1965 Corvette Information

Chevrolet unleashed the 1965 Corvette Sting Ra with marked improvements all around and it was the third go around of the C2 generation of the Corvette. Modest changes to the outside and even less noticeable improvements to the interior of this supercar, but it was what was under the hood that made the difference.

General Motors did its homework on this latest Sting Ray and the 1965 Corvette had many upgrades to the body. Some of the more notable improvements were.

Styling, The nose of the 1965 Corvette was smoothed out and lost the indentations on the hood from the previous year. This gave the car a sleeker look and feel.

Exhaust Vents, To replace the non-working horizontal speed lines that resided on the front fenders of the 1964 Corvette, the 1965 Sting Ray had three working exhaust vents installed.

Trim, The rocker panels, wheel coverings, and some of the interior were all redesigned for the 1965 Corvette.

Two new options for the Corvette owner was the 1965 Corvette had four wheel disc brakes and a new V-8 big block engine.

In 1965, the four wheel disc brakes were standard in this year and beyond. This year's Corvette featured brakes that had a four piston design and the calipers were two pieces with cooling fins. Since the brake pads were in constant contact with the rotors it was thought that the drag would result in poor fuel economy and a faster wearing of the pads but the actual result was quite the opposite. No resulting loss of fuel economy was found because the pads were lightly in constant contact with the rotors, where the rotors stayed smooth and clean. Although hard to imagine, the 1965 Corvette had an unbelievable brake pad life expectancy of 57,000 miles.

The big news of that year was the brakes, however, the leading news was the new optional V-8 engine that was known as the Mark IV but was dubbed and marketed as the Turbo Jet. This new engine came in the way of two 369-cid models and one monster 427-cid that would be developed and made available one year later.

The 1965 Corvette Sting Rays that featured the top 396 big block saw a blinding 425 horsepower and 415 pounds of foot torque. The monster engine breathed in fuel via a four barrel carburetor and went from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 5.7 seconds. For the true speed junkie, GM offered a Mark IV package which not only included the new engine but also other upgrades like stiffer springs, a rear sway bar, a hood bulge, and an option to have side pipes installed.