First off, I LOVE this car that I just purchased this weekend. Buying a 40 year old car, I expected some issues, but not this soon and not sure what my out of pocket will be.

The new love of my life is a 1976 Stingray L-48 with less than 12k miles (yes, original miles....I know, right?) and the previous owner (original owner's daughter) had over $10k worth of work done on the car. Again, I knew there would be additional expenses and things would happen, but I wasn't expecting things to happen so quickly after purchasing. I am just curious what kind of costs I am looking at before I take it to a mechanic.

(1) The air conditioner was working, but now it's not. It seems to be blowing fuses, but with each new fuse, they blow. You can hear the car idle down when you turn the air on, but no air. It seems electrical and not really the air conditioner component. It went through three fuses before we gave up. Granted, we live in Arizona, but it seems to be more than just a heat issue and the car has barely been driven since the purchase because it is too hot to drive without air conditioning.

(2) When you are in reverse, the car squeals like a stuffed pig...not the brake kind of squeal either. Very, very loud. If you have read this far, you can see a quick video (less then a minute long) when my husband was showing off the car to our son. This was the only time it made that sound in when it went into drive. We also tried backing the car out in neutral (while the engine was running) and they pushed it out of the garage to see if it would make that same horrible screech and it did...so is it the transmission? Bearings possibly? Brakes perhaps? Make sure your speakers are on and be prepared for a shrill sound! Sorry for the poor quality of the video itself.


(3) When we did back it out of the garage, we noticed anti-freeze leaking (quite a bit, not dripping). It only seems to leak when the car is running and not just sitting there looking pretty.

I guess my biggest question is should I have the car towed or is it safe to at least drive it to the mechanic's shop. I am taking it to a specialty shop (need to call tomorrow to make appointment) who I was referred to and who has been working on these cars for over 30 years. The mechanics shop is about 25 miles from my home so a little nervous to drive it that far, especially with the anti-freeze leak. I am also curious what I may expect to pay out of pocket.

Any insight on these issues would be greatly appreciated. Again, I am not delusional and know that a car like this will always need some TLC...just wasn't expecting it to end up with the mechanic so soon after purchase. I think all the above may be related to age or just "that's how things go" type of deal...the seller was awesome and provided all paperwork done on the car since it was purchased in 1976!

I'll be posting pictures soon...it's gorgeous! Owning it will be an education and I look forward to learning more about this car and in Vettes in general. Thank you for reading my very long post and thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer.

 

First off congratulations on your purchase hopefully it dont become your money pit like mine has, secondly about the only thing i might be able to help with is the coolant leak, which you'll need to run the car and look for the leak first. Good luck and tell us were it's leaking.

 

The squeal sounds like brakes to me. It may be an optical illusion but watching the white lettering on your tires they seem to turn kinda jerkily. After a quick ride feel the center of the wheels, see if they are real hot. May be just one, try the front left first(one I noticed in the video). If it's sticking could be a plugged rubber brake hose.
Jack it up, see if the wheel turns. If not, pull the wheel off and crack the bleeder valve open and see if it releases.
Had this problem on my black79 with 8K miles, twice!

Anti freeze could be any number of things. If it only leaks when running, then stand over the engine compartment or lay on the ground next to it and watch for dripping. Could be as simple as a loose clamp. Could be as fun as a heater core
I'm in the middle of replacing a heater core on one of my low, low mile C3s. Noticed the under floor drain plug under the seat was damp. Looked into it and noticed the fluid dripping from the heater box inside the car.
Also could be an intake manifold water passage leak at the gasket or a thermostat housing. Or a radiator.
Don't think cause it's low mileage this stuff won't leak. It's probably MORE prone to leak than a C3 that's been driven more.

 

We did check for leaks when the car was running. My husband and son tried to see what they could see. It seems to come from "up top" and on the left side of the car near the radiator. The radiator was replaced in 2013 as was all of the hoses and belts and so much more. Not sure if something got knocked loose or what happened. Can't imagine a radiator that new needing to be replacced already. It has been garaged and was not driven a lot by the previous owner since the radiator replacement.

 

Wow...you sound like you know your stuff! Thanks for the insight.

I didn't notice the wheel/tire issue until you pointed out. Good eye!

It drives like a dream, but you are correct, just because it has low miles doesn't guarantee that there won't be issues...just wasn't expecting them to hit so soon is all.

 

Where is the wet spot on the ground?

 

The wet spot is on the drivers side...looks like it is actually behind the front tire. My husband saw the dripping, but was unable to locate the actual source. Doesn't leak when the car isn't running. It wasn't leaking at all when we purchased it this weekend. You can't miss the neon green water on the ground.

 

Driver side? I'd look carefully at where the intake manifold meets the block/head at the driver side rear of the motor. Might have to put your fingers down there to check for wetness.
Can't picture a freeze plug leaking.
Really nothing else likely to leave a wet spot behind the drivers side tire.

 

If the water leak is only there when the car is running, it could be from the water pump, there is a weep hole on the bottom of the pump and the water would find its way down the front of the engine. Hard to tell easily if this is the spot though because the radiator fan tends to blow the water around.
The squealing noise sounds like the brakes, try pulling the park brake on a little while reversing and see if the noise changes, it could be something as simple as brake dust in the park brake drums.

 

WOW...sounds like the anti-freeze/coolant leak could be just about anything! I hope it ends up being an inexpensive repair.

Sounds like I might be safer splurging for a tow truck to bring the car to the mechanic instead of driving.

Thank you all for your help and insight. Reading these posts causes me to look up information and allows me to get more familiar with the car.

 

Maybe loose hoses, but non the less, with enough looking it should become apparent.

 

2) When you are in reverse, the car squeals like a stuffed pig...not the brake kind of squeal either. Very, very loud. If you have read this far, you can see a quick video (less then a minute long) when my husband was showing off the car to our son.

It sounds like the parking brake is dragging in reverse. You should check to see if they have been serviced in the past. Few mechanics know were they are, let alone how to repair them.

 

I will mention it to the mechanic. With my research, a few people have mentioned this parking brake to be an issue. The mechanic I am taking it to is a referral and has been working on Corvettes for 30 years...that is all he works on apparently so hopefully he will check this out.

 

The squeal sounds like a brake dragging maybe the parking brake.

Your saying the wet spot is behind the front tire. Maybe upper rad hose at the radiator dripping on frame and runs down to behind the tire where it drips to the ground. That would only leak with car off if Radiator is a little low

The A/C blowing fuses could be the compressor is bad. Or a short somewhere.

Sitting is the worse for cars. Always be ready to turn a wrench on a 40 year old car no matter whats been replaced. I hope you didnt buy it thinking you wouldnt have to mess with things. Sounds like all your problems right now are pretty minor. Lets hope for the best.

 

The car will be driven quite a bit. I know sitting can be bad for a car and unless there is snow on the ground or harsh weather, I don't know why you wouldn't drive a car like this all the time!

I did go into this purchase knowing things would go wrong, but since a lot of the major things were replaced, I was expecting little things and little tweaks...just wasn't expecting it to be only 48 hours after buying it. I do think that all of these things are relatively minor...but since this is my first C3 (have had Mustangs and Trans Ams in the past) and that I hadn't a chance to get to know the car better and it's little quirks, I don't want to push my luck and have something go "boom" or something.

Fingers crossed that it doesn't end up in the shop more than I get to drive it. Living in Arizona, it is out of harsh weather (except for extreme heat 3 months out of the year), it will get driven a lot. Can't wait!

 

A couple members mentioned the squeal may be the parking brake. I would agree. When backing lightly pull up on the parking brake handle an see if the noise changes or goes away.

The leak I would suspect the water pump. With the engine off and cold check the under side of the pump for wetness. A pump going bad will leak running and s pump thsts gone will leak static. A pump leak can be deceiving as the antifreeze can run down the from or down along the oil pan rail before hitting the ground.

Good luck and enjoy. Once you have owned a Corvette you'll always want one. I have had 9 in my life. 7 C3's, 1 C2 and a C4

 

That old of a car with that few miles on it got that way by spending a lot of its life sitting in storage... very often you can expect to have to replace more components due to failure once actually being used comes into play than if you had bought the same car driven daily with 200k on the clock... The worst part is many of the components lie hoses and such may look great on the outside so diagnosing possible failures and preventative maintenance can be harder to do.

 

I plan to move to Arizona in a couple years, looking forward to driving my vette alot more than I get to now. If your in my area, I will help you if you need it by then.

 

You will enjoy living in AZ and there are plenty of gorgeous scenery to drive in your Vette. If you have ever seen Arizona Highway magazine with all those incredible pictures. Well, you will be driving in the pictures...just gorgeous!!! Here's a link to their site to give you an idea of some great trips to take when you are here.

http://www.arizonahighways.com/

Thanks for the offer...I'd be happy to share some great drives out here.

 

Snow and ice ain't bad as long as it's not on the road.