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Is there a 1983 Corvette?
Technically, yes. 44 Corvettes were manufactured with a 1983 VIN numbers but none were released to the public as official production vehicles. These 1983 Corvettes were p…rototypes, alpha test vehicles, and beta test vehicles used to sort out production details while others were assigned to engineering evaluation and crash testing. A few were part of a press introduction at Riverside Raceway in California, December 1982. The 1983 Corvette resembled the newly redesigned 1984 model (4th generation Corvette). All were destroyed except one, VIN# 1G1AY0783D5100023 (white with medium blue interior), L83 350ci, 250HP V8, 4-speed Automatic transmission and was retired to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is owned by GM. It was saved from destruction by a few forward looking individuals who recognized the need to retain one 1983 Corvette for posterity. According to "America's Sports Car" magazine published by the NCM in its Jan/Feb 2009 issue, this model had suffered through numerous re-do's over its 26 years. Originally built on June 28, 1982, the car was 1983 Pilot Car number 4. Pilot cars are built for production evaluation and to assess the assembly process put in place at the assembly plant. Following its build, the car was taken to Michigan for evaluation and testing. According to Roger Phipps, a Paint Technician at the Bowling Green plant who became the cars' caretaker while it was in Bowling Green, the '83 was used for development and had various parts replaced with engineering enhancements during its time in Michigan. It ultimately returned to Bowling Green and endured an ignominious existence sitting behind a wall near the plant's employee entrance. Tires went flat, the summer sun faded the carpet and seats, it was never driven or moved, and the Kentucky cardinals left proof they enjoyed using it for target practice. Not an existence a one of a kind vehicle should endure. Roger and vehicle engineer Tom Hill championed an effort to save the vehicle from further deterioration. They were able to use it for a campaign to select the most "Patriotic" paint scheme for the car. One was chosen and the paint department personnel changed the solid white body to Red, White and Blue flag theme. It was not an awe inspiring design to many who saw it, but the car was moved inside the plant and used as a display for visitors awaiting plant tours. At least it was out of the elements. The car was later repainted to its current solid white, and rather than return it to sentry duty by the wall, it was placed on loan with the NCM. The NCM is proud to have it. One veichle component that is rather unique is its wheels. A set of aluminum wheels were discovered in an old storage barn in the late-1980's on the Milford Proving Ground. They were recognized as being from a book by Michael Lamm on The Newest Corvette on page 27. The wheel design had been developed as an optional 15 inch wheel as a backup in the event the planned 16 inch wheels could not be delivered in ample quantities. The picture shows the wheels on a Design Center Corvette prototype. Since the wheels were of no further use to GM, and would likely be scrapped, they were recommended to Fraser Smithson, the PG Director, that they be donated to the NCM. He agreed and were delivered to Dan Gale in the early 1990's. The NCM hadn't been built at that time, not had the '83 been donated, but the wheels found the perfect home on the only remaining '83 Corvette. It is ironic they are now on the car for which they were intended. The following passage is taken from the book by Dave McLellan (the second Corvette Chief Engineer at Chevrolet from 1975 - 1992), Corvette From the Inside, from Bentley Publishing, Cambridge, MA., released in 2002. Because of delays with the introduction of the new generation (C4) Corvette, production started in the early part of 1983. The new car could be called a 1984 model. The federal government defines the model year by its emission certification rules, which state that the model year can contain only one January 1. There was a lot of spirited discussions at Chevrolet about the uninterrupted Corvette tradition, but in the end, Chevrolet opted for the logic of building for 17 months and the attendant reduction in paperwork of not having to rectify for the 1984 model year. (MORE)
