Hmmmm.14,000 miles after 24 years. Sounds like a new Vette to me.I would be more concerned about hoses than fluids at this point for a road trip,after it sat for 24 years.Better replace the fuel pump too.

 

This IS the S.S. Gaugeorama, remember! My sensor goes in the drain plug on my Tom's Diff 12 bolt.

I would guess the reason the diff gets hotter than a manual tranny is mass and mass contact to other conductors. The manual tranny masses a lot more than the diff and has a lot more fluid and is directly connected to frame parts (although it is also connected to the hotter engine block...a wrinkle in that theory....)

This will be the first summer with the guage functional and I'm curious to see how hot it gets with 140-160 degree pavement top temps, especially with the higher speeds to be available shortly with the overdrive. (It goes in TOMORROW! I should be driving it by Friday or Monday!! YAY!!!!)

Oh...my....GOD! I just realized....! I'll need a gauge for the Gear Vendors too!!!!!

OHOHOHOH!!!! BTW NORVAL!!! I sent you an email - do you use a special radiator? I am about ready to order a Dewitts but caught a reference in an old thread in doing some research that you may have a 3" core one on your super modified?

I'm ordering a Zirgo 16" 4000cfm, two Zirgo 9" 1500cfm, and three SPAL 5.5" or Zirgo 6" 250-350cfm fans online tonight or early tomorrow. (I debated going with an 8" Zirgo at 1000cfm instead of the second 9", but think it will fit - if it doesn't, I'll just have an extra fan for something else.) I am holding off on radiator ordering until I can determine the Dewitts is the absolute highest cooling one. I'd love to have them all in by Friday or Monday.

 

First of all if you do the job yourself replacing the filter and fluid in your automatic transmission you are really only replacing maybe 4 or 5 quarts at the most with new Dexron transmission fluid. Some GM transmissions only require 3-1/2 quarts for this type of job. Older fluid is still going to be left in the torque converter that you can't get too. Now if you want to send it out some shops have the new automatic transmission fluid change machines that will suck out all the fluid and replace with new fluid. I don't believe you need this at all. If I were you I would check my manual to see how many quarts of Dexron you are going to need with just dropping the transmission pan and replacing with a new filter and gasket. Try to purchase the trans filter kit that comes with the Felpro style pan gasket. Don't buy one with a cork gasket. You might want to drop the pan and drain before going for a trans filter. You could have the metal screen filter or the paper filter and some times the parts store may give you the wrong one not knowing for sure what is in your car. You could use either one though on a TH-350 if this is what trans you have in your car. The Th-400 takes a different filter and gasket altogether.

I want to mention one thing here. I don't agree with the theory that changing your automatic trans fluid will make your trans go bad. Just a short story here. I purchased a 87' SS Monte Carlo 5 years ago to eventually do a restoration on. I picked the car up for $1300. It needed a new cam so I replace cam,lifters, chain,waterpump etc. This car had 125,000 miles on the odometer. It was owned by a friend of mine since it had less then 20,000 miles on it. He did alot of hyway driving and never changed the automatic transmission fluid and filter in this car although he was very religous about doing a oil change and filter every 3,000 miles on the engine. I was a little leery here about changing it because I always heard the same old rumor. I put the car up on my lift, dropped the pan, replaced the trans filter and topped it off with new Dexron fluid maybe 4-5 quarts I can't remember but this automatic transmission in the SS Monte with over drive hasn't skipped a beat and does not slip. I don't drive the car everyday and it sits alot but when I fire it up and use it I have yet to have any problems with this transmission.

 

Some of the belts have been replaced and I'm going to change the hoses and coolant. As far as the fuel pump, that's not a bad idea, although a few years ago I bought a motorhome that was 10 years old and changed the fuel pump before we took it on vacation,we drove from the Pittsburg,Pa. area up into the Adirondack mountains of New York ,about 500 miles and the new pump went out, try to find somebody up there to look at an RV on Sat. nite. But I like that idea. Oh, btw the vette even still had a little new smell left in it, the original owner kept it in a heated/air conditioned garage, I think he was crazy not to drive it but I'm happy for Me.

 

....and everyone else saying they paid $2400 last year for one of Zora's own....

What did you pay for something in this condition and how did you happen across it?

 

At minimum,replace fuel hoses.In my case,we were going 7000 miles around the country after a long lay up,so I included the fuel pump in trip prep on car.

 

Here's a good one for you. My 73' still has the original upper and lower radiator hoses from the factory. Although the car has only 25,000 miles on it I did replace the heater hoses and belts over the years. The hoses still look like new but I don't drive it very far although I wouldn't be afraid to take this car anywhere that's how dependable it is. Only thing I ever had problems with on this car were the brake calipers over the years. Thats about it. Everything else on this car under the hood is original other then the master cylinder. Still have the original one though.

 

Well Wayne if you email me I'll tell you. I found the car listed on ebay, nobody seemed interested ,even in the last few minutes, I won the bidding for $9,900.00 but did'nt meet the reserve. Turns out the car was at a dealer in Cinncinatti, Ohio, Performance Plus Corvettes, great to deal with. It's not often that a car is better than the description, so we drove 300 miles to look at it and ended up driving it home. It still had the original Goodyear Polysteel Radials on it, at that time the car only had 11,676 miles on it , so I did'nt drive over 55 mph coming home.Some people would say we paid too much for it , but it's what I wanted and I'd do it again In a heartbeat.

 

Anywhere in that range seems fine to me, and not in that great condition. Every other person around claims outrageous deals and decries reasonable prices as stupid. I looked high and wide for four or five months for my project car - never once did I see the $3K needs a few things special. I looked at a minimum of 4,000 listings, and was willing to go anywhere to get it.

I wish I had just ante'd up the CC and got the already highly modified '74 with the 498 - at $15K I would have been $60K ahead now, and all that for trying to get a stupid car loan (would have been my first - at forty! They were all happy to loan me enough for a new Z06, but not something *I* wanted! ) That extra $5K over what I paid for this '75 that would have gone on a CC, has now been joined by $40K OTHERS that did go on the CC's anyhow for this much lesser platform that is only getting near that same starting point. Oh well, never wanted a second house anyhow....or a major organ transplant.....or a second Arby's 5-for-5...

You got a great deal, no matter what some super insiders, pro-traders or just one-uppers may assert.

Oh, no need for an email with any specifics, but it's WayneLBurnham@cornbread.com

 

80Crabvette's car is "all-that", and then-some.....

I got my '82 in '00, and paid the same as he did (mine having 11,137 miles at the time), and I thought I'd gotten a good-deal.....


until I saw his Corvette last summer.


HIS makes mine look-like a well-worn taxi-cab

Now, I've got a Corvette that is too-nice (and too-slow) to race, not nice-enough to beat him in a Corvette Show, but not so-bad that I'll be driving it everyday.