This 1965 Corvette Sting Ray carries the standard 327 V8 and 4-speed manual, not the ultra-rare fuel-injected version Chevrolet also offered that year for $538. With only 771 fuelie cars built before the option quietly disappeared, most 1965 buyers picked exactly the setup shown here. It turned out to be the smarter choice for reasons Chevrolet is own big-block engine would soon prove.
The G2 Chevrolet Corvette were assembled 1963 to 1967 inclusively and these now take on the name “Stingray”. The “Vette†body is subtly more refined this year, the braking has been improved, the smaller engines are all delivering more and the larger 396 is also on the table by mid-year,  putting the Stingray in a class of its own. The 327 is available with a Rochester injection system-which delivers 375 hp, at an added cost of $538.00, but for 50 bucks less you could option the 396 putting out 425 hp. There were only 771 of the fuel injected 327 engines turned out by the factory that year. The low sales mean the Corvette would not have an injected engine on the options list again for another 18 years.
vehicle shown 327 CID V8 4-Speed Manual
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The Corvette pictured here is not the rarest car Chevrolet built in 1965, and that is exactly what makes it interesting. This particular example carries the standard 327-cubic-inch V8 paired with a 4-speed manual, the combination most 1965 Sting Ray buyers actually drove home. Chevrolet offered something far more exotic that same year: a fuel-injected version of the same 327 making 375 horsepower, a $538 option so costly and so limited that only 771 buyers ever checked that box. Fewer people chose the fuelie than bought the brand-new big-block 396 for fifty dollars less. What made Chevrolet is most sophisticated engine option also its least popular?
1965: The Corvette’s Best Sales Year Yet
The 1965 model year was the third year of the second-generation Sting Ray and turned out to be the most successful sales year the Corvette had seen, with 23,564 units sold. Convertibles like this one made up nearly two-thirds of that total at 15,378 units, while the coupe managed just 8,186. Sharper styling and an upgraded four-wheel disc brake system helped push the car into a new tier of performance that year.
Why the Fuel-Injected 327 Disappeared
Chevrolet’s mechanical Rochester fuel injection was expensive to build and finicky to keep tuned, and buyers proved they would rather spend fifty dollars less on the new mid-year big-block 396 rated at 425 horsepower. With demand for the fuelie option cratering, Chevrolet pulled it from the order sheet after 1965 and would not offer factory fuel injection on a Corvette again for seventeen years. The 327 4-speed combination sitting in this car turned out to be the setup most buyers were happy to live with.
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