I've had this car going on four years. In those four years I've put less than two thousand miles on it. That lack of miles in four years is not for a lack of wanting to drive the car as much as the car being not being able to be driven for much of that time.
I write this a couple of days after a most vexing with weekend with the '77. No sooner had I decided on not continuing work on the trailing arms that another problem reared it's ugly head. Actually, reared it's ugly head again; the car has no power.
The electrical systems on these cars is atrocious. With so much exposed and nothing fastened down properly, it's a wonder anything works. This is the starter and fusible links.
The same thing happened to me last year when I was working on the passenger door power window. I had to dismantle a good part of the interior to get at the switch in the console for that window that wouldn't work and when I put it all back together all I got from turning the ignition forward was a loud "ca-chunk" followed by nothing. No more ca-chunk, no lights on the dash, no radio - nothing. No jumping of the battery could revive the beast and the battery, fusible links and alternator all tested out fine. I even brought relays from the fuse box, thinking they were what Autozone said where "the master fuse" in for testing. All good and that was not good.
Through it all, when it is running, it's a fun car to have even if the driving experience is far from what it looks like it would be. It's a very primitive car with many suspension component designs dating back to 1963.
I put everything back together and wouldn't you know it? Car started right up and was fine for most of last summer. My thought was that obviously something was loose that I tightened up when I put the car back together. Maybe, but who knows. All I know is that now I have a dead Corvette in my garage. Again.
If you're thinking of getting an old car, be confident in your mechanical abilities or have a good, cheap mechanic on hand.
My plan this weekend is to put the car back together and hope for the best. If it doesn't start I will first look at the negative battery cable and how it grounds to the underside of the car. Then I go to the fuse box and see if anything is loose. I'm not adverse to replacing the electrical harness that goes from the fusible links to the fuse box. Has to be something.
The old beast remains a big part of the family. This picture was taken the day I drove it home. It took me two days to get it home since it broke down on me on the way home.
The good news is the car doesn't leak power steering or transmission fluid anymore so I just might be able to finally power wash my garage floor. It's the little things, you know?
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