Chevrolet Corvette 1953 User manual

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It warm welcome to a new form of motoring
pleasure
is extended to you as a Corvette owner. This is your introduction to
an all new and distinctive design in which Chevrolet com'bines many of the
desirable features
of the passenger car into a truly fine and beautiful sports car.
Tbis manual has been prepared to provide you with necessary inforlDation
on features. driving. care and maintenance of your new Corvette. Read the
information
contained herein carefully and keep it as a handy reference.
Your Chevrolet dealer, who
is equipped to perform complete maintenance
on the Corvette, will he glad to assist you in any prohlems concerning the
operation and servicing of your car. Do not besitate to consult hiro.
All information. illustrations and specifications contained in this literature
are based on the latest product information available at the time ofpublication
approval.
The right is reserved to make changes at any time without notice.
C HE V R0 LET MOT 0 R 0 I V I S ION • G ENE RA L MOT 0 RS COR P0 RAT ION • 0 ET R0 I T 2. M I C H.

A GUIDE TO THE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF YOUR NEW CORVmE
CORvm£ RADIO - P"'G~ 21 '
HEATER AND DffIIOSTER -PAGE. 3
cORVffiE FEATURES -PAGE 7
OpERATING INSTRUCTIONS - 'AGE 9 LUBRICATION -PAGE
23
"
CARE OF THE FINISH -PAGE 14
aREAKING-IN PE.IOD - ~AG~ 12
DESIGN AND MINOR MAINTENANCE INFORMATION - PAGE 29
MANUFACTU~'S WARRANTY - PAGE 66
CARE OF THE TIRES - 'AGE 15
TIRE AND BATTERY WARRANnES - 'AGE 66
GENERAL INFORMAnON - PAGE 12
MAINTENANCE SCHEDU.E - PAGE 26
Tf(HNICAL DATA -PAGE 64
OWNER SERVICE POUCY -PAGE 67
"
•
r,

LIGHT
CONTROL ACCESSORY
HEATER
DEFROSTER CONTROL
Fig. 1- 1 nsl,"mLnlS and ControlS'

Fil. 2-SpmJomtltt and
Parhng Brak~ .. lIarm
INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLS
•
SI'EEDO \I ETE R
The Spcc.:domcLcr located
on the instrument panel
above the stccrin~ column
(fi~. 2) registcrs both spced
and accumulated milea,{c.
A hood over [he upper por-
tion of lhe speedometer re-
duces reflections during
night driving.
FUE L GAUGE
The fuci gauge (fig. 3) is
operated electrically to in-
dicate the amount of fuel
ill the 17 gallon fuel tank
with the ignition switcb
turned on. When the igni-
tion is lurned off, the
pointer returns to the
empty mark.
TEM I 'E R ATU UE
GAUGE
The tempel'ature gauge
Ftg . l- rtrllprralurt Gaugt
(fi~. 4) 'hn'" engine cool-
ant temperature in lhe cyl-
inder head. Temperature
indications will vary with
thermostat ran~e, outside
air temperature and oper-
ating conditions of the
vehicle. Lon~ hard drives
or prolonged idling in very
hot weather may produce
above normal temperature
indications.
TACHOMETER
The tachometer located in
the lower
center of the in·
strument panel (fig. 5) in-
dicatcs the speed of the
engine in revolutions per
minute. Incorporated into
the tachometer is a rcvo--
lulion counter which indi·
.4 cates. the cumuJativc tOlal
of engine I"evoJUt1ons.
J

AMMETER
The ammeter (fig. 6) shows the rate at which the battery is
being charged or discharged. The generator is equipped
with a regulator which
controls the charge accord·
ing to battery requirements.
~~
When the generator is sup-
~ plying more than the cur-
I rent deman.d, the ammeter
:~:h:W !:~~~~a~
shown if the demand of the
eq!Jipment switched on is
greater than the generator
output. When battery is
fully charged, the charging
rate will be low, thus giving an indication of the condition
of the battery.
OIL PRESSURE GAUGE
The oil pressure gauge (fig. 7) is installed primarily as an
indi.cator to show wheth.er or not the oil pump is working
and does not necessarily indicate the condition or quantity
ofoil in the crankcase. The oil pressure gauge should always
indicate pressure when the engine is running. If no pressure
2
is indicated, stop the en·
gine immediately and bave
the cause corrected. When
starting a cold engine, i
will
be noted that the oi
pressure gauge will register
a higb oil pressure.
As the
engine warms up, the p~
sure will drop until it
reaches a point where
changes to higber speech
will raise the pressure very
little if at all. If oil pres-
sure registers abnorma1Jy
high after the engine is
thoroughly warmed up, it
may indicate the possibility
of plugged oil lines
and
passages and should be in-
spected to determine the
cause.
CLOCK
Fi,. B-Clock An illuminated electric
clock (fig. 8) is located [0
the right of the oil pressure gauge. The clock is se t by pull-
ing out and turning the knob at the bOllom of the dial.

P'I_ 9-Ll,hl aM CII D Ie, Controls
LIGHT CONTROL
KNOB
The light control knob (lig.
9) is located at the extreme
left of
the lower instrument
panel and controls a two
position push-pull switch.
Pull knob to Ii"'t position
for parking, tail, license
and instrument panelligh" .
In the second position,
headlight beams replace
parking ligh" . Instrument
panel ligh" may be regulated by rotating the knob.
CHOKE
The choke, located adjacent to the light control knob
(fig. 9), is wed to provide a richer fuel mixture to assist in
starting a cold engine. Pull choke knob out part way or all
the way depending upon climatic conditions.
This auto-
matically opens
the throttle to provide for smooth engine
operation when choking
is required.
CAUTION : Excessive use of tbe choke will provide a fuel
mixture tOO rich to bum . Some of this
unburned fuel will leak past the pistons and
dilute the engine oil, resulting in improper
lubrication, excessive engine wear and poor
performance. When it is necessary to use the
choke for starting, it sbould be pushed part
way in as soon 3.! the engine starts and all
the way in as soon as the engine will run
smoothly without
its we .
LO~\N
~s,..~
Frg. 10-K!)I Slarler nnd
1,1ll1um SWitch
KEY STARTER AND
IGNITION SWITCH
The four p06itions of the
key starter (fig. 10)
are:
LOCK, OFF, ON and
START . To operate, turn
switch to START. As soon
as the engine
start', release
switch, which will return
to ON p06ition. The key is
required only when turn-
ing to or from LOCK
position.
JIEATER AND DEFROSTER CONTROL
The Corvette recirculating beater and defroster, which is
available as a factory installed optional accessory, has a
single control knob (fig. 11) located above
tbe ignition
switch and adjaceot to the speedometer.
3

Tocontro i the healer, push
knob rull),
"In" and rotate
[0 desired "LO" or "III"
blower operation. \\'arm
air from heater is deflected
down towards the floor To
turn off rotate index mark
on knob to the \'ertical
position.
To operate defroster, pull
knoh OUI
or partially out
rmd rolate 10 desired blower
FIg. I1 - H~at~r ond f)tjrosld COf/IMl velocity as dcscril>cd above.
The warm air is divided between the heater and defroster
in
proport i on to the amount of contro l k.nob pull-out.
4
FIg . lZ- It'" ulrh"IJ H ·' lp"
fUld IVmllt'r C01/trnl
WI NDS III ELD WII 'E R
AN D WASHER
CON TROL
\Vilh the engine runninf{,
the windshield wiper and
washer control knob (fig.
12)
may be rOlated to reg-
ulate wiper action, while
pressing
and then releasing
the
button in the center
I-',/:. 1 3-Radlo elmtro/r
of lbe knob will operate
the washer.
RADIO CONT lt OLS
The Corvelle ,iqnal 5tcl<-
iog radio is available as a
faclOry inslalled oplional
accessory.
When installed, the radio controls (fig. 13) are
located in the upper center or the instrument panel and
consist of left and right inner and outer control knobs,
push bUltOn comrols, a ravoJ'ite stauon selectOr, and an
automatic tuning bar. A complete description of the
operation of the Corvette radio is contained on pages 21
and 22.
CIGAR ETTE
LI GH TE R
The cigarelle lighter (fig.
14) is located on the upper
face of lhe instrument pan -
el above lbe oil prosurc
gauge and is operated by
pushing in and releasing.
When heated, it automat-
icaUy clicks
OUl for use.

Fi" IS-ParAm , '! 8raA t und
Hood I A< * Co ntr olJ
PARKING BlIAKE
AND ALAlIM LI G HT
The parking brake oper-
ates independently of the
service brakes and
is applied
by pulling
slrai~ht back
on the T-handle (fig. 15).
To release, simply tum the
handleslightly and push in
to
normal position. A park.
ing brake alarm light, lo-
cated below the speedom-
eter (fig. 2). operates only
with ignition switch on to indicate by means of a Aashinq
red light when the parking brake is applied.
nOOD LOCK CONTlIOL
The hood lock is released by pulling out the contro l knob
located under the left side of the instrument panel, ncar the
parking brake T-handle (6g. 15). This releases the hood to
enable it to be raised
manually to the open position. The
hood is hinged at its forward end to supports at the sides
of
the radiator. A telescoping hood support, which locks
when
the hood reaches the open position, is provided. To
lower the hood, it must first be raised to disengage the
hold-open support and then lowered fully to engage the
hood lock.
DllIECTION SIGNAL
The direction signal lever is located on the left side of the
slcerin~ column forward of the ste ering wheel. Moving this
levcr downward for a left turn and upward for a right tum
will impart a flashing signal through the parking and SlOp
li~hls LO indicate direction of turn . The lever will auto-
ll'ladcaJl~ ' relOnl to Ihe "oW' position upon completion of
turn . The signal direction is indicated to tbe driver by a
flashing arrow in the speedometer.
HOllN lIING
A Ilorn ring is provided on the steering wheel to control
the
operation of tbe horn . Finger tip pressure at any point
on this ring will provide the electrical contact necessary
fig . J6 - Cou :1 """IIol or nnd
Foal COl/trols
to blow the horns.
COWL VF..NTlLATOR
CONTROL
The cowl ventilator is
openedandcJosed bymeans
of the control handle lo-
cated below the instrument
panel (fig. 16). A rachet
mechanism provides sev-
eraJ positions for the regu-
lation of the air admitted.
5