First drive in a Mid year

koolaid117 · 05-07-06, 09:35 AM

Friday night we had our monthly meeting of the Corvette club. Everything went well. The wife and I had to leave a little early because I had to be at work at 9pm. As I was leaving a friend of mine, he has a 91 ZR-1 and I have asked him countless questions, asked me if I wanted to take his 63 convertible for a drive. My response, I tried not to scream with excitement, was "Absolutely!" It is red with a white top. As he explained it to me. He bought the car in 76 as a parts car for his brother's 63, then he decided to bring it back to life. He told me it was five years before it was back together enough to drive it.

So we get into it and my hands are shaking with excitement. It reminded me of the first time I drove mine. I had the biggest smile!

(Only bigger!!) I got buckled in, lap belt only, put the car in neutral (when I was able to find it), pushed in the clutch and turned the key. Hello happy!! The sweet sound of the V8!! Then I discovered no power steering! I got it out of the parking lot without any problems and said to him, "I'll bet you don't parallel park this much do you?" I drove around for about 15 minutes! I only got to about 60mph and I noticed that once you get it going it is pretty easy to drive. I got back to the restaurant and thanked him again. It was totally worth being 15 minutes late to work.

Sorry about the long post! It's still hard to contain my excitement even after two days!!

Jim

Tom Bryant · 05-07-06, 10:13 AM

Both of my midyears had manual steering and brakes so I know what you mean. I think the '67 427 kept my arms in pretty good shape. It was my daily driver for a few years. You get used to it. One thing for sure is that you get that same feeling each and every time you fire up that midyear and go for a drive.

Tom

koolaid117 · 05-07-06, 10:26 AM

I can still say I get that way when I drive mine. But I've only had it 13 months.

Jim

XLR8 · 05-07-06, 10:46 AM

Jim,

That's a great story! Congrats on your first drive of a midyear! I appreciate you sharing it. I've never even been a passenger in one - let alone drove it!

Awesome!

Jane Ann

67HEAVEN · 05-07-06, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XLR8

I've never even been a passenger in one - let alone drove it!

Awesome!

Jane Ann

We'll fix that at CruiseFest, Jane Ann.

67HEAVEN · 05-07-06, 11:02 AM

Jim,

I'm pleased you enjoyed the drive. Not everyone does. These are really old cars, without most of the comforts of the late models.

Part of the enjoyment is the "feeling" of driving them. They put you in complete touch with the road surface. There's little isolation from the driving experience in these old cars.

And, you can hear the fiberglass creak and groan, especially in the coupes.

The next adventure for you will be in driving a high-torque big block midyear. Without power steering, you learn to steer them with the rear wheels.

koolaid117 · 05-07-06, 11:46 AM

67-
Yea I could certainly feel the road alot more than in mine. My friend told me that he drove it to Gatlinburg one year. He said he felt most of the bumps the whole way. I believe it.

Jane Ann -
I still can't believe I got to drive it!! I was totally shocked when he asked me. But I wasn't about to turn it down!!

Jim

XLR8 · 05-07-06, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 67HEAVEN

We'll fix that at CruiseFest, Jane Ann.

Alright! Thanks 67!

paul67 · 05-07-06, 06:57 PM

I just posted a thread on a 120-mile road trip today so here are a few impressions from today and driving seasons gone by:

-you sit on the seats, not in them (sore back)
-a four-barrel makes music when opened, fuel injection is speechless
-a four-barrel means never leave home without American Express
-the entertainment center of a C2 is gas, oil pressure, ammeter, and temp gauges.
-tach and/or speedo mechanical cables make noise
-the large clock makes no sense but is fun trying to fix
-you can't follow a C5 or C6 around tight corners at speed
-the exhaust stinks without a catalytic convertor
-your aftershave is Eau d'Octane liberally applied to your clothing as well
-the body creaks and groans and the frequency is temperature dependent
-the cabin ventilation system does not ventilate; it sucks in engine heat
-your storage area is filled with tools
-your glovebox contains a spare set of points and condensor
-all C2 odometers stop at 6X,XXX miles
-the engine and transmission always leak, forget re-surfacing your driveway
-you marvel at $200 "correct" oil drain plugs on EBay but bite your lip and buy an incorrect one for $1.95 at AutoZone
-you marvel at Barrett-Jackson prices and fall asleep in despair knowing your engine is NOM and devalues your car
-you have SS intake manifold bolts and dread the moment when some character with a microscope finds out at cruise day
-your check engine light is a Sears timing advance unit
-you know that if you have a collision it will take a year for repairs
-you hide UPS receipts from the Wife who wishes to re-model the kitchen
-the kitchen oven is set for 225F and 15 minutes to cure newly painted parts
-the insurance company does not use a black or blue book but requires an appraisal, and driving restrictions, and an alarm system on the garage, etc.
-the local GM dealer does not know what a carb is
-the local GM dealer does not have a timing light
-GM technicians are 1/2 as old as your car
-GM technicians try to "adjust" rear bearings (happened to me)
-alignment shops do not have shims for the rear trailing arms; their spec books do not go back to 1963-67. You bring JohnZ's specs and show them how to do the job
-GM parts numbers have been superseded 18 times leading to "discontinued"

And a few more I have collected over the years that need not be added. Having said all that, I drive with a smile. And sometimes just sit in the garage in the evenings and stare at my car, however NOM humble it may be.

67HEAVEN · 05-07-06, 07:02 PM

Well said, Paul.

IH2LOSE · 05-07-06, 07:10 PM

Thanks for sharing, I dont remember my first ride in a Midyear ,But I do remember my Dads sister had a 65 or 66 yellow vette we used to pile into as kids,

Now I do remember my first ride as an adult in a Midyear it was a 1967 L89 clone with side pipes, After that I was hooked

paul67 · 05-07-06, 08:04 PM

Bob,
After driving C3 and C2 Corvettes for 20 years, there are so many tales I could tell about about the joy of these automobiles and the incompetence in repair. Basically there are things you have to do yourself and not leave to professionally-paid/amateurs. They simply do not understand these cars.

The local GM rate here is $98CDN/hour. I just paid that for an Impala 3.4L intake manifold gasket replacement But I have protested to GM Canada. If they do not respond to my satisfaction I will be part of a class-action suit launched out of Toronto in recent weeks. But that's for another thread. And not here.

There are a few grey-hairs in the area that I trust to touch my C2. And I would pay the price for some repairs that I am not competent to tackle or cannot no longer do owing to physical reasons. But I do shy away from those expenses if possible.

koolaid117 · 05-07-06, 10:08 PM

Well I certainly enjoyed my drive. I'm not ready to give up the Z just yet. But if I could own one in the future in addition to mine I would. Although I love the look of the coupe more. But hey, a mid year is a mid year right?

Jim