Kerrmudgeon

A lighthearted thread for a grey February day. In all your years of wrenching on cars, Corvettes in particular, whats the most outlandish rediculously stupid repair etc. you've come across???

Kerrmudgeon

When I picked up my 62 in L.A., and checked it over for the long ride home to Canada, I missed this. After about 3000 miles thick blue smoke out back and a horrible noise started. Immediately I thought...Blown motor, great in the middle of the wide open prairies. When I stopped the motor was running fine, but the whole body was sitting on top of the way too wide tires. Crawling around in the dirt I found that some idiot had wrapped the excess nylon airline to the airshocks around the exhaust pipe! Can you say bonehead. Took 3000 miles to melt through. The only spare part with the car was a extra airline, thankfully. Sent the date hitchhiking to the nearest town to get an airpump. She came back in a couple hours with a bicycle pump, and after pumping that damn thing for about half an hour, I managed to just raise the rearend off the tires, and limp to the next town with a gas station compressor. We nicknamed the car mickey as in mickey mouse repairs.
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62Jeff

When I restored my 62, the one part I didn't touch was the distributor. After all, the car had only been driven 12 years when it was parked for another 7, when I got it for my restoration project.

Last Fall I finally got around to rebuild the distributor, and found the nylon grease seal that goes under the points plate, had been used as a shim

Bluestripe67

I found an unwrapped Double Bubble bubble gum in the radio side vent panel....oh, you said bubba-ism. Dennis

Trophy Blue

I have seen many but, the ones that stand out are: Deck screws holding my side exhaust cover on and when I bought my '79 corvette, the seller told me that the car pulls to the left when braking. After getting the car home I noticed that the front right brake hose had a vise grip attached to it to keep the brake caliper from leaking.

Kerrmudgeon

Years ago two Italian brothers opened a high performance shop in the neighborhood, one of which tuned Ferraris in the old country. I remember looking under the hood of their 55 Chevy rolling billboard, and was amused by the smallblock headers made completely with galvanized plumbing pipe complete with elbows,45's,connectors,etc. Ferraris my azz!
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tentuna

Drivers side power window died, took the window and motor out found the harness from the feed thru had 6 wires spliced none crimped!!!
Replaced harness from cabin to motor, cleaned-up the motor, brushes, greased the regulator and the window has worked fine since.

agump

My wife and I were in the plant on the final day as our 94 Z07 was being assembled. My wife decieded before installing the engine that we should sign the firewall. After that she placed a new piece of double bubble in the map pocket on the drivers door. This fall it will be 17 years since that gum was installed in the Bowling Green Plant.

Gump

Gman58

When I got my car I starting pulling the inside apart. Behind the kick panels, up under the dash and anywhere else that the guy could find a hole he packed in as much pink fiberglass insulation as he could. It was also under the carpet. Pulled it all out and gave the car a thorough cleaning. Greg

Plasticman

When we inspected the 62 for purchase, the one item that really bothered me was the fuel lines. Dual Carter AFBs (with oddball driver's side inlets) fed from a dual outlet fuel block mounted on the passenger side inner fender..............And the 2 lines were routed across the front of the intake to the driver's side inner fender, and then back over to the carb inlets.

I removed more than 6 feet of excess rubber fuel line when I replumbed it, just to feel somewhat "safe" (still with rubber line). It is all steel line now.

Plasticman

wombvette

I have so many, I wouldn't know where to start, but here is a sample. I bought a interior burned 1980. Nice car except the dash and wiring harness was fried and the dash burned out. I found a lamp cord spliced between the inside and outside main power harness, naturally with no tape or insulation. Want to guess what started the fire?

woodsdesign

I actually saw a hard top that had a hole cut and a glass sunroof installed.
Also, on my 65 someone installed the front fenders with screws. Problem is he never removed them. Just bondoed over them. You could see every phillips head all the way down the bonding strip.

66jack

OT.....
Best bubba moment was when Bubba Clinton said, "I did not have sex, with that woman, "Monica Lewnisky"...

midyearvette

HEY!!...watch it bub.....at least they didn't rust....fuggit about it.....

"GUIDO" aka "KNUCKLES"aka "NICKIE DA NOSE".........

Bill Irwin

Yup, they still walk among us. The scary part is they breed! I can here it now..'come here John Boy, I show you how to fix that'. Bill

65air_coupe

This isn't a vette 'bubba' but when I had part ownership in a small garage, this Chevelle came in for a valve job and like many cars back in that time, the rear end was jacked up. When I moved it from front to back of the shop, I thought it rode awfully hard. Crawled under it and found two cinder blocks wedged between the top of the axle and the underside of the body!!!

StingU2

Someone that I worked with years ago was having trouble with the carb on his old Chevy truck. I told him that I would take a look at it and help him out if I could, opened the hood and there was pipe insulation (like you put on hot water pipes in your house) on his heater hoses. I asked him what the hell is this for? He said it was there to help keep his heat warmer for the heater in his truck. Now that's what you call a true RN.

Kerrmudgeon

At the same ferraris speed shop, my brother brought in my mom's car for a tick, tick in the motor. They told him and mom it needed a valve job and new rocker assemblies, and the bill came to about a grand. I was away in Calif then. When I came back it was ticking again, I pulled the covers to find stripped hold down studs with double nuts as a fix, and the heads had never been off. We sued and got back 500$,(dads a lawyer).Get this... Mom's red grocery getter was a 70' Buick GS stage one 455. They were known for oiling problems, all it needed was rocker arm assemblies. The parents never knew what us kids talked them into buying, but I'll always remember guys coming up beside my ma and revving their motors, and mom asking me what they wanted? I said Ma, they want to race you, step on it, she did, and scared the hell out of herself, albeit with a bit of an evil smirk on her face after dusting those guys! Pictures of it somewhere, sold it for 500$ to a guy who took it to Florida to drag race. I always got a kick sayin' ahh, my moms car could kick your cars ***.

NEVERL8

Just installed new carpet in the car. The previous carpet installer used small fluted nails to hold the carpet in place pretty much everywhere, in addition to some nasty Wellwood type adhesive.

Kerrmudgeon

Frankie...paisano, don't get me wrong, I love 99% of things Italian, the food, the grappa, the lay-dies, except when they have thicker mustaches than mine, but these guys took the F marque in vain, if Enzo knew, he'd of had em' whacked. Caio.
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