Does It Ever Stop?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,632
Likes: 112
From: Great Plains Iowa
Does It Ever Stop?
My '71 has been running flawless for several months and then my luck ran out an 2 hours ago. I took it for a spin then stopped for gas and no start. Crap, what NOW? As I am well known around my area because of my Vette a dude with a 4-wheel drive pickup pulled me home so I didn't have to call a tow truck.
I pulled the starter off and tore the solenoid apart. The solenoid's internal copper ground wire that is spot welded to the solenoid body had broken because the spot weld had made the wire paper thin. I happened to have a newly repaired solenoid on my shelf so I got her going again.
Does it ever stop?
I pulled the starter off and tore the solenoid apart. The solenoid's internal copper ground wire that is spot welded to the solenoid body had broken because the spot weld had made the wire paper thin. I happened to have a newly repaired solenoid on my shelf so I got her going again.
Does it ever stop?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,632
Likes: 112
From: Great Plains Iowa
I am well known around here because of my Vette. As I live in the mountains most everyone has a 4-wheel drive pickup and usually a length of chain or a tow strap. And as I have an eye welded to my front bumper support attaching a chain or tow strap is super easy. Just glad it was a real easy fix and at no expense because I already had a used repaired solenoid in stock.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,372
Likes: 215
From: Peoria Arizona
Trust me - there are many of us (myself included) that would love to get that much driving time in. 3 1/2 years into owning our '77 and we've only had a few short stints of being able to use it before something else went wrong and it gets parked again until we can fix it. 
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,632
Likes: 112
From: Great Plains Iowa
The solenoid was most likely made in China like everything else is. The ground wire had been spot welded so hard the wire was as thin as tissue paper so it broke. Lucky I had a repaired solenoid in stock.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2007
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From: North tonawanda NY
Trust me - there are many of us (myself included) that would love to get that much driving time in. 3 1/2 years into owning our '77 and we've only had a few short stints of being able to use it before something else went wrong and it gets parked again until we can fix it.
I have only been able to drive my 74 vette since last august and that was after replacing the engine, exhaust, radiator and rebuilding the brakes so besides issues related to crap in the tank and water in the fuel from a plugged drain hose at the filler area its been good until Wednesday when my ignition module went but at least that was in my own driveway.
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2014
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From: Mary Esther FL
Trust me - there are many of us (myself included) that would love to get that much driving time in. 3 1/2 years into owning our '77 and we've only had a few short stints of being able to use it before something else went wrong and it gets parked again until we can fix it.
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 48
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From: Mary Esther FL
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Camp Verde AZ
C1 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
2017 C1 of Year Finalist
Here is how to make it stop:
Rebuild the entire brake system.
Rebuild the trailing arms.
Replace all U-joints
Have the water pump rebuilt or replace it with a quality unit. Also fan clutch.
Ditto the starter
Ditto the alternator.
Take out tach and speedo and have them rebuilt.
have carb professionally rebuilt.
Have dizzy professionally rebuilt.
Replace all cooling hoses,a nd have radiator boiled out.
Have wiper motor rebuilt
Assuming your trans and motor are good, that should take care of about any mechanical issues.
Doing everything at once, keeps things from going bad every couple months, at least for a long time into the future.
Doug
Rebuild the entire brake system.
Rebuild the trailing arms.
Replace all U-joints
Have the water pump rebuilt or replace it with a quality unit. Also fan clutch.
Ditto the starter
Ditto the alternator.
Take out tach and speedo and have them rebuilt.
have carb professionally rebuilt.
Have dizzy professionally rebuilt.
Replace all cooling hoses,a nd have radiator boiled out.
Have wiper motor rebuilt
Assuming your trans and motor are good, that should take care of about any mechanical issues.
Doing everything at once, keeps things from going bad every couple months, at least for a long time into the future.
Doug
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,412
Likes: 50
From: Laguna Niguel California
"The solenoid was most likely made in China like everything else is."
Yeah, starters with cheap rebuilt solenoids are a big problem with these vintage of Corvettes. I learned this many years ago and I've had the best luck with NEW AC-Delco starters built in the USA, if you can find them anymore.
Yeah, starters with cheap rebuilt solenoids are a big problem with these vintage of Corvettes. I learned this many years ago and I've had the best luck with NEW AC-Delco starters built in the USA, if you can find them anymore.