Yes, it's my first Vette. I am 39 years old and loving it. My 13-year-old
son is drooling, just waiting for his permit at age 15. My 10-year-old
daughter likes me to drive fast. My wife actually drives it more than I do
.
I've learned a lot about the car since I got it last April. I've already
done the following:

- Replaced a few of the dashboard gauge lights
- Cleaned up the engine cavity a bit, all the majors appear to be original.
- The headlamps were going up & down very slowly, so I replaced the vacuum
hose and the vacuum hose air filter, now no problem.
- The hardest job so far for sure was having to replace the two small
springs that pull the rear brake shoes together when the parking brake is
not in use. The 30-year-old springs must have snapped when I used the
parking brake. The rotors are original and I had to drill the rivets out
just to get the rotor off to get to the darn shoes. Took a lot of patience
with needle-nose pliers to get the new springs in.
- Replaced the air cleaner filter, the small air filter on the side of the
air cleaner and the fuel filter.
- Oil change. Now using synthetic only.
- Oh a funny one. It spent all of its previous life in New Mexico where
there is no emissions testing. Somewhere along the way, someone removed the
Cat and welded a pipe in there. Well, they couldn't pass me here in
Colorado because it was missing the Cat. So, I had Meineke put in one and
passed the test. I got Collector Car plates, so now I don't have to have
emissions testing anymore. Oh well, at least I'm a good environmental
citizen...
- The door springs that hold the doors open were missing. Put in new ones
yesterday.

I'm awaiting new side-view mirrors this week. The current ones must be
original. The ball/socket joint doesn't hold the mirror in place anymore.
Anyone need mirrors that don't work ?

One of the bigger things I'll need to look at next spring is the blower.
Either it's not working well or there is some blockage, or the vacuum switch
that controls where the air is diverted to is screwed up. The heater seems
to work and air comes out the bottom vents when I choose Heater or
Defroster, but air will not come out the top vents when I choose Vent.

Since I'm on a roll, here are more questions.

- It rides pretty rough, every bump is felt. Obviously, the suspension
needs work. Would you replace all the springs, shocks, leaf spring, etc.
or take it one part at a time? What would you start with, the shocks?

Regards,
Mark


-

This is one of the things I'm working on as well. Except my blower is not
currently coming on, but I know it does, or used to. I love the electrical
stuff because I don't have a clue what I'm doing.


Mine rode like hell when I first got it too. I didn't even like to drive
it. When I pulled the engine to do a rebuild, I replaced all the bushings
in the front (later in the rear, too) and put on new shocks. I also got
really good tires. Now, I'd say it rides as well as anything I've owned.
The only thing left is the mono-leaf, but the way it rides now, I'm putting
that off until it seems like a problem.

How is your weatherstripping? Mine's shot, so that is what I am making as
my next purchase. Then I'll find out what kind of problem that is to rip
out and replace.

Keep your son away from it. He should be at least 35 before you let him sit
in the driver's seat! (j/k)

The weatherstripping is so-so. Would probably like to replace the front
windshield stripping and the T-top stripping.

Replace that weatherstripping soon and be sure you get no leaks inside the
car. Unlike earlier Corvettes, the '76 and up have metal floors that rust,
so leaks can be very bad. Unfortunately, most t-tops leak, and it takes a
lot to keep them sealed.

Many solve it by never driving in the rain, but my attitude is that it is a
car, it was designed to be driven, and if you hide from the rain, you lose
an awful lot of opportunity to drive it.

If you drove it every day in the rain, that would be one thing, but to hit
rain on a trip or get caught in it while out is no big deal.