Well, it's been almost 2 months since my '87 was flatbedded away to the dealership. And what I thought would be a relitively "quick fix" for a vehicle that was sitting for 4 1/2 years has now just crossed the $5,000 mark.
What I'm NOW waiting on is the "neutral safety switch" for the clutch. The garage could only find it on eBay and they paid for it 2 weeks ago and STILL we wait for it!
To be honest with you, if I had known that it was going to run into this much money, I would have junked it, but hey, there's still a LITTLE summer left, right?

 

4 1/2 years ago and $5,000 and it is not done yet, yes junk it would have been a good deal for the clunker program. You would have gotten $4,500.

Yes, we have summer until November.

 

clutch safety switches are hard to find for these cars- a lot of people jumper them out because it is free. A lot of imported cars from the 80's and early 90's would start even if the clutch wasn't pressed down...it's just so many people drive automatics in this country, we felt the need to save people from themselves- anyways, one more part to break.

C4's are really for collectors or people who can do a lot of their own work. my policy is that if you spend a car payment every month keeping some antique going, just go buy a new car.

 

this last statement pretty much says it all

 

Spin your own wrenches or a C4 will bankrupt you.

 

So, exactley what does this switch do?

 

x 500 times

 

http://carsnewparts.com/products/clu...7-p178463.html

 

keeps the engine from starting without your foot on the clutch if stick, or not start the car with auto trans in gear.

 

I certainly would not take the C4 to a dealer for ANY work. The mechanics probably know little to nothing about a 14+ year old Chevy. When I bought my `87 from the now defunct Weed Chevrolet Co. in my neighborhood, the wipers were not working correctly. While trying to get the wiper motor out, the mechanic with all those ASE patches on his sleeve, broke the windshield. Also, these guys could not get the car to run correctly ( bad MAF ), & could not even diagnose the problem because they were not set up to work on old cars. The dealer finaly took another thousand off the price & told me that now the car is being sold "as is" take it or leave it. true story!

PS: They looked for a couple of days for a used windshield, but could not find one so they had to put in a new one. They had to fix that & the wipers for state inspection.

 

Kent from Homestead Chevrolet rules. He's an ace Corvette mechanic and has saved me money time and time again. When it comes to mechanics. No Bozos for me. I'll pay you well if you know what the %*(% you're doing. Still, it's always cheaper to turn your own wrenches. Sometimes you just have to know which way to turn.

 

I have to ask......why in the world would you take the car to the Dealer to have any work done?!? If wallet raping was a crime, most Dealers would have already gotten their 3 strikes and be locked away for life. The Dealer is the last resort in my mind. Just say'n
dws

 

(sigh) Yup, you and everyone else who has stated this are correct. I thought, being a new car dealership, they'd be able to do it quickly. But, at $85/hour for labor, I'm pulling the plug this week. I mean, 2 1/2 weeks waiting for this part from California? I told the service manager that I could have walked to Cali and picked it in this amount of time!

 

What exactly did you get for $5,000 if you don't mind me asking?

 

Just about ever time I have taken any car to the Stealership, I have either been raped over or they broke it worse than when it rolled in. I learned only go to Stealerships if it is warranty work - and even then they have screwed it up! Gooberment Motor or Dodge or Ford - same thing!

 

Good Ol'e Warranty Flat Manual in Action right there. Job actually takes 3 hours to do it by the book and right, it pays 1. Short cuts to get it...done. They have to find a way to pay the bills and put food on the table like anyone else. Hate the GAME not the player.

They either get realistic labor times or have people go hourly instead of flat rate, until then those with less integrity will just get it done and let it go. Sometimes even the better ones get screwed over by bad design and getting fed up with taking it in the BUTT. They don't build these things to work on them.

Ever hear how they get those factory labor warranty times, it will make your head explode. Ask me....

Personally, I do the best I can on any given day and leave it at that. Most of the time, work is done right and I have few comebacks. I pay for it one way or another, most of the time financially. I don't make as much as other guys, cannot turn the hours when you do it right. Sucks, sucks a lot. Your the guy doing the work, and you get screwed....

FYI, the dealer I work for is has a good reputation and I can see that, we try to treat people right. However, I have worked at ones that did not, it is bad, pathetic really, all they give a crap about is $$$$. Personally, someday I am either going to teach others how to work on cars or open my own shop. You make more $$$ with your own place and can do things YOUR way.

 

 

Nice catch OD

 

Nope, I don't mind at all!

Now, let's see; exactley what did I get with $5,000... and please remember, while I do know how to make a vette look pretty, I have absolutley NO idea of making them run, so, please, be gentle and bare with me guys, ok?

Distributor Cap, Distributor Rotor, Plug Wires, Clutch Master Cylinder, Clutch Slave Cylinder, Air Filter, Clutch Neutral Safety Switch, Passenger-Side Window Motor, All Weatherstripping for Roof Panel as well as Windows And Hatch, Right Headlight Motor, Halogen Lights all around, Front & Rear Brakes (Rotors, Pads, etc.), Flowmaster Force II Cat-Back Exhaust, Front Wheel Bearing Assembly, New Battery, O2 Sensor, and, last but not least... TIRES!!

The tires that came on this are, wait for it... NON EXISTANT! It took 3 entire days to find them (and that was after a local tire shop assured me that the $800 worth of rubber they sold me would fit, "just as good as the original equipment")!

So, just this afternoon, Kevin (the parts manager at the dealership) called and said he had located another neutral safety switch in Chicago. As for the *** in California who sold the shop the neutral safety switch but has just forgotten to, you know, send it; he'll have to answer to the Corvette Gods!

So, thats my list (without, of course, the $85/per hour to do the work) and, if all goes right, I should be ZOOOOOMIN' around "Vacationland" by this weekend, barring anything (such as a Republican-Party coup d'état or Armageddon) occurring this particular week!

(PS: A friend has a brother who loves Corvettes and he told me that he has a bunch of stuff related to the Doug Nash "4+3" set-up. He said to tell me not to blow up the tranny cuz it's a HUGE $$$ fix, and I told HIM to save everything he has and put my name on it!)