BrandensBeast

Looks very good, whats the purple stuff by the caliper? just wondering!

DMITTZ

Thank you Branden. If you are referring to the purple color on the back side of the brake pad in the last photo, it is anti-squeal compound. It's actually a bluish color but I guess the lighting was off.

I hate brake noise so I always use anti-squeal compound to make sure the brakes are quiet.

-cheers

DMITTZ

Well guys I have a report from the race track for you.

It was a very wet day today, which made it pretty hard to go fast 1-2in of water on the track in many places.

I was the only C4 racing today.

The car was doing great 9 runs, then It seems I boiled the clutch fluid... I tried turning it off to let it cool down, but unfortunately I still have very little pressure from the pedal so I will need to replace the fluid. Hopefully the new hydralics have not given out.

As of now I'm just waiting at the track for a tow home, at least I only missed my last run...

I will try to fix it tomorrow and give you all and update.

Some pictures from the track today:

DMITTZ

The Corvette is home safe and sound, the tow truck driver (flat bed) was very skillful and I had a few people help me push it into my workshop. Once the water on the underside dries off (tomorrow hopefully) I'll see if its just boiled clutch fluid or failed clutch hydraulics as well (which are all new). The engine runs fine, I just have no pressure when I push on the clutch pedal and when the car is off I can easily put I in/out of all gears.

mtwoolford

I use DOT 5 brake fluid in all my hydraulic systems that are NOT ABS, especially clutch hydraulics...it is so much better than DOT 3 or 4; it is synthetic, it has a higher boiling point, is does not attract / absorb moisture, does not destroy paint and does not deteriorate with age and actually preserves hydraulic seals;

the negative is that since it is more viscous than Dot 3 or 4 (the reason it can't be used in an ABS brake system), it tends to entrain air when poured into the master cylinder but if poured slowly and with a little patience any entrained air escapes .

DMITTZ

Thank you that seems like good advice. I'm thinking DOT 5 and better insulation around the slave since it is only like 1/2in or less from the header.

mtwoolford

headers can do that.

DMITTZ

Wanted to give everyone an update.

I still believe I did boil my clutch fluid since it went from clear to dark colored during the race. I put a very nice silicon insulated 'boot' over the entire length of the clutch hydraulic hose to address the heat issue (the slave already had insulation around it).

When I went to bleed the clutch I noticed the slave cylinder was loose, I think this was more of a cause of the problem than the overheated fluid.

It looks like what happened is the bolts holding the slave somehow backed off a bit and that allowed the slave to move around which lead to the bolts pulling almost right out

Thankfully, the top bolt hole seems to still have workable threads, however the bottom bolt hole had the threads pulled right out...

I really don't want to have to pull the bell housing unless absolutely necessary, so I removed the slave and the driver's side header and I looks like I can drill, tap and heli-coil the bottom bolt hole with the bellhousing in the car. This time I will use a good bit of locktite on the bolts.

I am going to pick up a 3/8-16 heli-coil kit this week and repair the stripped bolt hole. I'll update once the repair is done.

mtwoolford

if there is room, and assuming the mounting ears on the slave can accommodate a larger fastener, before going the helicoil route, consider running the next largest tap into the existing stripped out hole and setting a stud in with epoxy; heli coils are good, but everything being equal, I try to use studs; simpler, and depending on the depth of engagement of the stud, stronger.

DMITTZ

I think your suggestion of using a stud is a good idea. I know for sure I can run a tap through the hole because I tried running a 3/8-16 tap (current bolt size) down the bolt hole to confirm that it was possible. My only concern with a stud is that it might be hard to install and remove the slave with the tight quarters... I will have a close look and see if a stud is feasible or not.

DMITTZ

Hi everyone,

Well it looks like I have just about got the problem fixed now

As I mentioned before although I might have boiled the clutch fluid the bigger problem was that the bolts holding the slave had backed off a bit and that allowed the slave to move around which pulled the bottom bolt out of the bellhousing ruining the threads in the bolt hole.

To fix the problem I first unbolted the driver's side exhaust header and moved it out of the way.

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Next I removed the slave cylinder, the threads in the bottom bolt home were pulled right out!
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Luckily the threads in the top hole were still workable so only the bottom hole needed repair, which allowed me to do the repair in the car.

I then drilled out the bolt hole with a 25/64 bit.
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Next I tapped the hole with a thread tap.
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Using the thread tap was a major pain as I could only go 1/4 turn at a time before repositioning the handel and I also had to take the handel off one side. But it certainly was better than pulling the transmission and bellhousing to do the repair!

Once the hole had the threads tapped, I did consider either putting a stud in or using a larger bolt that would fit the threads I just tapped. However, adding a stud would have made installation and removal of the slave quite hard since there is very little room between the tunnel and the bellhousing, and using a larger bolt would have required me drilling out the bolt hole in the slave cylinder and the mounting ears are not to thick to start with.

Instead I decided to insert a Heli-coil and re-use the original sized bolt.

<br >

<br >

Bolt hole is repaired and ready to go.
<br >

To address the heat issue I slipped a very nice insulated silicon sock over the entire length of the clutch hydraulic hose (slave was already insulated).
<br >

I used lots of locktite on the slave bolts this time!
<br >

Finally I flushed out all the old fluid with fresh fluid and put the car back together, I just have to pick-up a header collector gasket and the repair will be complete.

Hopefully I don't have any more clutch issues now. I'll be taking it out for a test drive probably this weekend so I will know for sure then.

mtwoolford

nice work; I hope if you ever have to pull that fastener that the heli coil doesn't come out with it; with helicoils I set the helicoil in with jb weld or red locktite and use anti seize and a star type lock washer on the fastener itself (could also use safety wire or fab up a locking tab) to ensure the fastener does not loosen itself.

DMITTZ

I did use red-loctite on the heli-coil, it seemed pretty well set in the bolt hole, I tried to see if it would come loose before installing the bolt and it would not. I also used red-loctite on the bolts (1 day later).

I got the car all back together and tested it and it is all working well again so hopefully the problem is solved for good now. I will be keeping a very close eye on the slave though and if I notice the bolts loosening I will take more drastic measures to hold the bolts.

I have another race next weekend and the weather is suppose to be better. which is good since I spent several hours cleaning the underside of the car.

DMITTZ

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to update everyone that, I took the car for a good long drive today, both in traffic and on the back roads. The clutch hydraulic issue seems to be fixed, but I will keep a close eye on it for the next little bit just to be sure.

Wanted to give a couple final driving impressions of the car:

Now that the car is 'broken-in' and the weather was good I finally got a chance to push the engine a bit. Although it lacks the upper end power of the higher winding LS motors etc, it certainly has a LOT! of grunt down low, even with a 4 speed and 3.07 rear gears. So I'm quite happy with the motor.

The car is truly a dream to drive through the back roads. The suspension is really remarkable in how much better it is now. Not only does the car have crazy road holding ability, it also feels very crisp and confidence inspiring. Interestingly the ride also feels much, much softer than before, I hardly feel any bumps and you can really feel the suspension moving to maintain grip. The brakes are adequate and are the same as any other J55 equipped C4, one day I hope to do a little upgrade to them to match the engine and suspension upgrades.

I would also like to thank those that helped me out on my journey through this build:

First, a huge thanks to my Dad, for letting me use his barn/workshop for the last couple years as I built the Corvette. He also gave me a hand numerous times when I needed it.

Thank you to my friends Will and Kurt for their help making some custom pieces as well as helping me putting the engine in and getting it started for the first time. Its great to have friends who you can count on to help you out!

Thank you to Scott Hansen of tuned port injection programing service for custom programing my chip and shipping it to me. What a great guy to help me a fellow enthusiast out who lives thousands of miles away just because he wanted to help! The tuning really helped the car run its best.

Finally, thanks to my lovely wife for putting up with all the time and money I spent on the Corvette, hope to spend many decades cruising in the Corvette with you!

Now that I have completed my build, what's next?

I plan to enjoy the Corvette for the summer and work out any bugs that come up.

Next winter, I am debating between and interior restoration OR a serious brake upgrade. Lots to think about! I'll see how life goes, I would love to do both projects one day.



Thanks to everyone for following my build thread, it has been a lot of fun to share my build with you all. See you all around the board and on the highway!

-DMITTZ

92ragtop

You've done an amazing job on this car, and documentary-quality write-ups on the progress. Kudos!

May sure you bring it out to the BCCC Corvette show at Preston's this Sunday.

DMITTZ

I'm glad you reminded me about the Preston's show. I was thinking it was a week from Sunday for some reason. The car might be a little dirty as I will be racing the day before but I should be able to make the show too.

C4gold

Hats off to you and very nice work! I thank you for taking the time to nicely document your build! Nothing to do now but enjoy the fruits of your labor!

KYC4

This has been an amazing build and has been of great use to myself and others. Many thanks for letting us tag along and learn. Very impressed with your car and your work, sir!

Later,

Lee

C5 4me

Always looked forward to your post and pictures as well.

DMITTZ

Thank you. It has been fun, I definitely plan to enjoy driving the Corvette! Thanks for following my build.