A Little History: Options

These days when you shop for a car the price you find initially is the "standard" price.  The price you pay when you get the bare minimum without all the bells and whistles.  If you want additional 'options,' such as a sunroof for example, that's gonna cost you a bunch more.  Well, over three decades ago things weren't that different in that department.

In 1976 the average price for a car was between $5-$6K, which put the '76 Stingray a little on the higher end of the spectrum, running around $8K for the standard package.  I don't know anything about the original owner of my '76, but one of the many speculations I've made about him (or her!) is that this kid went all out.  How do I know that?  I know that because my '76 is no 'standard package.'

The most important feature is that Stella has automatic transmission.  Automatic!! Can you believe that??  These days if you buy a Corvette that thing comes with manual as a standard, like all true sports cars were meant to be.  If you're manual transmission-challenged like me and you want automatic, you're going to be paying a lot of money to get it.  I can't tell you how many times I've thought of myself as lucky to have stumbled across this particular old Vette and by complete random chance it happened to be automatic.

My second favorite 'option' are the automatic windows.  My very first car was a 1996 Geo Prism--20 years younger--which had the good old fashioned crank 'em down windows.  The kind you had to actually be sitting next to the door in question to operate.  But not Stella!  All I've got to do is push a button and those windows go down.  And somehow, despite everything else in horrible disrepair, those window motors somehow still work awesome!  (But surely now that I've said that they will go up in smoke just to spite me!)

Stella also comes complete with air conditioning, which I think is a luxury feature despite its pointlessness on a sports car.  I mean, air conditioning?  When you've got T-top panels you can pull off to let Mother Nature's air conditioning blow apart your meticulously arranged hair? ;)  The air conditioner doesn't work and when we had the engine replaced we requested that it be removed from the engine compartment to reduce overall weight and give us more elbow room under the hood for future projects.

As mentioned above, Stella is a T-top.  1976 didn't have the option of a convertible, but instead limited production to hardtops and the coupe.  Taking off the top is definitely a level of joy-riding to be undertaken on a warmer day, but it's a blast every time.  In fact, after riding without the top on for a while, putting the T-tops back in place can make the cabin feel a little cramped.

The last 'option' it seems to me is the security system.  I know very little about this feature, having done embarrassingly little research, but Stella has a keyhole (much like a regular door lock) just forward of the Stingray emblem on the driver's side.  This keyhole is not found on the passenger side.  Upon further investigation, it was discovered that this key hole provided access to a type of security system.  A primitive ancestor to today's car alarms, so to speak.  Just what this system does or if it works remains yet to be seen.  I don't have high hopes though--neither door lock works anymore. B-)

All this being said, the original owner put a lot of money into making this car just what he wanted it to be.  What happened to Stella for the next three decades is a bit of a mystery.

Stella Gets Admired

Few things make me happier than to see other people enjoying Stella the way I enjoy her.  

These pictures were taken at my coworker Chris's house one night when he had us over for a BBQ dinner.  As we were leaving Chris came out to see the car and the whole group followed us outside, crowding around Stella and admiring her.  We offered to give Chris a ride (which he accepted without hesitation) and while Mike did the honors, all of his kids ran back to the house to grab their cameras so they could pose with the car when it came back.  I could only watch and laugh as they lined up in front of her one by one and then in groups, taking picture after picture.  I love stuff like that.  Not because watching people gawking at my car makes me feel badass (even though it does), but because I feel like Stella deserves it.  The more time I spend with her the more I feel like she's had a rough 35 years.  I don't want to drag race or go hot-rodding around, or stick a huge engine under the hood that will make her go 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds.  I want to enjoy her, and I want others to enjoy her too.

I want people to see her as more than a car, more than a machine, but as a way to have fun and enjoy each other.  Something that can make the worst day blow off you in a minute, and make you smile each and every time you start it up.  Because it's not about the horsepower or the paint job, it's about the memories you make and the places those wheels take you.

The Squeaky

Well, we fixed the radio and the squeaky wheel but I'm not sure how we did either one! >_<  Oh the joys (and mysteries) of owning a car older than oneself.

On the Road Again

I'm telling you, the Corvette Stingray had enough curves to make a woman jealous! 

There just aren't words to describe what it looks like to open the hood of a 35 year old car and see something totally new inside.  Our mechanic, Rex, did a great job installing the engine and now she runs and sounds fantastic.  We've been advised by the greater Corvette community to take it easy on the engine for the first few hundred miles until it's been properly broken in.  It's startling to imagine that the motor now powering a '76 Vette is younger than the motor in Mike's 2011 KIA.  We weren't able to go up in horsepower (which was recommended to us by many), but instead stayed true to the 350, 195 hp crate engine.  We did what we were able to do (which was basically what we could afford to do) to keep her going.  Maybe someday we'll be able to go above and beyond.

We received a long, long list of parts which were replaced during engine installment.  I would list them all here for documentation sake, but unfortunately, I have no idea what most of them are.  The only thing I can say for sure is that at least four gaskets were replaced and all eight spark plugs (much to Mike's disappointment--he and Steve spent an entire afternoon replacing the spark plugs not that long ago).  I believe several structural items were also replaced, along with the water pump.  It looks like a totally different car underneath that hood and I couldn't be happier.

Tonight we went for a cruise and a Toyota Camry wanted to race us.  We laughed of course, having twice the cylinders he had, but politely declined.  "We're breaking in a new engine," we said.  I don't think he believed us--probably he thought we were too chicken, but that's okay.  Stella doesn't even have to be moving to catch the attention of everyone around her.  She's beautiful, you can hear her coming from a mile away, and she doesn't even have to hit 30 mph to be completely badass.  Don't get me wrong, that Camry would've gotten creamed, but Stella doesn't have anything to prove.  ;)

See?

Stella's Homecoming

My window rolled down and I felt the stress of the day roll off of me.  A smile stole its way onto my face and my problems seemed, if only for moments, to be miles and miles behind me.  The wind whipped my carefully arranged hair about my face and for once I didn't care.  The engine grumbled and it was the most beautiful sound... a sound I remember all too well worrying I would never hear again.  I slid my arm out the window and spread my fingers out.  I caught some wind.

Stella has a new engine.  She also has leaky windows, headlights that won't work right, a squeaky wheel, a broken radio, and turn signals that don't light up. But she's got us, and we're going to make her amazing.

New Engine

The engine replacement has been a long, frustrating and stressful process.  We've run into numerous physical and financial hurdles, and although Mike and I tried to prepare for the many unexpected surprises that replacing the engine on such an old vehicle would bring, we still somehow underestimated the harsh reality of it all.  I can say this--we've committed ourselves to this far more than we did the day we bought her.  Anyone can buy an old car and talk about fixing it up--but talk is cheap.  In fact, talk is usually free.  After only a few months of ownership, Stella put our love and dedication to the ultimate test, and dared us to put our money where our mouth is.

Our first obstacle came during engine delivery to the shop.  Apparently the service manager we spoke with didn't exactly do the best job communicating to the parts department that a crate engine was on its way, destined for an old Corvette in the hurt locker.  Knowing nothing about it, the parts department sent the engine right back the way it came when it arrived at the shop.  Distraught, Mike and I managed to catch the delivery service before they left the area (remarkably, six hours later they were still making deliveries nearby! Talk about luck!) and told them to take it back a second time.  Finally on the same page, Mike and I were able to tow the Vette in the following day and finally get work started on it.

The mechanic gave us a 3-day time frame, which started on Wednesday morning.  By Friday morning, he had called to inform us that every single gasket from the old engine had to be replaced, rather than transferred to the new engine.  This drove up the price beyond what we had originally thought we could afford, and it also extended our time to the following Tuesday/Wednesday.  I wanted them replaced though--the last thing I want to happen is an old gasket to go and ruin my brand new engine.

Wednesday night rolls around and Mike gets a call saying that it'll be done by 6 PM, provided the test drive goes smoothly.  We hear nothing else from them, so assuming that all is well, we show up first thing Thursday (today) morning to pick her up.  We get there and her carburetor and air filter are still pulled out and unattached.  The tech guy states the obvious:  "It's not ready yet."  And I find myself struggling to not get upset.  At this point, I've been so worried and stressed about it for so long that I just want her back home and safe with me.  I miss her so bad.

And so, I've spent all day today waiting for my phone to ring.  Paranoid to even take out the trash and leave it alone for two minutes, lest it should choose that perfect time to ring.  But of course, it rings while I'm driving and I get another voicemail from the mechanic, this time saying our water pump won't work with the new engine.  It won't be ready until (best case scenario) tomorrow morning.  And for some reason, be it that he felt bad about the trouble we've had (i.e. them sending the engine back and taking a week longer than projected) or simply because he likes the car, a guy at the shop brought a water pump from home off their old 350 engine.  

I still don't really know when exactly it will be finished, if it will run when they turn the key, what it will cost me, or how I'll get it back home.

But damn, my Stella-baby looked so beautiful on that shop lift.  Broken engine and all. :)