Time may heal all wounds, but it's hellishly hard on automobiles. These depredations tend to fall into two categories: those arising from the inevitable effects of the aging process, and those inflicted—whether intentionally or not—by one or more of the vehicle's owners over the course of its life. While the Corvette's fiberglass skin confers some measure of immunity to the former, the vintage-Vette market is rife with cars still suffering the effects of poorly executed body modifications and other “custom” work performed throughout the years.

One of the more common problems that come with C4 ownership is a steering wheel that feels loose. In most cases, the wheel will tug freely down and to the left, and perhaps even vibrate disconcertingly on rough roads. If that describes your Corvette, you’ve come to the right place.

So it’s the last year of the sixth-generation Corvette. How do you usher out the car with the same level of excitement it enjoyed upon its introduction in late 2004? For Chevrolet, the answer was simple: a 427 convertible. But what if even that big-inch bruiser isn’t sufficiently exhilarating for your needs? What do you do?

Q: I’ve been working at a repair shop for about six months. Recently, my boss let me start doing some diagnostics, using a diagnostic flow chart as a guide. Unfortunately, my results have been mixed. Are there any books dedicated to diagnosing fault codes? Do you have any suggestions for improving my diagnostic skills? One vehicle that has been in the shop for quite a while is a C4 with a “Throttle Position” code that no one can seem to fix. I would like to repair this car to gain some confidence, but I don’t know where to start.

If the Corvette were a person, whom would it be? A world-class American athlete such as sprinter Carl Lewis is an obvious choice, but what about Benjamin Franklin, or Thomas Edison?

In our Sept. '12 issue, we introduced you to the concept behind our two-part FRC "refresher course"—specifically, to breathe new life into a '99 hardtop using a coordinated set of aftermarket appearance upgrades. Along with the obvious benefit of rejuvenating a once-proud C5, the project would furnish us with an opportunity to address the topics of paint and bodywork, areas often overlooked when dealing with Chevy's non-rusting, non-denting fiberglass flier.

If you're a C5 owner, there's a good chance you like to put your foot down every once in awhile. After all, driving a 345hp sports cars sometimes calls for a little speed.

Since 2008, GM Powertrain Defiance Casting Operations in Defiance, Ohio, has produced more than 45,000 nodular-iron LS3 crankshafts, the bulletproof backbones of the engine rotating assemblies in all base and many Grand Sport Corvettes.

Click the link below for the 1969 Chevrolet broadcast body copy in its entirety!

Three-hundred million times or more--from the first moment an LS3 engine roars to life in a new base or Grand Sport Corvette to the split-second the odometer celebrates 100,000 miles and beyond--Chevy's modern small-block V-8 crank performs its assigned duties with amazing reliability.

There are things in this world that work in the dark. Luminox watches, for example, SureFire flashlights, anything made by Trijicon. Note the conspicuous absence of C3 headlights from this list. With anywhere between 30 and 40 years of age (and advancing technology) behind them, they leave a lot to be desired for nighttime driving, especially when that driving involves lots of curves and lonely roads. While it's possible to upgrade the headlights themselves, there's also the time-honored option of auxiliary lighting, and that's where we're headed this month. Before the howls of "sacrilege" start to rise, let's take a minute to talk about this particular car.

In my memory, I see the green eyes first: brilliant, piercing, and Bambi-height. Not just one pair, but a forest of them, signifying a flock, a herd, a bevy--whatever you call a group of a dozen or so deer spread out across a narrow roadway. It was about two in the morning, I had just finished putting the sway bars on the 454 '71 convertible I had pretensions of road racing, and I just couldn't stand to pack it in for the night without trying out the newly stiffened suspension.

The forward march of time is rarely kind to those it tramples underfoot, be they flesh or fiberglass. Along with the physical indignities of the aging process--the loss of outward luster, the deterioration of vital substructures, the dulling of one's "performance edge"--there's a far more insidious development to contend with: the inexorable retreat of relevance. Today's hero is tomorrow's has-been, and so it has been since time immemorial.

Nothing beats the prospect of a long, enjoyable drive in your Corvette--except, perhaps, an out-of-tune engine that stumbles, stalls, or generally falls short in the driveability department. We're talking mostly about the smog-laden carbureted C3 models of the mid-to-late '70s. These Quadrajet-fed small-blocks perform well enough when tuned properly and driven regularly, but if your Corvette is a fair-weather cruiser and sits for several months during the winter, that Q-jet can become a source of frustration and unreliability. Such was the case with a friend's '77 Corvette that was driven infrequently, mostly because of a gummed-up carb that made even quick drives a testy, smelly affair. That friend--Leonard Slebodnik--thought about having the Quadrajet rebuilt, but admitted he'd really prefer the driveability advantage of electronic fuel injection. "I really wanted the assurance that when I jumped behind the wheel, the engine would fire up and idle correctly every time," he told us. "A new or rebuilt carb only seemed like a temporary fix for me."

I learned a lot from my first Corvette, most of it the hard way. First, I learned not to get an "independent" inspection from a shop recommended by the seller. I also learned what it means when the battery box in a '71 shark has been glassed back in, and the U-joints on the adjacent halfshaft don't match. In all fairness, the inspector may not have known what that meant--after all, he didn't know the difference between an LS5 and an LS6, either--but as the buyer, I should have recognized that at some point the car had blown a halfshaft.

Officially, RPO code N14--available on '65-'67 Corvettes--was known as the "Side Mount Exhaust System." Vette people just call this option "side pipes." Regardless of the terminology, the polished aluminum covers, chambered tubes, and stainless-steel tips can add flash to any midyear Corvette of this vintage.

When the C2 was introduced in 1963, independent front suspension had already been the norm in Detroit for quite some time. Independent rear suspension, however, was quite innovative, and a substantial improvement over the solid-axle setup found under the first-generation Corvette. Though innovative then, it's just plain old-fashioned now. The C2 (and subsequently, the C3) IRS featured independent trailing arms linked by an enormous (and heavy) transverse leaf spring. Having the left and right suspension linked with this spring partially nullified much of the advantage of IRS, as each rear wheel was susceptible to the other's movements. (Both the first- and second- generation Corvettes have standard "Banjo"-style spring-and-shock setups in the front.)

Last month, we talked about using the Zex Perimeter Plate nitrous-oxide system on a '72 Stingray, and covered the basic installation. Since the Zex system requires 6 psi of fuel running to the fuel solenoid (lest you risk engine damage), I added a low-fuel-pressure warning light and a kill switch to make sure the system would shut down if pressure got too low. In this installment, we'll cover making sure the system gets enough fuel, adding a safety blown-down and purge, and upgrading the nitrous controls in the cockpit.

Last month, VETTE took you behind the scenes to GM's state-of-the-art Performance Build Center for the creation of the 100-millionth Chevrolet small-block. The milestone mill--a 6.2L LS9 rated at 638 hp--was assembled by Skilled Engine Builders who build Corvette's LS3 dry-sump, LS7, and LS9 engines. They were assisted by special guests, including retired Chevrolet executives and engine engineers, and media journalists.

Don't tell me you haven't seen it. I know Corvette guys aren't supposed to like Mustangs, but if you're into car culture, you've definitely seen the part in Gone in 60 Seconds where Nicholas Cage flips the nitrous-arming switch on the '67 GT500 he's stealing, hits the little red button marked "go-baby-go," and loses the police helicopter that's closing in on him. Thanks in part to that scene, and the Fast and Furious franchise, nitrous oxide has steadily increased in popularity over the past several years.

If you're like Mike McComas, you've thought about adding air conditioning to your classic Corvette. McComas drove Vettes in the 1960s, and he doesn't remember being too upset about the lack of A/C on his '67 big-block coupe. Then, he was just a teenager. Today, he says the Texas summers are just too hot to drive his current ride, a '66 coupe.