Author Topic: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.  (Read 12693 times)

Offline LowRyter

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #30 on: September 18, 2017, 08:10:57 PM »
The early corvettes will be around forever.  There is no way a C7 will be serviceable 50 years from now unless owned by a very rich person.

I think they'll go as so long as you maintain them.  Certainly more reliable and robust than cars built 50 years ago.   

Now if your point is that only collectible cars with internal combustion engines will be on the road and all others will be replaced by electrics or fuel cell vehicles, you might make a case that few C7s will be on the road.  But even plastic bumper '70s 'vettes are still running around and those prices bottomed out about 10 years ago.
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Offline John Ulrich

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #31 on: September 18, 2017, 09:08:29 PM »
There is no way a C7 will be serviceable 50 years from now.

I do think about that with a lot of today's "electronic gizmo" cars.  But, leave it to the cottage industries to come to the rescue.  Electronic dashboards are now fixed cheaply by guys at their kitchen tables.  Other previously throw away parts are now rebuilt and put back in service. 
I got a car magazine in the mail yesterday showing how to adjust my 35 yr old, one yr only, electronic carb on my '81 Vette by jumping some carb connections with a dwell meter (remember those?)   I've had factory and aftermarket manuals on that carb for 25 years that never told about that stuff.
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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #32 on: September 19, 2017, 06:47:39 AM »
 No matter what, a Corvette is a Chevrolet...While not exactly a mass produced vehicle like a Camaro it does share the engine and transmission, although tuned differently for the Corvette...And that basic engine design is also shared with the trucks...So while mechanical stuff will always be there, maybe not so much for the low production dedicated Corvette parts...

Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #33 on: September 19, 2017, 06:59:54 AM »
I think they'll go as so long as you maintain them.  Certainly more reliable and robust than cars built 50 years ago.   

Now if your point is that only collectible cars with internal combustion engines will be on the road and all others will be replaced by electrics or fuel cell vehicles, you might make a case that few C7s will be on the road.  But even plastic bumper '70s 'vettes are still running around and those prices bottomed out about 10 years ago.

I was referring to the cost of keeping the car running.  All those sensors and computers and electronic data busses, etc. 

I love the idea of a corvette so I went and drove several with 60,000 to 120,000 miles on them and came to the conclusion that once a corvette gets some miles on it, it is just a chevy.  I am not in a position to trade every 3 years so if I ever have to put motorcycling aside I will probably end up with a miata for the driving experience that most closely resembles being on a motorcycle.

Don't get me wrong.  I am a GM guy.  I have had the GM CC since they were introduced.  I drive GMC trucks and Buick cars for my wife. 
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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #33 on: September 19, 2017, 06:59:54 AM »

Offline SemperVee

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #34 on: September 19, 2017, 09:44:00 AM »
The early corvettes will be around forever.  There is no way a C7 will be serviceable 50 years from now unless owned by a very rich person.
Who cares!  I'll be dead.  That can be said about most of our stuff today anyway.
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Online Huzo

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #35 on: September 19, 2017, 10:09:34 AM »
Never underestimate how much trouble a 1" crack can cause a bloke !

Online blackcat

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #36 on: September 19, 2017, 12:54:55 PM »
Never underestimate how much trouble a 1" crack can cause a bloke !

I think a few wars have started over that issue.
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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #37 on: September 19, 2017, 01:18:34 PM »
I think a few wars have started over that issue.
Touche' Sir !

Offline LowRyter

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #38 on: September 19, 2017, 03:47:37 PM »
I was referring to the cost of keeping the car running.  All those sensors and computers and electronic data busses, etc. 

I love the idea of a corvette so I went and drove several with 60,000 to 120,000 miles on them and came to the conclusion that once a corvette gets some miles on it, it is just a chevy.  I am not in a position to trade every 3 years so if I ever have to put motorcycling aside I will probably end up with a miata for the driving experience that most closely resembles being on a motorcycle.

Don't get me wrong.  I am a GM guy.  I have had the GM CC since they were introduced.  I drive GMC trucks and Buick cars for my wife.

I think you had a point with a C3 (with standard engine) or C4.  I don't think that's true for C5 or later models 'vettes. 

The old ratty & rattly 'vettes, that were hot and smelly are no longer the case.  Now perhaps the trim and shared parts seem like old chevy, when you hit the gas, round and apex or hit the brakes, you'll definitely know that it ain't a plain chevy.

Regarding parts availability for maintaining a 'vette, there are more specialized and repo parts available for 'vettes than any car on the road.  I think you could find any year of 'vette and start with a frame and build the entire car, heck you can even get an aftermarket frame. 

I think Corvette will be the very last internal combustion car to ever be off the road due to lack or parts or maintenance knowhow.

There is an industry (not a cottage industry) dedicated to the certification, preservation and modifications of Corvettes beyond and any car on the road. 
« Last Edit: September 19, 2017, 03:52:01 PM by LowRyter »
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Offline grinmaul

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #39 on: September 19, 2017, 04:18:11 PM »
The owner of the company i work for had a Audi a6 with a w12 engine, was a fairly rare car with all the upgraded options you could get from the factory, carbon this and that, everything.

his daughter inlaw smacked the front into another car, they wrote it off in a hart beat, because the adjuster already had 2 shops lined up that wanted all the good bits off of it.

the damage was light and i was more than willing to fix it.

You know the adjuster is getting a piece of that pie. it all looked and sounded crooked to us.

Offline Lannis

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #40 on: September 20, 2017, 09:12:27 AM »
I do think about that with a lot of today's "electronic gizmo" cars.  But, leave it to the cottage industries to come to the rescue.  Electronic dashboards are now fixed cheaply by guys at their kitchen tables.  Other previously throw away parts are now rebuilt and put back in service. 
I got a car magazine in the mail yesterday showing how to adjust my 35 yr old, one yr only, electronic carb on my '81 Vette by jumping some carb connections with a dwell meter (remember those?)   I've had factory and aftermarket manuals on that carb for 25 years that never told about that stuff.
If there's a will there's a way.

Having spent an evening with Triple Jim yesterday at Willville, chatting about exactly such things, I agree with this 100%.    Jim makes his living producing and selling out-of-production electronics for old Kawasakis, and selling them for pretty reasonable prices.

When Norge dashboards or Corvette ECUs or John Deere EMS units are out of production, some smart guy will start laying out a replacement, contracting with a micro-electronics outfit for making 200 of them (or soldering them up on his kitchen table), and keeping that world going.

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #41 on: September 20, 2017, 09:37:19 AM »
Having spent an evening with Triple Jim yesterday at Willville, chatting about exactly such things, I agree with this 100%.    Jim makes his living producing and selling out-of-production electronics for old Kawasakis, and selling them for pretty reasonable prices.

When Norge dashboards or Corvette ECUs or John Deere EMS units are out of production, some smart guy will start laying out a replacement, contracting with a micro-electronics outfit for making 200 of them (or soldering them up on his kitchen table), and keeping that world going.

Lannis

  Yes, and no disrespect for what Jim builds....but a Vette, if it's like a Chevy truck, has a very complicated multi unit ECU that's a a million times more complex than a bike ignition...I believe even the heating and AC.is computer controlled. On the other hand, the dash gauges failed in my 03 Silverado ,so I sent the dash panel to a guy working in house who replaced all the stepper motors and made it like new for 100 bucks ... A clever home mechanic with a 300 buck scanner can work on modern vehicles but if the ECU is wiped out, well I don't know who in 50 years will have access to all info needed even for minimal function...
  Compare me building my record holder vintage Triumph land speed racer in a home shop to a Moto GP bike.....

Offline Lannis

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #42 on: September 20, 2017, 10:13:56 AM »
  Yes, and no disrespect for what Jim builds....but a Vette, if it's like a Chevy truck, has a very complicated multi unit ECU that's a a million times more complex than a bike ignition...I believe even the heating and AC.is computer controlled. On the other hand, the dash gauges failed in my 03 Silverado ,so I sent the dash panel to a guy working in house who replaced all the stepper motors and made it like new for 100 bucks ... A clever home mechanic with a 300 buck scanner can work on modern vehicles but if the ECU is wiped out, well I don't know who in 50 years will have access to all info needed even for minimal function...
  Compare me building my record holder vintage Triumph land speed racer in a home shop to a Moto GP bike.....

I'm sure what you say is true .... well, not sure about the "million times more" ... if it were that complicated no one could have even invented it.

I just know that "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" and that if it was designed and built by a guy, it can be redesigned and rebuilt by another guy ....

Lannis
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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #43 on: September 20, 2017, 11:01:43 AM »
I'm sure what you say is true .... well, not sure about the "million times more" ... if it were that complicated no one could have even invented it.

I just know that "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" and that if it was designed and built by a guy, it can be redesigned and rebuilt by another guy ....

Lannis
Designed and built by hundreds of engineers in concert with other engineers from different parts vendors...... :laugh:

Offline Lannis

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #44 on: September 20, 2017, 11:21:24 AM »
Designed and built by hundreds of engineers in concert with other engineers from different parts vendors...... :laugh:

Well, if you say so.   I'll bet that in 2070, if my grandson wants to pull a 2017 Vette out of the shed with a blown ECU, and needs a way to get it running, someone will be along with a solution.   It's never failed yet.   

I'll bet when we went from hot-tube ignition to points-and-coil firing spark plugs, someone thought "This'll never be able to be fixed ...." 

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Online PeteS

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #45 on: September 20, 2017, 12:36:57 PM »
Designed and built by hundreds of engineers in concert with other engineers from different parts vendors...... :laugh:

Rough, One smart guy could do this. A ECU is just a black box with a finite number of inputs and outputs. If he had a good donor ECU it would save a lot of time in testing but either way it could be done. The plug in tuner mods use this information already and just alter the parameters.

Pete


oldbike54

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #46 on: September 20, 2017, 12:43:32 PM »
 Heck , Beetle could probably build an ECU for any vehicle , as could Trip Jim . In another 20 years a 2017 model car will be simple old tech .

 Dusty

Offline LowRyter

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #47 on: September 20, 2017, 01:01:55 PM »
Like I said, for a Corvette you can get any part for any year.  It's the most supported car on the road.

If there is only one internal combustion powered car on the road 50-100 years from now, it will be a Corvette.
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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #48 on: September 20, 2017, 01:04:44 PM »
Like I said, for a Corvette you can get any part for any year.  It's the most supported car on the road.

If there is only one internal combustion powered car on the road 50-100 years from now, it will be a Corvette.

 Or the Renault 2 CV .

 Dusty

Offline LowRyter

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #49 on: September 20, 2017, 01:05:20 PM »
Or the Renault 2 CV .

 Dusty

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Offline jdgretz

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #50 on: September 20, 2017, 01:09:31 PM »

If there is only one internal combustion powered car on the road 50-100 years from now, it will be a Corvette.

Nope - it will be a Tri-Five Chevy.  :boozing:  There is hardly a part that is not available for our '57 - from the most obscure trim piece to floor pans, glass with date correct markings, to bodies, to frames.

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oldbike54

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #51 on: September 20, 2017, 01:10:13 PM »
vw beetle

 Too hi-tech , the 2CV doesn't require any precision tools to keep running . The term "close enough for Gov't work" originated on the 2CV production line  :grin:

 Dusty

Offline LowRyter

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #52 on: September 20, 2017, 01:43:21 PM »
Nope - it will be a Tri-Five Chevy.  :boozing:  There is hardly a part that is not available for our '57 - from the most obscure trim piece to floor pans, glass with date correct markings, to bodies, to frames.

jdg

......and even more so for Corvettes.
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Offline Lannis

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #53 on: September 20, 2017, 06:22:46 PM »
......and even more so for Corvettes.

Model T Fords, too, for that matter.   

I knew a guy in West Virginia that had one "T" with the 4WD conversion for winter, and one with the OHV conversion that would run 45 MPH, and he didn't have any other cars.   Didn't need 'em!

Them and the cockroaches will still be running ....

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Offline Antietam Classic Cycle

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #54 on: September 20, 2017, 06:56:48 PM »
Corvette total production as of 6/23/2013: 1.56 million
VW (original) Beetle total production: 21.5 million

Beetle has huge parts support still, is very simple, easy to repair and very durable (other than rust issues). Not to mention, the vast number still on the road - more than Corvette total production will ever reach most likely - plus the number of VW enthusiasts that take good of care them. Here's the proof they'll last 200 years!  :laugh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctin21yrfcA
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oldbike54

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #55 on: September 20, 2017, 07:43:54 PM »
 I'm thinking based on total production parts availability , and fuel mileage the Honda Cub line will be the last IC vehicles around .

 Dusty

Offline Lannis

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #56 on: September 20, 2017, 07:59:37 PM »
Corvette total production as of 6/23/2013: 1.56 million
VW (original) Beetle total production: 21.5 million

Beetle has huge parts support still, is very simple, easy to repair and very durable (other than rust issues). Not to mention, the vast number still on the road - more than Corvette total production will ever reach most likely - plus the number of VW enthusiasts that take good of care them. Here's the proof they'll last 200 years!  :laugh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctin21yrfcA

I've always like Beetles, but I've gotten the impression (from what I see and don't see on the roads today) that they are getting rare, expensive, and not many are on the highways.

Out riding this week, I saw 5 Corvettes and 1 VW Beetle.   I really sit up and take notice when I see either one of them ....

And they're getting hard to buy, from what I can tell.   BUTTTTT ... .that's just my impressions, I have no numbers to back it up, and it's all East Coast ...

Lannis
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Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #57 on: September 21, 2017, 07:40:38 AM »
I've always like Beetles, but I've gotten the impression (from what I see and don't see on the roads today) that they are getting rare, expensive, and not many are on the highways.

Out riding this week, I saw 5 Corvettes and 1 VW Beetle.   I really sit up and take notice when I see either one of them ....

And they're getting hard to buy, from what I can tell.   BUTTTTT ... .that's just my impressions, I have no numbers to back it up, and it's all East Coast ...

Lannis

Where I live corvettes are daily drivers, and VW beetles are in the garage under a cover.  Only brought out when the weather is cool enough to drive with the windows down.
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Offline rocker59

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #58 on: September 21, 2017, 02:55:16 PM »
There is an industry (not a cottage industry) dedicated to the certification, preservation and modifications of Corvettes beyond and any car on the road.

Not to mention the peripheral industries...

The Gold Chains and Mustache Grooming industries would not be the same, were it not for the Corvette and its owners...

 :evil:
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oldbike54

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Re: 2017 Corvette "totaled" because of a 1" crack.
« Reply #59 on: September 21, 2017, 03:31:00 PM »
Not to mention the peripheral industries...

The Gold Chains and Mustache Grooming industries would not be the same, were it not for the Corvette and its owners...

 :evil:

 Ouch  :grin:

 Dusty

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