Dinner from hell!
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: Amboy WA.
Dinner from hell!
Last Saturday the wife and I decided to drive our 2005 Vette to a nice resort about 60 miles East of our home to have a nice Anniversary dinner. When we left in the afternoon there were a few clouds in the sky but it was mostly sunny and warm. We reached our destination and had a very nice leasurely dinner. We left the restaurant at about 7:00 in the evening and drove about 10 miles West and were suddenly hit with the worst rain, wind and hail storm that I have ever seen in this area. The hail was 1/4 to 3/8 in diameter and just pounded the car. We were on a very narrow winding road but were able to finally stop and wait out the worst of the storm. I thought sure the paint was ruined. We finally got home and checked out the Corvette and found absolutely no damage. I guess the paint jobs on these new Vettes are pretty darn good.
Have any of you gone through something like this and found that the paint held up in excellent condition or were we just lucky?
Tom
Have any of you gone through something like this and found that the paint held up in excellent condition or were we just lucky?
Tom
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 5,933
Likes: 12
From: The Beautiful Inland Empire WA.
I can only imagine your 'pucker factor' while you were driving through that storm and what your imagination was doing!! We should be thankful for the material that the skin of our cars is made of and that it is so resilient!!
Glad to hear that everything is A-OK!
Glad to hear that everything is A-OK!
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,070
Likes: 160
From: Coralville Iowa
I know you may not want to believe this but that's pretty small hail. When you see baseball to softball sized hail that will impress you. Hail doesn't chip paint - it dents vehicles. On a vette I'm not sure what that size of hail will do - I think there is a potential it could cause a hole. I've seen hail take out plate glass windows when it's that large. It needs to get between marble to golf ball size to start doing damage to vehicles. It ALL sounds bad - especially when you're in the vehicle.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
5 MOST and 5 LEAST Popular Corvette Model Years in History!
Joe Kucinski
2027 Corvette Buyer's Guide: Everything You Need to Know!
Joe Kucinski
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 13,733
Likes: 66
From: Hurst, TX USA
I worry more about the windows than the paint and body. Those nearly flat windows (on the coupes at least) look pretty vulnerable.
I got caught in a bad hail storm a couple weeks back but I was in my Suburban because of the weather forecast. Sometimes I guess right. I would not have made it home through the standing water in the Vette regardless of hail damage...
I got caught in a bad hail storm a couple weeks back but I was in my Suburban because of the weather forecast. Sometimes I guess right. I would not have made it home through the standing water in the Vette regardless of hail damage...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 8,913
Likes: 15
From: El Segundo California
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,732
Likes: 34
From: Monument CO
I worry more about the windows than the paint and body. Those nearly flat windows (on the coupes at least) look pretty vulnerable.
I got caught in a bad hail storm a couple weeks back but I was in my Suburban because of the weather forecast. Sometimes I guess right. I would not have made it home through the standing water in the Vette regardless of hail damage...
I got caught in a bad hail storm a couple weeks back but I was in my Suburban because of the weather forecast. Sometimes I guess right. I would not have made it home through the standing water in the Vette regardless of hail damage...
I would be more worried about my hatch glass
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,143
Likes: 391
Picked up our new couple at the museum. Driving back home to Charlotte,Nc on H40 through the Blue Ridge mountains, and got caught in a hail storm in Tenn. Heck, had the car 4 hours and hail. Stopped at our b&b for the night, but was to dark to check for damage. Got up REAL early the next morning,,,,,, No damage at all. Luck of the Irish (both ways)