While readiing over some of the posts concerning insurance coverages....There is something I have wondered about..How do you all take these road trips.....I cannot or have not so far been able to convince myself that I can leave my 65 sitting in a hotel parking lot...not even with the BEST anti-theft devices.... not to mention those ******* door bangers......I HAVE convinced myself that I would be sitting there all night watching it through the window....or see my wife and I having to sleep in shifts...yeah right....like that is going to happen...lol.....

Anyway....I have been wanting to ask this for a while now....Any and all responses will be appreciated... Thanks, Steve.

 

I travel a lot in mine. I will only stay at a Motel that I can park directly outside my room. With the windows open so I can hear, and curtains open so I can see. I will peek out several times thru the night. I would never leave the car in a general parking lot overnight.

 

Same with me. I will only park it at a motel with my car backed up to my door, end room, 1st floor. It can really cause you some headaches searching for a suitable motel when your in an unfamiliar area. I drove all the way across country doing this. It was quite a challenge.

 

I wrestled with this issue, too. My car isn't a mid-year, but it's in near-mint condition, and I was quite paranoid about Really Bad Things happening to it if I left it out overnight.

I got over it.

And I am so damned glad I did.

It's a car.

It's insured with an Agreed Value policy that covers it for its true market value (what it would really cost me to replace it).

And I was tired of being afraid to enjoy my Vette as much as I wanted to. I saw others enjoying theirs with a "what the hell" attitude about it, and figured if they could do it, I could too. I know folks who will park C1 and C2 Corvettes in hotel parking lots (in decent neighborhoods, of course).

I drove my car over 3200 miles on a 15-day adventure that included Ft Meyers and Key West this past March. Until a few days before I launched, I was still on the fence about whether to drive my Vette or my truck. I can't begin to tell you how glad I am that I took the Vette. Although the car was trashed when I got home, nothing bad happened. I had a FANTASTIC time, and I am SO glad I cast my fears aside and went for it! Yeah, it took a full day's work to get it cleaned up again after that odyssey, but so what? It's clean again now. Sure, it could have picked up some battle scars on that trip, but I decided it would wear them proudly as a badge of honor until I got them repaired, if that happened (fortunately, it didn't).

I drove the Vette where I wanted to drive it, parked it as safely as I could when I got there, locked it up and set the alarm, and purposely put it out of my mind until it was time to jump back into it and drive some more. I slept like a baby every night.

Driving down the Overseas Highway from Marathon Key to Key West late at night under a full moon and all the stars would have been wholly unremarkable in my truck, but it was truly an unforgettable experience in a Really Cool Corvette with the ragtop where it belonged. Every now and then, we are treated to an experience that becomes a memory that'll last a lifetime, and this was one of those occasions. If I'd done it in my truck, I'd barely remember it today. It's up to us to create the opportunity for wonderful experiences to find us, or they'll silently pass us by and we miss out.

These cars were not built to be placed in a protective cocoon. The were meant to be driven and enjoyed. I understand your anxiety, because I lived with it, too. But, if you can possibly get over it, get your car insured for an agreed value that you can live with and get out there and seek the adventure and thrill that these cars should be all about. There are folks who drive mid-years on cross-country adventures from one side of the USA to the other, and back again. Why not be one of them? Yes, bad things CAN happen. But if you're adequately insured, it's worth the risk, as the rewards are so great. It may be useful to remind yourself that your garage could burn to the ground with your Vette tucked away "safely" inside of it (I know a man who lost a '62 fuelie exactly this way).

Worry is the thief of joy, and I'm not having my joy swiped anymore. I can't take this car with me when I die, so I'm gonna enjoy it while I have both it and my health. I may outlast the car, or it may outlast me. But I won't get to the far side and find myself looking back on it all saying, "Damn, I sure wish I'd been able to relax and enjoy my Corvette more than I did!"

Go for it, my friend. Life is short, and it is precious. Squeeze it for every last drop before it's over.

Be well,

SJW

 

 

If you take trips often enough, you get over the worst of the anxiety.

It's a car. I park it at cabins and trailheads in the woods, and at motel and mall lots in big cities.

Having said that, I also park away from door dingers, and prefer motels with my car outside my window. For all other occasions (and even the ones just listed) I have ignition cut off, fuel cut off, a cheap club (to advertize resistance - not to prevent theft), and a cellalarm to call me on the phone if my car alarm goes off. My car's battery has a stainless shield to keep it from being drained by a drill, and the cellalarm has it's own rechargeable battery - so it can keep calling me if someone quickly silences the alarm.

 

with the last 3 posts, is a car, it is insured, so I enjoy and drive it as much as I can.

 

SJW,

I agree...I agree wholeheartedly! You said it all. You have touched on all the reasons why I drive mine and plan on driving her more as I reach retirement. From the getgo here on this forum, I've always admired MagicV8's attitude with his. He drive's her...everywhere! Hat's off to you Magic. You have been my inspiration on how to use these passions.

Drive 'em and do your best to keep 'em...but drive 'em!

Jim

 

Corvettes are made for drivin. That said, my 63 Z06 is always the least expensive car in the parking lots where I park, so I don't really worry about it

 

Thanks for all the replies and the words of inspiration ! I dream of one day taking a long trip in my 65....perhaps to Bowling Green...First i still have to get past this paranoia bug...lol....Maybe a few short overnight trips first After reading the description of the trip to Key West, I KNOW I am going to HAVE to take the plunge sooner or later !

Thanks again, Steve.

 

Do what you can, drive them

 

I am alot like magic v8, the most fun is driving them. My wife and I have driven our 63 in every state, Canada and Mexico, and would not trade the miles or smiles for anything. We take all the normal precautions possible . In college in the 70s I would tie a string to it and run it through my window and it would drop cans if moved. Redneck alarm!!!!

Hey Magic I would like to learn more about your cell phone system, or who I could contact to get informed.

SSS

 

 

While driving cross country and staying at hotels, I would remove the ignition cable from the coil to the distributor and take it to the room with me. A thief can run their hands under the dash and in the glove compartment and find a kill switch in no time. It would take a lot more time to figure out the ignition deterant and source another cable. Especially with the shielding in place. At any rate enjoy the car as much as possible because we're all going to end up in a box sooner or later.

John

 

I got the modified cell phone from Jason Junkin and Aaron Scott at http://www.bustthem.com, but in the years I have had the cellalarm, the web site disappeared. They were trying to start up a company to supply the phones in the USA, but I am guessing there wasn't enough demand.

In the rest of the world, the cell phone alarm systems are common, but their phones operate on different frequencies than North American cell phones. I did a lot of web searches that finally found a company in Australia years ago (when I was looking for the alarm), that said they would modify their product to work in the USA, if I could get an order for 100 phones together.

You might try web searches again, to see if any of the European or Australian companies offer a US phone yet. I would be interested in the answer - as I am sure others are. I have been asked more than once where the phone came from. I would appreciate a vendor name to give people.

PS: I am not trying to hijack this thread - sorry about the long response.

 

Yes, Corvette parts are expensive but the big money for thiefs is mass produced cars with a HUGE demand like a Toyota Camry. Corvette parts are not as easy and quick to get rid of and much easier for police to track. If there was a Camry parked next to your Vette, the thief would go for the Camry.

 

and on the other hand - a year or so ago I read on the forum that a member trailered a disabled and partially restored c2 to a public building in an east coast city to show a restoration in progress. The display was set up the night before the show opened, and when the building was unlocked the next morning, the car was gone.

If a thief wants YOUR car, he will probably find a way to get it.

 

You've got a good point too but I prefer the "Camry" odds. I sleep better at night that way.

 

me too

 

I don't think disableing a car is the answer. They pick them up with a tow truck. I'm waiting for gps systems to become more popular. My thoughts at this point are, if you have some sort of tracking system on your car then what? It's gone, you phone the police, do they have the support to track you car? I don't think so. If not, who does and if they are able to follow it, what can they do?
I think that this type of service has been too long in coming. I would sign up for a system that had support. I know that every Harley-Davidson owner in the world would/should sign up myself included. We have always lived in constant awarness that our ride could be gone at anytime, on the street or in your garage.