[Wichita-SCCA] My Corvette

[Guy Roberts]

Can I just say "Whew!".  My car is home, and came home under it's own power!

A MEGA-HUGE-ENORMOUS THANK YOU to Greg and Carolyn Laws!  Greg is a 
master at mechanical puzzle work, and it is really amazing to watch him 
work.  He has a great eye for detail and accuracy, and has the patience 
to do things right (and to do them again if I didn't).  I tried to help 
as much as possible, but I was so afraid to do something wrong (and a 
few times I did), that it was just easier to be the Nurse (...hand me 
the 9/16 deep socket in the 1/2 inch wobble ratchet) and Nanny (pour the 
oil dry on that nasty stuff that leaked out of your engine) to Greg's 
heart surgery on my car.

The car started on the third try (2 minor cables not connected needed to 
be tracked down with the manual's help).  It's been purring ever since.  
I can feel a huge difference in the smoothness of the engine.  It feels 
great!  Not only did Greg rebuild the engine, he figured out that the 
axle nuts in the rear were loose, and tightened those as well.  I think 
that may be why I go sideways around the corners all the time.  Nah!  
It's because of that gas pedal.... :)

Also, thank you to Carolyn for not only giving up garage space, as well 
as free time with her husband (if she's like my wife, though, then she 
was glad to get him out of the house), but also for dealing with the 
grease, and for hanging out with my daughter when she had to come with 
me on one of my days in Winfield.

It's been a wonderful experience.  I've learned so much from watching 
Greg, and I've gained so much confidence in my own abilities to take on 
tasks that I thought I never could.  Don't be afraid to get in there, 
it's not as complicated as you think, and if you have the right 
information, you can always find a solution to your problem.

So, after 4 weeks (6 actual build days, I think), and about $1700, I 
have a rebuilt LT-1 engine, and a new clutch, and a newfound interest in 
mechanical repair.  It was well worth it.  However, that doesn't include 
gas back and forth to Winfield, which with today's prices is probably 
more than I spent on the engine parts.

And speaking of engine parts, Jason Witted at O'Reilly's was awesome!  
He knew the parts just from description, worked hard to get me what I 
needed, and also probably saved me several hundred dollars on them as 
well.  I go to O'Reilly's first now, and they usually have, or can get, 
just about anything.  Keep that in mind.

So....hopefully now I can focus on racing, which is what I joined the 
SCCA for in the first place. 

CUONCRS!

-- 
Guy Roberts 
groberts at kiphs.com 

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.