Sorry for the rant, but I figured I would share my misery so those in similar situations will not feel lonely...

So about a month ago I got my Vette out of storage to enjoy the nice weather we are FINALLY getting here in WNY. Well second short trip of the year, I broke a bolt holding the alternator in place. Two days of trying not to scratch the chrome on the alternator and a drill and extractor set at work, I finally got that out. Took me about a week and a half to have enough free time to put the alternator back in and test everything out. No issues. However when wiping the car down, I noticed a 3/16 nick in my new paint that is less than 6 months old. I assumed it was one of my young step daughters playing near the car. I am angry... The chip is all the way to the fiberglass, and I almost lost the car my dad left me, before I got the new paint. Long story short, turns into an argument with the significant other, comes to find out, she tripped one day, and her engagement ring hit there when she used the Vette to catch her fall. I told her she shoulda let the ground do that job. So I go for a cruise to calm down. Get to the store, door opens fine. Come out of the store. Driver's door won't open. Finnish running errands by climbing in through the passanger side. I bet people were thinking I was stealing my own car... So I got the door fixed today at work, but on Monday I noticed that my passanger floor was soaked. We have had alot of rain lately, and the only thing I can think is I have a leak somewhere. I do not have a garage, so I store the car next to the shed under a car cover until I can build a permanent shelter next to the shed for it. I rent so building a garage is out of the question. So now I gotta figure where it is leaking from, and find a way to keep water out in the meantime when it rains.

It is just making me wonder, what's next? I am afraid to replace the burned out tail light bulb in fear that if I fix it, something else might go out on it!


I swear I am going

 

I'm truly sorry to hear about your run of bad luck but this.......

made me laugh.

 

First off apologize to your wife. Accidents happen....all cars get nicked unless they're garage queens. Check your floorboard for antifreeze smell and see if it's a heater core leak. If not your t-tops or vert top is leaking track it down. In conclusion> You own a classic vette of COURSE things will break. At least you have a vette right? Unlike over 99% of the people on this planet? Could be worse.....you could be a stench covered Prius owner. Right?

 

My first bit of advice is to have the vette CONNECT you to your family, not drive you from them.

Occasionally I have the wife fix stuff with me on the car and whenver I go for a drive I take my son with me. Small stuff like that.

Understand you are frustrated, but it sounds like it's you and the vette against the world.

Back to the car, I've only had mine for a couple years - but misc repairs like that only happen when I drive the car, or when it sits for a while, or when I try to fix something, or...

 

You have issues none of us can help you with.

 

Although you're originally from MI but reside in Buffalo here's another slice of heaven for ya. Buffalo is 0 for 3 in Championships against Dallas...hehehehehe

 

It's only a Chevy, don't worry so much

 

Your wife's health and well being should be worth more than your entire corvette. Aside from that, your leaking could be a number of things. It could be the heater core, a block in the cowl drain, leaky weather strip around the door, a bad water diverter, a hole in the firewall, missing or cracked sealant between the fender and firewall, a rusty birdcage, t tops not sealed properly, or it could be God punishing you for being rude to your wife. Just sayin.

 

I love this!! Sounds like something my wife would say to me!!

 

sell the car bro b/c you are exactly right about "what next". you could dump $40k into a full frame off restoration done right and **** would still break on these cars they are a pita! those of us that know that except it and turn fixing the broken parts into a hobby. still we get very angry like you did that's why this forum is a nice place to rant. if it get to be too much step away from it or get rid of it. I would never ever buy another vette ever unless it is a 57-62 body style. straight axle simple engine not allot of b.s. less moving parts to break and a much classier ride than my 79. if I had known what my car was gonna be before buying it I never would have purchased her. she is still a pos an I have way more into the plastic pig than she is worth. that said I got to fly my dad out to la from off the farm in mo and spent two weeks rebuilding ALLOT of stuff on her and doing what turned into a **** poor paint job that I love. I cant recreate the time spent on my car with my dad whos health is gone. I love the work I have done to it and hate that it is still SOOO far from a car I can be proud of or take to shows. these cars are a love hate relationship gotta know that if your gonna keep her. my car has no heater core no blower motor missing all a/c components no speedo or tach torn seats use garmin gps as a speedometer and has about a million other issues. I am gonna keep working on her every 5 weeks or so when I get time till hse is perfect if it takes me 15 years so what she is already 10 years older than I am if you don't absolutely love your vette sell it b/c it will never be perfect

 

I should probably state that the "arugment" got blow outta porportion, and we have since solved the issue and made up. It was just a bad day for both of us. What upset me is that she never told me until I found it and was upset about it. The whole thing just got blown up, and she's Puerto Rican, so you know stuff I did last year got brought into it... lol.

The Vette normally does bring us together, last year I started teaching my step daughters about cars, and they LOVE going to car shows, and at 9 and 10, they know they can excitedly point out "Thats a Pontiac GTO!" or, "Look, Mom/Dad, at that pretty Camaro!". They love it. They also like to play "Slug Vette", its like Slug Bug, but with Corvettes, lol. They get all excited when they see one because their Daddy has a Vette.

The wife (or I should say future wife, big day is July 27th) is ok. She's not really into cars, so she will only work on them if I absolutely need a 3rd hand.

I know repairs are a constant with old cars, just seems I haven't really had a chance to enjoy it and drive in quite a while because something is always happening.

And its not the fact that it's an old car that makes it worth so much to me. It is because my father left that car to me when he passed away a few years ago, and I almost lost it when it was hit by a drunk driver last fall. I spent 3-4 hours detailing it on fathers day for my dad. It could be a rolling chassis with no interior and primer, and it would mean just as much to me.

As far as the water on the floor goes, no antifreeze smell, so I am thinking its a T-top seal. Going to look closer into it this weekend, and until I can figure it out and fix it, I will just put a tarp over the car cover to prevent water intrusion, unless someone has a better idea.

Sorry about the rant, I just had to blow off some steam.

 

AMEN ON THAT !!
Peace,,, moosie

 

Ok he posted and added more context and needed to blow off steam - let's give him some leeway.

I'm glad to see that the car is more a family thing than your OP would have us believe.

Back to the car, again, sadly I don't know what the problem could be but hopefully the conversation...you know...I would just start a new post and make the technical issue the focus.

You blew off steam, you had to. Now let's focus on the problem with a new post.

 

I will make a post once I get a chance to look further into it and try to obtain more information. My next project is getting the gas guage fixed, as I have already done research into that. I THINK it is the grounding wire in the tank, but I should know by this weekend. Changing out the bad bulbs today at lunch. THEN I will start looking into where the water is coming from. I have driven it two days in a row and the floor has dried out, so I am thinking it is rain water. Future posts to follow. Maybe have the wifey sit in the passanger seat while I spray it with water? LOL, JK!

 

I agree with everyone here except for the post about giving him leeway.
You own a 40 year old car and no matter how much you invest or baby it, it will break and it will get scratched.
Dont spend a boat load of money on car and freak if you see a little scratch.

I will say that if your wife would have given you a nice dinner that night and a slurpee afterwards, It would have been a little nicer than just not telling you at all.

a month after my wife and I got married, she wanted to drive my vette to the store. later she called me and preceeded to tell me she backed into someone in the parking lot. She loved me longtime cause I asked her if she was ok before I even asked about the vette. But forgot during that infamous call that it was April fools day. she got me good.

 

Family comes before work and possessions, in more ways than alphabetically.

That said, there are two things I would check if water is getting into the cockpit. First I would take off the passenger kickpanel, and the passenger side dash pad. Then have your wife run a garden hose while you are in the car, and see where the water is getting in from.
Start with running the water directly in the bottom of the wiper bay towards the passenger side - not on the windshield or door window. The water should run down the fender to the drain at the bottom, but if it's clogged, you might see it come in through the kickpanel. If it does, you need to clean out the drain. Since your car lives outside, that might be a likely cause.

After that, have your wife move the hose to different parts of the windshield, and with a flashlight watch where it's coming in. The wiper bay, where it meets the firewall is sealed at the factory, but that becomes hard, and cracks with age. Also pay close attention around the wiper arm mounts - the factory also put sealant around those. If it's not the clogged drain, then you want it to be this, because if it's not old sealant, then the next thing to look for are possible rust issues. But my guess is that if it's not the drain, then you will probably find that the water is coming in from around the wiper mount.

 

Mashman, awesome info, I will check it out this weekend. Thanks. I am sure the lil lady will enjoy the chance to spray me with a hose... lol

 

This is entirely your fault. If you hadn`t bought her such a huge rock for an engagement ring, it never would have gouged the car!

 

LOL, I am surprised no one has posted one of these:



...Of either the car, the nick, the ring or the girl, lol.

 

Maybe this will make you feel a little better....I was cleaning the windows on my Z-28 last week. I'm working on the windshield, and the cloth snags the wiper arm, causing the cloth to hang up, my hand slips off the cloth, and my wedding band chips the glass.



S**t happens! It's VERY annoying, but every once in a while, fate reminds us that we're only human, with all the frailties that encompasses.