C2 Sting Ray · 1963–1967

C2 Options & RPO Codes

Every factory option Chevrolet offered on the Sting Ray, explained. RPO — Regular Production Option — is GM's ordering code system; the same codes appear on the year pages' production tables, on window stickers, and in every Corvette ad ever written. Click a code in any year's option table to land on its entry here.

Jump to a category

Engines · Transmissions & axle · Brakes & suspension · Ignition, fuel & exhaust · Steering · Wheels & tires · Body, glass & comfort · The race package

Engines

L75 — 327/300

The mild small-block: a 327 with a four-barrel carburetor, hydraulic lifters, and 300 horsepower. Offered as an option 1963–65, it was the sensible Sting Ray engine — strong, quiet, happy on the street — and from 1966 the 300-hp 327 simply became the base engine, no code required.

L76 — 327/340 → 365

The solid-lifter street fighter. In 1963 the L76 made 340 hp; for 1964–65 a hotter cam pushed it to 365 hp, the most powerful carbureted small-block of the era. Mechanical lifters mean it needs valve adjustments and rewards revs — this is the engine for the owner who liked the fuelie's temperament but not its price.

L84 — 327 Fuel Injection

The “fuelie.” Rochester mechanical fuel injection on the solid-lifter 327 — 360 hp in 1963 ($430.40), 375 hp in 1964–65 ($538) — carrying on the technology Chevrolet had introduced on the 1957 Corvette. It was the most expensive engine on the sheet and the most exotic thing in a Chevrolet showroom, and 1965 was its last year: the arrival of the 396 big-block made 375 finicky horsepower a hard sell against 425 cheap ones. Fuel injection would not return to the Corvette until 1982.

L79 — 327/350

New for 1965 and offered through 1967: the 365-hp solid-lifter engine's cam swapped for a hydraulic one, giving 350 hp with no valve adjustments and an easy idle. Many regard the L79 as the best all-around small-block of the generation — nearly all of the speed, none of the maintenance.

L78 — 396/425

The first big-block Corvette. Arriving mid-1965 at $292.70, the 396 cu in, 425 hp Mark IV V8 brought the “porcupine”-head big-block to the Sting Ray along with its signature bulged hood. One year only: for 1966 the engine grew into the 427.

L36 — 427/390

The gentleman's big-block, 1966–67: a 390 hp 427 with hydraulic lifters and a single four-barrel. Effortless torque without the temperament of the multi-carb engines above it — the 427 most owners actually lived with.

L72 — 427/425

The 1966 monster: solid lifters, 11:1 compression, and a rating that famously moved. Introduced at 450 hp, it was quietly re-rated to 425 hp almost immediately — same engine, softer number, most likely to calm insurers and managers alike. One year only; 1967 split its role between the L68 and L71.

L68 — 427/400

For 1967: the hydraulic-lifter L36 topped with the tri-power setup — three two-barrel Holleys under the triangular air cleaner — for 400 hp. The looks and induction theater of the L71 with the docility of the 390.

L71 — 427/435

The definitive street big-block of the generation. 1967 only, $437.10: solid lifters, 11:1 compression, tri-power induction, 435 hp. The number every Corvette ad quoted and every stoplight rival feared — and the engine the L88's 430-hp rating was deliberately set just below.

L89 — aluminum heads for the L71

A $368.65 option on top of the L71 in 1967 that swapped the cast-iron heads for aluminum, trimming roughly 75 pounds off the nose of the car with no change in rated power. Only 16 buyers ticked the box, making L89 cars among the rarest production Sting Rays.

L88 — the race engine on the order sheet

Zora Arkus-Duntov's masterpiece of misdirection, 1967, $947.90: aluminum heads, 12.5:1 compression, a racing cam, and a rating of 430 hp — deliberately published below the L71's 435 so ordinary buyers would look past it. True output was well over 500. Ordering it forced deletion of the radio and heater, and it demanded 103-octane fuel. Just 20 were built in 1967. The full story is on the Le Mans L88s page and in Backdoor Horsepower.

Transmissions & axle

M20 — 4-speed, wide-ratio

The standard 4-speed choice all five years — a Borg-Warner T-10 in early cars, the Muncie from 1963–64 onward. Wide gear spacing suits street driving and the milder engines.

M21 — 4-speed, close-ratio

The Muncie with tighter gear spacing, offered 1966–67 alongside the big-blocks — less drop in revs between shifts, at the cost of a taller first gear. The racer's street box.

M22 — the “Rock Crusher”

The heavy-duty close-ratio Muncie, $237 in 1966–67, built with straighter-cut, coarser gears to survive big-block torque in competition. The gear whine that resulted gave it the best nickname any transmission ever earned. Intended for — and usually ordered with — the L88 and L72.

M35 — Powerglide automatic

Chevrolet's two-speed automatic, offered all five years with the milder engines. Not the enthusiast's pick then or now, but it made the Sting Ray an easy daily driver and its take rate stayed healthy throughout.

G81 — Positraction

The limited-slip differential, available with every axle ratio, all five years. One of the most-ordered options on the car — with this much torque through two rear tires, most buyers considered it essential.

G91 — highway axle, 3.08:1

A tall 3.08:1 rear axle for relaxed cruising, 1963–65 — lower revs at speed, longer legs, slower off the line. The touring answer to Positraction's drag-strip question.

Brakes & suspension

J50 — power brakes

Vacuum assist for the brakes, all five years. Worth having on the drum-braked 1963–64 cars especially; from 1965 it assisted the new four-wheel discs.

J65 — sintered metallic brakes

Hard-wearing sintered-metallic linings inside the drums, 1963–64 — much better fade resistance when hot, famously wooden when cold. The serious-driver brake option of the drum era, made obsolete overnight by the 1965 discs.

J56 — heavy-duty brakes

The competition brake package — heavy-duty components and semi-race pads meant for cars that would see a track. Expensive, aggressive, and overkill on the street; typically ordered alongside the top engines by people who intended to use them.

J61 — drum brake credit

The oddest line on the 1965 sheet: four-wheel disc brakes became standard that year, and J61 let a buyer refuse them — keeping drums for a $64.50 credit. A few hundred thrifty souls took the money. Their cars are trivia answers now.

F40 — special suspension

The heavy-duty suspension package of 1964–65: stiffer springs and shocks for owners who raced or simply wanted the car tied down. In 1963 the equivalent hardware was locked inside the Z06 package; from 1966 the code became F41.

F41 — special suspension

The 1966–67 successor to F40 — same idea, stiffer springs, shocks and stabilizer hardware, most at home under a big-block car headed for a road course. The F41 code went on to a long life on performance Chevrolets for decades after.

Ignition, fuel & exhaust

K66 — transistor ignition

Breakerless transistorized ignition, 1964–67 — no points to burn or float at high rpm, which is exactly where the solid-lifter engines lived. Effectively required equipment on the top engines (the L88 included it), and one of the first steps toward modern electronic ignition on any American production car.

K19 — Air Injection Reactor

The smog pump, 1967, $44.75 — an air-injection system required on cars sold in California. The first whisper on a Corvette order sheet of the emissions era that would define the following decade.

N03 — the 36-gallon “big tank”

A giant fiberglass fuel tank filling the space behind the seats — coupes only, all five years, around $200. It existed for one purpose: endurance racing, where fewer fuel stops win races. Almost nobody ordered one for the street, which is why “tanker” coupes are among the most sought-after C2s today.

N11 — off-road exhaust

A straighter, louder exhaust system — “off-road” being the polite fiction for “not strictly for public roads.” Offered throughout the generation for buyers who felt the standard system muffled the point.

N14 — side-mount exhaust

The famous side pipes, 1965–67: exhaust routed through covered pipes along the rockers. Louder, hotter, and one of the defining visual signatures of the mid-year Sting Ray — few options changed the car's character this much for the money.

Steering

N40 — power steering

Hydraulic assist, all five years. The Sting Ray's manual steering is quick but heavy at parking speeds, and N40's take rate climbed steadily as the generation aged and buyers got less spartan.

N36 — telescopic steering column

A driver-adjustable telescoping column, 1965–67 — pull the wheel closer or push it away. Simple, useful, and years ahead of most of Detroit.

N32 — teakwood steering wheel

A genuine teak-rimmed wheel, 1965–66 — the single most elegant thing you could order on a Sting Ray, and highly prized (and reproduced) today.

N34 — woodgrained plastic wheel

The 1963 version of the same idea, executed in simulated woodgrain plastic — the look of the teak wheel before the real thing arrived.

Wheels & tires

P48 — cast-aluminum knock-off wheels

The iconic six-slot aluminum wheels with genuine knock-off spinners, around $322. Listed from 1963, but porosity and sealing problems meant essentially none reached 1963 customers — real deliveries ran 1964–66. Federal regulation killed the spinner for 1967, producing the N89 bolt-on version. Originals are serious money today.

N89 — cast-aluminum bolt-on wheels

The 1967 answer to the spinner ban: the same handsome aluminum wheel redesigned with conventional lug nuts behind a clip-on center cap. One year only on the C2.

P91 — blackwall nylon tires

Nylon-cord blackwall tires, 6.70×15 — the heavy-duty tire option of the early cars, tougher casing than the standard rayon at the cost of a harsher ride and morning flat-spotting.

P92 — whitewall / rayon tires

The dress tire code across the generation — rayon-cord blackwalls early, then the classic whitewalls (6.70×15, later 7.75×15). The boulevard look on a car that could also be ordered as a racer: the whole C2 story in one tire option.

T01 — goldwall tires

Gold-stripe nylon tires, 1965–66 — the rarest and flashiest sidewall the factory ever offered on a Sting Ray. Period photos of goldwall cars are instantly recognizable.

Body, glass & comfort

A01 / A02 — Soft Ray tinted glass

Green-tinted “Soft Ray” glass: A01 bought it all around, A02 for the windshield only. Cheap, popular, and offered every year of the generation.

A31 — power windows

Electric side windows, all five years — one of the small luxuries that marked the Sting Ray as a grand tourer as much as a sports car.

A82 — headrests

Seat-mounted headrests, 1966–67, ahead of the federal mandate that would make them universal in 1969. Rarely ordered, and original A82 seats are collector pieces now.

A85 — shoulder belts

Shoulder harnesses, 1966–67 — safety equipment years before the law required it, ordered by almost nobody at the time.

C07 — auxiliary hardtop

The removable hardtop for convertibles, all five years — many buyers ordered it in place of the folding top entirely. It transforms the convertible's profile into something close to the coupe's.

C08 — vinyl-covered hardtop

New for 1967: the auxiliary hardtop trimmed in black vinyl — the fashion of the day applied to the Sting Ray, and a one-year C2 signature.

C48 — heater/defroster delete

A credit option that removed the heater and defroster to save weight — ordered by racers and by almost no one else. A C48 car is a strong clue that somebody intended competition. The L88 made the deletion mandatory.

C60 — air conditioning

Factory air arrived on the Corvette in 1963 at a steep $421.80 — a tenth the price of the whole car — and stayed rare and expensive through 1967. Early A/C Sting Rays are prized survivors; the option's cost kept take rates in the low single digits for years.

U65 / U69 — radios

U65 was the AM radio of 1963; U69, the AM/FM that arrived mid-1963 and carried through 1967. Signal-seeker Wonderbar tuning it was not — but FM in a 1963 automobile was genuinely modern equipment.

U15 — speed warning indicator

A 1967 gadget: set a speed on the speedometer bezel and a buzzer scolds you for exceeding it. Chevrolet offering a conscience, on a car sold with 435 horsepower.

T86 — backup lamps

Reversing lights as an extra-cost option, 1963–64 — a reminder of how sparse standard equipment lists once were. Standard fitment later in the generation.

V74 — traffic hazard switch

The four-way flasher as a 1966 option, one year before federal law made it standard equipment on everything.

Z01 — Comfort & Convenience group

The 1965 bundle: backup lamps plus the day/night inside mirror in one tick-box. The beginning of GM's long love affair with option groups.

898 — genuine leather seats

Leather trim, $80.70, listed under the old numeric code system in 1963–64. The only interior upgrade on the sheet — everything else was vinyl in a choice of colors.

941 — Sebring Silver paint

The one exterior color of 1963 that cost money: $80.70, named for the circuit where the Corvette SS had run in 1957. Every other 1963 color was free; Sebring Silver's surcharge covered its metallic paint process, and it became one of the year's signature shades.

The race package

Z06 — Special Performance Equipment

The most famous code on this page, 1963 only: Zora Arkus-Duntov's $1,818.45 competition package — stiffer springs and shocks, a bigger front stabilizer, dual-circuit power brakes with sintered-metallic linings and cooling ducts, and a larger fuel tank provision — everything a privateer needed to go racing with a warranty. 199 were built, coupes only for most of the year. Z06 Sting Rays made their debut at Riverside in October 1962, the same day Carroll Shelby's Cobra first appeared — and the code was reborn decades later on the C5, C6, C7 and C8.

Paint & trim codes

The three-digit paint codes (900 Tuxedo Black, 974 Rally Red…) and interior trim combination codes (407 Red/Vinyl, 421 Saddle/Leather…) are listed with production figures on each year page: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967. They're also the codes stamped on your car's trim tag — a decoder for those is in the works.

Spot an error, or want an option covered in more depth? Tell us.