Club member Kevin Arnold related an interesting Corvette story at our Christmas celebration.
Kevin’s approaching retirement and thought he’d reward himself by buying a Corvette. Shared that dream with his wife…. “Yeah right!” she replied.
Still, he began looking and he searched for a long time to find one that he liked and that fit his other buying parameters.
He found a very nice 2003 with less than 22,000 miles at a Ford dealer in Hannibal, MO. The dealer was helping to sell the car for a friend who passed away.
Kevin’s friend, Tim, flew him to Hannibal and helped examine the car, which turned out to be a real beauty and in fine condition. Tim gave his thumbs-up. “I really found me somethin’!” thought Kevin.
So, Kevin bought the car and headed back home to Indiana with it. But the ride seemed rougher than expected. It jolted over bumps Kevin couldn’t even see in smooth pavement. About half way through Illinois, Kevin’s brother Steve called, “Whatdya think?”
“I think this sumbitch is gonna be gone! It rides terrible!”
“Well, it’s a Corvette. It’ll have a firm ride”
Kevin started to question his own conclusions as he bounced all the way home. Sometimes his head hit the roof.
He drove it a few times including a date-night with his wife, out to a nice winery for dinner.
Her boss called while they were out, asked her what she thought of the Corvette. “It’s a beautiful car, but this thing rides like a log-wagon!
Kevin confided in Steve, that something was wrong. No car, not even a Corvette should ride that harsh. Steve researched the situation online. He found a video that explained there was a problem in at least 2003. Dealers were not prepping Corvettes properly.
Plastic spacers or pucks were installed on all four shocks at the factory to limit suspension travel when the Corvettes were strapped down in transit. The pucks are installed onto the damper shaft. Dealers were supposed to remove the spacer pucks as part of the new car prep procedures. The video showed that there is a visible yellow tab or strap when the pucks are left in place. Steve told Kevin what he found online and how to check for the problem.
When Kevin got home, he jacked up the right front and saw the yellow strapping up near the shock. He jacked up the right rear and saw another yellow strap there.
He called Steve and told him, “You’re right!”
Steve invited Kevin to “Bring it down here” to Seymour and they’d put the Corvette on the lift and remove those damn spacer pucks.
All four pucks were still in place. So they did what the new car dealer failed to do – removed them. Problem solved. The Corvette now rode properly, no more log-wagon!
Which begs the dumb pun:
Why did the Corvette have three owners in 22,000 miles?
Because it was pucked up.
Sorry.
