Vette – July 2019

BY DREW HARDIN (^) I PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAT BROLLIER, PETERSEN PUBLISHING CO. ARCHIVE
From the Archives
“After more than 1,500 miles behind the
wheel (from slow city traffic to 124-mph
speeds on the race track), we’ve formed
a pretty good opinion of these stoppers.
They’re just great; the final component that
gives an already good sports car stopping
power to match its go power.”
On the track, McVay subjected the
new 11.75-inch, ventilated, four-piston disc
brakes (with the power-assist option) to the
magazine’s regular brake-test procedures
plus “five consecutive panic stops from
60 mph, without giving the brakes any
chance to cool. All stops were swerve-free,
hat’s the nickname Bob
McVay, Motor Trend’s
assistant technical editor,
gave to the 1965 Sting Ray
he tested for the maga-
zine’s April 1965 issue. Its 300-horse 327
made it “a very easy car to live with—
much more so than former fuel-injection
models we’ve driven. It started easily, was
completely docile in traffic, needed only
first and fourth for most normal demands,
and it was very quiet. On the other hand,
it gave excellent performance for a 3,280-
pound car when we used the 5,500-rpm
red line and the four-speed gearbox to the
fullest extent.”
Two years into the second-generation
model run, Chevrolet made some signifi-
cant changes to the Vette. This would mark
the final year (for a while, anyway) fuel injec-
tion was available as an engine option, but
buyers had other new choices, including the
350hp L79 small-block and the brand-new
396ci, 425hp “porcupine” big-block.
This was also the year Chevrolet made
four-wheel disc brakes standard equip-
ment, which McVay discussed at length in
his story.
“Commuter” Corvette
“After 1,500 miles, in our opinion, the 1965 Corvette has the finest, smoothest-acting,
and strongest set of stoppers available on any American automobile.”
10 VETTE 19.