tmorris@convex.UUCP (09/27/85)
Vettes ! Who can live with one ! Who can live without one !
Actually , Ican live without one quite happily , but I do owe
my undying gratitude to vette owners. I worked my way through school as
a GM tech . Vettes helped pay the bills better than any other GM product.
The reasons follow
1. Vette owners want it all perfect ... all original...which
means all GM.
2. Due to their sleek body styles , the under-hood area is cramped ,
making them difficult to repair. Thus the labor rates are higher.
Once you learn the tricks to the trade , they aren't that bad ,
and pay lots better than other vehicles.
3. Due to the perfectionism exhibited by many vette owners ,someone
who does the job right the first time gets lots of repeat business
as well as referals.
4. Vettes have lots of gadgets on them , and the owners want them all
to work just right. GM charges BIG BUCKS for gadget repair parts.
5. When they get older and the brakes start to leak all over the pads,
a full vette brake job with stainless calipers can easily reach
a grand.
6. On vettes with alarms , when the theives steal the T tops , they
cut the battery cables under the car. One of these cables is over
6 feet long and routes through everything. Pays good.
OK , OK , so what should you look out for in buying a vette in the
years you said ?
1. Put it on a rack at a dealership and have a GM tech pull off the
wheels and check the brakes , front end , power steering ,A/C,
and all the gadgets. It is actually cheaper to get one with
a bad engine and good gadgets and brakes , than one that runs great
but has those problems.
2. Go over the interior very closely looking for wear or alterations
from stock.
3. Try every knob and switch .
4. Before you discount anything as a *minor* problem , PRICE THE
COST TO REPAIR IT.
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!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!convex!tmorris
bcbell@inmet.UUCP (10/02/85)
** What's my line **
Ah, to talk about my favorite subject...
First, let me answer your questions as you presented them.
1. The only major difference between these model years occured
between '68 and '69 when the "new" engines were used.
There are a number of minor changes to the door handles, the side vent
panels, and the interior trim.
Also note that engine horsepower decreased with each model year.
This was a result of both a different, more realistic method of
measuring power, and of gradual detuning to meet tougher emissions
requirements.
2. '68s had all sorts of problems. This was the year of introduction
for this car and as is typical of products made by the General, it was
not fully shaken out yet. If you're looking for as few headaches as
possible, I'd reccommend looking at the later years of the style.
Parenthetically, this is sound advice for any make of car.
There are a number of problems which all of these cars share. I'll get
to those a little later.
3. The tops are very easy to operate. The convertible unlatches from
the front and folds down into the storage compartment behind the seats.
Forget about carrying anything in the car when the top is down- the
storage space is all taken up by the top. T-tops unlatch from the side
and lift off. There's no real good place to put them once they're off,
but they will fit behind the seats. If you put them there, you should
use protective bags to keep them from getting dinged up. Coupes also
have a removable rear window which stores in a compartment in the rear.
4. Comfort is relative, and in a vette, the seats are the least of your
problems. The seat backs do not adjust for angle, but you can adjust
them on a limited (and permanent) basis with seat spacers. All told,
the seats are not bad. Remember, this is an American car, though.
5. With its fat tires, plastic body over ladder frame, dual pipe V-8
sitting in your lap, and posi differential just behinf your head,
it is anything but quiet. Never waste money on a radio for a vette,
you won't be able to hear it anyway.
6. How it feels the first time you drive one depends a lot on what
your driving experiences have been to date. I had owned and driven
a number of cars, mostly imports, mostly "sporty", before driving a
Corvette, so that had a lot of bearing on my experience. The first
thing you notice is that you have to sit way down to get inside.
Once in, you become overwhelmed by how low and small it is. There
isn't a whole lot of room inside, so you feel like you're sort of
wearing it instead of just sitting in it. You look out of a surprisingly
low windshield over a very long, mean-looking hood, framed by the high
front fenders. It's like looking down a tunnel. You can't see the
front of the car at all (making parking a matter of much experience)
which adds to the impression that you've just strapped in to some
kind of a fighter plane. Rear visability is terrible. You can see
directly out the rear window but side/rear visability is nonexistant.
When you start up the engine, the car rocks to one side from the torque.
The sensation is repeated each time you stab the accelerator. The low, slow
note of the engine can only come from a big V-8 breathing through dual pipes.
Unless you're a truck driver, it takes some time to get used to how much
force it takes to press in the clutch, even on the mildest engines. The
shifter is equally amazing. It feels like you have to push it about a
foot to get it from neutral to first.
Pulling out, you realize the tremendous amounts of power available under
your foot. Touch the pedal and the car lunges foward, pinning you to the
seat. After you get used to it a little , it's amazing just how easy it is
to go very, very fast. 110 feels just as stable as 55. And there's much
more than that available if you want it...
O.K., enough of the glowing testimonials. Back to reality. You can't
drive one until you own one, and buying it isn't as easy as it might seem,
particularly if you intend to bring it to some semblance of its original
condition.
The first things you need to buy one are some books, specifically:
The Corvette Black book
Vette Vues Fact Book, '68-'72
The Chevrolet Corvette Parts Catalog
Corvettes in or near original condition are worth a reasonable amount
of money. Ones that have been screwed with are worth lots less. There
are some major components which should be original, like the engine,
transmission, and paint. The Black Book will tell you how to be sure
these are the original items. There are a number of trim or interior
parts which may have been customized, too. Individually they usually
aren't much of a problem, but if the previous owner(s) liked to
customize, replacing them can add up to a lot. Use the Fact Book to
check out what the originals are supposed to be like. Use the parts
catalog to find out how much replacement parts will cost, if they're
still available. For example, the tach doesn't work in my '71.
I didn't think it would be such a big deal to fix when I bought it,
but the tach drive gears I need cost over $100. At least they're
still available. The car was also missing its seat belts (and I always
use seat belts, but that's another hot net.auto topic) and they're
not available from Chevrolet. They will cost many hundreds of dollars
when and if I can locate some on the used market.
Some other things to look out for. Don't buy a car that has had extensive
body work. Look out for frame rot if the car is from the rust belt.
All vette frames rust out at the point where the frame starts to bend up over
the rear wheels. If the rear wheels look like they bend in at the top,
the posi is shot and has been over adjusted. Original vette brakes
decompose badly. Most people replace the original calipers with ones
with stainless inserts in the piston bores (this is where the rot out).
New calipers cost about $200 each, so check the brakes carefully. Vette
radiators are wicked expensive so make sure it's not full of holes.
There are probably dozens more points that I can't think of off hand,
but those are the major ones. Oh, don't worry too much if the engine
burns a lot of oil, as long as it develops reasonable power. All
small block Chevys wear out their valve guides in a big hurry and thus
blow a lot of oil. If someone tells you that the engine has been rebuilt,
try to find out how much the rebuild cost. If it was much less than $1500,
chances are they knurled the valve guides instead of sleeving them, and
the thing will start blowing oil in a few thousand miles anyway.
Try to find an enthusiast to check out a car you are interested in. If you
don't know of any you might want to try your local Chevy dealership.
Chances are real good at least one vette lover works there.
Now the bad news. I always feel obligated to tell people the bad stuff
about owning a corvette, but if it begins to dampen your enthusiasm,
promise me you'll just stop reading.
Corvettes of this vintage don't like the rain. They handle poorly in
the rain. Their wide tires hydroplane easily and they're quite skittish.
They also leak like sieves. Anyone who tells you that his vette doesn't
leak is part fish. Don't even think about driving in the snow.
You will gain a number of new friends once you've got a Corvette in your
driveway. They are your insurance agent, your Chevrolet dealership,
and your local gas station. Your local police will not be your new buddies,
but they will keep a much closer eye on you.
More corvettes are stolen than any other car. Your insurance will be
outrageous. Get a good alarm, then drive your car directly into your
garage and leave it there. With you in the front seat.
It's very noisy inside. If you've got a big block, it will also be very
hot. Don't try to carry anything. Whatever it is, it won't fit.
Parts are expensive. Labor is expensive. Bodywork is expensive. Ask for
a raise in pay.
You will need a new right muffler once a year. Budget it.
If anything ever goes wrong with the door that covers the wipers, consider
the virtues of American engineering. This little baby has about 7000 moving
parts. Whoever designed this should be banished to Italy, or England,
where they really appreciate crazy engineering.
You'll really notice a big difference in the way other drivers treat you.
This has both its good and its bad points. People don't generally think
of Corvette owners as nice people. If you come to an intersection where
you must merge into traffic, turn around and take another route. No one
will let you in. If you wave another driver on, to let them know they
should go ahead of you, they won't believe you mean it. On the good side,
if you are stopped at a light with other cars next to you, when the light
turns green they will aleays wait for you to go first, no matter how long
you take. This takes a certain amount of getting used to at first.
Actually this doesn't always work. Every now and again there's some guy
(usually in a BMW or Supra) who is either too young or too stupid to know
not to go wheel to wheel with old fashioned American horsepower. They are
usually quick learners, though.
Well I've filled up a lot of pages here. I hope I've managed to give you
some useful information on the subject. Now all you have to do is find
the right one. And if you come across a set of '71 shoulder harnesses and
retractors in saddle, a tach drive cross shaft gear, a washer reservoir,
an emergency flasher switch ...
R.M. Mottola
Cyborg Corp.
Newton, MA