I am sure many may not agree, and some may call it Bubba, but I have made decisions on my car because when it came down to it, I really asked the question.. why? So just to throw it out there for comment, and maybe to pass on an idea or two, I made the list below. Just FYI - I drive 4000-6000 miles a year, i.e. my car is no garage queen, so keep that in mind when you read below and start commenting:

- Heater AC Delete - I have driven my car for several years now, before and after restoration, for eight months out of 12 in Western PA.......have no need for a heater or AC, so no heavy and ugly AC system under hood to deal with, no heater hoses, controls, valves, vacuums lines, etc....No loss. No problem.

- Radio Delete - no need for radio....love the sound of the car. Uncluttered behind the panel, no speakers, no antenna, no wiring, all gone.....No loss. If I needed to hear music, there are many modern options that don't require the car.

- Headlight Open / Close System Delete - No Vacuum or Electric - All vacuum hoses, actuators and controls...gone. No electrical motors added. Once you remove the actuators, it takes 15 seconds to get out of the car, reach under the front of the car, and push up the headlights!! They lock open. Same time to pull them down. I drove three times after dark last year.....No loss. Its called Manual headlights, simplest and cheapest system out there. Never will have a problem again. Night time does not sneak up on you, so you just pull over, and push them up, pull the light switch and your done. Simple, cheap and reliable.

- Windshield Washer Delete - no plans on driving in the rain, so no need for pump, reservoir or tubing. No need to spray fluid on the window and all over my hood. I do have the wipers installed, but have never needed them. If its raining hard, I am not driving the car and getting crap all over the bottom of the car, unless I have no choice. Hasn't happened yet.

- Spare Tire Delete - I might install my spare tire carrier, just cause I don't like the empty look, but not planning on installing a big heavy tire / wheel assembly to haul around. Might regret it, but cell phones have changed things. And after 40 years of driving, never had a flat,......until now that I said that.!! I will risk it. I have read all about the theoretical crash protection it offers.....I call B.S. on it. This car is so unsafe compared to modern vehicles it is ridiculous.

- Factory Option Delete - I don't need electric windows - all they create is problems with wiring, switches, motors etc.....all because I can't wind a crank?? I have never needed the windshield defroster, so its not hooked up, in fact none of the heater controls are hooked up. Electric rear window defroster....really?, Why?

- Alarm Delete - don't need it....it certainly won't stop anyone from stealing it.

Not even going to talk about emissions equipment....but you can imagine what I think about those components and whether any of it is on my car.

I love how simple this car is, and how much simpler I have made it. You open my hood, and it is as clean as it can get of hoses, wiring, etc......! I like it. Beyond that, its a car.....nothing more than a person needs and has everything I need to enjoy myself and drive. I would drive it to California tomorrow if I had time. No fear.

 

It's your car, you should set it up the way that makes you happy. If you have a driver there is nothing wrong with your deletes if you like it that way.

 

Nice,

- i dont have heater in my 81
- i removed air conditioning (but i live in Canada, doubt our summers would impress those in FLA)
- Alarm system pisses me off.
- Still trying to get decent sound out of sterio but, exhaust now so loud,, doubt it matters.

What did you put in place of Radio ?

 

How are you going to wind the windows up and down?

 

I just have factory manual window cranks....maybe I need to clarify that better....I just don't have electric powered windows. Actually, I drive most of the time with windows down and T-tops off, so I probably put the window up twice all driving season. Even when I drive it to work, I park outside my office, and leave the windows down.

 

I made my own idea of a radio delete plate and put a 77 Cross Flag emblem on it.

 

I agree with you. My project was a basketcase.....so I'm rebuilding it to suit my driving style......who needs a radio when you have sidepipes!

(Harley rider, also)

 

Nice, Not a Harley guy but,, many piped bikes in my past also.

Loud pipes save lives...

 

Didn't have heat in any of my C3's. The big block heats it up fine.

 

As I thought about my Delete status, I realize that I probably picked the best model year of the C3 generation, a 1977, cause I also don't have the hassle of worrying about:

- Fiberoptic light indicators - I am capable of determining my lights are working
- Electric windows and door locks - I crank them up, I know.....its a burden, and a key works just fine.
- Headlight washers and position indicators - Really?
- Problematic windshield wiper door mechanisms - My wipers are well hidden by the hood
- Cold air hood grilles and mechanisms - No loss
- Astro Ventilation - I drive with windows down and T-tops off....so I have plenty ventilation
- Removable rear windows and trays - Ditto on above
- Automatic transmission coolers, hoses, etc. - Got Factory Borg T-10 4-speed Manual Transmission - as simple as it gets

 

You still have not said what year it is.

 

i agree with most of what you say and could live without my power windows,radio,have no ac,spare is new and may save my life one day so it will stay.the automatic lifting of the headlights with vacuum however is pure magic and has gotten some great looks.

 

Sorry....I would have kept alot of that stuff....but I do agree to ditch the alarm!

 

OK, whatever year it is I have those options. And they work.

 

If ya' got it,,,,Flaunt it!

If ya' don't got it....ya' don't waunt it!

 

Yes, i deleted a few things. Factory alarm, hey does that thing got a trunk?
Seat belt lock buzzer/switches-Like Im going to spend money replacing something that annoys the hell out of me?
Luggage rack, uh, no. I did convert to electric headlights, electric wiper door, vintage air over the antiquated original system. I like the pwr windows, kept them. Pwr locks, love em. PB and P/S I use a borgeson conversion and also junked the stock brake calipers for wilwood.

 

During my rebuild, I deleted the PS, AC, Heat, Spare tire holder (315/35/17 wasn't going to fit in there anyway), radio, wipers.... Hell, I removed the antenna and glassed in the hole during the re-paint. This is how we drove them in high school. If I want all the creature comforts, Ill take the C6.

 

My corvette is a 1977.

 

I guess I really don't care about getting "looks" enough to deal with vacuum problems, or replacing them with electric headlights. After years on this forum, reading countless posts about headlight problems, I think manually opening headlights you use three times a year makes more sense to me. I will tell you my vacuum headlights, and all the systems I removed, were all working just fine, and if they broke, I would have fixed them to work. Its not a matter of being capable and having the money to make them work, I simply see no reason to bother. And all they do is clutter up the car. Of course, some people don't even recognize or perceive the beauty of an uncluttered engine compartment and simplicity of only having what you really need.

Then again, there are people who actually like to have fiberoptic light indicators in their car, because there is sure no other way to know if there lights are working!!

 

Your post reminded me I forgot to mention power steering and brakes. I thought hard about deleting both of them on the restoration, but I chose to cave in and keep them both. It sure would have been nice to bag the power steering pump that I rebuilt, to save the money I spent buying a new power steering valve, and just get rid of the whole mess. But I caved. My 65 GTO did not have power steering and it was a bear. I will tell you that if I start having regular problems with the power steering, its all coming off.

I could have easily saved the money and not bought another MCM power brake booster, but I caved there too. Again, if I start having problems with it, it is history.

Our world has become so used to creature comforts, we can't imagine living without some of this stuff, even if when it comes down to it, we never use the features, and even if forced to not have them it would be no loss.

We can't stick a key in a modern car anymore to unlock the door....we have to push a button. We can't parallel park anymore, we let the car do it. And some people believe we shouldn't even DRIVE the car, it should drive itself. But it all comes at a price, whether we want to recognize it or not.

My point, and my concept of my Corvette, was to go in the opposite direction in almost every way. I embrace that idea, and have found the joy in it. I know its not for everyone, but I put this thread out there to suggest you might find the same joy in it. Sometimes we don't even realize what we have become.