Nice to see that your family can share a special moment of picking up the car while remembering Vietnam Veterans. It is nice to see more appreciation for those who served in Vietnam. I certainly see more respect now than when I came back in 1969. Thanks for your Father-in-laws service. Enjoy his car!

 

Thanks. My Father In Law was a wonderful man! I knew him since I was 12 and taught me quite a lot about wrenching, including helping me completely restore my '80 Z/28. I am honored to be the car's custodian until my son is old enough to have it.

 

What a terrific ceremony. It was really well attended and very fitting. I am so glad we made it.

Well everything did NOT go as planned with the car. The wheel lock key is lost to the ages but the key registration card is in the owner's manual so I'll be ordering a new one on Monday. Of course, I couldn't have the new tires installed so they are in the back of my wife's minivan for now. She was a really good sport about that. The tire shop was confident that the tires on it would hold up for the trip home and they were right. I can't wait to feel the difference when the new Conti's are installed.

The weather was perfect so I took the top off for the ride home. The wind noise was REALLY bad. I was pretty surprised with it. It also felt like there was a lot of back pressure behind me and I'm guessing that's why I see that little gizmo that allows you to drive with the rear hatch opened up a little. I may have to look into that.

It has a few issues I already noticed:

1. The climate control system only blows air out of the lower vents, and not with much gusto. I will enjoy chasing that gremlin down.

2. Under moderate acceleration (with the old tires I took it easy) there is a growling from the back end. It's not noticeable under light acceleration, though.

3. I washed it at home and much of the weatherstripping is shot. I was pleasantly surprised with what emerged from underneath 8 years of dust.

4. The skip-shift "feature" is garbage. That will be bypassed in the very near future.

Other than that, there weren't any other issues. I really enjoyed my first drive in that car since 2002! It is going to be a fun project for my son and I and eventually it will be passed down to him (but not too soon). I look forward to being a regular here on the forums. Finally, the pic...

 

I just unplugged that damn skip-shift idiocy on my '89 and it no longer hangs up my gear selection.

 

Are you positive your mechanic put the limited slip additive in the differential? Some of the rear end oils being sold say they have the additive already in them and it appears it may not be enough for our differentials. Dan

 

That's a very cool car. Very nice condition for that long of a nap.
I am very sorry for your loss but so glad you kept that car in the family.
That will be a great family treasure for many years to come.

 

I am going to call first thing tomorrow. If he hadn't, and I gingerly drove it 100 miles, would there be a chance of serious damage?

 

I agree with whaleman regarding the limited slip additive. Go to the Chevy dealership and get a bottle to add to the new fluid. These cars need the extra additive. You may need to siphon out enough to add the fluid but it will be well worth it. Then find a big parking lot and slowly do figure eights to work the additive into the differential plates. 20 or so slow figure eights should be enough then let us know if it helped.
Also wheel lock key was missing on my 92 when I bought it with the original tires so I followed the advice from a forum member and hammered a 12 point socket that was just a little too tight to go over the locking lug nut just enough so it grabbed the lug so I could remove it. Then hammered the lug from the socket and did the other three the same way. Replaced them with standard lugs like the other four and never worried about the key again. It was not like I was going to be leaving the car where there was a potential for the wheels to be stolen.

 

You would not damage anything with your drive being so short.

 

Amcor shows the key in stock so I'm going to try that route first. There's no hurry and when I take the car on roadtrips I can sleep better at night. If for whatever reason that is a no-go, I will proceed with plan B.

 

I took mine out and replaced with regular lug nuts. Nobody is looking to steal our wheels anymore. Dan

 

I've been through LeClaire a few times, but have you been through Cleveland, OH lately?


Well my mechanic put the additive in when he changed the oil so that's not it. Maybe it's just the old tires. We shall see.

 

No, Are the crooks on the lookout for 25 year old Corvette wheels? Dan

 

Well good that the additive is in there. Try the trick of slowly doing a bunch of slow speed figure eights in a parking lot once you have the new tires. You may just need to really work the additive into the differential after so many years of sitting.

 

I will give that a shot, thanks.

 

Hello meh92,

It is very nice to see you ending up with a beautiful example of a Corvette!
It is a great thing to share with your kids.

 

a known defect with the 1996 models but check out this thread and you can eliminate one of your issues.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...l-problem.html

 

I just finished reading that thread, thanks! It looks like I might have to get into a yoga class to get to these parts. The retrofit idea isn't bad, either. It stinks that auto climate was a one year only setup.

 

That didn't take long at all. I was expecting a real struggle. Gives me very little faith in "security" of these devices. I think I'll join Dan's camp and go sans locks.

 

Regarding the noise from the back, check your rear wheel well liners and see if it looks like one or both of the tires has been rubbing the liner. Could be a bad rubber bushing in a spindle rod or some other part in the rear suspension. How do I know this? I was driving my 91 one day and went around a curve and heard a "roaring" noise. When I got home and started poking around I saw that the right rear tire had rubbed the liner. On further inspection I saw that the right rear tire camber was off as well. It was leaning enough that I could see it. I purchased a gadget from Harbor freight to measure the camber and tire was tilted 7 degrees. The spec on my 91 is 0+/- 0.5 degrees. Anyway, it turned out the spindle rod Bushings were severely deteriorated. They can be replaced but I just removed the original rods and replaced them with new threaded ones that are very easy to adjust and came with new bushings. Haven't heard anything from back there since. Another thing to take a look at might be the rear tie rods. Haven't seen or heard of any issues with those but CC sells them so they may fail occasionally. Nice car!