Living with Vette instead of Stang

[1sostatic]

Yuh'aaaawwlll know me - I'm the Brit who had two most delightful mustangs -a 351 FMX loaded "02" body 1971 Sportsroof in Forest Green ...and an utterly solid red and black "05" body Mach 1 351 FMX 1971.


Then when the red one went to new owner - I used some $$$$$'s to get this Vette

Let me tell you about the differences

1. Oooh don't get me wrong ...it's quick - super quick -- 300HP on a 3:25:1 differential ...but... It turns like a flea (all the suspension has been replaced with carbon fibre) it is tiny inside and will break your spine in three places if you go over a bump.
2. The side-pipes look fun, sound great but get covered in ****. AND mark you... YOU cannot change out spark plugs with the Hooker chrome headers loaded on the side of the engine... WT living F**k ! ! ! ! !...you cannot get your fingers in there - let alone a wrench.
3. The ignition key in-out activity is more complicated than starting/stopping space shuttle.
4. The irritating interior alarm when key is in makes me want to murder the person who put it in
5. Everything effing leaks - I mean I had leaks on my Mustangs.... but I fixed them This means repeat fixes every other weekend ... why cant it keep it's liquids on the inside?
6. What gizzard headed warty peasant decided to put the opening to the steering fluid can right under the alternator so you cannot get the top off because there is not enough clearance. I want his hide nailed to my garage door.
7. What dippy brained spoon-faced ****** decided to sling he ignition cables inside their own separate trunking UNDER the engine?
8. NEVER - I mean NEVER wash the roof ... not unless you like a General Motors "Swimming pool" -- those T-Tops look great - are fun ... but even from new - Leak like an open manhole cover.
9. What delinquent - frog-faced, badger brained, goatee bearded fruitcake with the IQ of a chair leg decided to put 85MPH as the max speed on the clock?
10. Changing the diff oil ... don't get me on replacing the diff oil unless you want a SHOT IN THE MOUTH ! ! ! ! ! !... geeez - you have to be a 3" high elf just to get in there. I can get the socket end in -- but anything with a lever on it isn't going to fit. WTF !

Ahhhhh .. I want my Mustang back !!! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

 

[Mister 4x4]

No holding back, Brother - tell us how you REALLY feel.

 

[Kilgon]

So other than those few minor things it sounds like you really like it.

 

[will e]

Great write up. Your Vette is like a Kardashian. Nice to look at but a pain to maintain.

But seriously, it's a great looking Vette but all of these old cars have quirks. I love my Convertible 73 Mustang (don't take it to a car wash...) but I have a soft spot in my heart for the vettes. They were just really good looking cars that were (almost) never mistaken for something else.

 

[73inNH]

Great write up. Your Vette is like a Kardashian. Nice to look at but a pain to maintain.

Hysterical!

 

[detritusmaximus]

I've heard they are the car of choice for Belgian pimps..

 

[Stanglover]

1sostatic,
As a fellow Brit, your humour cracks me up, I'm still laughing!
Nice to hear from you again regardless of the fact you went to the "dark side".
My best buddy here, has a 75 Vette. He has had several C3's,C4's,C5" and now a 2021 C8 as well as his 75. He fixed the leaking roof issue by buying this beautiful Vert. I have to admit, as a die-hard Mustang fan and owner, this one I totally get.

 

[Ron Tanzi]

Yuh'aaaawwlll know me - I'm the Brit who had two most delightful mustangs -a 351 FMX loaded "02" body 1971 Sportsroof in Forest Green ...and an utterly solid red and black "05" body Mach 1 351 FMX 1971.


Then when the red one went to new owner - I used some $$$$$'s to get this Vette

Let me tell you about the differences

1. Oooh don't get me wrong ...it's quick - super quick -- 300HP on a 3:25:1 differential ...but... It turns like a flea (all the suspension has been replaced with carbon fibre) it is tiny inside and will break your spine in three places if you go over a bump.
2. The side-pipes look fun, sound great but get covered in ****. AND mark you... YOU cannot change out spark plugs with the Hooker chrome headers loaded on the side of the engine... WT living F**k ! ! ! ! !...you cannot get your fingers in there - let alone a wrench.
3. The ignition key in-out activity is more complicated than starting/stopping space shuttle.
4. The irritating interior alarm when key is in makes me want to murder the person who put it in
5. Everything effing leaks - I mean I had leaks on my Mustangs.... but I fixed them This means repeat fixes every other weekend ... why cant it keep it's liquids on the inside?
6. What gizzard headed warty peasant decided to put the opening to the steering fluid can right under the alternator so you cannot get the top off because there is not enough clearance. I want his hide nailed to my garage door.
7. What dippy brained spoon-faced ****** decided to sling he ignition cables inside their own separate trunking UNDER the engine?
8. NEVER - I mean NEVER wash the roof ... not unless you like a General Motors "Swimming pool" -- those T-Tops look great - are fun ... but even from new - Leak like an open manhole cover.
9. What delinquent - frog-faced, badger brained, goatee bearded fruitcake with the IQ of a chair leg decided to put 85MPH as the max speed on the clock?
10. Changing the diff oil ... don't get me on replacing the diff oil unless you want a SHOT IN THE MOUTH ! ! ! ! ! !... geeez - you have to be a 3" high elf just to get in there. I can get the socket end in -- but anything with a lever on it isn't going to fit. WTF !

Ahhhhh .. I want my Mustang back !!! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

In my experience as a mechanic, Corvettes are pure evil. They have a few virtues depending on the year but they are mostly a horror show. Congratulations I am sorry.

Ron

 

[1sostatic]

I tell you guys ... I need to get a car that doesn't require you to be shrunk to the size a Leprechaun, have eyes on the ends of sticks that can rotate like an Iguana.... and 3 gimballed wrists in each arm 120° offset so you can approach bolt heads at any angle .... It's like trying to do mechanics through a keyhole.

Next car is definitely going to be a "02" or "05" body fastback ... I want another 351 4 barrel . ....or Chevy Impala 1958 .... or 1973 455 H.O. Trans Am ...or a 1972 Gran Torino or a .............. and the list goes on

Geez I have mental issues ....anyone know a decent shrink?

 

[DAverkamp]

Yuh'aaaawwlll know me - I'm the Brit who had two most delightful mustangs -a 351 FMX loaded "02" body 1971 Sportsroof in Forest Green ...and an utterly solid red and black "05" body Mach 1 351 FMX 1971.


Then when the red one went to new owner - I used some $$$$$'s to get this Vette

Let me tell you about the differences

1. Oooh don't get me wrong ...it's quick - super quick -- 300HP on a 3:25:1 differential ...but... It turns like a flea (all the suspension has been replaced with carbon fibre) it is tiny inside and will break your spine in three places if you go over a bump.
2. The side-pipes look fun, sound great but get covered in ****. AND mark you... YOU cannot change out spark plugs with the Hooker chrome headers loaded on the side of the engine... WT living F**k ! ! ! ! !...you cannot get your fingers in there - let alone a wrench.
3. The ignition key in-out activity is more complicated than starting/stopping space shuttle.
4. The irritating interior alarm when key is in makes me want to murder the person who put it in
5. Everything effing leaks - I mean I had leaks on my Mustangs.... but I fixed them This means repeat fixes every other weekend ... why cant it keep it's liquids on the inside?
6. What gizzard headed warty peasant decided to put the opening to the steering fluid can right under the alternator so you cannot get the top off because there is not enough clearance. I want his hide nailed to my garage door.
7. What dippy brained spoon-faced ****** decided to sling he ignition cables inside their own separate trunking UNDER the engine?
8. NEVER - I mean NEVER wash the roof ... not unless you like a General Motors "Swimming pool" -- those T-Tops look great - are fun ... but even from new - Leak like an open manhole cover.
9. What delinquent - frog-faced, badger brained, goatee bearded fruitcake with the IQ of a chair leg decided to put 85MPH as the max speed on the clock?
10. Changing the diff oil ... don't get me on replacing the diff oil unless you want a SHOT IN THE MOUTH ! ! ! ! ! !... geeez - you have to be a 3" high elf just to get in there. I can get the socket end in -- but anything with a lever on it isn't going to fit. WTF !

Ahhhhh .. I want my Mustang back !!! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Funny (but not real funny) sh-t right there bloak. My neighbor has one and he Is always wishing he didn’t. He likes to walk over to my garage and wish he had ours. His wife actually “made” him get it because she wanted a “classy” hotrod to sit in so now he basically takes it out for the city’s annual parade and lets her chuck candy at the kids. I told him at least its not like he bought a boat that he doesn’t float anymore and has lost all its value!

 

[DAverkamp]

I tell you guys ... I need to get a car that doesn't require you to be shrunk to the size a Leprechaun, have eyes on the ends of sticks that can rotate like an Iguana.... and 3 gimballed wrists in each arm 120° offset so you can approach bolt heads at any angle .... It's like trying to do mechanics through a keyhole.

Next car is definitely going to be a "02" or "05" body fastback ... I want another 351 4 barrel . ....or Chevy Impala 1958 .... or 1973 455 H.O. Trans Am ...or a 1972 Gran Torino or a .............. and the list goes on

Geez I have mental issues ....anyone know a decent shrink?

Can’t help you there but I would stay away from the one(s) prince phil and ginger harry chat with!!

 

[cjstaci]

Sounds like your corvette summer has a rain cloud over it. Bad things happen when you provide a transfusion of blue blood into a Chevrolet. You may have to go to your local blood bank and pick up a couple quarts of Chevrolet orange (Just kidding).
All kidding aside, maybe a corvette forum could provide some ideas on tackling some of the issues you are experiencing. Good luck.

 

[MikeGriese]

The 85 mph speedometers were a US federal mandate for awhile in the early 80's. The somewhat misguided theory was if the speedometer only goes to 85, that's as fast a people will go. The fallacy was that the rev limiters didn't enforce 85 mph, so lots of people played "bury the speedo needle".

Fun fact - even the DeLorean came with an 85 mph speedometer. So those speedo closeups just before jumping time? Ahh the magic of movies...

 

[secluff]

Hello 1sostatic,
Great to hear from you again and that you're having so much "fun" with your Vette. Regardless of what you own, you will always be a welcomed member here, and your VIP lounge status is still active.
As will e posted, owning a Vette is just like a Kardashian. Very nice to look at but definitely high maintenance and a pain to maintain. A mechanic friend who works at a Chevy dealer and has his own shop to do part-time work hates working on them. In the summer, when it is hot, and they wear shorts, the hot side pipes were always a favorite of theirs.

The T-Tops were always a source of a Love-Hate relationship. They were a fix for convertible lovers who were told that GM and Ford were discontinuing the "Drop Tops," The T-Tops would help console them and still provide the wind in the hair feeling they longed for. The problem was that most of them leaked like a screen door on a submarine. Since GM offered them on more models, their name was always mentioned first when complaints arose. Ford first offered them on the '77-78 Mustang II and '78-79 T-Bird and was never a problem as big as the GM version was. When Ford reintroduced them on the '81-88 Mustang, that's when I learned all the seal and weatherstrip numbers to issue without looking them up. I always liked the look but never wanted one!

As far as what delinquent, frog-faced, badger-brained, goatee bearded fruitcake with the IQ of a chair leg that decided to put 85 MPH as the max speed on the speedometer.... ahhh, the idiots we voted for and placed in DC to spend our money and choose what's best for us!! Like Mike Griese posted, these numskulls decided that if 85 MPH was all we saw on the speedometer, we would be convinced that was all the car would do and not speed anymore, just like magic. It must have been some good stuff we were paying them to sit up there and smoke! To increase its CAFE numbers (Which our Government stooges were watching) and to offset the runaway GT sales, Ford started pushing really hard on the Mustang SVO. The problem was trying to get the power-loving GT owners to turn them loose and accept a car claimed to be so much better than a GT but still has a wimpy 85 MPH speedometer. The fix was a speedometer where the numbers stopped at 85, but the marked graduation lines continued on to 140! It still looked a little strange to me, but at least the SVO engineers were trying. I bought an '85 GT 5sp since I knew the days of carburated performance cars were ending with the '85s. I love the car but hated the wimpy 85 MPH speedometer that looked better suited in a 4cyl Pinto! When I found out from a Ford contact that Ford Motorsport (Now Ford Racing Parts) was releasing a real numbered 140 MPH replacement speedometer for people like me, I was the first name they had on their waitlist!!

Please keep us in the loop when you decide to re-Mustang your life since we still expect you to be here entertaining us with your Vette experiences!
The illustration below shows the still strange-looking production installed '84-86 SVO speedometer and the new and improved speedometer I patiently (not) waited for installed in the '85!

 

[c9zx]

Sounds like a classic case of "Be careful what you wish for." Or, "For the wages of sin is death.", or at least torment until you can have the Vette exorcised form you garage. Good to hear from you again. Chuck

 

[1sostatic]

Sounds like your corvette summer has a rain cloud over it. Bad things happen when you provide a transfusion of blue blood into a Chevrolet. You may have to go to your local blood bank and pick up a couple quarts of Chevrolet orange (Just kidding).
All kidding aside, maybe a corvette forum could provide some ideas on tackling some of the issues you are experiencing. Good luck.

The Corvette forums are filled with other people like me, poisoned by the effect... the place looks like the unwashed Zombie apocalypse ... people that have bought C3's now meander around the neighbourhood babbling incoherently, staring blankly into space like the French,. Some take to the streets strap a harmonica to their face, cymbals on their knees, strumming a guitar to old 1970's tunes. You've seen them, still wearing tie die and platform shoes..

.... is there a shrink in the house?. ....emergency here ! ! ! !

 

[Vinnie]

You are just trying to make us feel better about you getting that car, right? ;-)

I really wanted one once. Then at a car show I asked if I could try one on. I'm 6'4. Now I'm looking for pickups more

 

[midlife]

I'm a doctor and here to help. My advice is to trade that C3 in for a nice Fiat or Citroen.

 

[DAverkamp]

I'm a doctor and here to help. My advice is to trade that C3 in for a nice Fiat or Citroen.

The Turks with pointed boots should have some souped up Manza’s still remaining over there as well.

 

[sicndhed]

After decades of experience I wouldn't disagree with any of the 10 points about owning a Vette but if you really want to learn to hate a car re-do the rear stub axle bearings and trailing arm bushings..