The documented option counts and production identifiers therefore remain the 250- and 290-horsepower iron-head paths unless an individual car has stronger primary evidence.
A three-speed manual was standard. Buyers could choose a close-ratio four-speed or Powerglide. Manual cars used a 3.70 axle as standard, while Powerglide used 3.55. Positraction was available for manual-transmission cars in 3.70, 4.11, or 4.56 ratios.
The chassis paired independent front suspension with a live rear axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs and upper radius rods. Front and rear stabilizer bars helped control roll. Four-wheel 11-inch hydraulic drums were standard. RPO 686 added metallic linings, while RPO 687 combined special shocks, finned drums, cooling fans and scoops, metallic facings, and a quick-steering adapter. The package required the 270- or 290-horsepower engine, Positraction, and a manual transmission.
The two-seat vinyl cabin offered black, blue, red, or turquoise trim. The sweeping 160-mph speedometer sat above the tachometer and four auxiliary gauges. Seat belts were standard. A heater, signal-seeking AM radio, power windows, sunshades, courtesy light, power folding top, and removable hardtop were among the available comfort options.
Eight regular exterior colors were recorded. Chevrolet built 3,309 code-440 two-tone cars with contrasting coves; the published color breakdown reconciles the total through 15 non-standard colors, combinations, or primer cars. Exterior and interior choices were not coded to individual cars, so protected finishes, photographs, paperwork, and ownership history still matter.
Authentication starts with the 00867S serial sequence and then checks engine suffix, block and head castings, induction system, distributor, generator, transmission and axle codes, dates, trim, and documentation as one coherent assembly. Visible fuel-injection scripts, restored aluminum heads, or a 315-horsepower reference cannot establish an individual car's original configuration on their own.