Give and Take
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 6,842
Likes: 285
From: Palmdale CA
Give and Take
So now I own both a C4 and a C3 (which I just got) and am wrenching on both, with much more experience on the late C4, which is a 95'. The 95' is a high performance, comfort cruiser with an LT1 and an automatic. Really a superb car for travelling long distances.
The 74' is a primitive car, but that's the appeal. Nothing spectacular, L48 with a four speed, mild bolt-on engine mods. It ain't the fastest thing on the planet, but rowing through the gears, with the SBC bellowing is a blast! It gets waaa-ay more attention than my C4 ever has. It helps that it's a strange color of metallic brown and despite the fade on the upper surfaces and the nice shine on the sides, it looks decent enough.
Only the outside door handles were working on the C3 when I got it and the rods were a mess on the drivers side, but slipping on some rods and clipsa and adjusting it was easy! Then I douched all the door actuator pivots with WD-40, dried them and applied oil and grease where needed, got the hinges too, so now you can close the door with one finger. Push, smooth swing and click. Perfect!
The C4, I have to put a good 'umph' into the swing or it won't close. Gawd. So now on to fixing the power windows in the C3. You know where I'm going with this. The C4 wasn't that bad, but the C3, whoa!
What a wrestling match and it was thanks to the internet that I got the glass out! The regulator is beat to hell, with all the plastic wheels on their last gasp. Ditto for the gears too. Worn and scorned!
The PO or his 'Bubba' buddies on meth had taken the entire dash apart. All the vacuum was unhooked and there was no bypass valve. The Edelbrock Performer, doesn't have a vacuum tree and they just left the vacuum system disconnected. I thought fixing it was going to be a nightmare, but once I read the two page paper by somebody out there describing how the supply, control and operating system worked, it was easy to understand. I hooked it all up and used the vacuum off the base plate of the carb and waa-laa! It worked like a charm! A little slow, because the whole headlight mechanicals probably haven't been lubed for 38 years! Headlight mechanical rebuild kit on the way! Replace the rusted springs, etc, etc and we should be good.
The hood wouldn't close when we got it either. Only one side (RH) would compressed close and the other, no way. Ended up removing the male part of the latch and you could physically push them up into the female part on the hood. But the left one wouldn't go. It was way overtightened and frozen. The spring being too compressed wouldn't let the female part latch on. Plus it was misaligned. WD-40 freed it up and we loosened the spring and it pushed and latched right in on the drivers side.
We pushed both male latches into the hood while it was up, then we then used plumbers putty to see where the bolt holes landed in the body. The drivers side was off by over an inch! Adjusted that and then with the hood 18" up in the air, my bud said "drop it" and I did and blam-o! Perfect close! How cool is that? Well, maybe not that cool, but it was satisfying as heck!
Amazing though, how much dough you can throw at these things! But it runs and drives nicely, starts right up without touching the gas and I'm stoked. The 74' has a nice stance to it and a good looking set of 17" wheels, with brand new Kumho Ecsta's all the way around. It's a keeper!
We're tackling the window regulator now and sure learned a lot in the three hours I spent last night getting the glass out. PS: The bolts in the glass, they don't come out!
Duh! Now to rivet, pivot and give it, so we can live it!
The 74' is a primitive car, but that's the appeal. Nothing spectacular, L48 with a four speed, mild bolt-on engine mods. It ain't the fastest thing on the planet, but rowing through the gears, with the SBC bellowing is a blast! It gets waaa-ay more attention than my C4 ever has. It helps that it's a strange color of metallic brown and despite the fade on the upper surfaces and the nice shine on the sides, it looks decent enough.
Only the outside door handles were working on the C3 when I got it and the rods were a mess on the drivers side, but slipping on some rods and clipsa and adjusting it was easy! Then I douched all the door actuator pivots with WD-40, dried them and applied oil and grease where needed, got the hinges too, so now you can close the door with one finger. Push, smooth swing and click. Perfect!
The C4, I have to put a good 'umph' into the swing or it won't close. Gawd. So now on to fixing the power windows in the C3. You know where I'm going with this. The C4 wasn't that bad, but the C3, whoa!
What a wrestling match and it was thanks to the internet that I got the glass out! The regulator is beat to hell, with all the plastic wheels on their last gasp. Ditto for the gears too. Worn and scorned!The PO or his 'Bubba' buddies on meth had taken the entire dash apart. All the vacuum was unhooked and there was no bypass valve. The Edelbrock Performer, doesn't have a vacuum tree and they just left the vacuum system disconnected. I thought fixing it was going to be a nightmare, but once I read the two page paper by somebody out there describing how the supply, control and operating system worked, it was easy to understand. I hooked it all up and used the vacuum off the base plate of the carb and waa-laa! It worked like a charm! A little slow, because the whole headlight mechanicals probably haven't been lubed for 38 years! Headlight mechanical rebuild kit on the way! Replace the rusted springs, etc, etc and we should be good.
The hood wouldn't close when we got it either. Only one side (RH) would compressed close and the other, no way. Ended up removing the male part of the latch and you could physically push them up into the female part on the hood. But the left one wouldn't go. It was way overtightened and frozen. The spring being too compressed wouldn't let the female part latch on. Plus it was misaligned. WD-40 freed it up and we loosened the spring and it pushed and latched right in on the drivers side.
We pushed both male latches into the hood while it was up, then we then used plumbers putty to see where the bolt holes landed in the body. The drivers side was off by over an inch! Adjusted that and then with the hood 18" up in the air, my bud said "drop it" and I did and blam-o! Perfect close! How cool is that? Well, maybe not that cool, but it was satisfying as heck!
Amazing though, how much dough you can throw at these things! But it runs and drives nicely, starts right up without touching the gas and I'm stoked. The 74' has a nice stance to it and a good looking set of 17" wheels, with brand new Kumho Ecsta's all the way around. It's a keeper!
We're tackling the window regulator now and sure learned a lot in the three hours I spent last night getting the glass out. PS: The bolts in the glass, they don't come out!
Duh! Now to rivet, pivot and give it, so we can live it!
Last edited by F22; Oct 25, 2012 at 06:43 PM.
but it's one of the best forms of entertainment your money can buy. 
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,117
From: Crossville TN
If your headlights raise/lower slowly, it's likely due to the vacuum relays having worn out seals internally. The seals wear, vacuum leakage increases, the lights move slowly. But, the only viable solution is to replace the relays.
