1981 Hood Solenoid
 

Hi,
Just purchased a 1981 4 speed and saw there was a solenoid on the hood. Did some research and I understand it was supposed to open a flap of some sort at WOT. None of the information I found had any pictures so I am sort of at a loss as to what is actually missing. Does anyone have a good picture of that area to show what it is supposed to look like?

The car is a little bit of a basket case and this is my first (well, wife's care actually) C3 so I am not sure exactly what is missing. There doesn't appear to be any opening in the hood for a flap like some cars.

Thanks,
Douglas

81's dont have any openings on the hood, what your seeing may be the switch for the under hood work light, I'm pretty sure it's a mercury tilt switch that turns the light one when the hood is opened.

82s have a flap. 81s do not.

Purchase the 81 assembly instruction manual (AIM) and the GM chassis service manual. Both will be helpful. Purchase an owner's manual for the 81 if you do not have an original.

:thumbs:

So what is up with this solenoid then? Do I have a hood from an 82 or something?

http://amorget.pnw3.org/81Corvette/hoodsolenoid.JPG

That is not on the hood of my '81 and have never seen anything like it before. Quite possible an '82 hood like you asked; although I ave never looked at an '82 hood to know about this flap....but going to look around.

Looks like it, and an 82 radiator support. 81s have an alpha B in the VIN for model year; 82s have a C. The trim tag on the driver's door hinge post will also show the model year (B or C).

:thumbs:

Here is most of the VIN:

1G1AY8760BS43xxxx

That would indicate 81, correct? The title we have matches the VIN on the windshield and the rivets on the windshield VIN are the flowery kind that I understand it should have. Also, the condition of the VIN plate matches with the condition of the surrounding area. So, it would seem that the Vette was probably wrecked and the hood and rad support replaced by one from an 82?

Yep. B is 81. The S indicates it's a St. Louis car.

Maybe. Whatever happened, it needed a hood and a radiator support.

Yep.

:thumbs:

Well, a little bit stranger is that it appears to have the factory correct wiring for the solenoid that goes into the main wiring harness and has the correct ground plug on it.

Is there some way to identify a 82 under hood wiring harness easily?

the '82 is a cross fire motor, totally different from ANY other year of 'vette, just post a picture of the motor and we'll be able to tell if it's an '81 or '82 motor.

definately NOT a hood for an '81

The car definitely doesn't have a cross fire intake on it, but it also doesn't have the CCC on it either. It has a stock intake adapted to square bore with an Edelbrock 1406 carb and a vacuum advance dizzy. I "came" from the Thirdgen F-body world, so I know a little about CFI.

The other "odd" things about the wiring harness is I can find no sign of the coolant temperature sensor wire. The sensor is at the front of the intake, but no where can I find a spare wire that long nor anything with the correct connector type on it. Same goes for the computer, but I haven't looked too hard for it and am not sure where it would be located on the Corvette. Did the 81 use a different ECU connector than an 82? There is also a spare 4 or 5 wire connector sitting on the driver side about at the middle of the fender. It looks like the windshield wiper connector, but that is already hooked up.

Like I said, the car is a little but of a basket case and it's always interesting as to what happens to cars in 30+ years of people owning them.

Thanks,
Douglas

Order the 81 assembly instruction manual (AIM) and compare what you're supposed to have with what you are finding.

Is there a way you could contact the previous owner and determine what type of changes were made to the car? Long shot, but it might answer your questions.

:thumbs:

Yeah, I might see if I can contact the kid I bought the car from and see if he remembers who he bought the car from and if he knew how long they owned it.

The AIM is in the works, this is just sort of a fun mystery.

:thumbs:

I replaced the rotted out radiator support in my 80' with an 82' that I got a good deal on. So, it's possible it was in an accident, but it's also possible the parts could have been changed for other reasons.

Looks like someone mounted an 82 hood on a 81 car.

And the radiator support... and then wired up it with factory looking wiring in the factory harness even though the solenoid was connected to nothing... that is the mystery now.

the computer will be mounted in the storage compartment behind the drivers seat, you have to pull the "liner" out of the compartment and it's mounted vertically on the wall between the seat and the compartment.

open up the flap and enjoy the cooler fresh air to the carb .

Could someone explain this "flap" that an '82 has....I have never seen nor heard about such a thing until this thread.

Pictures would be nice as well.

Does the air intake on the '82 engine connect into this "flap?"