The 79’s first maiden voyage and I am driving him SOLO! Well I finally got the courage to drive the old man (that’s what I call the car) to work. You may be saying to yourself “ok so what’s the big deal?” Well the big deal is since we bought the car it has been nothing but problems, MAJOR engine problems. It was purchased for me to drive as my “fun car” because I sold my 05 Mustang but so far not FUN! We have been fixing things since we bought the car and as the story goes once we fix one thing we would find a problem with something else. You can read more about all the repairs posted by my fiancé Will aka rklessdriver “Few Repairs and upgrades to the 79”. Anyway after all the tinkering with the old man we seem to have it to a point where I feel comfortable driving it by myself without my MacGyver (that’s what I call Will because he can fix anything) sitting next to me. Since today was going to be a glorious perfect day I decided I would take a chance and drive it to work. My commute is about 25 miles to work but the kicker is I drive in Wash DC traffic (I 95), which is NO fun no matter what you drive! I was really nervous about making this be my first REAL drive that I made with the car alone but I am so anxious to drive it and the weather is too perfect today to not enjoy it so I thought I would take the chance. After about 11 miles in to the drive I started to feel comfortable. All the way I kept an eye on the gauges, temperature stayed steady at 160 degrees and oil pressure is good – so far so GOOD! OK – now to merge on to I95 – I am getting nervous because in all of our test rides the temperature would go up the faster you went, so I step on the gas and surprisingly the temperature stayed steady – SUCCESS!! I get the car up to about 70 and keep it there all the way to work, slowing down here and there wherever there were pockets of traffic, must be my lucky day because traffic was actually light today. I get through the front gate at work and the Police Officer says “Hey Nice Car! Would you like valet parking today?” (of course they don’t do that he just wanted to get his hands on my car – NOT) I just laughed and said “No not today but thanks!”

So I am happy to report that I made it to work safe & sound and I really enjoyed the ride! The old man did great on his first maiden voyage TO WORK – now for the ride home…..more to follow!

BTW the top will be off on the way home - gotta let my hair flow through the wind....

Side note: Thanks to my Love Will for making my dream come true of being an owner of a Corvette. I have always loved them growing up as a teenager and always wanted to have one when I grew up. Now I have one – heck does that mean I am all grown up??? KIDDING!

Signed: rklessdrivher

Sometimes all the work is..........worth it.

Thanks BillH - that is a true statement! Even though Will does all the work I DO help him when he let's me. I don't want to hinder or get in the way but I want to be a part of it since it's my car. Besides getting dirty and being a part of the the project helps us bond, both Will & I and the car & I.

Outstanding - congrats!

Thanks Pianoguy - I'm sure the other drivers were looking at me wondering what the hell is she grinning at because I know I was grinning from ear to ear all the way to work!

As a matter of fact it's hard for me to sit here and "try" to work - I can't wait to get back in that car!

For a slow old PITA of a car, they sure are fun to drive, aren't they?

Hey Hey watch it now Trae1976 - my old man is FAST! Ok - well maybe not that fast but you are right - they are fun to drive! I love your red one!!

Great read - they're a lot of trouble, but they sure are fun.

It is great to see you posting. Will does say that you help when you can and that is awesome.

Glad you had a sucessful journey this morning and hopefully the ride home is just as pleasurable, maybe you need to find a new way home that includes some nice back roads!!

Thanks j3studio - I will have a "ride home" report later if you care to read. I hear it's pretty hot outside now and traffic on the way home is usually a lot worse than the morning commute. The old man will be TOPLESS on the way home!
Woo-hoo!

Good idea JeffK! I do have a nice back road in mind. The only bad thing is that the speed limit is only 25 - "who the heck drives 25 in a Vette?" I do try to help him when he is tinkering with the cars, even if it's just handing him tools. Heck I remember when he was swtiching out the rear end in his 92 in our driveway (we have a garage now - thank god) and we were out there until almost 2 am! But I stayed out there with him until the job was done. Besides I learn about the car that way!

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I do!





in school zones.

congrats

nice having an "on-line support group"

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No kidding. LOL.

Congrats on getting a successful drive in to work! Your car reminds me of my dad's 79 when I brought it home...fix one thing, find another to add to the list! But it's worth it in the end. A C3 is a nice machine. I'm sure you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Oh, BTW, you're leaps and bounds beyond my wife. I don't think she knows what a gauge is, or how to read it even if she did.

Matthew

So..where's the ride home report? Fingers crossed that it's a good one. No mechanic or law enforcement issues ie speeding tickets.

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She got it home fine. Other than no AC, she was a happy camper. Big grin on her face when she pulled up.

Also the fan clutch is working properly again....
Will

That's awesome.

@ Matatk - Yes the car does have issues but it is a dam sexy looking car and really isn't that why we drive these cars - oh and some can go really fast! Some Wives/SO's/GF's just aren't that interested in mechanical things and that's OK. But I have always been a car lover. When I am helping Will I always ask questions and even though I know it probably gets on his nerves when I do that he graciously explains things to me in a way that I can understand. Like I said before it's great bonding time too!

That's great you and Will have a common interest. I'll give you my wife's phone number and maybe you can explain that concept to her.....

Good luck with the carb issue from the other thread

Matthew

JeffK: No mechanic or law enforcement issues i.e. speeding tickets to report. On that note I did get a ticket the first week that I had the Mustang on that same back road that I was referring to.

Since my SO has already provided a very condensed ride home report for me – BORING – see below if you are interested:

Here is the ride home report in MY OWN words. Well I walk out of the building with great anticipation to get back behind the wheel. First order of business is to remove the T-tops, second find the cool shades because man was it hot and sunny – perfect weather for driving topless! As I am getting ready for the ride home one of the guys that I work with see’s me in the parking lot and comes over. He says “WOW – the car looks great, let’s hear the engine”, so I start the old man up and this great deep growl comes out! He says “Sounds good and looks good!” I say “Thanks, it’s a work in progress!” he says “Whatever – it’s a Corvette!” I just smile and say “Yeah your right – it’s a Corvette and it’s MINE!”

Of course since it’s a hot outside I am a little worried. There is always traffic getting off of the base so I keep a steady eye on those gauges, so far everything is pretty normal. Then I get on Rt. 1 and take my place in the line of long traffic. I look down and notice that the temp gauge has already moved to 180, ok not too bad, we just need to get moving to get some air flowing! I don’t hear the fan running – so now I am really keeping an eye on that temp gauge. I finally get off of Rt. 1 to merge on to I95 and it’s a parking lot! I think to myself GREAT! Again I take my place in line, about 15 minutes in to the “sitting” on I95 I was surprised to see that the temp is still at 180 – no worries! The traffic starts moving and clearing out and I am able to get the car up to speed (70). So after the initial fear of the temp rising at the beginning of the ride it was smooth sailing the rest of the way home! So I am happy again to report that the old man performed perfect even in all that traffic and intense heat outside. I only have one complaint – how the heck can we make the inside of the car cooler? The AC does not work which is fine but DANG it feels like an oven inside that thing. I think the heater is broken in the ON position. Any ideas on that guru’s or do any of you have that same problem in your older cars? Anyway I pull up in the garage and Will comes out asking how the car ran. I gave him my full report about the temp rising a little and the fan not coming on. The fan had recently decided that it wanted to run ALL the time but for some reason today it fixed itself. So he popped the hood and did a quick look over - all looks good. Of course when I got out I was all sweaty from the heat inside the car. I really wanted to drive it again today but they are calling for rain. I don’t want to be stuck in that oven with the windows up since the defroster does not work – YET.

BTW I was told by my SO that my posts are “too much rambling and that I have bad grammar”. GEEZ I was just trying to make it interesting and have FUN! Boy did that hurt my feelings. So I guess I won’t be posting anymore, unless I REALLY have something that I need to say or share! Thanks for all the kinds words and encouragement guys! Happy Driving!

Signed: rklessdriveher

A wife that wrenches! Almost sounds erotic!

I missed this thread yesterday, but I was down your way in Quantico, VA for work. I wonder if I passed you on 95N or vice versa.

I almost drove my Vette yesterday but I really hate getting stuck in bumper2bumper traffic especially there around the Lorton exit area with my Corvette as it is also a new engine and I have been keeping an eye on all the vitals too.

I'm glad to see you are on the road and enjoying your own Corvette. Are you guys driving up to Carlisle in the '79?

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Tell Will that we don't need no stinkin' grammar! We can run on sentence all we want!! LOL

Do you work on the Marine Corps Base? I am working a couple days a week in the new Russel Knox building that is just outside of base. The whole figgin' building is a SCIF. I hate that!! Anyhow... glad the car is on the road and you are enjoying it.

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Awww shucks - Thanks Don! It was great meeting you in Maryland at the race track when we took the 92 to the drag race.

You probably passed me on the way home yesterday as I was going south on 95 while you were going north - well I was sitting on I95 S. I work at Ft. Belvoir - I WISH I worked at Quantico, the commute would be so much better for me! We will be heading to Carlisle but the 79 will not be making that trip. The 79 is still a work in progress and we woudln't want to break anything major after all the work that has already been done to it. We ARE planning on driving the 92 for that trip. Can't wait to meet everyone!

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Unfortunately, that’s normal for a C3.

First, I would check the inline control valve in the hose feeding the heater core. If it’s non-operational, stuck in the open position, or flat-out missing, hot water is constantly running through the core. I replaced mine with a manual ball valve and keep it closed during the summer. It does help a little.

For the most noticeable improvement, you can get an insulation kit from any of the vette vendors, but you’ll have to pull all the carpeting to install it. There is an insulator and seal for the transmission tunnel available as well, those are no fun to install either.

And after you do those things, you will have improved it from 9th-level-of-hell hot to only molten-lava hot.

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Speaking from experience, that’s not much fun. Always keep a towel nearby for manual defogging - it will also come in handy for the 'inside raining' (you don't really think those t-tops actually seal, do you? )

Its funny how many of us park our cars in the garage and hardly ever take it out during heavy rain. Last weekend I was at a car show and a storm blew in so fast that it caught us all off guard. Everyone ran to their cars to sit out the rain storm. We all discovered quickly where and how much they leak!! Mine was not bad, but did have an occasional drip coming from the top of the A pillar and the window seal. Drip....... Drip ......... Drip.

Some were worse than others!

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That's great news! Will has worked real hard getting that thing road worthy....

oh, not to be picky, but in the context of "maiden voyage", first is assumed.

ah yes the water test to find out what seals need replacing.

at least you found out your plastic car doesn't melt in the rain

Now try autocrossing in the rain