Just bought an 89 coupe in Honolulu
09-01-2015, 04:57 AM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Just bought an 89 coupe in Honolulu
Aloha all, new member here introducing myself... I just bought this 89 with 92,900 miles...she is an automatic with red interior and glass roof. I saw the codes under the armrest, but my phone ran out of memory so I'm not sure what all it has just yet. I will be asking some questions of the forum as I am new to vetted. It was left parked for quite some time and is quite dirty as you can see, but the paint seems to be in great condition, the interior as well.
The a/c blows warm, and the idle starts yo-yoing when I turn on the compressor. With the ac off she idles fine.
The brakes seem mushy to nonexistent. I checked the fluid level, both reservoirs on the master seemed full (although rather brown)
Wheels are rough, tires likely flatspotted, I would love to figure out what wheels I can find off craigslist from another car that will fit... any suggestions?
Seat leather is pretty bad, it has some fitted covers and otherwise interior presents well.
Power mirrors seem to be inoperable.
Stereo seems shot (basic with cassette), although I could tune in a few fm stations and it didn't seem like any speakers were crackling, just overall tinny and poor. Is upgrading the head unit and speakers simple?
Mahalo in advance for any assistance!!
The a/c blows warm, and the idle starts yo-yoing when I turn on the compressor. With the ac off she idles fine.
The brakes seem mushy to nonexistent. I checked the fluid level, both reservoirs on the master seemed full (although rather brown)
Wheels are rough, tires likely flatspotted, I would love to figure out what wheels I can find off craigslist from another car that will fit... any suggestions?
Seat leather is pretty bad, it has some fitted covers and otherwise interior presents well.
Power mirrors seem to be inoperable.
Stereo seems shot (basic with cassette), although I could tune in a few fm stations and it didn't seem like any speakers were crackling, just overall tinny and poor. Is upgrading the head unit and speakers simple?
Mahalo in advance for any assistance!!
09-01-2015, 06:08 AM
#3
Le Mans Master
I tried flipping my tablet over to view the pictures ,but it keeps flipping them upside down again..
..WW
..WW
09-01-2015, 07:45 AM
#4
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A new brake booster may help with your brakes, made a night and day difference on my 89 when i installed a new one. Wheels off of a c5 or c6 vette always look good and fit, i found my used american racing rims online that came off a early 2000's trans am, same size on those cars. Good luck!
09-01-2015, 08:18 AM
#5
Burning Brakes
Howdy, I have the same car, same year, same color, same mileage, no glass top but it's sitting upright.
Wheels: You can strip the clear coat off them with paint stripper and polish the aluminum with a polisher and they will look much better. Later model Corvettes, 91 and on have staggered wheel sizes and some may take spacers. Your 89 has 17x9.5s all around. Personally I like the same size on all 4 corners.
Brakes: Sounds like a bad master cylinder but if the fluid is that bad you could have bad calipers too. Don't skimp or cut corners in this area.
A/C: Probably has leaked all the Freon out either through age diffusion or a leak somewhere. Charge it up and go from there. If that doesn't stop the idle surging then you'll have to look elsewhere.
Seats: New covers in both leather or simulated leather can be obtained, from around $300 to $900 for good leather.
Stereo: I replaced mine with an all new Kenwood head unit, 4 new speakers and a power amp. I also ran all new speaker wire and a power wire for the amp. It's quite a job but doable.
Mirrors: No advice here other than to obtain factory service manuals and trace the wires. Could be a bad switch if both are inoperative. Electrical is not my forte.
Congrats on the new ride, if you've never had one I hope you're as impressed with and have as much fun with yours as I do mine. I've put $5K in mine in less than a year fixing all the neglect it had but now she's running great and looking sharp. Pic is before I polished the wheels but the clear has been stripped.
Rick
Wheels: You can strip the clear coat off them with paint stripper and polish the aluminum with a polisher and they will look much better. Later model Corvettes, 91 and on have staggered wheel sizes and some may take spacers. Your 89 has 17x9.5s all around. Personally I like the same size on all 4 corners.
Brakes: Sounds like a bad master cylinder but if the fluid is that bad you could have bad calipers too. Don't skimp or cut corners in this area.
A/C: Probably has leaked all the Freon out either through age diffusion or a leak somewhere. Charge it up and go from there. If that doesn't stop the idle surging then you'll have to look elsewhere.
Seats: New covers in both leather or simulated leather can be obtained, from around $300 to $900 for good leather.
Stereo: I replaced mine with an all new Kenwood head unit, 4 new speakers and a power amp. I also ran all new speaker wire and a power wire for the amp. It's quite a job but doable.
Mirrors: No advice here other than to obtain factory service manuals and trace the wires. Could be a bad switch if both are inoperative. Electrical is not my forte.
Congrats on the new ride, if you've never had one I hope you're as impressed with and have as much fun with yours as I do mine. I've put $5K in mine in less than a year fixing all the neglect it had but now she's running great and looking sharp. Pic is before I polished the wheels but the clear has been stripped.
Rick
Last edited by shootnstarz; 09-01-2015 at 09:53 AM.
09-01-2015, 08:32 AM
#6
OP - I believe that it's not only your snapshots that are flipped but also the rear wheels. I believe you need to swap sides on your rear wheels to correct the orientation and if your tires are directional you'll need to correct that also.
09-01-2015, 10:00 AM
#8
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Enjoy your new ride, Aloha.
09-01-2015, 11:36 AM
#10
Race Director
Enjoy the Vette! When I visited the islands a few years ago I wore a different Corvette-themed T shirts every day. Met a lot of Vette owners (both local and mainlanders) that way.
I enjoyed having Spam with my McDonald's breakfasts.
Here are a couple of websites for you. Used parts: www.vette2vette.com and www.corvettecentral.com for new.
I enjoyed having Spam with my McDonald's breakfasts.
Here are a couple of websites for you. Used parts: www.vette2vette.com and www.corvettecentral.com for new.
09-01-2015, 12:27 PM
#13
Instructor
Thread Starter
I just woke up and logged in, thanks for all the responses and suggestions.
I googled and found a Hawaii vette club that has a monthly gathering on....
the first Tuesday of every month!!
And it's only about 5 blocks from where I live!
It's my destiny to attend!
I googled and found a Hawaii vette club that has a monthly gathering on....
the first Tuesday of every month!!
And it's only about 5 blocks from where I live!
It's my destiny to attend!
09-01-2015, 07:05 PM
#15
Has potential. Switch rear rims around and strip off old clear. Rims will clean up nice. I am actually getting partial to stock wheels on 89-90 now that I have seen so many aftermarket. Stock looked good.
09-03-2015, 08:42 AM
#18
Burning Brakes
Looks just like mine minus the glass top. Passenger seat looks askew, make sure it's bolted down, found loose nuts on mine.
You can also swap seat inserts and put the ugly one on the passenger seat, what I did until I can swing new leather.
Dark tint in the rear window helps a lot to keep it cooler inside and keep sun damage at a minimum.
Great looking car although I am a bit bias. Strip and polish those wheels and they will really stand out.
Rick
You can also swap seat inserts and put the ugly one on the passenger seat, what I did until I can swing new leather.
Dark tint in the rear window helps a lot to keep it cooler inside and keep sun damage at a minimum.
Great looking car although I am a bit bias. Strip and polish those wheels and they will really stand out.
Rick
09-06-2015, 12:35 AM
#20
Instructor
Thread Starter
So a little power steering fluid, and the groan is gone.
A little coolant in the reservoir tank, and the coolant light is off.
A shot of freon, and the A/C blows ice cold!
I haven't replaced the battery, she cranks hard and starts no problem, so I'm not inclined to buy a new one.
Now I need to figure out the parking brake, it won't engage.
A little coolant in the reservoir tank, and the coolant light is off.
A shot of freon, and the A/C blows ice cold!
I haven't replaced the battery, she cranks hard and starts no problem, so I'm not inclined to buy a new one.
Now I need to figure out the parking brake, it won't engage.