When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Despite trying to keep my 64 in top driving condition, I’ve had six roadside breakdowns in 20 years of driving. Here’s my list.
1. After a WOT push, car stopped and flatbed home. Found fused points. Replaced points.
2. Car quit at stoplight. Replaced Pertronix coil with NAPA spare and drove home.
3. Car quit on freeway. Flatbed home and found new reproduction fuel pump interior valve displaced.
4. Car quit in the middle of nowhere. Flatbed home and found pin on new fuel pump had worked out and destroyed pump.
5. Car quit at stoplight. Second Pertronix coil failed. Replaced with NAPA spare and drove home. ( this Pertronix was a free company replacement I got for failure of #2 above).
6. Car flooded out and quit on country drive. Tapped on carb, took top off and messed with float/ needle valve. Reassembled and drove home. Added Techron to gas when I got home. No more problem.
Two. The first one the plug to my TI distributor wire harness came unplugged. Manage to diagnosis on the spot and continue on my way. Second time I fried the Accell CD unit running my TI and that time I had to be flat-bedded. But I don't put that many miles on it.
Only two breakdowns in 16 years for my 67. Both times, the SE Breakerless ignition module failed for an unknown reason, so replaced it with points and no problems since.
Towable breakdowns or just stuff started failing that was still drivable or you fixed it right there?
Fixable/drivable:
All in the first 6 months i cobbled the car back together in 1974 with used parts and baling wire:
Bent nail fell out of the throttle linkage. replaced with a piece wire on side of road. replaced bent wire 30 years later.
Generator bearing failed. made bunch of noise driving home, replaced with alternator.
Car quite during rainstorm, sitting on side of road i figured out the wiper motor was connected to the wrong side of the ballast, overheating it; changed wire to correct side and drove home.
In 1983, i was screwing around and broke a driveshaft U-joint, that was a tow.
In 1988 the heater control valve started leaking making a mess on the carpet, drove home.
Circa 2007 I broke rear axle at the drag strip. That needed a tow.
Only two breakdowns in 16 years for my 67. Both times, the SE Breakerless ignition module failed for an unknown reason, so replaced it with points and no problems since.
in 8 years 3 times first a carb issue but was able to get home, 2nd stalled out, bulkhead connector wiggled it,was on my way. 3rd died while driving fuel pump had to flatbed home.
.
Despite trying to keep my 64 in top driving condition, I’ve had six roadside breakdowns in 20 years of driving. Here’s my list.
1. After a WOT push, car stopped and flatbed home.Found fused points. Replaced points.
......
Anyone care to share their roadside “adventures”?
BLASPHEMY I SAY !!! We all know points never fail...
One time in 10 years of driving vintage Corvettes.....the first and last rollback ride was 9 years ago when an improperly installed oil filter canister gasket leaked 4-1/2 quarts onto the road. I made sure THAT never happened again...
Other than that I've nursed the car home when something went wrong..like this (believe it or not), the car was running a Pertronix and that may have contributed to me getting home safely:
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 11-27-2018 at 03:02 PM.
In 45 yrs and 171K miles I have had three hick-ups. One left me in the parking lot of the Grand Ole Opera Hotel with the Corvette Caravan going to the NCM. Clogged carb jet, fixed, drove to NCM. One event when the Jacobs CDI went into limp home mode. Returned unit for evaluation. Replaced under warranty. And last, Mallory pick-up failed at home. Replaced unit, no real downtime. Dennis
I had two roadside breakdowns, both courtesy of Pertronix coils. Fortunately I carried spare Delco to get me going. Needed the flatbed when u joint came apart at speed (very scary), and when Pertronix trinket died on my way home, at night (of course), on an unlit highway. Also had to be towed when z bar weld failed on me (below).
I've had my '65 for almost 40 years and only drive it occasionally for half a year. In all that time, I've only had the car quit on me one time early in the spring and luckily just a couple of blocks from my house. A couple of guys driving by stopped and helped me push the car into my garage. The problem was that the Holley carb was all gummed up storage from using ethanol blended gas. After rebuilding the carb, I now store the car in the winter months with Stabil Storage additive in the tank.
Even so, I still have a concern with the 50 plus year old Vette stalling, especially in heavy traffic on a hot summer days.
I have State Farm insurance with towing coverage, but have never needed it. I often wonder if there is a limit on towing claims with State Farm and if they would increase the premium or even drop you with too many towing claims?
1. '63 roadster, in family 47 years. No breakdowns, ever.
2. '60 FI
a. Wire pulled out of condenser in distributor. Engine stopped. Ride of shame home
b. Road testing '57 FI unit. Engine quit due to a failure unique to '57 FI units. Pat (PTJSK) just happened by as I coasted to a stop and pushed car to shoulder. Ride of shame home.
c. Airtex fuel pump pin worked loose. Engine stopped. Ride of shame home.
3. Grand Sport vintage racer
a. Broken shock absorber. goofy handling. Called it a day, loaded on trailer, went home
b. Broken rocker stud. No spares. Called it a day, loaded on trailer, went home. Replaced with ARP stud; problem never happened again
c. Distributor internals seized, distributor rotated such that tach cable forced throttle closed. Engine died. coasted to hot pits. Called it a day, loaded on trailer, went home. Replaced distributor with Delco original. problem never happened again.
d. Throttle jammed wide open between 3-4 shift. Shut off engine, coasted to stop, got tow back to pits. A ROCK had gotten stuck in the linkage! Removed rock, re-synched Webers, resumed racing.
There you have it.
Oh, one more thing, all three vehicles run points. (Ducking low now....)
Thanks for the replies, guys. Keep them coming! Once I got away from Pertronix coils ( two fails) and started checking my fuel pumps ( two fails) for pin walk, I’ve not had a breakdown for several years. And Frankie, when the points fused I replaced with Pertronix Ignitor. That was 18 years ago....... Dave
I've owned my 67 435 for 23 years now. It's never stranded me to the point where I needed to get towed, but I have had to limp home on occasion and I've also had issues that prevented driving the car when starting up the car at the beginning of the season:
- leaky carbs (a few times) - usually meant a re-gasketing effort
- leaky fuel pump
- distributor/spark issues
- failed brake hose
All these issues were identified either before driving or very close to home and were fixed in my garage.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (track prepared))
2019 C1 of Year Finalist (track prepared)
Only once in 42 years and thousands of miles on dozens of solid axles and Sting Rays. Aftermarket Accel distributor seized in my '67 red/red 435, which at the time was running a small block. But it was on a -30 Minnesota WINTER night a long time before cell phones in 1984. And I had my dog with me. We hitched a ride home, and towed the 67 home with a pickup and a rope. About 20 feet behind the pickup. Power steering, power brakes, car not running. Very scary, and by then it was -35. We made it home, the car survived, and someone else has now restored it.
Two flat bed tows since getting my car in 2012, both from my house.
First was a weld that let loose on the PS ram mount (sounded like a gun shot). I was in the next town but got it home. Flatbedded it to the shop the next day.
Second was a totally screwed up brake system caused by mixing DOT 3 and 5 (I didn't do it). Could not get the crud out of the lines. Put the wheels back on and flatbedded to the shop.
I have State Farm insurance with towing coverage, but have never needed it. I often wonder if there is a limit on towing claims with State Farm and if they would increase the premium or even drop you with too many towing claims?
I have AAA premium coverage. You get 4 service calls per year and one tow can be 200 miles.
Also when I blew the motor this fall the shop where I wanted to take it was closed. Dropped the car at my house and redelivered later to shop and counts as only one service call. They call it a continuation tow
I have a heck of a time keeping air int he right front tire of my '63. Have to air it up about every three months. Must be those "porous" wheels they talked about back then?
11-27-2018, 01:04 PM
How many breakdowns for you?
Dennis
Dave
