light CHEVROLET CORVETTE 1964 Owners Manual

Downshifting with
Manual Transmission
If you wish to shift from one gear to the one imme ­
di ately lower in ratio, avoid dangerous ly overspeed­
ing the engine by downshifting as follows:
I.
Watch the Tachometer-If your tach is orange­
zoned at 5000 to 5300 rpm, you may downshift to
the next lower gear when it indicates 4000 to 4100
rpm. If your tach is red-zoned at 6300 to 6500 rpm, you may downshift to the next lower gear at 4700 to 4900 rpm.
2. Double-clutching reduces strain on engines and transmissions. The usual method of double ­
clutching is:
Let up on the throttle, disengage the clutch, shift
into neutral, and engage the clutch. Almost si­multaneously, speed up the engine, disengage the
clutch, shift into the next lower gear and re­engage the clutch while depressing the throttle.
With practice , this procedure becomes alm ost
second nature.
Driving with Positraction
The positraction rear axle will give you constant
driving force on both rear wheels, especially helpful in the winter and during other slippery driving con­
ditions which might stop a conventionally equipped vehicle. During turns , the positraction axle applies
the major driving force to the inside rear wheel thus
improving stability and cornering. Normal light throttle application will supply maximum traction.
When starting with one rear wheel on an excessive ly
slippery surface, slight application of the
parking brake may be necessary momentarily to gai n maxi­
mum traction.
Driving with
Metallic Brake Linings
If your Corvette is equipped with optional metallic
brake linings, you will find that somewhat mor e than
normal pedal pressure will be required to stop the car
until you have made several stops to warm up the
linings .

10
Pushing and Towing Tips
PUSHING CAR TO START
Should it ever beco me necessary to start the engine by
pu shing the car (towing to start is not recommended as car being towed may accelerate into tow car), pro­
ceed as fo llows: Turn off all e lect rical loads su ch as radio, heater
and, if possible, lights until the engine st arts.
MANUAL TRANSMISSION - T
urn ignition switch
to "on." Place shift leve r in high (3rd on 3-spee d
transmissions, 4th on four-speed) and depress clutch. When car reaches 25-30 miles per hour, slowly re­
l ease clutch to sta rt e ng ine.
POWERGLlDE TRANSMISSION -
Turn ignit io n
switch to "on" and place sel ector lever in "N." W h e n
car reac hes a spee d of 25-30 mph, place th e selecto r
l ever in l ever in uD." TOWING
A DISABLED CAR
If your Corvette must be towed, the following pre­
cautions must be observed:
MANUAL TRANSMISSION
-Release parking brake
and place shift lever in neutral.
POWERGLIDE TRANSMISSION -Release
parking brake and place selector lever in "N." DO NOT TOW IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH. II the transmission is inoperative, or not operating properly, the pro­peller shaft must b e d isconnected or car must be
towe d with rear wheels off the ground.
TOWING WITH REAR WHEELS
RAISED-When a
vehicle is being towed on its front wheels, the steer­
ing whee l shou ld be secured to maintain a straight
forward position.
Do
not use tire chains on the rear wheels of your Corvette . Clearance between
USE OF TIRE CHAINS
AND SNOW TIRES
• tire and wheelhouse is insufficient to permit operation with chains insta!led.
Many [ire manufa cturers market tires for the Corvette which have specialized
tread designs for mud and snow use.

CLUTCH AND STEERING ADJUSTMENTS-Your Chevrolet deal!!! '?I.n make these 'adjustments for YQu: • A linkage adjustment to reduce clutch pedal travel to permit .fast release and more rapid gear shifting; • An adjustment to move the steering wheel forward or rearward; _ A linkage IIdjustment to permit
"faster" steering
response.
TRAILERS and their EFFECT on CAR OPERATION
The Corvette is designed primaril y (or passenge r
co nveyance . H owever , it is well known that many owners do pull trailers and have experi e nced very
sa tisfacLOry serv ice.
When a trailer is attached to a car, the car becomes
not only a l oad-carrying vehicle, but a load-pulling vehicle . The d e m a n ds of this type of operation are
very different from those (or which t h e automobile is pri ma rily designed and may present probl ems, such
as spring and tire loading, braking, coo ling, lighting, and steering. Howeve r, careful driving practices will
better s atisfy the requirements of trailer hauling.
If in the opinion of the manufacturer a part or com ­ponent of a motor vehicle has been advers ely affected
by misuse of the vehicle with trailer loads, such part or
com
ponent will not be covered by the manufac­turers warranty .
The size o f and equipment for trailers, including
su ch ite ms as hitc hes and safe t y ch a ins, brakes, ligllls, pO\ve r- wei ght ratios a n d over-all length, are gen erally
su bject to safet y regulations in all states, and i t is the responsibility o f the u ser to m a ke certain that h e is in full compliance with th e regulations of the states
in which h e plans to opera te with a traile r and of t h e Interstate Commerce Commission, i f applicable,
before doing so . Furthe r , when opera tin g a car with a traile r attached, the drive r must realize tha t the performance, steering characte ri stics , a n d brakin g distance of his ca r h ave been altered , and that h e mlls t exe r c ise greater caution t o safe ly handle his
ca r and trailer.

FUEL
GAUGE
..
The ele ctr ically o p erated fuel gauge will indicate
th e amoun t o f fuel in the lan k when th e ig nition
switc h i s turned on. W hen the ignition switch is
turned off, the nee dle will not necessar ily retur n to the em pty mark.
TEMPERATURE
GAUGE
..
Showing engin e coo lant temperature, gauge readings w ill vary with air temp eratur e and operating condi­
tions. Hard driving or prolonged idling in very hot
weather may produc e above normal readings. The ignitio n swit ch must be o n [or accur ate r eadings.
CLOCK
..
Resetting the dock provides a utomatic regulat io n
providing ther e is an error, either fast o r slow, of at
lea st 3 minu tes. No regulat ion will be introd uced if
the clock is reset for an error of less than 3 minutes. When resetting, pull out the small knob and turn in the direction in whi ch you wi sh to set the hands­clockwise if the clock is slow, counterclockwi se if the clo ck is fast. Do not move the hand s pas t the cor­
rect time. Your clock should be cleaned and oiled periodi cally.
The courtesy lights beneath the o u ter
en ds of the dash p a nel, as well as the Sport Coupe dome light and the Con-
COURTESY vertible r ear compartment light, will
LIGHTS come on when eithe r door is opened. They may a lso be lighted by turning the headlight switch fully counter­clockwise past the slight resi stan ce.

WINDSHIELD
WIPER
AND WASHER
..
The electric windshield wipers may be operated
anytime the ignition switch is "on" by turni ng the
\-vindshield wip er knob clockwise; to the first detent
for slow speed
and all the way for high speed opera­
tion. 'The button located in the center of the wiper
contro l knob operates the windshield washer. Press­
ing this button will cause a quantity of fluid to be
CIGARETTE
LIGHTER • squ
irted on ea
ch sid e of the windshield and, at the
same time, will autom atically star t the windshi eld
w ipers. The wipers must be turned off manually.
Keep the water container , beneath the l eft front
fender, filled
at all times. Add windshield washer solvent or equ ivalent to the jar to aid in c utting
road film and grease . This so lve nt is recomm ended for lise at all times except when th e temperature falls
below freezing. During periods when temperawres of freezing or below can be expected, use windshield
washer anti-freeze in the washer jar and prewarm the windshield with the heater defrosters before
us ing the washer. Fill
the was her jar on l), %
full in win ter to allow for expa nsion if the tem­perature should fall low enou gh to freeze the
so lution.
The light e r. located on the instrument panel so as to
be accessible to both dri
ver and passenger, should be pushed "in" to operate. After it has become hea ted and ready for use, it will snap out.

The retractable dual headlights contribute much to the long, low appearance 01 your Corvette and also
serve to protect the headlights when not in use . Two switches are necessary for headlight operation.
• Pull
the light switch knob out to its first stop to operate the parking lights, tail lights and instru· ment panel lights, fully "out" to substitute head·
lights lor parking lights. Regulate th e intensity 01 the instrument panel lights by rotating the
knob; turn fully counterclockwise past the
"detent" position
to turn on the interior lights.
• Move
the headlight motor switch toward you to
rotate the head lamp assemblies into the open
position. The headlamps may be lelt in the open
position even WiLh the lights turned off. To close
the assemblies move the switch away from you.
LIGHT SWITCH AND
HEADLIGHT MOTOR SWITCH
• A flashing red "LIGHTS" indicator on the in·
strument panel, gives warning whenever the
headlights are
turned on but not fully opened.
OPERATING HEADLIGHTS MANUALLY
Each headlamp assembly may be opened manuaJly, if necessary, as follows:
• Raise
the hood and, reaching under the body panel, turn the wheel disc on the headlamp door motor in the direction you wish the door to move. Continue until the door is fully open or closed .
• See
your Chevrolet Dealer as sOOn as possible.

HEADLIGHT
BEAM •
SWITCH
i\fove the lever on t h e steering column up or down to indicate a right o r a left turn. The amber front parking light, the red stop lights and the proper green indicator light in the instrument cluster will
flash to indicate the d irection of the turn. The lever
wi ll normally return to neutral; but in the event of
a wide gradual turn this may not happen and you
may nee d to turn off the signa l manually.
The headlight high beam switch, located at the left
side of the toeboard. is used for selection of either high or low headlight beams. The red high beam in­dicator light in the instrument p a nel will remind you when the "brights" are being used. Remember to "dim" the lights when approaching oncoming traffic and when overtaking other vehicles .
•
TURN
SIGNAL
LIGHTING SYSTEM TROUBLE CHECKS • Headlamps which Hickel' on and off rapidly indicate an overload condition which should be corrected immediately by your Authorized Chevrolet Dealer.
•
If, when signaling a turn, the indicator light comes on but does not Hash in one direction, check for a burned out front turn signal bulb or stoplamp bulb on that side.
•
If the indicator lights come on and stay on when signaling a turn in either direction and no clicking is heard, replace the flasher. A three-bulb Aasher must be used.
•
If the Hasher clicks but the dash indicator light does not operate, replace the indicator bulb.

HOOD
RELEASE •
The brakes usually adjust themselves as necessary. The optional heavy duty metallic brakes adjust on forward stops, others adjust on reverse stops. Should
brake pedal travel become excessive, drive the vehicle
back ward
and forward several times applying the
brakes to stop. Pedal travel should return to normal after several stops. To apply the parking brake, pull straight out on the T-shaped handle. To release, turn the handle slightly and push in. The red "BRAKE" warning light in the instrument cluster will remain on when the brake is applied and the ignition key is on. POWER BRAKES-Optional power brakes make use of engine vacuum to help you bring your car to a stop with much less braking effort than needed with regular brakes. Should the engine stall. a vacuum
reserve supplies three power assisted stops, after
which additional foot pressure will be needed for
brake response.
Pull the hood release handle out to release the hood lock and then raise the hood manually until it locks
in the open position . With the hood in this position, insert a bolt through the hood prop hole and secure
with a nut to prevent the hood from being acciden­
tally released. Before closing, remove the safety nut
and bolt and lift up on the hood panel to unlock the
support mechanism . then lower and close firmly.
• BRAKES
POWER STEERING-Optional power steering sup­
plies about 80 % of the effort needed to turn the front wheels while the engine is running. Should the engine stop or the power steering cease function ­ing the regular steering mechanism will allow you
to safely guide your Corvette.

HARD
TOP
CARE
The optional hard top has the same durable
acrylic lacquer finish as the other painted sur­
[aces of your Corvette and may be cleaned, pol.
ished and waxed as previously outlined.
same manner as the rest of the interior.
When the tOP is not in use, it should be stored inside in a clean, dry place . 1£ it is to be stored
[or a long period of time keep it well covered to avoid a build up of dust and dirt on the painted surface or headlining. The interior headlining may be cleaned in the
PLASTIC
WINDOW
CARE Keep
the large
p lastic rear windows in the Corvette folding LOp and removable hard top in good condition as follows:
•
Remove surface dust with a soft cotton cloth moistened with water and wipe cross-wise of the window.
• \ ' Vith a very
dirty window, wash using cold or lukewarm water and a mild neutral soap. Then rinse with clear water and dry with a slightly moistened clean soft cloth.
•
Add a final IUSl~ r to t h e window by using a plastic window cleaner as directed on the container.
• Do not use alcoho l or volatile agents.
•
Do not use a scraper to remove snow. ice or frost from the rear window. In an emergency use warm water.
29

HEADLAMP REPLACEMENT
Replace individual head lamp s as follows:
Open head lamp doors and remove cover panel, dis­
e n gage spring from retaining ring, then remove
two retai
ning ring attaching screws per lamp indi­
cate d b elow. Don·t dist",·b the larg e head adjusting
screws . Pull lamp fanltard and unplug the electri cal
connector. Plug in the new l amp and reverse the
removal procedure to install.
HEADLAMP AIMING
Improperly aimed headlamps can be dangerous.
Periodic headlam p checks for proper aiming and adjustm en t are strongly recommend ed. Your Chev­
rol et Dea l er is well equipped to provide such service.
NOTE 1: Lubricate with water resi stant EP chassis
lubri cant. BODY
LUBRICATION POINTS
L ubric ate the following items when possible.
Hood Latch Mechanism and Hinges-Apply light en­
gine oil to pivot points. Don't oil lock pins or catch
plates.
Rear Compartment Lid Release and Hinges-Apply
light engine oil.
Side Door Hinge Pins-Apply light engine oil.
Door Lock Rotor
and Striker Plate-Apply light en­
g ine oil or stai nles s stick lubric ant.
Lock
Cylinders-Lubricate wit h powdered graphite.
Window Regulators and Controls and Door Lock
Remote Link-Apply light engine oil.
Gas Tank Filler Cap Hinge-Apply light engine oil.
Wecdherstrips and Rubber Bumpers-Coat lightly
wit h a rubber lubricant such as Chevrolet Spray-a­
Squeak (G. M. Part No. 987883) .
NOTE 2: Lubricate with SAE 80 or SAE 80-90 Multi-purp ose Gear Lubricant meeting
requirements of U. S. Ordnance Spec.
M1L-L-2105B.