Old Man Winter is on his way. (Repost from 10/23/08)

The days are getting shorter and the temperature is dropping in many parts of our country. Fall is winding down and winter will soon be rapping at the window.

If any of you live in the less tropical areas, I'm certain you have figured out that it will soon be time to put the Vette into hibernation for a long winter's nap. Here are some things you can to protect your investment and make sure everything is okay again when the warm breath of spring pushes the winter out for another year.

I've listed the minimum requirements below. Others readers may had additional items to add. If so, just click on that COMMENT link at the bottom and give us your information.

Gas Tank:

Fill the tank and add a bottle of Sta-Bil.

This prevents condensation.

Battery:

Put a battery tender on to keep the voltage up.

Obvious benefit need not be explained.

Tires:

Over-inflate to 40-45 pounds.

Prevents flat spots.

Exhaust:

Fill exhaust tips with steel wool or cover with aluminum foil

Keeps rodents out.

Weatherstripping:

Coat with Dielectric Gel (available from GM or your dealer or parts store)

Keeps it soft and supple.

Interior:

Place some dryer sheets in an aluminum pie pan and place inside the car. Desiccants will help keep the moisture down also. Moth balls in pie pans will discourage rodent invasion. You can also place these in the engine compartment.

If you're lucky and Mother Nature decides to let the sun shine and melt the snow and ice, and you have a decent driving day, be sure to get the engine up to operating temperature before you quit driving for the day.

That's all I have. As I said, any additional advice or comments are welcome.

This is amazing...

Although it's not Corvette-related, it's still an amazing piece of video.

Where is your gas tank?

I haven't verified this information yet, but I have no doubt it's accurate. And I found it quite informative since it was something I had never heard of before. Perhaps you haven't either.

If you drive more than two or three cars, there's a good possibility that you're going to pull into the gas station with the pumps on the wrong side of the car someday, simply because you don't remember which side of the car the gas tank filler tube is on. You don't have to worry about ever doing that again because there's an easy way to determine this ahead of time.

If you look at your instrument panel, you'll see a little gas pump next to your gas gauge. The side of the pump that the handle is on indicates which side of the car you fill the tank from. Take a look at the photo. If the pump handle is on the left, your tank is filled from the left. If it's on the right, it's the opposite side. Another possible option is a gas tank icon with an arrow. That's what my Lexus has. Now how handy is that to know?

DIC codes

At some point in your Corvette experience, you're going to need to find out what type of error occurred in your engine that caused your "Check Engine" light to come on.

It could something as simple as a loose fuel cap, or it may be something more serious that needs attention. In case that's happened to you, here's an easy way to see where the problem originated.

In the center of your instrument panel, below the speedometer and tach, there is a horizontal readout that comes one when you start the car. It usually begins with the word "CORVETTE" and then changes to "BY CHEVROLET." This is what is referred to as your DIC, or Digital Information Center.

Turn the ignition key on, but don't start the car. Hold down the OPTIONS button and press the FUEL button four times. You're now in DIAGNOSTIC MODE.

The computer will display what are referred to as DTCs or Diagnostic Trouble Codes. There are two kinds of DTCs, "Current" and "History," designated with a letter suffix, "C" or "H". A current code indicates that the malfunction is present in the system whose module is displaying data. A history code indicates a problem existed in that module sometime in the last 40 or 50 ignition cycles. When not accompanied by a current code of the same number, it is possible it's evidence of a previous problem, now solved, that was not removed by clearing codes. More likely is that a history code indicates an intermittent malfunction. "Intermittents" are the most challenging DTCs. An intermittent may have happened only once, may have happened more than once but is inconsistent in its appearance or may be happening on a regular basis but not at the time the IPC is displaying codes.

History codes can also be caused by a current malfunction in a system that is not operating at the time DTCs are displayed. An example is the rear window defogger which doesn¹t operate until the BCM detects engine rpm. For history codes set by a system that does not operate with the key on and engine off, a special diagnostic tool called a "scan tester" is necessary to properly diagnose the malfunction.

Inititially, the on-board diagnostics go into the "automatic" mode which shows each module's DTCs in a pre-set sequence:

10 PCM Powertrain Control Module
28 TCS Traction Control system ABS
?? RTD Real Time damping
40 BCM Body Control Module
60 IPC Instrument Panel Cluster
80 radio
99 HVAC Heater Vent-Air Conditioning
A0 LDCM Left Door Control module
A1 RDCM Right Door Control Module
AC SCM Seat Control module
B0 RFA Remote Function Actuation

For each module, all DTCs will be displayed. If none are present in a module, you will see "no more codes" on the ICP display.

Once the IPC has displayed all 11 modules, the system goes into the manual mode which allows selection of each module using combinations of DIC buttons. The manual mode can also be entered at any time during the automatic sequence by pressing any button except "E/M". Once the IPC displays "manual diagnostics," you may select a particular module by pressing the "options" button to go forward or the "trip" button to go back. Once a system is selected and a DTC is displayed, if more than one are present; press "gages" to move forward or "fuel" to go back.

To exit the diagnostic mode at any time, press "E/M". If you want to erase or "clear" codes, press "reset." Clearing a code does not repair a problem. You are simply erasing the evidence of it in the module's memory.

So, now that you have the codes, what do they mean? Rather than list them all here, I'm going to refer you to another site. This site provides a great listing of all the error codes you may encounter. http://www.stengel.net/diccodes.htm.

Hope that helps.

Stingray Concept Design Overview

Now let's jump forward to today and take a look at this concept design for the Stingray. Pretty impressive.

Back in time

I'm inspired by this photo to talk a little about how this whole Corvette phenomenon began. So let's hop again into the Way Back Machine and take a trip back to 1951.

While there were many involved in its design and production, Zora Arkus-Duntov is generally considered to be the "Father" of the Corvette. But designing and building a classic vehicle that has stood the test of time for over 50 years takes more than one man. At that time Harley Earl’s “Special Projects” crew began work on this new sports car for General Motors. As the concept work began, Bob McLean designed a general layout for the car which was originally code named, "Project Opel."

Chevrolet’s chief photographer at the time, Myron Scott, is credited for coming up with the name that has become legendary in the automotive world — Corvette — drawing from the small, fast warships of the "Corvette" class.

The logo for the new car was supposedly determined by the wallpaper design on a hotel room in Paris in 1908. The story goes that William Durant, the founder of GM, ripped off a small piece of this wallpaper and brought the scrap back to Detroit. It apparently had designs on it that resembled a bow tie.

For its introductory year, the Corvette was produced in a temporary GM facility in Flint, Michigan. This 1st generation Corvette (C1) was available only in Polo White with a red vinyl interior, black soft top and red wheels. Although Corvette was not the first car to be made with a fiberglass body, it was the first car — and the last — to have a wrap-around windshield.

Corvette's fiberglass body was comprised of 46 pieces glued together to form the nine major subassemblies.

A 150 hp Blue Flame Six engine powered it, and it was backed up by a Powerglide transmission. At only 150 hp, the performance was less than startling, but with a total production run of only 300 units, the 1953 is still the rarest of all model year Corvettes. And although only 300 were produced, there are approximately 225 still existing today.

At the Autorama show circuit the new Corvette featured crossed American and checkered flags on the front emblem and horn button. When it was later discovered that using an American flag on a product trademark was illegal, the emblem was changed shortly before the Corvette made its debut in January, 1953, at the Motorama in New York.

Less than six months later, on Tuesday, June 30, 1953, Corvette #1 Serial Number E53F001001 rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan, and Corvette production began. The first two Corvettes, VIN Numbers 1 and 2 were said to have been destroyed, but no records prove that fact, and there are no witnesses to the destruction. You may want to quit reading now and go check the Serial Number of the one in your garage. It might be one of them.

The following year production was moved to the plant in St. Louis. Every Corvette from model year 1954 through model year 1981 was produced in the St. Louis facility.

If you would like additional information the 1953 Corvette, here's a great website with more info than you can imagine: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1953-corvette1.htm

If you found this article interesting, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comment" at the bottom of this post. You may as well find it now and get used to clicking it because you're going to be clicking it a lot when we start having the Corvette Giveaways. Also, if there is anything inaccurate in here, please let me know so I can correct it.

Look for the word "comment" below. It should be right under the right front tire of that 1953 Corvette you see there. See it? Well click it, and you can add anything you'd like.

This is a repost of a previous story from back in January.

Blue Devil vs Blue Angel

If you love speed, this is the video you've been waiting for.