Just a little update

Has it really been since the end of January since we worked on Bette? My how life passes you by when you're living it! Let's see, what's happened since then:

Oh yeah, I'm pregnant. 20 weeks and change to be exact. When I last blogged, I knew that I was my own +1, but we weren't telling anyone. In fact, we told my mom the news that weekend (and I was afraid I was going to have to scoop her off the floor with a spatula or 911 paramedics, while Ray tinkered away!).

So where does that leave us with Bette? My immediate reaction when the little blue test read 'Pregnant' was that there was NO WAY we were stopping restoration and giving Bette up. It's an ultimate test to the powers of irony that I indeed got pregnant only after we started working on the old gal, after all, mom and dad acquired her after she was being sold by a woman who was 7 months pregnant.

And for all of those who have asked... No, there's not necessarily room for a car seat. BUT, mom and dad let me ride in the little luggage compartment behind the seats on our frequent trips to Cleveland until I could no longer fit back there. I don't see any reason why little Junior couldn't do the same? (Yes, I deserve the 'Mother of the Year' award already)

Bette indeed is still in the Costea-Johnson family, and while things aren't necessarily full steam ahead right now, we still plan to get her back to her fighting shape; it just may take a bit more time. After all, every little boy needs a muscle car!

Just this past weekend, Dave and I took our girl out for a spin around mom's neighborhood. Sure enough, she fired right up and started to purr. There's something thrilling about tooling around in a growling Corvette that has no tags (hee hee). She seems to have a little transmission slipping and a clunk in her rear end (boy, do I know THAT feeling recently...). Just two more items to put on the list to be addressed once we get her to Ray's.

Today was certainly a milestone our journey. Mom and I went down to the tag office and made it official. Bette is now mine, and the title reads to prove it. Thank you mom, for agreeing to transfer her title over to me. I know dad is laughing somewhere, knowing that my prophecy nearly 31 years ago has come true.... the Corvette (at least now on paper) is mine.

What next? I had hoped that a good part of our tax return was going to go towards a new front and rear end (the old gal's gotta have a good caboose to shake), but with Junior on the way, that money is now earmarked to make our house more of a 3 seater than the 2 seater it's been for the past 6 years.

However, Dave promised me that any money that's in the change can will be used for Bette accessories. Sounds like a pretty good compromise to me, since the thing is nearly 3/4 full. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get myself to the local Coinstar machine. Until next time....

New Socks and Shoes

Ray came up today, with the mission of changing out the brakes, spark plugs and tires. He and Dave met around 8:30 and by the time I was able to join the fun around 2pm, most of the work had been nearly complete (I have impeccable timing!).

Ray said that putting on the new calipers and pads was easier than getting the old stuff off. Not shocking, as the old stuff had been on there nearly 38 years. While changing the spark plugs, Ray found that one of the old ones was fouled, which was most certainly contributing to Bette running a little rough. Dave got the seat pretty much repaired, and we are no longer sitting on blankets and towels behind the wheel. He's not 100% pleased with the fix, and a brand new seat or seat frame may just end up happening after all.

Bette's brand new battery spent a lot of time on the charger today. A couple of weeks ago, I had gone over to mom's to start the car and let her fun for a few minutes, per Ray's advice, and found the battery to be dead, dead, dead. Right now, we're not sure what's going on- is there something pulling a phantom charge or was the hood or a door left open on accident after the last work day? Fingers are crossed that it's not an electrical system malfunction.

As Dave and Ray were attaching the new tires to Bette, all I kept hearing in my head was Robert Duval's character from Days of Thunder: Tires is what wins the race, Cole.... All the lug nuts were tightened down and Bette was just about to roll out for her first test drive with new socks and shoes. Oh snap, the brake lines were still mushy. Some more brake work ensued until the brakes seemed nice and tight. Dave and I hopped in for the first drive. Slowly accelerating down the driveway, then STOP! Slowly accelerating, then STOP! Yes, indeed the brakes work.

We turned out of mom's driveway and heard this God-awful grind. Uhhh, what's that? Dave got out to take a look and it seems that the front tires are too big for the wheel wells. Back into the garage she went and a call to our man Pat at Tires Plus confirmed we needed to get smaller tires. Anyone have any idea how tires are named/sized? We first had size 225/70R15's for the front tires, but we actually needed 235/60R15's. HUH? I swear, I wanted to yell BINGO each time he said the size of the tires. Off Dave went to swap them out.

In the meantime, Ray pulled our battery out of his car (he had it charging for a couple of hours) and put it back in Bette. He closed up the car and realized that there was no arc coming out of the terminal, which wouldn't indicate a faulty wire or a phantom charge. Fingers crossed that we just had left a door or the hood cracked. For now, we'll leave the battery unhooked whenever we leave her to sit for a period of time, just to be on the safe side.

Dave got back with the tires, the boys hooked them up and off we went. Dave wanted to drive first, just in case there was a problem with the brakes. As we headed to the first stop sign, Dave depressed the brake pedal and boy did she pull to the left! But the ride around the neighborhood was smooth as butta' otherwise. Between the nice new tires and the spark plugs, she purred and glided right along.

Ray got in to take her for a spin, and *vroom vroom*, he and Dave went up the street. By the time they got back and it was *my* turn to drive, the brakes were doing a lot better, as the air was getting out and they weren't pulling quite as badly. Dave and I couldn't be sure, but the transmission might have slipped a couple of times? Bette is leaking some tranny fluid, but hopefully with some new hoses and a little tune up, that's the end of the transmission work for Bette (anyone else hearing those dollar sign noises ringing? Yikes!). She's running a little rich, so we'll have to lean her fuel mixture down.

Dave and 'The Doctor' after their joy ride

I pulled her into the garage and put her to bed- it was a very productive day. Bette looks all sassy in her new shoes! We may perhaps get her titled and tagged in my name on Monday (the *ultimate* in birthday gifts). Once that's done, Ray has given us strict instructions to drive her at least 30-40 miles a week. I feel kinda awkward driving her around w/o bumpers, but gotta follow doctor's orders, I guess.

Ahhh, I really should shower, since I can still smell the exhaust in my hair. But it's a good kind of 'stink' and it makes me happy to know that Bette is ever so much closer to her grand return to the open road.

Wee-wee-weeeeeeee!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Dave called today to sing me the 'birthday song'.... when I reminded him that the big day was still 6 days away, he said he might have picked up my birthday gift today.

Oh, right! He was traveling to the east coast! And part of his journey took him to the Eckler's showroom in Titusville. I'm very happy to report that for my birthday, I got 4 new brake calipers, 4 brake pads, spark plugs and a seat repair kit. All just what I had asked for!

And the best part of the purchase? The salesman at Eckler's gave Dave 20% off (we're already on their list of priority customers!), and that helped tremendously. After these get worked on and installed, the last part of the process will be new bumpers and some interior work (which can slowly get worked on as we have the time. And the title... yes, don't forget the title. We have to get Bette tilted and plated in my name. DUH!

Ray looks to be chomping at the bit to get back up and work on Bette, so hopefully this will be a productive weekend for the boys.

More to come this weekend, hopefully!