Three Legged Corvette

Did I mention that Stella lost a 'hubcap?' I don't think I did. Yeah one night we were driving around downtown (I think it was 4th of July) and we heard an awful noise while turning onto a side street. We chalked this up to driving over a sewer cap (silly rabbit) but in hindsight I'm pretty sure that was the moment we lost it.  We're currently contemplating the pros vs. cons of buying a single replacement hubcap to a new set of four with some of the remaining money in the Vette fund.

Oh and she's filthy again. Haven't washed her since we moved in and I can't show her off around town until she's looking her best. ;)

Welcome Home

My husband and I recently bought a house after living for almost a decade apartment-to-apartment.  We had a very short list of must-haves when it came to house-hunting, but one thing we knew we wanted was a third garage space for Stella.

I've got to hand it to this car.  She stuck it through for a year sleeping under a tarp in the driving rain and wind.  She spent the winter months in a stranger's one-car garage which she shared with a motorcycle, tools and various lawn equipment.  Constantly exposed to the elements, she grew filthy quite often, and received tow threats from our apartment management for having leaky fluids.

It was a difficult year.  I've always wanted an old Stingray like Stella, but it was always with the thought in mind that I'd have a safe place to store it.  As it happens, I found Stella before I found my house, but I guess all is well that ends well.  I can't say enough how happy it makes me to have a home for her now, where the passage of time won't take quite as large of a toll on her as it did outdoors.  

I think she likes it. :)

Well That Explains a Lot!

We took Stella out for the 4th of July downtown to see fireworks.  We had to park several blocks from where we ended up watching the show, but nevertheless it was a legendary night of Stella-love.  With the city streets packed full of people of all ages, we received countless shout outs and hoots/hollars as we drove past.  As per the usual, children loved Stella best and I asked Mike why he thought that was, considering they don't know anything about make, model or horsepower.

Mike: "Stella looks like a big Hot Wheels car."

Me: *STARTLING REVELATION*

;)

Dream Sequence

I've often had dreams in which Stella makes an appearance, much like I've had dreams about Mike, my family members, and my job.  But last night I had a dream that was so detailed and complete that I had to record it here!

I was at my parents' house and for some reason Stella was being stored in the garage (in my dream Mom and Dad's garage was set up like a workshop at the mechanic, though this is not how it is in real life).  I was sitting in the living room with the family when I noticed an older black man with a baseball bat coming up the driveway (no stereotypes intended--my subconscious is apparently a little racist! >_<).  His mannerisms scared me and I ran to the door, shouting at him to go away--and surprisingly he did, but only to the house across the street.  When he reached our neighbor's house he used the bat to smash in their front windows and go inside.

Meanwhile, as I'm watching from the front window of Mom and Dad's house, I'm freaking out and shouting at my Dad to call the police.  Dad calmly explains that we don't need to do that because we can "see everything from here and keep an eye on him."  Apparently I am the only one concerned about the safety of my neighbors in this dream!

Time seems to go by with little detail, and like many dreams I have, I know things are taking place without witnessing them actually take place.  I know that I've been obsessed with watching this strange man inside my neighbor's house, I know my family is not as concerned as me, AND.... I know they've STOLEN STELLA. *HORROR*

The intruder now has invited several of his friends over to stay in my neighbors house, where I'm sure they are breaking all kinds of laws while my family and I watch.  But when I start seeing them racing Stella up and down my dirt road (and in my dream I can vividly see her, red with a black stripe, lacking her historic license plate on the nose just the way she is now, squealing tires and flying dirt and rocks off behind her), I go completely insane. I start begging my dad to finally call the police before they "kill her."  I was very dramatic in this dream though I'm sure if this really happened I wouldn't act much different.

Dad agrees that it's time to call the police and seems confident that we'll be able to get Stella back because we know exactly where she is.  I don't witness the phone call, but I somehow know that the police agreed to come have a look, but only twice a day at certain times.  If Stella wasn't at the house where the intruders were during those certain times, they'd drop the case.

I hadn't seen the intruders take Stella out in a while, and I started thinking that the battery probably died.  HAHAAAA SUCKAS!! >:D  

[This part deserves a little background information, because I'm not sure I've discussed it in the blog previously.  Basically, each and every time we go out driving we have to reconnect the battery, and then disconnect it when we return.  If we don't, the battery will literally drain overnight, leaving not even enough juice to turn the interior lights on the next day.  Luckily, the battery is located just behind the driver's seat, rather than under the hood, so it takes only a few moments to hook it up each time.  Last year we panicked numerous times when we would come out and turn the key.... to nothing.  We eventually realized that battery power was leaking profusely somewhere, even when the car was turned off.  Because we couldn't find any device that seemed to be soaking up battery life, I developed the hunch that the battery cables were probably bad, and simply leaking battery power out into the surrounding area.  It's common in a car this old.]

Anyway, in my dream I thought that this had happened.  I go to check it out and sure enough, the intruders couldn't figure out why they couldn't get the car to start.  They threatened me into explaining what was wrong, but I told them I needed to get some tools to be able to fix the problem.  They let me go and I call the police at that point, telling them to come over quick because my stolen car was at my neighbors house!

I didn't see the rest of the dream in detail, but I did end up getting Stella back.  I remember that I felt very accomplished with myself because it seemed like Mike and I had earned the right to drive Stella by figuring out all the tricks to keep her on the road, while these strangers hadn't done any work and therefore were too uneducated to handle her.  I guess that is true to a certain degree in real life (although I'm sure most people would've checked the battery), but I do have an underlying sense of pride when it comes to Stella.  You can't just hop in and turn the key like any other car, because she's simply not like any other car.  In reality it's more of an annoying series of mechanical things, but in my dream it was more of "a car chooses its driver" kind of thing. I liked it. ;)

So Hot She Melts Plastic. Literally.

After replacing the radiator last fall you can imagine my (pissed off) surprise when we realized that the vette was leaking coolant yet again.  We noticed it initially by the smell the first few moments after start-up (it smells almost exactly like maple syrup as it burns off the engine), but later it became more obvious by the green puddles it would leave behind.  Luckily, the leak was slow and Stella had bigger problems, so we kept an eye on it and let it be. 

After her wheel was repaired we started to get more serious about fixing it, which was apparently a good thing, seeing as though the leak became significantly worse shortly thereafter.   

We spent some time under the hood with a flashlight and found this guy (above) to be the culprit.  A no doubt original water-heater control valve, which connects two hoses carrying coolant and also taps into the vacuum system.  Oddly enough, we were relieved that it wasn't a hose, as that would've been more difficult (not to mention messy) to replace.  After doing some research, we were able to go to the local AutoZone and buy a new, plastic replacement valve for about $10.

We also had to replace both clamps which attached the hoses to the valve.  To save ourselves a headache, we ended up buying metal clamps with plastic turn-key bolts.  The turn-key bolts would be easier to maneuver in such a tight space and also eliminate the use for tools, so this seemed fantastic to us.  We reconnected everything and took it for a test run.

Good news:  No more leaking coolant!! The water-heater control valve was indeed the cause of the leak, and Mike and I managed to replace it completely on our own without messing something else up. And we did it all for less than $15! Score!

Bad news:  The engine is so hot that it melted the plastic turn-key bolts of our new clamps and started to melt away the exterior of our new water-heater control valve.  Oh shit.

Now, most people might get a little frustrated at this point, but not Mike and I.  Mostly, we were both just so relieved that the burning smell we noticed upon our return trip was not another CATASTROPHIC PROBLEM.  

Today we went back out and zip-tied the radiator hoses to the exterior part of the engine compartment, well away from the engine block and anything else which would get in excess of 200 degrees.  We fired her up and took her for another spin.  This time, no more leaking coolant AND no more burning plastic! Success!!

Everybody Loves Stella

We finally got Stella back after three stressful weeks at the shop.  The list of parts which were required to fix the rear wheel and surrounding mechanisms was lengthy and sad. The mechanic replaced the right wheel bearings, spindle, knuckle, outer side U-joint, bolt at the bottom of knuckle, right rear caliper, rear brake pads and rear rotors.  Wow.  I can't believe that this poor car drove us as far as she did with so little to work with. The shop, which I spent much of the three weeks bitching about to anyone who would listen, ended up shaving more than $600 worth of labor off our final bill.  Why? I like to think it's because  they like us (or feel sorry for us!), but probably it's because they know they aren't finished with Stella yet. ;)

We found her parked just outside, filthy dirty, with hardly any coolant left in her radiator and a dead battery.  Mike tried valiantly to jump her (see below) but there simply wasn't enough juice to get her going, so we had to recharge.  For an hour we sat next to her in the sweltering heat, waiting patiently for her battery to charge on the pavement outside. We finally got her back on the road and home safely, though her engine started heating up near the end from lack of coolant.  I feel like she's hurt bad, but at least she's home safe with me now.

This repair is only outdone by the total engine replacement which took place last year in August.  At that point we had only owned Stella for about three months or so, and everyone thought we were nuts (some even told us so!).  Much to my honest surprise, this time around was much different.  During my brief moments of doubt, the moments when I seriously considered the possibility that I wouldn't be able to continue rehabilitating this car, every single person I confided in told me I should keep her.  Every single one. Friends, family and coworkers alike seemed distraught that I was even entertaining the idea of selling her now, after all we'd been through together.  My mother, whose looming judgement once almost scared me away from buying Stella in the first place, said it best:

"Right now you should enjoy whatever Stella has in her to give you.  Continue making her better so she'll one day be able to give you more."

Somewhere along the way, and somehow without me noticing at all, people fell in love with Stella.  I guess it wasn't just my life she changed forever.

~~

Broken

It's been an onslaught of bad news from the shop, which shouldn't catch me off guard anymore but somehow still does.  They've had her for two weeks now, and almost a week longer than they promised it would take.  After awaiting her parts to arrive, the mechanic (Bill) realized that he didn't have the proper tool he needed and he had to order that as well.  Apparently they called all over the Lansing area looking for both parts and the tool, with little success.  Mike said they had to order from California. 

Without the invoice, I don't know exactly what needed to be replaced, but on Wednesday (the day AFTER it was supposed to be finished) they called Mike to come into the shop to discuss the 'complications.'  Basically, we were told that this car has had absolutely ZERO preventative maintenance done throughout its lifespan (nearly 40 years).  As a result, the mechanical parts that attach the wheel to the frame of the car are deteriorating so badly that they've basically frozen themselves together.  Things that are supposed to pivot don't pivot.  Things that are supposed to glide against one another don't glide.  You get the idea.  

Stella is in terrible shape.  Anything that hasn't already been replaced by Mike and myself (and that list grows longer and longer, luckily) needs to be replaced, eventually.  

All this bad news meant more parts, labor and of course, more money.  The bill, which rivals the cost to replace the engine last summer, will more than clean out the account we had put together since last fall to pay for repairs this summer. I don't mind spending that money--that's what it's there for--but now we go forth into the remainder of the season without the financial net below. 

And then Mike tells me the bad news.  

"Wait, all that stuff before was the GOOD news??"  Yeah that's exactly what I said.

He tells me that the driver's side rear wheel and affiliated mechanisms are in just as poor a state as this passenger rear wheel which we are currently paying to have rebuilt.  The only difference is that the mechanisms on the drivers side haven't quite begun to snap apart yet, but that could go at any time.  

ANY.  TIME.

That could mean a year from now, or next week.  And for the first time since owning this machine, I feel defeated. I want to do what is right by her, but I can't.  I simply can't.  At least not this summer.  Mike tells me all this while I'm at work, struggling to remain focused, and it's all I can do not to break down and cry.  Stella's health is deteriorating faster than Mike and I can afford to keep up with her (and I already spent one House Fund on her last year--much as I love her, that won't be happening again).  I faced a sad reality and a tragic choice.

A). Sell her and cut our losses

or 

B). Take her off the road for a year or more until we have the funds to do what needs to be done

My heart usually rules in my decision making, but unlike a lot of people, my brain ALWAYS gets a say. Always.  Logic and reason were telling me to sell her, even if only for parts, while my heart screamed "NO!"  In the end, it was Mike who convinced me of the right thing to do.  For him the choice was never a choice at all.  We love that car like a child.  Maybe no one else can understand that, and maybe it's irresponsible and financial suicide, but it's nevertheless true.  

We don't give up.  That car is alive today because of us--we've invested money and soul into her. And I find myself grateful that Mike is as batshit-crazy in love with this car as me.

Because the driver's side wheel hasn't had any symptoms of being on the verge of suddenly falling apart, Mike feels confident (at moments more than me!) that we'll be safe driving her.  Next spring we'll have the proper funds to do the same to the driver's side as we did the passenger.  But we won't be driving her NEARLY as much as we have been.  No more highway travel, and no more 2 1/2 hour joy-rides through the countryside.  Once a week or biweekly, and special occasions only.  And, if we notice anything going sour, we park her the remainder of the summer.  Period.    

I still don't have Stella back, and I still don't know if there will be any more bad news.  This car is bound to have some good karma eventually.... right? :(