El Mago

Me and my brother picked up a 71 sbc convertible this morning,
We had planned to drive it to Miami.
The guy who sold it said it was fine for the drive
He did and oil and filter change, air filter and a new starter.
Long story short, we drove a few blocks and the brake pedal was real low. We took it to a service center and after imspection, the left rear caliper is leaking.
The guys at the tire shop are trying to find a replacement, but on a saturday afternoon it looks almos impossible.
Anyone close by with a spare left rear caliper for sale?

Joe79Vette

NONN37

block it off.

tom k

Joe79Vette

derekderek

Worst case, fill and bleed it. Top off every time you stop. Unless really pissing fluid, you will get home.

El Mago

Thanks for the replies.
But we were running out of time. The caliper was really leaking.
So we are at Michel Tires Plus.
They were able to find a rebuilt caliper for $190!!
Not cheap, but we were running out of options and time.
This way we can start out trip. I still have some concern with the cooling system. It's not leaking but the temp gauge is not working, and it doesn't have a catch can.
We'll do an easy 100 miles hoping there are no more suprises.
I'm attaching a picture of the broken caliper. It seems one of the pistons and seal popped out. It's a "new" caliper compared to the other 3. It seems it wasn't repaired correctly and failed right away.
Not the best.time to take off... raining and getting dark...
But hell that's what I call adventure.
Monday I'll take care of the seller

lowbuck72

Sounds like am adventure you'll laugh about years from now, enjoy!

revitup

C'mon. No offense but anyone that believes they can 'pick up' an unknown 46 yo car and plan drive it from cincinnati to miami without issues because the seller said it was "fine for the drive" must believe in unicorns also.

60 SHARK

Come on,, revitup ,, any one who WOULDN'T take a chance on driveing a old C3 1000mi with issues unknown has no adventure in their sprit, ,, , I wish you guys well, and a safe and adventuresome trip home,, if I was near, i would love to assist,, let us know when you complete the journey, ,, i would love to know how it goes,,

Red86Z51

Wow...Seriously??? Pouring salt in an open wound with a comment like that is not cool at all....

theandies

I bought my car in Fla. years ago. At the time my wife was 9 months pregnant so I had to get back home to Tx and didn't have time to drive it back to Round Rock. My father-in-law lived in St. Simon's Island, Ga about 100 miles up I95 from where I bought my car. I drove it there and it sat in his garage for a few months. I finally got time to drive it home and other than the 100 miles I drove it after buying I really didn't know how the mechanicals were. The guy I bought it from said he wouldn't hesitate to drive it cross country though.
1100 trouble free miles later and I was home in bed in Round Rock. I believe in Unicorns too.

ratflinger

Yep flew to Little Rock, looked at my 79, bought it and drove it straight home to San Antonio.

revitup

I have plenty of adventure in my spirit. It just does not override my common sense, My idea of adventure does not include taking the chance of breaking down and getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, or possibly experiencing a mechanical failure at speed which would endanger myself or others, because I chose not to exercise the common and accepted practice of checking out the vehicle I'm taking on an extended trip. I don't think that position is unreasonable or overly cautious and it wouldn't make any difference if the car was 46 years old or 4 years old.

Bikespace

I love the sense of adventure, and hope you made it home safe. Both of my Vettes have a similar origin story, with fewer miles. You are making your own episode of "Roadkill". Perhaps a bit too late to help now, but an IR thermometer might give you some piece of mind.

Do you have an update?

Street Rat

I purchased my '81 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I live in Texas by Austin. I took a test drive and noticed that the brakes sucked. The seller was convinced that they were ok to drive back with. All I could think of was driving through the Dallas traffic with poor brakes. Nope. I put it on a transport. I guess I'm not spirited enough to enjoy an adventure like that?

El Mago. I feel sorry for you guys getting stuck. Nobody wants to have a car breakdown on a trip. I'm glad that you found someone to help you too. Sometimes these adventures simply can't be avoided. I've been stranded more times than I care to remember. It's not a good feeling. Thankfully only twice in my Vettte. Safe travels and keep us informed on your journey.

Craig

hope2

I picked up a '71 convertible in Alabama with no brakes and drove it home to Atlanta. Mostly interstate, just use your head. Hand brake worked a little. Adventure.

El Mago

Well yes there are updates
But first let me clarify to the gentleman that suggests I believe in unicorns a few details hidden to his imagination:
I never said I flew in to Cincinnati, jumped on the car and headed to Miami.
Having owned and extensively modified a Vette 23 years ago, I know what the main issues to tale care up.
The "seller" actually has a reputable agency which only deals with Corvettes (mostly C3s and Mercedes's). We bought the car in June but were only able to pick it up last saturday.
In the meanwhile we asked him to check all the basic issues to be able to take the car to the road. That is: carb and ignition, brakes, cooling system, tires and fluids.
I offered to send him all new parts, (he does some light maintenance and cosmetics on his shop) but he specifically declined all except for the oil and filter, and rubber valve cover gaskets. I also sent him a new starter.
We had a lot of conversations on the phone and through email on my concerns on the safety of the trip and the hot weather we would encounter. But he said averythong was "fine" for the car to do the trip.
So we do the paper work, leave the agency (my brother driving) and I see the the brake pedal goes all the way to the bottom. I also note the car idles too high 1100 rpm (it has a standard cam) and when we put it into drive or reverse it makes a violent kick. So we call him back and he adjusts the idle (this time too low) and sends us to a service center.
There we discover the broken caliper (which had been previously replaced by him). The guys at Michel Tires Plus did a great job finding a rear left C3 caliper on a saturday afternoon. So upon replacing it. they bleed that same caliper but the pedal.would go down to the bottom, it just woudn't pick up. Long story short: we bleed all 4 calipers and there was massive air on all of them. Also the fluid was brownish. So we bleed until we had clean fluid coming out.
The pedal finally picked up and the car stops pretty good. But I still suspect the MC (which has also been replaced) has some issue cause it's not totally firm.
I also sent him a dual snorkel air cleaner (it had a round 14x3).
When we set to correct the idle, I notice a big gap between the base of the cleaner and the carb. So that could be an issue with the idling. I also notice the spark plugs wires were milimiters away from touching the exhaust.
Basically, a very sloppy and inresponsible job. Putting us at risk. But you know how it is... there's a form you sign with the car delivered "as is"... so I guess all previous conversations are worthless. But dont't be mistaken.
The spirit of getting the Vette and driving 1000 miles is the adventure. And it had some previously planned preparation.
Next post will tell about the trip and show some pictures.

redzg

Autozone shows two locations near by (I'm in Orlando) with a caliper in stock for $70 -- none near where you were?

El Mago

THE UPDATES:
We left Michel Tires Plus (Cincinnati) at 19:00hs on a Saturday. It was already dark and it had started to rain.
We decided to give it a try from Cincinnati to Lexington, a 100 mile drive, at 2000 - 2200rpm which translated to between 50 to 60mph. We got there just fine. Instrument lights are working except for the oil pressure, so I would use the flashlight on the phone to check it every once in a while.
No engine temp reading cause the gauge doesn't work.
Yesterday was "the day":
Woke up early, and it was still raining. Took the car to the gas station, checked the fluids (all good) filled the tank and headed to Charlotte NC. Now that's a 400 mile drive (around 6 hours)
This time I was at the wheel. The car felt good. Only issue was the idle and engaging the D which produced that violent kick. But on the highway yoiu barely change gears.
We made it to Charlotte just fine. This time revving it up to 2500 - 2800 rpm. We got some heavy rain on the first 2 hours bit after that everything was calm... with the sweet rumble of the V8 out back... and yeahh some wind noise ofcourse. The car is a convertible with a hardtop. We had dinner in Charlotte, checked all the fluids and dexided to give it another strech: Charlotte - Columbia SC.
it was late... the highway empry and the weather fair.
We dwcided to go a little more. We ended up in Orangeburg.
Another 133 miles.
So at the end of the day, we out in 533 miles. Not bad for a 71 C3.
There are still important issues to be solved.
We can't go into traffic with the idle / transmission tje way ot behaves.