loup68

On Saturday, June 1st, we had the yearly Corvette show in Myrtle Beach, SC. I drove my 68 coupe there and about 40 feet from a parking spot, it just died. A couple of nice people helped me push it into a parking spot. I had trouble with bad rebuilt alternators twice and thought that, that might be the problem, again. I could not enjoy being there to talk to friends, while worrying about getting a tow.
About 150 corvettes in the show and around 50 more in the parking lot, and I am the only one that had to get towed out of there! Bummer!!!
It turns out that one of the two fusible links down by the starter let go, from age and heat. The wire just pulled out of the rubber " tube ", when my mechanic tugged on it. I was lucky enough to be there watching when he did this.
So I am writing this to warn people to double check their fusible links on original wiring harnesses. By the way, nothing is more enjoyable than driving my 45 year old " 68 beater " and passing a dead new car on the side of the road. LOL. Lou.

L-82kid

I know that feeling..

Same thing happened to me with my mild built 75 coupe back when I was 18years old. My buddy and I drove about 45miles away to big 700+ cars show and my corvette popped through carb and stalled out at the entrance to show! we had to push it in past a crowd of people and they had me park it with the bikes. Had all kinds of people coming over and giving their input on what the problem was, it wouldn't start at all. We left it on the side with the bikes and walked around for 2 hours. Turned out to be ignition problem.

SpeedyGjr

No big deal, things happen. Better it happens in a parking lot around a bunch of car guys then the side of the road at 2am.

David Mc

That's what happens when fusible links function properly to protect a circuit.

Don't be surprised if your real problem (short) is somewhere else.

gbvette62

Or at 65 MPH in the left lane during rush hour!

Don't sweat it, if you drive an old Corvette, it's going to happen to you at some point. I was at a club event one time, where we were all parking our cars in a grass field. I happened to be lucky enough to drive over a cinder bock, hiding in the grass, and put a hole in my oil pan. Another time, I had a rear brake line let go, on a club road rally one night. I got use to breaking down in front of other Corvette owners!

Some people have to tow their Corvettes, too and from shows. You drive the car, consider breaking down a badge of honor.

Blue73Shark

Been there, felt that. A year after I got my 73, I drove it to a local cruise in of about 50 cars. When it started breaking up, my car would not start (turned out to be a solenoid issue). Had a few guys push me to kick start it. Boy, was I embarrassed. Problem has been fixed and now I enjoy the shows without worry.

Fran

razman

that sucks Lou....at least you found the problem, and it wasn't a biggie!!

Arkyvette

I lost a trans last month heading to a show. Made it within half a mile of the place. AAA is a solid investment with their 100 mile towing policy. They even mandate a flatbed for Corvettes.

thegavel

My battery "crapped" out at a local car show a few years ago.
The nice people decided to help push me over to get a jump start from a friend.
It was after the show had finished, so people were leaving & making a lot of noise.
My Vette wouldn't move so they pushed harder & harder until they eventually heard
my SCREAMS.....My foot was under the rear wheel.
Luckily, No damage to my foot BUT I did learn a valuable lesson.
Cheers.

Spacecoast

That's how I look at it. With these mistresses, it is bound to get pissed at you at some point in the relationship!

bhk2

I've been embarrassed twice during 19 months of ownership--1969 coupe.

#1 ran out of gas-
#2 pin slipped out of neutral safety swtich and for AAA towing me home in plain view of every neighbor doing yard chores.

Glad you had help

3JsVette

There is no reason for your pride to take a hit. At work I see daily drivers get towed every day.
Back in 2000 as group of 5 hot rods we were on our way from New York to Goodguys SE Nationals at Lowe's Speedway. We get about 2 hours into the trip and my buddy's '67 Corvette coupe lets out a couple of backfires through the sidepipes that sounded like cannon fire and shuts off at about 75 MPH. He coasts to the side of the road and we all scrabble to pull over. Of course this is causing kaos on Route 81. He calmly gets out of the car, opens the hood, pushes on the fuse box, gets back in the car and it fires right up. He smiles and off we go without further incident. When we stop for gas I ask he what that was all about and he tells me there is a loose connection in the fuse box and every once in a while the car does that. So I say why don't you fix it if you know what it is? He says I can't. I just let it go at that.

capevettes

Don't beat yourself up. It's happened to me more than once that I needed a tow. They look very sad on top of a flat bed. The only reason I still carry a cell phone is in case I need a tow in one of the old cars. Too bad there were so many there to see it but everyone can probably relate.

mds3013

Cars and Coffee in 2012. Drove the car for over 250 mi. after the new cam, no problems. Parked in the display line after a 45 mi. drive to the show and noticed the drip, drip of AF onto the ground. The original heater core shut off valve had started leaking. I left before any of my fellow C3 owners even knew I was there. Except chstitans42 caught me leaving. It has been replaced but you never know what part is going to fail next. mike...

billcarson

i am with the rest of the guy's in thinking you should be proud it drives to the shows and is not a trailer queen.but i fear i will be stuck one day too.we have to do all we can to assure that does not happen.

Dustup7T2

Yeah Lou; things can always be worse and in the end, you're in good company to have had car-guy resources to call on.

It's real scary to consider some of the places that car could have laid down and left you stranded. The way it left the show? Not so bad after all.

Glad you found the root cause and wishing you more enjoyable shows in the future.

Scottd

Well....its not a Corvette breakdown story...but I had my beloved 79 Volare break down in the MIDDLE of the WORST neighborhood of Norfolk Va back in 1994. I was trying to find my college for my orientation and was just getting out of the Army so everything I owned was in the trunk. The car just DIED at an intersection....now I say this in jest, with no racial undertones....I was the whitest guy in about 100 miles in this neighborhood. I just sat there, frozen, as about 20 'ghetto boys' were staring at me. I meekly smiled back and began pushing my car thru the intersection. An older gentleman came out and helped me push the car, luckily, into an auto parts store parking lot across the street. Had it not been for this old man (who I feel was the patriarch of the neighborhood) Im pretty sure this story would have ended far worse......

chstitans42

I do remember this. I was very confused that is for sure. We both have not been to CnC in a long while.

steffan

^^Some people have to tow their Corvettes, too and from shows. You drive the car, consider breaking down a badge of honor^^

LemansBlue68

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, Lou. Sounds like you were in good company with all who were there and even though you didn't enjoy the show as much as you could have, I'll bet others at the show enjoyed seeing your car (even if it was a bit crippled at the time). We all know how finicky these 40+ year old cars can be.

I had a similar thing happen many years ago when driving my '69 Z28 back from a show in Springfield, Illinois. My friends and I were all driving as a group and decided to stop in Indianapolis to check out the speedway. When we were about to leave, my Z was starting hard. I cranked and cranked and cranked. I was still hours from home and getting nervous about being able to get her back. She lit off just about the time the battery was about to die but it did get me home. I never turned it off the rest of the way back, even to gas up. It turned out that the high tension points I was running had worn the rubbing block down to where the points were barely opening.

Now here's the best part: The parking lot at the Indianapolis speedway was full of classic Mustangs and their owners! Seems a Mustang club that attended the show I was at had the same idea and decided to spend an afternoon at Indy. After hearing my starter grinding for what seemed to me to be hours, many cheered, hooted and hollered when it finally started. I never was quite sure whether they were cheering in sympathy of my plight or that they actually got to see a Chevy start and run!