The other day I was reading, yet another list of cars that someone had owed. Of course that always makes me think of my past rides (in some cases losses). I’ve recently lost my C6. Long story. Short version – catastrophic transmission/clutch failure (while racing) and a small fire in the rear. So the C6 is added to my list of past rides.
Today as I was running some errands in my red Ford Sports Trac, I was trying to recall how many red cars I’ve owned. So here the list of cars and colors.
1. 1966 Chevy Impala Vert, 283, automatic – Red
2. 1969 Dodge Dart, 318, 3 speed manual – Blue
3. 1970 Chevelle, 350, automatic – White
4. 1971 Buick Skylark – 350 automatic – White
5. Two Toyota Celica – blue/silver blue
6. 1974 Ford Torino, Cobra Jet, automatic – blue
7. 1984 C4 Corvette – 305 Crossfire, Automatic – Red
8. 1970 Ford Mustang – Bored .o40 302, 4 speed manual – White
If you follow this blog you’ve no doubt seen my posts on this past January’s Barrett Jackson event in Scottsdale, Az, you might even had caught my Facebook Live videos.
Of course I have to say it’s well worth the price of admission for all that there is to see and do.
One event is the Ride and Drive where you are allowed to drive some of the new cars. They also have a few of the more powerful cars that they only allow you to ride along with a driver, cars like the Hell Cat and Viper and some of the Mustangs. This year I chose to drive the SS and RS Camaro.
The key is to get there early because the line get long and the track gets crowded. We arrived at the right time and got a more personal touch. New for this year was the Breathalyzer test conducted by the Sheriff’s department, a smart idea, considering all the adult beverages available. But it was a bit early for that.
Here’s quick little slide show of my trip in one of the Camaro’s.
The auto cross course they had set up was pretty tight and for the novice this would a challenge and I think it was meant to keep the speeds down. When you attend these you are accompanied by a local drive either supplied by the dealership or by the car company for this event.
I drove the SS V8 LT Camaro first. I found the seat comfortable and driving position was really good. The car had quick response and the V8 really pulled great with hitting the gas. Not as good as my 2007 C6 Corvette but I was impressed. As an SCCA auto cross driver I found this course to be a bit tighter the standard down here at the regional I’ve driven often. The SS proved to be a bit sloppy in the corners at speed and it felt like a bigger car – of course it’s it a bit larger than my Vette. Although I made it round the course with out killing any cones, it would be understandable given how it handled.
Immediately after parking the SS, they had an V6 RS ready and I jumped in. I really appreciated that, having the SS drive still fresh in the never endign, it would make the comparison, a bit more visceral rather than homogenized by the thought process.
These days you know they can get a lot of power out of V6 engine and even 4 cylinders so I was curious to see how the RS’s V6 felt with my foot pressed to the floor. I didn’t have any specific expectations, but I was hoping to feel “WOW – this is a only a V6?!?!”, but I have to say it felt like V6. It was clear the power wasn’t there at the start line. However, it did get up to speed fairly quickly and by the first real corner you could feel it. The corner? Well, let’s say it was impressive. While driving SS the ride-a-long driver bet that I’d find the RS a much better handling car in the tight corners, due to the fact that the engine was set back a bit that changed up how the car made it though the corners. I have to say it was correct.
It’s true that in auto cross that horse power isn’t all you need, in fact, too much can make for rough runs. The key for any auto cross car is being able to handle the corner as the fastest speed possible. The RS made it through the course with much sharper corners and it felt really good coming out of them with not a lot of body roll, it was surprising.
So the V8 SS felt powerful (relatively speaking) – more what I’m use to with my Corvette. The RS felt like a V6 when getting off the line, but had the better cornering than the RS, basically verifying what the ride-a-long driver told me I would find.
It’s not often the average blogger, SCCA racer and car restorer, gets to take ride in or drive the newest cars which I think is a huge gap in what you see in the big time blogs and car magaiznes, so it’s always fun to poke them with the Average Guy’s thoughts when a chance for that experience can be documented.
I love this time of year here in Arizona. Not just because you can work on your classic/muscle car in the garage without feeling like a Christmas turkey in the oven. I love this time of year because it’s Car Auction Season! For the next 3-4 weeks classic cars …
Thought I’d pass long an update on one of the sinkhole corvettes.
Three years ago, on February 12, 2014, viewers tuning in to their morning news witnessed and heard an almost unbelievable story – a sinkhole had opened inside the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and eight Corvettes fell victim… lying at the bottom of the more than 30 foot deep gaping hole. Fortunately, the cars and building were the only things damaged as it occurred in the early morning hours before anyone was in the Museum. The story captivated those who watched it, and while the Museum initially planned to put the past behind them, the interest in the sinkhole and damaged Corvettes was undeniable.
On Thursday, February 9 the 1962 Corvette, still covered in dirt and debris from the sinkhole, was removed from display in the Skydome and transferred to a garage bay where it will undergo restoration work to bring it back, better than ever. The on-going work will be performed in the Museum, and guests will be able to see the car’s progress, oftentimes as it is happening. In addition to visiting the Museum to witness first-hand the work being performed on the Corvette, enthusiasts can tune in to Facebook and YouTube where a number of videos will be published by the Museum, providing updates and progress reports.
Found but not yet complete uncovered. Here is the shot provided by the National Corvette Museum. The Hammer was a 2001 C5 Z06 By the looks of it, it will come no where near the condition of a first few cars pulled from the sink hole. Thanks for reading. Tim
Looks like previous reports of finding the Mallett Hammer Corvette was incorrect. Looks like we have the rearend of the body for the PPG Pace Car. Seventh Down, One Mallett Hammer Corvette to Go: In less than a week, the 1.5 Millionth Corvette… http://t.co/hHAAVMPS2G Mallett Hammer Corvette – National Corvette Museum http://t.co/5DuDGdJQU6 Stay …
Craftspeople and technicians at the General Motors Design Center are painstakingly restoring the historic 1 millionth Chevrolet Corvette damaged nearly 16 months ago when a sinkhole opened beneath the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. The restoration crew is part of GM’s Mechanical Assembly group at the Design Center, which …
http://corvettemuseum.blogspot.com/2014/03/millionth-corvette-unexpectedly-saved.html “Initially there was no intention to bring the Millionth out, but as we got in there and saw more this morning we did feel like this might be our best chance,” said Danny Daniel, President of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction. Danny indicated that they pulled the car by one wheel …
Watch the video, you’ll see a good close up of the first three cars and seem them on display “as is”. http://youtu.be/5Q57YHiSt2I Thanks for reading. Tim Five of eight Corvettes pulled from museum sinkhole; photos show heavy … National Corvette Museum’s effort to remove the eight cars swallowed by a sinkhole last month got off …
A Sinkhole Swallowed Cars at The Corvette Museum And Now Everyone Wants To Go | TIME. A view of a sinkhole that opened up in the Skydome Tourism up 50%….that’s great!!! Tim National Corvette Museum might preserve sinkhole The sinkhole that swallowed up eight Corvettes earlier this year has been something of a mixed …
Update from the National Corvette Museum: In less than a week, the 1.5 Millionth Corvette has gone from location unknown to being dug out from the depths of the sinkhole… regaining its status as a display car in the National Corvette Museum on Thursday. While methods of probing the mounds of dirt …
http://corvettemuseum.blogspot.com/2014/03/millionth-corvette-unexpectedly-saved.html “Initially there was no intention to bring the Millionth out, but as we got in there and saw more this morning we did feel like this might be our best chance,” said Danny Daniel, President of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction. Danny indicated that they pulled the car by one wheel …
If you’ve never been to the National Corvette Museum, you should put that on your bucket list. If you are a car gal/guy you’ll love it, even more so, if you own or previously owned a corvette. Here are my pictures I took of the 1, 500,000th Corvette on one of …
Watch the video, you’ll see a good close up of the first three cars and seem them on display “as is”. http://youtu.be/5Q57YHiSt2I Thanks for reading. Tim Five of eight Corvettes pulled from museum sinkhole; photos show heavy … National Corvette Museum’s effort to remove the eight cars swallowed by a sinkhole last month got off …
A Sinkhole Swallowed Cars at The Corvette Museum And Now Everyone Wants To Go | TIME. A view of a sinkhole that opened up in the Skydome Tourism up 50%….that’s great!!! Tim National Corvette Museum might preserve sinkhole The sinkhole that swallowed up eight Corvettes earlier this year has been something of a mixed …
Well you don’t see this every day. Followed him for a bit, hoping that rear door would flop open and drop a Lambo in my lap….no such luck!!!!
#Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and, formerly, SUVs, which is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary brand division Audi.
Founder: Ferruccio Lamborghini – I’d like to have a car named after me!!!
Founded: May 1963, Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy
Customer service: 1 (866) 681-6276 – Number is here in case you wanted to order one or file a complaint
CEO: Stefano Domenicali – We have beers whenever I’m in Italy – not really.
Latest models: 2016 Lamborghini Aventador, 2016 Lamborghini Huracan #IWantOne of each!!!!
Parent organization: Audi
Take a good look at the picture below. If you thought there was a fuss about the C7 styling, just wait for them to roll this out!!!
They say it’s really going to happen: my friend Chris Doane used his massive telephoto Canon lens, nicknamed “The Stanley Cup” by his friends, to catch what looks a lot like an engineering mule for a mid-engined Corvette. Either that, or there’s going to be a mid-engined Holden Ute with no available space in the bed coming to Australia real soon. Supposedly this is going to be called the “Zora” or the “ZR1” or, predictably, the “ZR1 Zora” and it will go on sale at the end of 2017 alongside the current C7-generation ‘Vette.If that’s truly the case—if the first production Corvette to locate its engine behind the driver is just a limited-production, megabuck special—then I suppose I have no real beef with the idea. If, on the other hand, they’re proposing to replace the traditional Stingray with a mid-mounter, then that’s totally freaking crazy and we all need to take the strongest possible action before it’s too late.
I could spend all day taking pictures of every car at any car show I attend, but that’s crazy (or so I’ve been told…whatever!!!). So here are some highlights.
Some Corvettes:
C3 and C4 arriving…there was only 1 C4 in the field!!!
One of the beautiful 60’s vettes – this one a 1967
One of the beautiful 60’s vettes – this one a 1967
One of the beautiful 60’s vettes – this one a 1967
Got to love those PIPES!!!!
StingRay
There were multiple row of corvettes, here’s just one.
Taken in Tucson, Arizona Oct. 19, 2013. Beautiful day in Tucson, AZ. Over 600 cars! 1383526_10202333085394786_257906437_n. Tucson Classic Car Show – Oct. 19, 2013. N2HotRods, LLC. Design By yesimarobot.com.
Tucson Classic is having their 5th Annual Car Show on Saturday October 22nd from 10:00 – 4:00 pm. Location is the St. Gregory Preparatory School @ 3231 N. Craycroft Rd.
If you’ve viewed the links below you’ll know that there are a few glitches that you need to be aware of with the some of the C6 Corvettes and most you can live with….at least for a while.
The gauge issue started out as an intermittent annoyance, which only occurred when I filled the tank(s). As you can see in the above posting and subsequent postings/comments that there was a common ‘solution’ for the problem. Most owners believed that the use of Techron gas additive would clear that up. But I’m betting most of them discovered that it wasn’t a dirty sensor, but a defective on. I tried the Techron solution for months and it never seemed to clear up. Eventually the gauge failed to work at all, except every now and then it would kick up and hang at a position on the gauge for a few miles and then drop back to the empty position.
Recently (within the last month) it began to work in the opposite direction, steadily showing some sort of fuel level, but inaccurate.
Here are the offending pieces – (there a long back story on how I got the old parts and I’ll share that in the past part of this post).
Fuel Pump
Fuel Pump with pressure fuel line fitting
Bottom with sensor connection
Fuel pump – Top
Fuel filter
Bottom
Fuel Pressure fitting. You need the release tool to disconnect
Sensor and float
sensor
Sensor
The sensor run about $150 depending on where you find them and the fuel pump it’s self from $499 – $600.
More of the store coming up.
Stay Tuned!!!!
Tim
Also see Livin’ with the Glitches – 07 Corvette
http://wp.me/p2YxYx-tG
C6 07 Corvette – Fuel Gauge/Low Fuel/Service Fuel System
http://wp.me/p2YxYx-I4
I’m a member of a lot of groups/pages on FB and they all are great, but I grow weary of the static, standing by the side your car photos!!!
Let’s see some action!!!!!
Average Guy’s Action Photo/Video contest starts today 7/12 and runs through 7/19. Let’s see your classic/vintage, muscle, race car (even just your daily driver) in action. There will be at least two categories – still action shots and videos.
Only a couple of rules:
1. Be safe.
2. It has to be you and it has to your car.
3. It has to be an action shot either a still photograph or video.
Something like these:
Auto crossing with my C4 at Bondurant facility.
Auto crossing with my C6 Sports Car Club of American (SCCA) Sole Class.
Lining up my ’70 Mustang at the drags against a Ford Focus!!!!
There will be prizes given away, including car art take by one of the artist on http://wp.me/P2YxYx-19F and we’ll check the budget for some on-line auto parts gift cards as well.
Get you pics or videos to us either on our FB page https://www.facebook.com/AGCarRestoration or email them to AGCarRestoration@cox.net or timsweet@cox.net.
While we all realize that cars are depreciating assets and therefore lose value with time and usage, many enthusiasts try to do everything possible to slow down this process. Some enthusiasts will go to the extent of covering their car daily, intentionally reduce the usage of their car, or even park their car when its brand new only to never use it for collector value.On the flip side of this, there are a lot of enthusiasts that believe “a car is meant to be driven” and will use their Corvette as if it were a Honda Civic in daily driving conditions. Both groups are very passionate about their opinions and if you ask either party, they will tell you that they are right and the other group is wrong.Whether you preserve your cars or drive your cars, one aspect of vehicle ownership that is sure to rapidly decrease the value of your car is an accident. Unfortunately for the driver of this video, they found out the hard way that while a beautiful black on black C5 may have a strong resale market when it looks great, that is not the case after a severe accident. Judging by the video, this black on black C5 ran right off the road– and into the trees. The impact of hitting the trees was severe enough to thoroughly mangle the front end of the car and deploy both front airbags. Often times, once the airbags deploy, the car gets totaled, which is unfortunate. Without having a video of the actual incident, one can speculate that speed was involved and the car was potentially pushed too far. Sad to see but hopefully they had some great insurance!
My Note: I’m the guy that drives his corvette like a Honda…only faster!!! Yes they sure did a job on this one but I don’t think they over drove the cars capabilities, more like the driver exceeded his abilities, which is usually the case with hi-performance cars.
The sinkhole that swallowed up eight Corvettes earlier this year has been something of a mixed blessing for the Bowling Green, Ky., National Corvette Museum. On the one hand, those rare (if not uniformly invaluable) Corvettes were damaged, or outright …
