ronarndt

I have been fixing the relatively minor, but time-consuming problems on my "new" Corvette. Today I finally gave up trying to figure out all of the cut and spliced wires that the previous owner Bubba Dumass did to the windshield wiper motor. I'll pay someone to pull THEIR hair out. So I thought I would do a relatively easy job of installing my new drilled and slotted disc brake rotors and upgraded brake pads. I have a little creeper seat on wheels and you can jack the car up so everything is at a convenient work height. Got the wheel off, got the old pads out and was starting to remove the two 11/16 inch bolts that hold the caliper in place so I could replace the rotor. It seems Bubba rounded off the corners on one of the bolts and instead of replacing the bolt, put it back on. ........and really tight. I tried to loosen it with one of my six point sockets and even that kept slipping. I got the socket really well positioned and had an extension on my wrench handle to give more leverage. As I was leaning on it even harder, the wrench slipped, I fell forward, smashed my face into the car bumper, broke my glasses and got a two inch cut on my eyebrow. After getting the bleeding stopped, I put all my tools away, went in the house and am sitting watching the Yankees with an ice pack on my face, three fingers of Jack Daniels in a glass and my trusty dog Cali at my feet. RA

Gordonm

Welcome to the world of older Corvettes. I wish I had a dollar for every drop of blood I have spilled. Give it a day or two and you will be back out there. It does get frustrating sometimes but they are always fixable.

Alan 71

Hi RA,
I've known my wife since I was a little kid.
She knows that if I don't have a black and blue mark and several scabs somewhere on my body I haven't been having a good time.
If I come up stairs with fresh blood on me she knows I'm having a REALLY good time!
Regards,
Alan

Old Grand-Dad can be very comforting too!

dan1495

Gordonm has it right. When I get totally frustrated working on mine I find it is a good idea to step away for a day or two. It gives me time to think about the project a little bit and figure out a way to finish it. It goes a lot better when I get back to it. Don't give up!

blue427

Don't tell your medical insurance carrier you own an older corvette,they'll raise your rates.

loup68

Sorry to hear about problem, Ron. Not only have I had and worked on my 68 coupe for 43 years now, but I worked in maintenance in an automotive parts plant for 34 years, until they closed it in 2007. Talk about bloody knuckles, etc, working there!!!
You could try tapping a metric socket, that is slightly smaller,onto the bolt with a hammer.
Good luck, Lou.

ddawson

For those every now and then bolts that are just too messed up.

briankeery

Look on the bright side, at least the Yankees are getting creamed by my Blue Jays.

Paul L

My Wife has a first-aid centre in the garage with iso-propyl alcohol. That's the way it is. When I work on the Corvette, she says basically how much blood today?

An impact driver will do that job.

oldgto

Don`t feel alone! A gal at work asked me, "What on earth happened to your hands.... they look like they`ve been through a shredder!"
I told her "I work on old cars, and I have an old Corvette I`m playing with now, and she likes to play rough!"
She said "Yes, I guess she does!"

7t2vette

Whoomp! There it is!!!

ronarndt

Thanks, Lou. The bolt head is so messed up I may just grind it off, remove the caliper and flatten the sides of the stub with the grinder so I can back it out. I do not think it was even the correct bolt, since it has a thin head. If it were not so close to the caliper seals and pistons I would have heated it up with my torch an backed it out. Amazing how heating bolts cherry red makes them give up and back out. RA

ronarndt

Looks like they are going to repeat in the double header. Rats.

ronarndt

Damn. How did they let all you Canadians on this site?! Just kidding, of course.

E.Murray

Couldn't help but laugh (in total sympathy). I've run into the situation so many times it really is only funny if you have a morbid sense of humor... My wife has come to the garage too many times to find me hopping mad at some numbskull (to use a more polite term) that had my car before me and cost me 4 hours so he could save the 3 minutes it would've taken to do the job right. I'm inches away from giving up on sorting the wiper wiring in my '68.
Take a couple days off, read through some build threads to get a sense of the normalcy of your plight, then hit it again. Or, at least, that's what I have to do.

bj1k

For those rounded off bolt heads or nuts , Sears sells a set of special sockets that have a spiral grip inside that works like an easy-out . Those things grip like weld and will remove anything , no matter how much they are rounded off. One of the best tools that I own.

E.Murray

I have those, too. Great tool if it fits. My only complaint is that they only give you 5 sizes that are supposed to cover everything. But they don't. If they fit, though, they can be a lifesaver.

kdf1986

hey... that sounds like a good day!!!

Been there. Done that.. Did it again. thats all I can say. And the best medicine is a 3 finger glass of Jack or his brother Jim.... and looking at the beast and cant wait for tomorrow.

kdf

rastafford3164

You guys are not my friends.

TMU

I've been eyeing C6es.