New vette owner... is this normal?
 

Is this normal?? I feel guilty even taking it out of the garage dirty and unwaxed. I almost rolled to a stop on a highway that had some snow melt on it. Considered taking the top down in 43deg weather. Seriously kicked myself for even driving it with the possibility of road salt. Good god, what have I gotten myself into?!?!

Leno drives some pretty expensive Duesnbergs everyday dont worry about a C5, go put some miles on it.

But he bought a 1991 C4
 

Yes, it is normal. You have a very beautiful Steel Blue convertible. Keep it nice but drive and enjoy it. The top on my C5 convertible goes down when the weather gets warm and stays down until fall is upon us. Sometimes the heater is necessary to stay warm, but the top stays down.
Now get those rear wheels installed the correct way.

Yes on the wheels. That’s my Monday project. Which way to you guys prefer them? Turbines pointing forward or to the rear? I’m undecided.

Right after I picked up my "new" '89 temps hit nearly 50deg and I had to drop the top and take a short cruise to "see how it felt".

BTW, the "Corvette Black Book" shows those saw-blade points to the rear, i.e. make the rears like the fronts.

Wash, wax, wax some more, go to corvette store buy some accessories, and report back as a typical corvette owner.

It is in the upper 50's today so of course I went for a drive. While I have taken the targa top of shortly after buying to check the weather striping I had never driven it was top off. I decided to make today the day so I could ensure it stows away firmly when on the road. Felt good and with the sky above. BTW last weekend I washed and waxed it for first time since buying.

Ha! I’ll start that venture tomorrow. What wax/sealer should I buy?

What products did you use for cleaning and waxing? Satisfied?

I’ll probably go for the “bone stock” look other than the stereo (If I replace it or need to anytime soon). I wouldn’t mind a little more raw “hole shot” but doubt I’ll go for that with this car.

Yeah sure, equating Southern California roads with northern salted roads makes sense - sure, got it.

I actually went to self serve car wash down the street from me to soap up wipe all panels with cotton towel and rinse.Drove it back home at a rate of speed that did a good job of drying it :) . Once home used Maguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax.

[
QUOTE=thomasfxlt;1599099918]Yes on the wheels. That’s my Monday project. Which way to you guys prefer them? Turbines pointing forward or to the rear? I’m undecided.[/QUOTE]

Only one right way, blades rotate to the rear on the top of the wheel.

Its normal, but try to kick the habit. Nothing wrong with taking care of the car, but theyre a whole lot more fun to drive than to wash and wax.

You bought it to have fun and have the thrill of driving it, then do it, nothing going to happen, that little soap and water can make it shine again.

I think once I get my initial spring work on the car done I’ll be good. It’s a fun car to drive.

As said above, those Duesenbergs don't get driven in NE US salt. Here in Ohio, vehicles start getting holes in them by year 6 or 7 unless you take extreme care of them. Undercoating, washing all the time, etc. Even then, the anti-ice chemicals just chew up the metal. There is a reason why the auto companies only warranty the bodies against rust through for X amount of years. They pretty much know how long the cars can withstand living around here and they can't offer warrants for Y years to the Southwest and X years to the Northeast.

I wait until all the anti-ice material is washed off the roads by rain, otherwise it gets turned into an ultra fine powder that will get into every miniscule place it can find and start the corrosion process.

A local shop had a late 80's Corvette that was brought in from California. I looked under the hood and absolutely couldn't believe how clean the car was. It still looked new. No matter how well you take care of a car in Ohio, that California car just outshined it. Even with the mileage the car had, it still looked as if it just drove off the showroom floor it was so clean under the hood (looking at the frame rails, bolt heads, shock bodies). My 96 with as low mileage it had, still showed some evidence of living in Ohio.

With that said, we had a couple times during the winter when we had a thaw and subsequent rains cleaned the roads. I had my car out. Windows down and heater on ! After all, it was a sunshiney day, regardless if the temps were still in the high 30's low 40's.

I use Griot's Garage clay bar and Speed Shine, followed by their buffing compounds with their 6 and 3 inch random orbital buffers and pads. I do not use wax. I use REJEX, which is bought on line. It is a polymer sealer which goes on easy, wipes off easy, gives a good shine and makes the car so things do not stick to the paint.
On my C5 convertible I got some nasty white spots all over the car one day from a vehicle going the other way. I thought I would start cleaning with the windshield first. Water did not get them off. Neither did enamel thinner or lacquer thinner. I had to use a razor blade and scrape them off the windshield. On the hood of the car I tried a soft cloth and water. They wiped right off. Fortunately I had used Rejex on the painted surfaces but not the glass. From now on even the glass will get Rejex.
The front wheels are on correctly. It is the rears that are wrong.

Thanks for the reply!

The base model C4s are not collectors cars, they are not unique or special, but they are cool because they look great and are fun to drive. They won't even see any significant appreciation (market value) for at least another 10 years. So don't worry about taking meticulous care of it, just enjoy the car and drive it a lot :)