Although the Endless Corrado Project is operational, there are still a number of outstanding items that need to be addressed before I'd classify it as street worthy.
Foremost is the unfinished sunroof which would have caused more issues if buried underneath snow for the next few months.
And there is that gas leak from the gas tank that still needs to be addressed.
Without a garage, it is difficult to tackle these types of projects and with winter approaching --i had to make some decisions.
I had been driving the Corrado around town to keep the battery charged and to keep all of the bushings and bearings working.
I did get caught unexpectedly by an early winter snow storm which inevitably packed the two drain holes underneath the windshield wipers with snow, then was followed by a torrential downpour for two days. On one of those days, the weather reported 6" of rain which is unusual for Southern California but up in the mountains where I live--not surprising.
That extreme amount of water flooded the passenger side footwell with water. Then froze. What a mess!
With a torn and worn car cover and the upcoming winter season, The corrado would endure 2-3 more months of these weather driven challenges.
I had hoped my mechanic had an open slot for me at his garage. If there is room, I could drive it down and get those issues resolved and get the Endless Corrado Project car off the mountain for the winter and safely in his garage. But my mechanic still has no room for me at this moment.
So, on a whim, I decided I would drive the corrado to my office for the day as a long distance test run. It is an 80 mile one way drive on SoCal freeways to my office in Long Beach CA. It was a good stress test of the drive train. What have I to lose? If it breaks down, I can just have it towed back to the house.
I'd forgotten how noisy the Corrado can be inside --especially with the Techtonics Tuning Exhaust. But this was the first time I'd had opportunity to shift into 5th gear and drive above 60 mph. The suspension is still tight and handles beautifully. The rear spoiler fix I'd done several months earlier finally got to extend under normal use. The unfinished sunroof rattled. But No real issues to complain about.
There are lots of loose interior pieces all around that make noise but nothing that would concern me as a potential impending catastrophic mechanical failure. The drive train easily survived a grueling 2 hour commute through SoCal traffic. This exercise thawed out the car and put all of the main mechanical systems to the test. It passed.
I arrived at my office and parked in the employee parking lot where it sat in the sun for several hours and thawed out. At the end of the day, as I walked to the car in the parking lot, the thought that I'd have to once again park the car for the winter underneath snow bothered me. Up in the mountains, static automobiles become shelter and breeding grounds for small mice, chipmunks, and other forest creatures. This is especially true for cars parked underneath car covers. The combination creates a nice warm shelter that is insulated from the cold weather conditions. I do not know what I would find when I finally uncovered the car in the spring.
So I had an idea. I called my good friend in Chino Hills and asked if I could park the corrado in his driveway for a few weeks. Either my friendly mechanic would have a timely space open during that time or I would coordinate shipping from my friend's residence and transport the Corrado to my Texas address. There I could park the Corrado inside a warm and dry garage. Shipping from my mountain address would be impossible during the winter months.
So I am now at a decision point. With the car now safely at my friends house, I've reached out to several automobile transport companies and did a little research on what it would take and how much it would cost to ship the Endless Corrado Project car to Texas. Estimates are approximately $980-1300 to transport my car with a carrier. I would need to be at the destination to take receipt of the car once it arrives. So I need to coordinate my travel with the transport company.
I plan to be in Texas at the end of the month. So I will either drop the car off at the mechanics during this waiting period or have it picked up and shipped to Texas.
I am in a holding pattern for the next week.
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