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You may have some life left. Try the adjustment out and see how much play you get in the pedal. 3-2 shift problems have nothing to do with the clutch, so much as the adjusting the shifter rods. You have to align all three. See this thread:
As far as electrical, you're going to need at the minimum, the Factory Service manual for your year C3 and a good aftermarket wiring diagram (the kind that are printed on laminated paper, are huge and have colored lines for all the wires). You should have some experience or be willing to learn multimeter use and if you're going to really get into it, a Power Probe III electrical diagnostic tool and a willingness to learn basic circuitry and how it applies to cars. You definitely have after-the-fact wiring and you're either going to have to run it all down yourself, or pay someone to do it (not exactly the cheap way to go).
Thanks i hope so...
i have a fluke mm, no power probe..but pretty confident i can remove cobbled wire at least off the oem wiring..suggestions on solid fix to cover where wires pierced?
yes service manual ordered...thank you linkage link..ill add to list, at least throwout bearing not riding now
Last edited by interpon; Jun 13, 2019 at 08:16 PM.
The Power Probe III with the case is only $88 on Amazon. Look it up on youtube. If you plan on working on the electrical yourself, you'd be amazed at what it can do. Far better than a regular multimeter and far easier. It will tell you if the circuit is good, right off the bat, or if you have a bad ground. You can put 12V or ground anywhere on the car. This thing will save you hours and hours of work. I have a background in Electrical and Electronics and if there's electrical problems on my C3, I reach for the Power Probe first. Look it up on You Tube for more info. A lot of great videos on this and a lot of professional mechanics have this in their toolbox.
The Power Probe III Circuit tester with the ability to supply Power or Ground with an indicator tone and bright-white LED headlamps. Features Digital Voltmeter, Min/Max, Audible Circuit Monitoring, 4mm Standard Banana Jack and Auxiliary Ground for component testing. Includes Case and 20 Foot Extension Lead and 12 Volt Power Port Adapter. Works with 12 - 24 VDC Systems.
I removed the siren and relay. Will get some liquid tape to make permanent taped for now.
here are two switched insid..removed driversseat and traced wires to battery so assume this arms system..it was disconnected. Seat track needed work anyway...the other switch under dash maybe a ignition cutoff?
79 4speed owner here. A few comments; straight from the factory service manual (fsm) with the car in 4th gear at about 25 mph, push the clutch in, rev it up to 2000 rpm, and dump the clutch quickly. If the engine drops rpm, the clutch is good, if it revs up, the clutch is slipping and needs replacement. Others already pointed you in the correct direction on clutch adjustment. On the tach, if the tach board needs replacement, it was mentioned in a previous post that you had to disassemble the top of the dash, but that is for an older car, not a 79. A 79 couldn't be easier. Just remove the clear bezel over the tach and speedometer and then the screws around the tach and remove the tach. As others have said, I too will mention that you need a copy of the AIM, (Assembly instructions manual) and FSM, asap. These will be extremely helpful in working on yours. Feel free to PM me with any further questions you have and ENJOY!
I think you just bought a 1980 Shop Manual, if the photo on the listing is accurate. Many things are the same, but some (like the differential, wiring, vacuum system, ...) are different, or very different.
You can buy repro manuals from the standard Corvette vendors. Willcox has converted them to electronic format, with OCRed and searchable text. You can also buy them at RockAuto:
You want the Factory Assembly Manual, Repair Manual (Shop Manual), and Owners Manual. Don't bother with the Haynes, Chilton, or generic Chevrolet versions of these.
First of all, welcome to the Corvette Forum. No better place to find people and information to help you with your questions. Having started my C-3 journey just 11 years ago with a 1977 I can tell you that your list of things to investigate and work on is only just beginning so write down what you are finding and make a priority list of what needs to be addressed first, second, third, etc. Do find a good mechanic that can do the work on the C-3's if you are not comfortable doing all the work yourself. One of the beauty's of having the 79 is you can wrench on it yourself. One of the issues is you have a 40 year old car that has been touched by many before you that may, or may not, have done things correctly. It will take time and some patience to get atop of the issues you will find over time. Enjoy the journey and take your time or it can become over whelming as the items just keep coming at you, and they will. You will begin to see why many people just don't have the time or money to own a C-3; it takes both to keep them on the road safely.
I'm not a mechanic; I'm a hobbyist that began as you are beginning now; asking for advice and digging into the car. You have some sound advice here already but let me reiterate that 1) A service manual; 2) an AIM; 3) a laminated wiring document; and 4) the vacuum system guide will all serve you well and you will find them invaluable as you start tracing issues. Should you need wiring for the electrical wires in the engine bay just make note of the company name "Lectric Limited" yes, there is no E; and look at their website to see what they supply.
For other items you will need there are a lot of good suppliers for Corvette parts and many here have their preferences. Just let us know if and when you need an item and the forum members can help with information and opinions.
Again welcome to the CF and best of success with your new 79.
Ok one piece at a time...waiting on manual aim and wiring diagram..
here is siren and relay out..tape temporarily on areas to liquid tape.
Plan is remove any taps..where i get stuck is whats real or aftermarket or cut
State of the art 1980 a taped over wire in windshield adapter? I will assume tracing this back can be removed. Adapter for antenna? Wite in windshield taped over aftermarket
Shall i assume no motorcraft parts are oem?
Oh my..all i can think of id fast times at ridgemont high and the status of stereo gods ...hacking into wires was zen art back then... ok well no cutting just slow tracing amd starting car lol after any removals...again open for advice prior to manuals showing up...
of course rivet in motorcraft part to look up..any guesses?
wow i get to use my non metric tools...and no rust? Nice
Some of us, who have the same year car as you, can be pretty good at guessing what they're looking at. Yours is five years newer than mine and a lot changed, so I can't tell. When you get the laminated schematic, you'll be able to see what should be there and what should not.
Tracing wires..did find wiring guide online..but how the hell does consloe gauges come out? I got 4 screws out face..two below as i read in forum got top tilted out..of course broke bulb..wires off light..
what am i missing? Also undid radio nuts
Last edited by interpon; Jun 14, 2019 at 12:24 PM.
You are missing your shop and assembly manuals. To get the center gauge cluster out, you need to take the shift console off first. To do that you need to take the side panels off. To do that, I find it easiest to take the seats out first.
If you absolutely have to rip your car apart right now, watch some YouTube videos first. Willcox also has some instructions for what you are doing.
Maybe just go for a drive this weekend, and wait for your manuals to arrive.
You are missing your shop and assembly manuals. To get the center gauge cluster out, you need to take the shift console off first. To do that you need to take the side panels off. To do that, I find it easiest to take the seats out first.
If you absolutely have to rip your car apart right now, watch some YouTube videos first. Willcox also has some instructions for what you are doing.
Maybe just go for a drive this weekend, and wait for your manuals to arrive.
lol yup drive would be good but no horn as alarm set it off... working on thinning the wires.. one seat out already sides off..
so the middle console out as well.. or just the front? tilt up?
Thos silver thing dont belong right?
Makng progress..i didnt know there was an anti theft hood switch...holy cow i almost ripped it out!
i think i figured this one out...this silver thing should not be here right? I think its for motion alarm they hacked into hood switch?
Last edited by interpon; Jun 14, 2019 at 06:09 PM.
