hirevroller

Well guys after a long winter of cleaning up the enigine and changing the distributor and intake/carb over to edelbrock. I can't get it to run right!?!? I changed the exhaust manifolds to headers found out I got ripped on my new exhaust system I bought last year paid for 2.5" got 2.25" then was told it would cost $80-100 to connect the exhaust to the headers then once they looked at it it cost $300 and now i get slight popping noise in the exhaust and seems like it loads up with fuel then bogs. I didn't relize this car was going to cost so much everybody gives me a cost on repairs or parts then its like 3 times the amount after they have it apart. I am exhausted and it hard to see light in the end of the tunnel. I bought a used carb 600cfm then was told that my qjet was better. I cant figure out how to adjust the tranny kick down properly and Iam just fed up. Any ideas because I am ready to sell it.

Thanks Guys Is this common??!?!?

jimvette74

I feel your pain - what I do is stop and put it away for a while -after all it's a hobby and not life or death. When I get to that point I stop turning wrenches and start turning pages. lots of talking to others and research and no shortcuts and water often with money. Don't give up. And dream of the day it runs. My buddy once told me when I was down --" Your doing what most guy's dream ( ground up resto) of doing and not everybody can say they have a corvette-corvettes are cool!"

micks69

Your right these cars are crap I'll give you $500 for yours!

Seriously though. You need to learn to do almost all repairs yourself or you will go broke and still have shoddy repairs.

Better luck in the future.

jimvette74

Your right these cars are crap I'll give you $500 for yours!
I don't care who you are --thats funny there!

Maymyvetteliveforevr

I think most of us can relate to your situation. You make a plan, along with a resonable budget, but then one thing leads to another. Frustration sets in, sometimes out and out anger, and you feel your all alone.................Wow.......I better stop, well we've been there. take a break, a try to get your self motivated again. I'm actually at that point now, and I'm not giving up.

Don't give up!

bobs77vet

yup... these things cost money and getting somebody else to do the work is often a gamble and then you have to redo the job because you're not happy with the job and you've been over charged..... and you hope the mechanic who is working on it doesn't sabotage something so you have to come back. all i know is that once i had a lower a-arm bushing that had been in place for over two years (after the complete front end rebuild)....and I had looked at it and even painted the washer when i installed the steeroids, then i took it to get an alignment and then 120 miles later the bolt and bushing were gone.....and then there are days like today that i cruised in it for several hours and all is well....

micks69

Jimvette74 Sorry couldn't resist

Mine is done after a lot of the same torture. I came to the realization a few years back though that "repair shops" know very little about these cars and don't really care if they fix it right or not. Therefore I had two options:

Option 1: Let the car sit in my garage broke
Option 2: Learn how to fix it my self

Since I couldn't break it any more than it was I figured I couldn't do too much more damage so I gave it wack.

The key is not skill but knowlege. Everything you could ever want to know about a corvette is somewhere on this forum. Just ask or use the search.

PS: donot ask guys that work at parts store what you should use (like "which carb should I buy?") many don't really know and don't work on cars very much.

PSS: This is an expensive hobby. Leasing a new c6 is probably cheaper.

82Collectors

Owning any vintage car is going to come with its share of repairs (that is if you drive it). Some enjoy fixing it themselves and others prefer to just drive and leave the repairs to others. Don't kid yourself - these cars will be more expensive to care for than the average new car.

My first suggestion would be to invest some time and find a "corvette" mechanic you can trust. There is plenty of corvette clubs in Ontario. Perhaps check around for a club to join and you can usually make some connections and find a trustworthy repair shop.

I live in the greater GTA and am lucky to have a couple of "corvette specialists" that are not only great technically but are as honest as they come. This doesn't make the repairs less costly, but at least I don't feel I am being taken and I trust their judgement and the work they do.

Good luck.

TLChydraulics

I absolutely hate working on my cars.... except my vette. I own many cars classics trucks and trash, the newest car I own is my 88 suburban and it has a pair of cracked heads (for almost a year now), I just license another to drive a while and fix it when I get to it. When I "HAVE" to fix a car... its hell!!! But the time, $, and work I put in my vette is called "fun and relaxation" (hobby)!!! If I get too carried away, and start getting frustrated or "FED UP", it is time to take a break from my "fun and relaxation" for a while. I actually haven't turned a tool one on my vette in 6 months or so for the same reason. I was getting a bit fed up with the money pit more than the work though. Besides all that, I really shouldn't complain cause its a driver that I can turn the key and go whenever I want, Its just not "cherry" yet, and just between us, it will probably never ever, ever be "finished", cause like most of you out there, time changes and so do my tastes, and wants. Just don't tell my wife that..... she's living in the fantasy that I'm almost done with it..... Ha Ha Ha. Now the weather is nice, and I've been driving my vette a bit, and I'm getting the improvement itch again..... here we go..... DING DING. Round 3.

Hang in there, and don't be afraid to let it sit a while..... The vette blood will boil again!!!



Good Luck,

Loren

P.S. To address the other issue..... I DO NOT EVER LET SOMEONE ELSE WORK ON ANYTHING I OWN, with small exceptions such as alignments or specialty machine work, and I am very particular about who does that.

ACECO

Nothing about this hobby is cheap. And there is a reason why I welcome newcomers w/my "Welcome to the insanity! Good luck w/your new money pit.....errrrr.....toy." quote. Probably no truer words have been spoken on this forum.

Just step back when your feeling frustrated and let a little time past. As was previously said, take this time to research and learn all you can about your car, and auto repair in general. Unless your pockets are bottomless, you would be well served to learn to do as much as you can yourself. Saves big $$$ and you know the job will be performed to your standards.

And don't feel too bad. I'd suspect nearly everyone here at one time or another has been where you are and felt what you are feeling right now. Try and focus on the end result and how good it's going to feel when your crusing and getting all those thumbs up.

Lots of luck!

jimvette74

yeah' I go to the parts store and the guy askes " Is this another 40,000 $ corvette you cold sell for 20,000--yup

onaqwst

well, to give you a quick story about my 77 venture.... i bought my 77 2 years ago.... it needed some paint and a cleaning and a few little fixes... well, it all started when my driver window wouldn't roll down... i took off the door panel and the driv dash.... only to realize that the wire was broke in the rubber boot in the hinge..... that same day, i tore out the entire interior and began the project.... the next day i started stripping the paint and it went on from there.... my cousin let me use his garage to work on my vette last winter 2003/4 and i did some body work and started to tear apart the rear end.....tore it apart and didn't have enough moneyor time to quickly rebuild it so the car sat through last summer.... in september i finally was able to put part of the rear together to tow to my sisters house ,that i moved into, so i can really work on it.... i took the rear apart and painted and chromed it and replaced alot.... i had knee surgury on sept 20th so i couldn't work for 3 months (acl replace and menicus resewn together) so i manage to gimp around the garage to tear apart the motor and front suspension.... luckily my dad helped me on the motor and it was a father/son bonding project...really cool...... replace some items on the motor and did a full rebuild of the front..... then i did the steering rebuild..... then caliper rebuild..... then i was into redesigning my interior....fiberglass molded and all that .... i primered the car this past sunday...... with all the time/money and knowledge that i learned from my experiences and from the help of the forum memebers, i am really looking forward to that first drive.......with this all said and done, this is not my 77 but our 77 since i couldn't have don't it without the help from this forum.... some will dislike my total project...some will like it.... who knows..... all i can say to everyone is that once you jump in, get your hands dirty and bust those knuckles..... learn about the car and understand why it is a corvette...


b

desi

You are not alone my man. Hang in there...she will run one day.

Like the guys said, you are probably asking the wrong people for advice.

Sounds like you are having same issues I did when I first started playing with it. I took mine apart twice for no good reason....I just enjoy tinkering with it. Hope it's not your daily driver, and you are able to do the work yourself.

Cheers

panchop

the best advice i can give is learn todo it yourself. it will let you enjoy it when it's not running and you will do a better job then most shops you will find.

hirevroller

Thanks so much for all the encouraging words. I will keep pluging away and hope it will soon be back on the road.

Thanks Guys

67tripwr

If you don't have a shop manual, you should get one. If you know what your doing no prob! If you got fuel and spark, you can do it! Make sure distributor is installed properly, and getting juice. Check firing order, and make sure carb is getting fuel. Check and double check enough, and it will run! I would come and help, but your a little far away. I do understand your frustration, and would return anything I got burnt on!