Nice Rides

1959 Corvette with significant upgrades

Interior alterations were just as minor and just as effective. There were repositioned armrests and door handles, a shelf added beneath the passenger grab bar for extra small-item stowage space, and reshaped seats that at least now offered token lateral support. Sunvisors were a newly added option, and concave instead of flat instrument lenses (to cut down on reflections) were added to the instrument panel; a T-handle lockout for the manual transmission was included to prevent a driver from accidentally engaging reverse gear.

Powertrain choices were again unchanged, but the 1959 featured a minor mechanical alteration of major benefit: the addition of rear-trailing radius rods that helped contribute to a slightly softer ride and noticeably less rear-end steering on irregular surfaces. The rods also helped counteract rear-axle windup, which was an unfortunate byproduct of a problem with the explosive torque produced by the most powerful engines, and the RPO 684 heavy-duty brakes/suspension option was given even stiffer springs -- all of which made for better handling.

Most Corvettes could shoot through the quarter-mile in under 15 seconds, and 0-60 mph times of less than eight seconds were typical. Road & Track clocked a 290-bhp fuelie engine from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds and on to the quarter-mile mark in 14.5 seconds at 96 mph. Top speed was listed at 128 mph with the short 4.11:1 final drive