The 1966 Corvette Is Smokin' Hot
The 1966 Corvette was a truly muscular sports car that attracted car enthusiasts of its time. It had an engine and design to meet this promise.
Written by Serena Aburahma
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Corvettes
have been amazing, high-performance, and incredibly muscled vehicles over the years. The workmanship that goes into creating these machines makes them great for racing car lovers. The classics, such as the 1966 Corvette, are marvels of engineering that remain appealing years later.
The 1966 Corvette was introduced shortly after the success of the 427 Stingray, and General Motors was developing a model to maintain momentum. Let's look at the features of the classic car and what makes it so smokin' hot like its
1955 model
.1966 Corvette engine and performance
As explained by
Corvette Museum
, the 1966 Corvette had two forms of the V8 engine: a 390 bhp, L36 engine that had a hydraulic-cam and a higher, turbo-jet, L72 engine that produced 425 horsepower. The engines featured big intake valves, a large carburetor from Holley with a four-barrel capacity, and bearing caps that had four holes.
These engines provided 460 lb-ft of torque, significantly higher than their predecessors, which had 415. Many industry watchers believe that the outputs were deliberately underestimated and that they could in fact be closer to 420 hp for the smaller engine and 450 horsepower for the bigger one.
The engine came mated with a 3-speed manual transmission. However, car owners had a choice of a four-speed manual or a two-speed Powerglide automatic.
These V8 engines had just been introduced to the market and had taken the car market by storm, which gave the new Corvette a wider audience.
1966 Corvette design and interiors
There were a few body modifications that came with the 1966 Corvette. First, the front end got a few alterations, which included a new egg-crate insert where earlier models had a horizontal bar. It had an auxiliary hardtop, first introduced by the ’62 model.
The 1966 Corvette also had restyled wheel covers that came with the new rocker trim. In addition to this, the carmaker got rid of the extractor vents that were mounted on the roof in earlier models which had proven to be inefficient.
The interior was somewhat like the 1965 model, featuring pleated leather seats with color choices of black and red. However, unlike the earlier models, it did not have an electric ventilation system.
Besides,
Corv Sport
explains that the carmaker added extra pleats on the bucket seats along with chrome door pull handles. Due to the low seat profile, headrests had proven troublesome so in this model, the carmaker made them optional.What was the price of the classic Corvette?
According to
Rogers Corvette
, car buyers chose between a coupe and a convertible. The convertible went for $4,084 while the coupe went for $4,295. This price would go up if one wanted extras such as shoulder belts, headrests, an optional transmission system, and air conditioning to get rid of the new car smell
.Today, the cost varies, mainly because many owners have either modified their vehicles or the maintenance is not up to spec.
Insure your classic car sufficiently
Classic cars are hard to come by. Therefore, you should sufficiently cover the one you have. Go for a policy that covers everything from accidents to engine failure, damage, and theft.
The
Jerry
app is the world's leading insurance provider. It works with many leading insurance providers across the country. You can use the broker to look for a coverage product that fits your classic car's needs, or cancel the existing coverage after you find a better one.
4.7
