coming along very nicely .... its amazing how much you done is such a short time .... and though at the beginning I had my doubts .... very impressed how much you've recovered ...

if you need assistance with the CFI part of your project ... there's a lot of info over here ..... http://www.crossfire.homeip.net/

 

I am also restoring a *good deal* on an 82. Finished the engine last week. Finished the rear suspension as well. Working on the front suspension, then the interior. Don't trash it, restore it! I really like the fact you have taken something that we all look at and cringe, and are turning it into something to be proud of. One of the things that I noticed is that it puts you in tune with the car. Understanding what the car is about. How it is built and how the DPO's have done unbelievable things to it is part of the experience.



Keep us up-to-date!

 

You know what, you've got a great attitude. That's the most important thing when you set off on a project like this. Some of these 'challenges' that would have bummed some others out, you just get it done and move onto the next. We can all learn a lesson from that. My only question is I didn't read how much you paid for this fine project? I mean, you're going to probably be way ahead on it pretty soon, now that it's a running, driving car. Keep up the good work.

Mark G

 

I totally agree. The attitude is very positive and very important in moving forward with the project. I am trying to do at least one thing every day. If it is just picking up the tools, wiping them off, and putting them away, or just cleaning up some bolts, it's a step to completion.

Rick

 

SATURDAY UPDATE!
Ok so after I got off of work at 5, work on the vette began. I had painted the new master cylinder the day before so it was ready to go (not that it mattered bc the fluid still ran over the side).
Anyways, after the first run around the block a week ago, the pedal was still traveling to the floor when you pushed lightly on it. Per the genius of Mike Dyer, he said the seal in the master was slipping to to fix that problem, we had to replace it. So twenty dollars later and a bottle of brake fluid later we have amazing brakes on the 82!!



So we drove it around the block a couple times (probably around twenty mins in total and noticed a few things. This was the first time we seriously drove it.

-We noticed that the transmisson was shifting a little hard, so we checked the fluid and it was low. With it full hot it shifts better but still when put into gear, it shifts hard. Any suggestions what might be causing this?

-The engine when cooler surged a little bit when at idle. seemed to quit when warmed up.

-The thing that i was worried the most about was how hot the whole car was running. When I was standing next to the car (in sandals) I couldnt stand to be close because of the heat. I think thats waaaay excessive. the temp guage seemed fine, but everything under the hood was waay waaay hot. Also the upper radiator hose didnt seem very firm to the touch, even though it was hot. Bad thermosdat? Tuning?


- Also do all 1982 corvettes have two fans?


Here are the pics:

Clean fluid:


New parts from texaswilkins:

 

Yep, they got two fans. The second fan will not turn on until the temp reaches around 230-240* degrees, or it might be higher. I need to look at my service manual.
Make sure the TV trans cable is adjusted/tight at WOT. I would swap in a new thermostat. Cheap fix.

 

Hey Ben, I have an infrared temp gauge if you want to borrow it to see how hot it's really getting in there. Let me know and you can come over anytime to borrow it.

 

Sounds like you have a fuel pressure issue. The weld on the idle screw looks like its there. I can't see if the caps are off ports to balance the TBI's. But since the weld is in place on the idle screw I would guess no one has tampered with it or the TBI's. My recommendation is that you don't mess with that stuff at this time.

A hard shift in an 82 could be caused by a bad fuel pump. The surging is also a clue. Its more like hanging. Example if you excellerate the rpms may hit 1500 or 2000 with a stall then a hard kick and a clunk. It would seem like its the transmission but this is what a bad fuel pump or leaking hose in the tank will do. The surging at idle is also a hint.

Your pump needs to supply about 9-13 psi in volume. The spring in the driver side TBI steps down the pressure to the two injectors to somewhere in between 9-13 psi depending on what its set at. So if the pump is sending 7 psi the spring does not have the ability to step up the pressure to the 9-13 you need. Mine is at 12.6 psi but I have a pump from an 1985 in there which delivers 40 psi of volume.

I suggest the you check the fuel pressure unless you have already dealt with this. I didn't go back and read all the posts.

Jim

 

good advice, what you say makes sense, but the thing is that we have already replaced the fuel pump in the gas tank. I can visually inspect the hoses again, but i think they are all in good shape. One thing that I did notice though is after we got done in side the tank, the fuel guage stopped working.

 

Awesome. I am planning on flushing the radiator and changing the thermosdat, and when I do ill prob need that temp guage. Ill be calling you when I get around to it thanks!

 

You bet anytime!

Also, I know you replaced that fuel pump, but I have replaced those before and sometimes new ones are bad ones. AutoZone has a good set of fuel pressure gauges you can rent (free) that are very easy to use (even I did it) just to verify pressure. At least you can say you checked it and the pressure was good at idle and under load. To test under load, tape the gauge to the windshield. Just my $.02! Good luck and if you need any help with anything, I'd be more than happy to be a third hand.

 

Float is probably hung up. Number one thing to do is confirming fuel pressure. Otherwise you will be chasing gremlins forever. Keep the hose in the tank in mind, they do deteriorate and cause symptoms similar to a failing pump.

 

Well I can tell you that sometime soon im going to clay bar and wax the silver part of the car, and ill def need a hand with that. Even though its only half a car, four hands work better than two. Awesome tip about autozone, ill def look into that

I believe that Ill be checking the float. I replaced the little inch long hose in the tank, the new fuel pump actually had a new hose with it too

 

I had a small amount of time today to work on the vette before it got super hot outside, So I decided to tackle the small but very important project of fixing the cooling issue.
As you read in my last post, while we drove it around it seemed like the car was running super hot, and the upper rad hose did not feel firm when hot, so we thought to flush out all the old water from the radiator and block and then replace the thermosdat. Here are some pics:
Old t-stat


Old water. It seemed really muddy and dirty...

Painted up the t-stat housing:

Flushed the radiator, hoses, and block, and reinstalled:


Another thing that we added to the garage was a white board listing out all the things we still have to do to our vettes. I figure, the more we see them the more we will think about it and the more likely we are to do them. Check it out. (Vette titles and board courtesy of the girlfriend.)

 

For some reason the pics aren't coming in, but did the temp improve after the new thermostat and flush?

 

so this morning we drove the car around the block a few times in order to see if the new thermosdat and coolant worked, and for the most part it did. We ran the car for a good twenty mins and it never got over 200 degrees. The scanner that we hooked it up to never said the coolant was over 92 degrees celcius. So problem fixed.

The car still hesitates a little bit and still doesnt idle perfectly, but you would be suprised the difference that fresh gas makes in an engine. We put fresh gas in the tank on top of some old gas, and like majic a few minutes later the engine started idling fine and ran much smoother.

We also were able to hook up the scanner. The computer didnt throw any codes, BUT did give us some numbers:

RPM: 950
o2(MV): 460
OPEN LOOP
TPS (V): .46
IAC POSITION: 36
COOLANT 92 DEGREES: C
E-CELL EXPIRED: YES
MAP (kPa): 33
KNOCK: NO
CCP SOLENOID: ON
HIGH BATTERY: NO
P/N SWITCH: P-N--
TCC APPLY CKT: NO
INTEGRATR: 128
EXHAUST O2: LEAN
BLOCK LEARN: 128
A/F LEARNED: NO
O2 CROSS COUNTS: 0
PROM ID: 9531
KNOCK RETARD: 0
MAP (V): 1.24
CRANK: NO
IGNITION SWITCH: ON
TCC COMMAND: P1

 

Also does anyone know what this sensor in front of the cat is? what it is supposed to hook up to?
here is a pic:

 

Its the 02 sensor. There should be a harness in the area it plugs into. You should have the check engine light on without that.

According to the diagram the harness runs up the passengerside of the transmission then crosses over along the rear or the frame rail that supports the back of the tranny. It it is connected to the frame rail on the passenger side.

If you looked to the right in your picture you would see it.

 

Ok so I found the cut wire that is supposed to go to that sensor. how does it attatch? how does the sensor come out?

 

Good work. Glad the new thermostat worked. I had a brand new one fail at only 300 miles.
Get that O2 sensor hooked back up, that might solve some of yer idle problems.