Corvette guru Zora Arkus-Duntov reportedly hated designer Larry Shinoda’s split rear window on the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe, which undeniably obstructed the driver’s view. For 1964, the split window was gone and replaced by a single piece of glass. The Corvette’s stylists also removed the faux air intakes from the hood, though the indentations remained, making the 1964 hood unique. The roof vents in the coupe were also redesigned, though only the driver’s side vents were functional, with a three-speed fan to exhaust hot air.
Collectors prefer Shinoda’s original design split window today, which is reflected in prices, but 1964 Corvette buyers still turned out in droves. Sales rose to 22,229 overall, although coupe sales fell 20 percent to 8,304 while convertibles increased to 13,925 from 10,919. Knock-off alloy wheels were actually produced this year – all with three-pointed ears – since the problems with alloy porosity had been solved. A total of 806 buyers ordered them.
The Chevy 327 cubic-inch OHV V-8 remained the only engine, available in stock 250 bhp tune or with 300 bhp, 360 bhp and 375 bhp options available. The highest horsepower L84 engine featured fuel-injection and cost $538 extra. A total of 1,325 buyers opted for fuel-injection which meant 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds and top speed of 138 mph. Convertible buyers could add a factory hardtop for $422, and 7,023 did, with 1,220 of them deleting the soft top. Air conditioning was fitted to only 1,988 cars.
The base transmission was a 3-speed manual gearbox, but only 711 buyers opted for that. The majority (19,050) ordered the $188 4-speed manual, which was available in with wide-ratio and close ratio configurations. A total of 10,538 buyers ordered the wide-ratio 4-speed with the 250 and 300 bhp engines, while 8,496 combined the close-ratio box with the 365 and 375 bhp motors. A further 2,480 buyers paid $199 for a two-speed Powerglide automatic.
Riverside Red was the most popular color, with 5,274 sold, while Tuxedo Black (1,897) and Saddle Tan (1,765) attracted the fewest buyers. Other colors included Silver Blue (3,121), Daytona Blue (3,454) Ermine White (3,909) and Satin Silver (2,785). Starting in 1964 and through 1967, some Chevrolet Corvette bodies were supplied by Dow-Smith in Ionia, Michigan.
