Business

Put pricey Corvette rims in for winter

Auto Scanner
Larry Rubenstein
Published: December 2, 2008

Q: My daughter's boyfriend has a 1974 Corvette. It has very expensive chrome wheels. This winter, as usual, he will be putting it away for the season. This time, the car will be stored and covered outside. Do you recommend anything that can be applied to the wheels to protect them from rust?

A: I can recommend any number of polishes that will protect the area you can cover, however, I have a little different twist on this problem. The wheel-bolt pattern on the full-size Chevys of 1974 is the same as your Corvette. If it were me, I would call around to some of the recycling yards and buy some old rims (around $10 each), and maybe they will even have some tires on them, as well. Put these junkers on the car over the winter and store the precious Corvette equipment in the basement with a coat of polish on it, as well, to protect the finish from pitting.

Q: My 1999 Honda has 120,000 miles and runs well. The problem is that it will just die while driving down the road at a normal speed. This is not a good thing. The check engine light does not come on and the car will usually start up and run fine until the next time. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

A: With the short description you have given, I can go with what we commonly see for a problem on your particular car. In a great number of cases, the distributor needs to be replaced. To prove this problem, you should carefully tap on the distributor while the car is idling in park with the emergency brake set. If the car stalls when you tap on the distributor, you can be pretty darn sure you have isolated the problem.

Q: I have a 2002 Sebring convertible that developed a noise over the past six weeks. It is in the left front top and can best be described as the same sound as rain hitting my convertible top. We have tried to have it diagnosed by the Chrysler dealer and two different shops that deal with convertible tops and no one can diagnose it. We had everything greased and new grommets installed at the point where the top closes, and the noise only got louder. The noise appears to lessen on the days that we have cool, dry weather and seems to increase in the rain. Any suggestions?

A: There are up stops and down stops on your convertible top. The fact that after you replaced the grommets and the noise got louder tells us you are on the right track. One way that I have used to find air leaks is to close all the windows on the car and have the HVAC blower on high speed. I go around to all the seams and spray soapy water. Where the soapy water bubbles is where the air leak is. This sounds simple, doesn't it?

Car care Tip: You have the right to have your old parts returned to you, after having car repairs performed. You only need to ask.

¢¢¢

Larry Rubenstein is a master technician who owns a North Shore service station. His column appears Tuesday in the Biz North section. Write to Larry at Salem News, c/o Auto Scanner, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915, or send e-mail to scanauto@aol.com.