Ron's Tidbits

We are very fortunate to have our own licensed mechanic as a member of the club. To have a look at all his articles, please scroll down and look at the list below.

If you have any mechanical questions, concerns about current articles or would like to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Ron.

Did you know that Ron was once an able bodied sailor?  Yes – way back in 1980 he signed up as a Marine Engineer!  Have a look at the ships he served on by clicking on picture.

Under Construction. Additional items will continue to be ported over from old website as time permits.

C3 Trailing Arm Replacement

Many of us have never even heard of a trailing arm before. Never-the-less when one or both of the trailing arms starts to go on your C3, there is no mistaking something is wrong and needs to be fixed. The replacement of a trailing arm on a C3 is a daunting, expensive job. Read about member John Latour’s experience and how Ron Rail replaced the trailing arms on John’s Vette.  

C6 Lens Replacement Guideline

Some C6 Vette owners may have noticed their headlight lenses don’t have the same clarity as they did when they were new. Many lenses have a slight cloudy fogging on the inside, (sometimes caused by blocked housing vents), some have a discoloration beginning on the outside and others have the dreaded “grazing” happening.

Grazing is where the lens appears to have a multitude of tiny cracks in the plastic lens. This article is a guideline on  removing and disassembling the headlight assembly and replacing the plastic lens. 

C5 - Suspension Upgrade

Are you happy with your Vette’s relationship with the road?  Do you feel like it should be tighter and more responsive to your needs? Is she feeling a little loose when hugging those curves? Well our resident relationship specialist, Ron Rail, has the remedy for your needs. Your ride will feel stiffer and the overall driving experience will be much more pleasurable after you read this article about upgrading your C5 or C6’s suspension.  

C5 Installing a Seat Bikini

Just like their human owners, Corvettes can show signs of wear and tear as they age – a little less shiny there, a little saggy here and yes, a little wrinkly in the upper seat bolster area. This is a well known area of wear and now our resident mechanic, (and upholsterer), Ron has tracked down a solution for this problem at a relatively inexpensive cost.  

C6 Differential Fluid Change

A common complaint associated with the C6 is the noise which comes from the rear end – from the differential. If you are hearing rubbing, chattering, clunking or musical melodies coming from your differential, there is a good chance that changing the differential lubricant will often quiet things down.

C3 Hood Stuck Shut

If you are unfortunate as I was to have your hood stuck shut, then you will really appreciate this article. Typically when you pull on the hood release handle the hood is unlocked and pops up as per normal, unless of course the cable snaps and well nothing happens. In my case, this was even worse as the cable didn’t snap and instead the lock release striker got jammed. Needless to say, the same situation resulted; a hood that will not open.