roberts427

Never thought of this before but I was wondering if going from 65 degrees F to ZERO degrees F in a couple of seconds would have any adverse affects on the paint and fiberglass on the older pre 70 cars ?
Like when you drive out of a heated garage into very cold weather.

Bluestripe67

I'm not aware of any reports of Vettes shattering upon exit of garages, especially my car. Dennis

OC-1

Did it for years and no problem and that was with 'inferior' lacquer. Man, those vinyl seats were dam cold.

Patrick67

My neighbor was a fighter pilot in the Persian Gulf War and flew an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet off of an aircraft carrier. He described to me what is was like to land the F-14 on the carrier at 105 mph. He flew in and landed on the carrier and then the hook on the aircraft dropped and grabbed the cable and he went from 105 to zero in a second or two. He told me his eyeballs felt like they were popping out of his head.

Eventually he suffered damage to the retinas in his eyes and couldn't fly anymore. A few years later an eye operation was developed to fix the damage to his eyes but he is still retired on disability.

Naaman

I have NO idea in actual reality, but I suspect that (for example) glass shattering due to a sudden temperature change could only happen if the change were in the triple digits and happened nearly instantaneously (as you suggest, in a couple of seconds).


This is based on a faux pas (or, maybe two) of mine in the kitchen involving glass cookware...

3JsVette

I was expecting a thread on some kind of incredible but costly brake upgrade.

a striper

I wouldn't expect a change in air temperature of 65 degrees to be catastrophic. Lot's of automobiles go through it during winter months. When I worked as a "car jockey" at a Chevy dealership I caused the hood of a custom painted '73 Vette to develop a million small cracks in the clear coat. It was a cold Illinois night and I was told told bring the car in and wash it. Our wash bay used hot water. I sprayed the water on the poor Vette and the cracks happened instantly. Much greater thermal shock and thicker paint that a typical car leaving its garage though.

Naaman

Me too.

65GGvert

Apparently PTighe was too.

Frankie the Fink

Yeah - I'm not aware of any 'spontaneous combustion' of Corvettes due to temperature changes.... I can tell you that things get a little weird in Florida after a 85* fall day followed by a cool evening with a low dew point.

The fiberglass mists over except where there's structural support members (like the hood) and those stand out in bold relief to the fiberglass. Makes for a strange-looking car upon exiting evening cruise-ins...

Not to say fiberglass/paint can't be damaged by heat....my '63 last summer after I barely saved a paint disaster on the hood !! No, the car isn't orange -- that's the sunlight washing out the picture. The air cleaner depression for the wing nut is a kick-azz parabolic reflector and will blister your hood paint in a few minutes. Believe it!

65GGvert

After the sun burned the paint on my hood as in your picture, I did some testing. Turns out it's the outer portion of the cleaner that focuses the light. If you cover only the wing nut indentation, the light will still focus as it is now. I put a small round cover over that indentation and it did not stop the problem, it takes covering the entire cover. Try it next time you see the spot, but don't leave it long. It only takes minutes to bubble the paint on the topside of the hood.

Frankie the Fink

Really ? Certainly counter-intuitive to my experience (per the photo).

Yes, I always cover the ENTIRE air cleaner on sunny days. I found the C1 fabric cover the vendors sell fits the dual snorkel air cleaner better than their C2 version

Don't close the hood and drive off with that cover on the air cleaner though - ask me how I know

plaidside

Here is my 61 just after taking it out of the garage where it sat for over 25 years!
Notice the dust, the PO does not believe in car covers.
Joe

Frankie the Fink

Not having car cover prob saved your paint. Terrible things for long term.

GTOguy

X2 on that. Long term car cover installation promotes rodents, mold, moisture and corrosion to metal parts, and gives people a false impression that the car can now be used as a storage shelf. I have seen many cars ruined by car covers, especially when used outside or in a lean-to that's semi-open. I never use one, and the guys I know with big collections don't, either. Once a week or two with a California Duster is all that's needed. Dust build-up as plaidside pictured won't hurt a thing.

65GGvert

Here's what I did. I set the breather cover in the sun aimed toward my garage wall. It looked like the first picture, I covered the center section with a piece of cardboard as shown, and the third picture shows the reflection with the cardboard covering the wing nut indentation.

Frankie the Fink

Dang -- very interesting....a little more scientific than me holding my hand against the underside of the hood searching for the hottest spot. I believe you...

project63

This is where I thought we were going...