New Member Question

[Dan D.]

Let me introduce myself. I am Dan Dillingham from Rochester, New York. I own a 1954 #1175 and a 1957 #4122. I have owned the 54 for 48 years and the 57 for 38 years. For reasons I will not get into here, neither one has been started, driven or had any attention since 1974. In March of this year I decided it was time to get the Corvette flame going again, and I am heavly into a body-on rebuild of the 57. Setting for 35 years has not been good for these cars. I could get into a long discussion on the history of these 2 cars and my life owning and driving them, but I will make this a technical thread only, as is the rule. I joined NCRS a year ago and have been reading every issue of the Driveline and Restorer from cover to cover. I joined this very interesting and very good forum about a week ago in read only mode, so it is about time I become active. I have several technical questions, but I thought I would start out with an easy one. How do I get the ignition switch tumblers out? I can feel the internal spring compress when I insert a pin in the hole, but the tumblers will not release. I have tried all positions of the switch, key in and out, and nothing works. I do not want to damage anything, so is there a trick to this that I am not aware of, or do you think the thing is just stuck? Even thought this sounds very elementary, I am really fairly technical and might be able to add some technical knowledge to the forum in the future. In fact I am thinking of writing a couple of technical articles for the Restorer, but I have more research to do first. Maybe even my past experiences with Corvettes growing up in the late 50s and early 60s would be interseting to some (or boring). Thanks again folks, I am really enjoying this. I am very impressed with the knowledge base and williness of members to share information. By the way, there is a 1956 for sale on E-Bay right now. Body looks to be in good shape, but it is not much more than a shell. No engine, transmission, hood, top, interior and whatever else. -Dan-

[Steven B.]

Re: New Member Question

Dan, go to "Search" item on the blue bar above and search for Ignition Switch, September 8, 2009 post by Stewy and others.

[Edward J.]

Re: New Member Question

Dan, I Believe Your on The Right Track , Im Not A C-1 Guy, But I Think Your Suppose To Turn The Switch On Acc.and Depress The Pin.

[Dan D.]

Re: New Member Question

I did read the thread by Stewey and others, and while interesting and informative, it did not discuss how to remove it. Very good photo of the underdash wiring. I will use that info for sure. There is no acc. position on 57s. Lock, off, on, and start. Tried them all. -Dan-

[Edward J.]

Re: New Member Question

Dan, the hole is there for the cylinder removal,can you pull out on the cylinder when depressing the pin at the same time with a little tug using the key, maybe aliitle WD40 in the cylinder.

[Dan D.]

Re: New Member Question

Steve, Ed, My apology. I thought you were talking about different thread. I just read Stewy's thread and went out and tried it, and 'presto' the tumblers came right out. Oh so easy. Stewy, I am going to have to talk to you sometime. My wife has a cousin in Ausralia - fairly well known in the political arena. Will have to ask you if you have ever heard of him. Thanks again guys. That was so easy I will post a little harder question for you tomorrow! -Dan -

[James G.]

Re: New Member Question

Welcome Dan. There are a lot of great people on this forum and in NCRS that are very up on 57's and 54's. 57's are my favorite year, and all fuel injection cars. I love 65 fuelies as well.

Can you tell us just a little about 4122, like options, color etc?

[Steven B.]

Re: New Member Question

Steve, Ed, My apology. I thought you were talking about different thread. I just read Stewy's thread and went out and tried it, and 'presto' the tumblers came right out. Oh so easy. Stewy, I am going to have to talk to you sometime. My wife has a cousin in Ausralia - fairly well known in the political arena. Will have to ask you if you have ever heard of him. Thanks again guys. That was so easy I will post a little harder question for you tomorrow! -Dan -

Dan, you had me worried. I was thinking that maybe everything my wife says about my memory was true. I have used the procedure on my '57 a number of times and it usually comes out pretty easily. I even saved the paperclip in the car.

Let us know about your cars, descriptions, pics., etc.

Steve

[Jack P.]

Re: New Member Question

Let me introduce myself. I am Dan Dillingham from Rochester, New York. I own a 1954 #1175 and a 1957 #4122. I have owned the 54 for 48 years and the 57 for 38 years. For reasons I will not get into here, neither one has been started, driven or had any attention since 1974. In March of this year I decided it was time to get the Corvette flame going again, and I am heavly into a body-on rebuild of the 57. Setting for 35 years has not been good for these cars. I could get into a long discussion on the history of these 2 cars and my life owning and driving them, but I will make this a technical thread only, as is the rule. I joined NCRS a year ago and have been reading every issue of the Driveline and Restorer from cover to cover. I joined this very interesting and very good forum about a week ago in read only mode, so it is about time I become active. I have several technical questions, but I thought I would start out with an easy one. How do I get the ignition switch tumblers out? I can feel the internal spring compress when I insert a pin in the hole, but the tumblers will not release. I have tried all positions of the switch, key in and out, and nothing works. I do not want to damage anything, so is there a trick to this that I am not aware of, or do you think the thing is just stuck? Even thought this sounds very elementary, I am really fairly technical and might be able to add some technical knowledge to the forum in the future. In fact I am thinking of writing a couple of technical articles for the Restorer, but I have more research to do first. Maybe even my past experiences with Corvettes growing up in the late 50s and early 60s would be interseting to some (or boring). Thanks again folks, I am really enjoying this. I am very impressed with the knowledge base and williness of members to share information. By the way, there is a 1956 for sale on E-Bay right now. Body looks to be in good shape, but it is not much more than a shell. No engine, transmission, hood, top, interior and whatever else. -Dan-

Hi Dan,

As you read more posts and use the forum, you will notice that next summer I am going on a 48 state cross country trip in my 66 Roadster , (owned 40 years) to do research on car onwers of more than 30 years.
If you PM with your phone, zip code info, I can put a pin in my map and try to visit you on my trip. I am starting in Maine and will pass though central and western NY. Let me know if you would be interested in telling your story. (see First snow in Maine post)

Jack

[Dan D.]

Re: New Member Question

Good afternoon to all that have responded to my posting yesterday. I am more than willing to provide all the info I can, and welcome hearing from anyone who is interested. Jack, I live in Webster, NY (14580), and would certinally welcome you on your tour next year. That sounds like a lot of fun. Will provide more info to you shortly. Steve, sorry I got your think box worried. My wife tells me that all the time. Jim, my 57 has always been a Rochester car. I have been able to trace some of its past - the car is slowly giving up some of its secrets. New, it was a base 220 engine, powerglide, power windows, power top, possibly radio delete, and Onyx black with silver coves. The driveline has been previously 'updated' to 327, T10, and 1962 posi. The power top is long gone, the windows still work. The car was purchased new from a local Chevy dealer by a lady in her 60s, which explains all the power options. She owned the car until 1962 when she traded it in for a new 62 vette. The second owner was a gentleman from Victor, NY that 'updated' the perfectly good driveline and drag raced it some. That person now owns a corvette dealership and repair business in Victor, NY. This person sold the car in 1964 when he got drafted into Vietnam. After that the ownership gets a little fuzzy, but at some point the car was hit in the rear, apparently quite hard. A local body shop repaired the car, which included the complete left quarter panel, driver side door, and possibly the door post. The repair was professionly done - it is difficult to see any evidence of it ever being hit. He also painted the car gray, which it is today. I have a photo of the car taken in the early sixties. The photo was shot in front of a gas station and clearly visible in the photo is the sticker on the pump that shows the price of gas at 28.9 cents a gallon! I will put that photo up shortly. I purchased the car from yet another owner in 1970 and drove it until 1974. At that point the kids started coming, the house needed alot of work, and something had to give. It was the corvette. I am now at the point where I can start enjoying it again, but sitting that long has not been good. It has deteroriated considerably. I am well into a body-on rebuild and hope to drive it next year. It is so far from being original my plan is to basically rebuild it to the condition it was when I bought it. That is why I am calling it a 'rebuild' - not a restore. Fuel delivery will be via a 1963 fuel injection, which I have also owned since 1970. I am currently having it professional restored (big bucks). The engine is a 1962-327-870 block. I can elaborate further, but this thread is getting quite long and I am thinking of seeing if I can write up the complete history of both cars (and me too) and see if it would qualify for an article in the Restorer magazine. As a side note, an old friend of mine (lives within 5 miles of me) has no less than 5 C1 vettes. He has owned all 5 for over 40 years. He has two 1956s, two 1957s, and a 1958. One of the 57s is FI. He has not driven any of them in decades. They are all quite original and are real time capsules. He is a very technical person and has much knowledge of these older vettes. At one time he supplied information to Nolan Adams. He does not belong to any clubs, does not have computer or internet access, and does everything on his own. All he knows is in his head - he has put nothing on paper. I am going to start working him and see if I can get him to capture some of his vast knowledge and start having fun with his machines as well. -Dan-

[Jack P.]

Re: New Member Question

Good afternoon to all that have responded to my posting yesterday. I am more than willing to provide all the info I can, and welcome hearing from anyone who is interested. Jack, I live in Webster, NY (14580), and would certinally welcome you on your tour next year. That sounds like a lot of fun. Will provide more info to you shortly. Steve, sorry I got your think box worried. My wife tells me that all the time. Jim, my 57 has always been a Rochester car. I have been able to trace some of its past - the car is slowly giving up some of its secrets. New, it was a base 220 engine, powerglide, power windows, power top, possibly radio delete, and Onyx black with silver coves. The driveline has been previously 'updated' to 327, T10, and 1962 posi. The power top is long gone, the windows still work. The car was purchased new from a local Chevy dealer by a lady in her 60s, which explains all the power options. She owned the car until 1962 when she traded it in for a new 62 vette. The second owner was a gentleman from Victor, NY that 'updated' the perfectly good driveline and drag raced it some. That person now owns a corvette dealership and repair business in Victor, NY. This person sold the car in 1964 when he got drafted into Vietnam. After that the ownership gets a little fuzzy, but at some point the car was hit in the rear, apparently quite hard. A local body shop repaired the car, which included the complete left quarter panel, driver side door, and possibly the door post. The repair was professionly done - it is difficult to see any evidence of it ever being hit. He also painted the car gray, which it is today. I have a photo of the car taken in the early sixties. The photo was shot in front of a gas station and clearly visible in the photo is the sticker on the pump that shows the price of gas at 28.9 cents a gallon! I will put that photo up shortly. I purchased the car from yet another owner in 1970 and drove it until 1974. At that point the kids started coming, the house needed alot of work, and something had to give. It was the corvette. I am now at the point where I can start enjoying it again, but sitting that long has not been good. It has deteroriated considerably. I am well into a body-on rebuild and hope to drive it next year. It is so far from being original my plan is to basically rebuild it to the condition it was when I bought it. That is why I am calling it a 'rebuild' - not a restore. Fuel delivery will be via a 1963 fuel injection, which I have also owned since 1970. I am currently having it professional restored (big bucks). The engine is a 1962-327-870 block. I can elaborate further, but this thread is getting quite long and I am thinking of seeing if I can write up the complete history of both cars (and me too) and see if it would qualify for an article in the Restorer magazine. As a side note, an old friend of mine (lives within 5 miles of me) has no less than 5 C1 vettes. He has owned all 5 for over 40 years. He has two 1956s, two 1957s, and a 1958. One of the 57s is FI. He has not driven any of them in decades. They are all quite original and are real time capsules. He is a very technical person and has much knowledge of these older vettes. At one time he supplied information to Nolan Adams. He does not belong to any clubs, does not have computer or internet access, and does everything on his own. All he knows is in his head - he has put nothing on paper. I am going to start working him and see if I can get him to capture some of his vast knowledge and start having fun with his machines as well. -Dan-

Thanks for the reply.

I can't wait for this trip. All that car history and most important , the relationship between the car and it's owner .

Jack

[Mark P.]

Re: New Member Question

For your 54 have you considered getting it running and going through the Bowtie NCRS judging ?

No sure how original it is but it would be nice to see an unmolested 54.

[David V.]

Re: New Member Question

Hey Dan: Love your ownership story on your 57. Thanks for sharing. Mine is #1247 (early Dec. 56). Shortly after I bought mine in 1990 in Washington, Mo. NCRS member David Dawdy (1624), suggested I trace the ownership history on #1247. I didn't expect any luck, but it turned out GREAT. #1247 was sold to the original owner on 7/31/57 at Harris Chevrolet in Troy, NC to a man who lived in Biscoe, NC. The most important thing I learned from the title history records I received from NC was some of the original paperwork on file with the sec. of state in NC included the original engine stamp pad # of F1026FG. PRICELESS. The guy who sold it to me thought it was a base engine/3 speed 57. WRONG. #1247 was repoed from 5 of the 13 owners who owned it in NC during the 10 years it was in NC. It was in Ark. for 3 yrs from 67 to 70 and in Mo. for 20 yrs from 70 to 90 before I bought it. I have tape recorded interviews of some of the previous owners including the orig. owners son & a guy from Blytheville, Ark. who traded it for a Harley cause the windshield wipers quit working!

[Dan D.]

Re: New Member Question

O' Mark. To have a bowtie 54! I can only dream. When I bought this car in 1961 it could have easily been at least top flight with just a little cleaning up. It was that good and that original. But all I did is ruin it. When one is young the quest for speed and power is overwhelming. The first thing I did in 1962 is 'update' it to 327 - brand new crate engine - right out of the box. Sold the 6 cylinder, powerglide, 3 carbs and all for $100 and saw $75 of it. Somebody should have just shot me right on the spot. I just get sick everytime I think about it. But I loved driving that car more than anyone can imagine. Then the really bad part happened. I was hit by a drunk driver in 1970 that all but totaled it -and almost me too. Spent 6 weeks in the hospital. The car is virtually untouched since that time. Still has the 327, T10, and is much apart, but I have most of the parts, including the side curtains. Don't know what I am going to do with it yet, it is somewhere between a barn find and a basket case. The 57 was first to get resurected because it requires the least amount of work to get going. And 57s have more comfy features too - like real roll up windows. Dave, that is a good story on #1247. It is making me wonder if I could maybe find some info from the DMV. I think I might try it. Problem here in NY is we don't have much of any help in that regard. All we have is high taxes - highest in the nation. Its a wonderful thing. -Dan-

[David V.]

Re: New Member Question

I just got my 58 in April this year Dan & when I attempted to do a title search history on it like my 57 they shut me down immediately due to privacy issues. Time changes everything & not always necessarily for the better. I was lucky with my 57. Illinois sucks on title search records also. I tried to do a title search history in 1990 on my 57 Nomad that I used to own after I had such good luck with my vette & I couldn't even get out of Illinois to find out what state it came into ILL from. When you do a title search history you have to work backwards from state to state. I have copies of all title work & complete ownership history of every TITLED owner of my 57.