Get your motor runnin'

Today was THE day!

Ray came up on Tuesday, December 21st with the goal of getting Bette running. First task of the morning was to rebuild the carburetor with the rebuild kit we got from Eckler's. Piece of cake and installed. I've started to call Ray 'Bette's Doctor', as he's working to bring her back to life.

Next was to install the new battery we got, since the old one had held a charge for just a few hours and then returned to the grave. Check. Ray took apart the driver's seat and realized that the frame is bent, and we'll have to get a rebuild kit. This makes me think that Chevy had issues with the seats if they make a rebuild kit? Urgh! For now, the seat is in pieces in the garage.

Next, the new fuel sending unit was installed into the fuel tank and Ray started to flush the fuel line. There was actually still about a liter of gas in the gas tank, and with a squeeze bulb and line out of the gas tank, Ray was able to get it out. Ray flushed the old gas from the tank, through the carburetor and out into a bucket. Lastly, he flushed a little bit of fresh gas through the line and carb to finish flushing the line.

Ok, it was go time. Dave was directed to turn the key.....

About this time, I had arrived to mom's to check on the progress before going into work for the afternoon. I had no sooner parked the Jeep at the end of the driveway when I heard a car starting. MY CORVETTE WAS TURNING OVER!!!! I hopped out of the car, and screaming, ran into the garage. Bette didn't start up on the first crank, Ray adjusted something, and Dave

turned the key over, and she roared to life.

I can't tell you what a sweet sound it was to hear the Corvette running again- a sound I've not heard for over 6 years. We let Bette idle for a while. She was leaking a bit of fuel from the attachment of the fuel line to the carb, which Ray could tell that dad probably had some problems with in the past. That'll have to be fixed in time, I'm sure.

Boy, did she sure smoke up the neighborhood! I was waiting for mom's next door neighbor to call the fire department. But there was almost 6 years of grime, oil, fluid, etc to burn off and out of the lines, engine and exhaust manifold. As Ray watched the engine whirr, he said it looked good. Certainly, there's a lot to tweak, and there is some hesitation in the timing, but the engine appears to be running clean. *grin*

I reluctantly left for work and the boys did a little more tweaking and tuning. Dave went out to get some lunch and by the time he got back, Ray had Bette off the jacks and ramps and into the light of day- something she's not seen in almost 6 years. WOOO! Dave sent me a picture of her sitting in the driveway, and I was amazed:

Dave even got to take her out for a drive! He took mom with him for a little spin around the block. And when I got to mom's after work, I was treated with an early Christmas gift- I GOT TO DRIVE HER! Yep, me and Bette went for a little jog around the neighborhood. Now mind you, there's no bumpers, there's no license plate, and there's no... driver's seat. Yes, I drove my Bette while sitting on top of blankets (LOL).

There is only one front brake working, which is the front right brake. That means the car pulls to the left pretty strongly when you hit the brakes. Dave wouldn't let me get over about 20 mph, and the tires are oblong from being flat for so long. It made for a little bit of a lumpy, bumpy ride, but that didn't matter. Me and Bette were on the road again!

We now have a big list of items to get: 4 brake calipers, seat frame repair kit, tag and title, 4 new tires, spark plugs and oh, let's not forget, the front and back bumpers. I'm hoping Eckler's makes us their #1 customer in 2011 ;-)

Mid-week work

After the initial excitement of Ray's visit over the weekend, Dave was hot to get cracking on some 'extra credit' work that Ray said he could do between visits. Two days after our initial work, Dave went to mom's house to get this work done.

First task was to replace the valve cover gaskets. Check, easy work. Next was to install the seat bumpers to the driver's side seat. Uh, not so check. Dave realized that something more than just the seat bumpers is wrong and we'll have to figure that out at another time. *sigh*

The last task of the evening was to remove what was left of the front bumper and grill. Dave sat down to master this last bit of bumper, and although it seemed to be a bit easier than the back bumper (learning curve or just truly easier), he wasn't able to remove all of the adhesive that had been put on by the factory back in 1973. We'll have to use some Goo-Gone to get rid of it. In Dave's quest to get the bumper and front grill off, he accidentally broke the bracket for the front left parking light. Oopsie- that'll be an $80 fix down the road.

Ok, Bette. We now have to schedule another day for Ray to visit, and hopefully we'll get you running!

Day One

After sending Ray pictures and talking over the phone, it was decided that December 5th would be the day. Ray would drive up to Orlando from his home in Stuart and meet us at mom's house to get a look in person. As Ray arrived and started to look her over, I was so nervous. My main concern was what he thought of the frame- was it rusted out? Was it a lost cause? Would it be too far gone and need more money than we had to put into it?

Ray said 'Looks good' and I was relieved! So that meant all systems were go. The first order of business was to get the tires inflated and get her up on the ramps and jack stands to get a look underneath. Up and up and up she went! Dave took the dead battery out and we got it hooked up to the battery charger. Ray wasn't sure we could get it to hold a charge, but it was worth a try.

In removing the battery, we figured out that the driver's seat is broken. Dad had it propped up from the back with 2 small pieces of wood and a towel. I hadn't remembered that there was a problem, so I always figured that the wood was being used as a lumbar support or something like that. Ray determined that the seat is missing some crucial bump stops, and as a result, it leans/lays back farther than it normally would. The seat came out and we found $.30! The carpet is quite dirty, but we'll fix that with a call to Stanley Steamer.

Ray still maintained that the car frame looked good as he continued to look around underneath her. Seems that she's leaking some radiator or transmission fluid and brake fluid, but he didn't seem ultra concerned. Dave started to drain the oil (or should I say sludge- it was totally gross), and the boys removed the spare tire so they could get to the gas tank.

Knocking on the gas tank, Ray felt that there wasn't any gas in the tank, so he opened it up. Imagine the surprise when gas started guzzling out of the tank! I'd say there was possibly a gallon or two left in the tank. Dave got new oil and a filter and got the oil changed (his first ever DIY oil change!), and we added some brake fluid to see if the brake lines were still OK or if they were going to need a lot of work.

I had thought we'd be getting the car running today, but there was enough other stuff to be done first. We moved on to removing what was left of the bumpers. Sure, most of the exterior bumpers had either fallen off or been broken off, but we still needed to unbolt where the bumper attached to the car. This certainly wasn't Dave's favorite job of the day, but once he got the ratchet wrench, work went a little smoother.

The last task of the day was hooking up the battery to check our electrical system. It had been bubbling for a few hours to clean off the plates and now it was time to see what we had. Contacts hooked up, key in the ignition, and..... voila! Lights on in the car! Both window motors run! And best of all? The headlights work!! Since the engine wasn't running, we couldn't use the vacuum system to pop the lamps up, but Ray was able to push them up and the lights are running. I was so happy that I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

We cleaned up the garage and called it a day. Looking at Bette sitting there, it's amazing how much we got done in one day. There's a lot more to be done before we're finished, but I know my dad is happy. I'm so grateful to Dave for agreeing to take this project on and to Ray, who's knowledge is endless. I'm also grateful to the many people who I know we're going to get help from as we move forward. I'm not sure when Ray will be back up, but I'm certainly looking forward to project day #2! We have our shopping list and I'm sure Eckler's Corvette will be very happy to have us as a new customer.

2010 Turkey Rod Run

As the years have moved on, I've contemplated what to do with Bette. She has been slowly falling apart and I lack the knowledge, money and time needed to get her back to fighting shape. I had thought about selling her to someone that could bring her back to life as she deserved. This thought pained me, as my dad loved this car and having her made me feel like he was still present in my life. But being a realist, I thought that there was never going to be a way to get her running again. I had tried starting her around the time that dad passed but she wouldn't turn over.

Our good friends always go to the Turkey Rod Run at the Daytona Speedway on Thanksgiving weekend. We hung out with them and enjoyed the car show last year. I told them about the Vette and joked that this would be a great project car for them.... *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*

A few months ago Dave said that I had a choice: I could either get my Jeep lifted or go forward with restoring the Corvette. Knowing that a Jeep lift would be a fraction of the cost of getting Bette going again, I figured we'd go with the Jeep project, even though deep down in my heart I wanted to do the Corvette project.

We went back to the Rod Run again this year, and this time we met our friend Bill and his dad Ray. Ray has had over 100 cars in his lifetime, and most importantly, he's had (and restored) Corvettes. Yup, he gets the obsession that I have with Corvettes. We toured the grounds of the Speedway for 2 days, and I told him all about my car. He told me he could get her running again. Really, I said? Even though her front and back bumpers have crumbled and fallen off? Yes. Even though she hasn't started in 5+ years? Yes. Really? Yes.

Ray's optimism was contagious. We parted ways that weekend with a promise that he was going to go home and get his tools in order and would be calling soon to schedule a time to come up and take a look. He told Dave it'd be his Christmas gift. SOME GIFT! : )

The story begins...

My parents bought Bette in 1975 from a woman who lived in Aurora, Ohio. She was very pregnant and wouldn't fit behind the wheel soon. Plus, let's be honest, this little coup wasn't really a family truckster. Bette was a silver 1974 Corvette Stingray coup. In 1976, dad had her re-painted- still the primary silver color, but added a charcoal black bottom half with a pinstripe.

How Bette got to by mine goes something like this: One day when I was 3 or 4, my dad and I were sitting in the back yard and I asked him 'Dad, if the station wagon is YOUR car, and the Lincoln is mom's car, does that make the Corvette MY car?'. Chuckling, my dad said yes, I guess that does make it your car. And for the last nearly 30 years, I've always had the bragging rights to say 'I have a Corvette'.

My dad passed away in November 2005. It's been my dream since then to bring Bette back to life. The only problem was that I had no idea how to do this. In the past 10 years since we had moved to Florida she was slowly falling apart: the front and back bumpers were made out of rubber back in 1974, and over the years this material had dried out and cracked, and slowly started to fall off. Each time I'd go over to mom and dad's house, there Bette sat, slowly rotting away. The tires were losing air and she was sagging closer to the ground. She sat under a blue cover, sleeping......