1987 Chevrolet Corvette - Little Wrecked Corvette, Part Six

Have we come a long way or haven't we? As we get closer to the final wrap-up on our series "Little Wrecked Corvette," "The Phoenix" is almost ready to re-earn her wings and take flight to rise from the ashes, if you will. But before I do any flying in the cockpit-like interior of this "totaled" '87, the DMV wants a brake and light inspection.

Understandably, a requirement to ensure safety when a car has been declared "unfit" (even if declared so by an insurance company who never gave the subject vehicle a post-accident looking over), the brake and light inspection was a bigger pain in this car's rear-and mine-than the original accident. While it may sound as simple as walking into the DMV to get the vintage of your choice certified, it was hardly a drive through the park. To make a long story short, the DMV has nothing to do with the inspection and will not, under the guise of unfair business endorsement, help you locate a shop that must be state certified-no matter how long and hard you've been looking.

After calling every brake shop in the SoCal phone book, things were looking grim. Most places, while insinuating they could "inspect my brakes and lights for the DMV," balked out when I asked, "And you're certified by the state to sign my car off?" Pay close attention to who you're dealing with-without that certification, there's no reason to get inspected.

Eventually, out of 50 calls, we did locate one shop that was indeed certified for the inspection. Even better, it was all of five miles away from the offices of Team VETTE. So with keys in hand, we drove down to the Fox Service Center in Fullerton, California. It may take you a couple of times, like it did us, but armed with the correct knowledge, you might save yourself a trip or two back and forth during this otherwise expensive stage of a resurrection.

Speaking of expensive, all of The Phoenix's problems came down to simple, at-home repairs. The first part of the inspection centered on the brakes. So, unless you know your rotor's depth verses the legal minimum, you better take those wheels off and find out-a micrometer is cheaper than a re-inspection fee. If you are under legal spec, which differs for every Vette, get them replaced in pairs; it's the safe thing to do. Since ours were under legal spec, a quick call to J&D Corvette of Bellflower, California, righted that wrong. During this process we noticed our brake system was a little worse for wear, but we'll get into that in a moment. At the time, we just wanted out road diploma from the DMV.

Another potential problem is your parking brake. Ours had a little extra play, and, after a few turns of the wrench, it was factory issue-something they will check and charge you for if it's not tight.

The lights are next. Are ALL of the bulbs working? Don't get nailed by something as simple as that-we did. One of our failures was because-thanks the Murphy's Law-two bulbs in the brake strip above the hatch burned out WHILE driving to the shop. Check everything: headlights, side marker lights, reverse lights (carefully), the license plate and tire light, and turn signal-EVERYTHING. The side maker lights caught us, but that was also taken care of by the good people at J&D Corvette. This failure was totally our fault. When ordering lights for the bumper, I mistakenly ordered newer C4 parts instead of the older versions. The difference between the two lies in how the bulbs plug in since they used a new connector type in later years. After a quick splice by this dim-bulb, your's truly, our not-so bright idea was fixed.

With everything in running and legal order, we made one last trip to the inspection station where we received our certificates, and were shortly back on the road-this time for good.