Also did a few other small things like; fix the headlight dimmer switch, added a radar detector(have one in my truck, absolutely love it) and put new belts on it. Next thing I’m doing is keyless entry and I have a fantastic way I’m going to do it, I will for sure post about it when it’s done

 

Keyless entry... a thing I always thought would be neat to have. Only 2 problems. I didn’t like any aftermarket solutions and my vette doesn’t have power locks. One night, while I was in the shop I had a breakthrough. In the 90s, when you ordered GM keyless entry, they just put a box in the lock wiring. I thought I could integrate this system into my stock C3 and I was correct, some other guys on the fiero and camaro forums have been taking the RKE boxes out of 93/95 F-bodies and putting them into their cars, but their cars also have the wiring and such. I went to the junkyard and bought a RKE from a 1996 lumina and integrated it into my corvette. I used universal lock actuators, designed some mounts for them and attached them to the lower lock rod with some clamps that I made. I wired it all up and boom! Factory 90s keyless entry with stock fobs. Looks like it came from GM cause at the end of the day, it kinda did. Here’s a video of them in action;

1993-1996 Silverado or Sierra FOB

1996 GM (Chevy Lumina) RKE

 

I can go more into depth if anyone is interested on the exact circuit I used, how it works and how I got past all my headaches. Lot of information, figured I’d keep it simple for now.

 

I like the keyless. Smart to use a GM dealer option. I did the same on a 67 Nova with an aftermarket receiver and homemade brackets. You should post some pictures of your brackets and the install in the door. Did you use the power window conduit to carry your wires?

 

yes I did, on both sides. The wires come into the car behind the kick panels on both sides like a 78-82. I used the bracket provided with the actuators to mount them, using the bolt holes for the door handle box. The actuators are connected to the lower lock rods with a rubber harness clamp, and the harness clamp had a tendency to slide around just a little bit so I added some zip ties to keep it in line. I’m sure I’ll end up redoing it, but for a first revision, I think it’s alright. Works good and is all tucked away behind the door panel. No holes drilled

 

That looks great! Well done.

 

Ok, I had a little weekend project. I really like the L-82 valve covers. I think they look fantastic. I was hunting on and off for a good price on a set, but never really found much. A friend of mine's dad has a 79' L-82 4-speed that I did a tune up on and fixed a bunch of wiring issues on back in the summer. When I had worked on it, it had aftermarket Edelbrock valve covers on it, and I really didn't think too much of it because that is quite a common modification. While in my buddy's garage I spotted the original valve covers to his dad's vette, sitting on a shelf. They looked like they had seen better days but the castings were solid. I asked his dad if he was at all interested in selling them, and he kinda gave the "well... I don't know... I might put these back on someday" answer. Again, didn't think much of it, never hurts to ask. Two days later, he called me back and we worked out a trade. So, I ended up with a set of L-82 valve covers and it was time to clean them up. The paint on them was wearing away in some spots but on most of them, the paint was solid. black valve covers are correct for 78-82 but being this is a 76' it isn't. I know this is an L-48 and i'm not trying to pass it off as an L-82, but I ended up working with my AIM and figuring out exactly how everything would've been painted if this car was a real L-82. I tried some paint stripper to no avail, so I took them to work where I sand blasted them. I then primed them, finishing them off with metallic aluminum engine enamel. I painted the breather hose to silver which to my knowledge is correct for L-82 and I bought the correct longer, "M"- stamped bolts to hold them down. They are nowhere near perfect, but I think they are OK.

As received

As sandblasted

As painted

As painted (different view)

 

For my Christmas gift, I decided to treat myself to the glorious CS144 alternator. First, a little backstory. I have the original date stamped alternator that came on this car. It was making a whirring sound so I rebuilt it, drove maybe 500 miles and it started again so I threw the cheapest ACDelco 10SI I could find at it last year. I did that because I was not interested in modification yet. I really drive this car mostly at night. Not sure why, but I tend to just find myself driving it in the dark. The 63A alternator would barely keep up at all. When I added the C4 corvette blower motor, at a stop light in drive with my low beams and heater on, the ammeter would drop to -20. When this would happen, everything would dim, even my headlights which were on a relay setup. I was not a fan of that. I remembered that a bunch of guys on the fourm had done this swap so I went and bought an alternator. Boy was I met with a lot of issues. Differing years and wiring configurations, conflicting information, tons of different regulator and case clocking setups, you name it, I had an issue with it, except the belt. My CS144 is from a 1996 Impala SS, which most of my upgrade parts are from. I used all GM P/Ns so I could buy replacement parts for my car at any auto parts store. Anyways, when I got it all sorted out, I switched to a 1977 Voltmeter cause I deleted the ammeter with my new charging wire. There is a 6ga, 80A fused wire that will eventually have a block for my radiator fans and maybe MSD ignition. Very pleased, voltage stays rock solid at 14.7 no fuss.

 

Should also mention that the vette left me stranded a few weeks ago. Was over at a buddy’s house, and on the way there the car was stumbling. My car has had a fuel starvation issue under load for a loooooong time, iirc it started in april? Doesnt matter. I thought it was the fuel lines letting air in. The lines were shot so I replaced those with all new nicopp and fuel rated hose. The stuff that was in the car was an absolute nightmare. Non-fuel rated hose jammed onto rusty lines, terrible. I finally replaced them in November, so I thought the starving was fixed. Turns out, I was wrong. It had been stumbling worse than usual, but I kinda chocked it up to the low ambient temps and did my best to take it easy. Should probably mention that I was forced to drive the vette cause I broke a wheel on my truck. Anywho, I was driving home, accelerated from a stop sign, and the car died. My first reaction was that it flooded, so I cranked it, nothing. I coasted to a side street where I pulled the air cleaner off, no gas. It was about 1 am at this point. luckily, I wasnt far from home, so I called a close friend and we pushed the vette in front of a relative’s house for the night. I hitched a ride home, and the next thing I knew it was 6:30 and I was buying a fuel pump. I put an electric pump on the car in the middle of the street, drove the car home to my shop, jacked it up and swapped out the fuel pump. The previous pump was four years old, and I know that because I was the one who put it in. Kinda funny, I put it in around december of 16’ so it lasted four years on the dot. Whatever, pump is replaced and the stumble is gone! Guess it was going out for a long time. Only made it 3 1/2 years reliably​​​​​​​


.

 

Heres just a few other pictures from some of the aforementioned adventures

 

Also, as a quick side project completely for fun, I picked up the door chime module from a 1996 impala and wired it in, because my stock key buzzer died a while back. Kind of a fun thing, it dings/sounds like a modern car if the key is in the ignition, and it flashes the seat belt light at you. I thought it was fun, and it’s helpful to remind me to turn off the marker lights. Works just like a modern car

 

Back in november, I decided I wanted the C4 blower motor and cage cause I just wasn't happy with the C3’s output. I was surfing rock auto one night and stumbled upon a wholesale close out, and they were selling 85’ corvette blower motors for 3$ flat. I bought one cause I figured the C3 one would burn out, and then I’d have the C4 as a replacement. Well, wouldn't you know it, exactly 4 days later the cabin of my car smelled like burning crayons and my blower motor quit. I 3D modeled and printed a spacer on my 3D printer for the longer C4 blower motor but when I tried to install it, I realized that you actually need the 86-96 blower motor not the 84-85. Turns out, the right part was also on sale, so no big loss. Added a 10ga ground wire as recommended here on the CF. Very very pleased.

 

My car, and my buddies 85’ fiero after I installed the GM keyless entry system in both our cars

 

awesome work, doing heaps on the car and its coming out so good,
76 is the best model looking forward in seeing more pictures as you go, This is my beast

 

Nice car! Always liked yellow on C3s. Thanks for reading!

 

A lot of updates this time! First off, at the beginning of February, the battery finally gave up the ghost. I switched the lead acid group 75 battery for an AGM group 78DT battery and I'm very very happy with the results.

 

Next up, I added on to my keyless entry system. I decided I wanted the car to bark the horn when I pressed lock. I designed a timer circuit, and made a bracket for some horns I bought. The horns are mounted in the original alarm horn location.

 

Finally, the snow melted here in Chicago and while driving was a week away, I went underneath the car and decided that I needed to fix a whole bunch of stuff. I ordered upper and lower ball joints, front wheel bearings, sway bar end links and bushings, upper and lower control arm bushings, new shocks, inner and outer tie rods, adjusting sleeves, rear trailing arm bushings, a new leaf spring, and poly leaf spring cushions and strut rod bushings. While those parts were on their way, I took the car out for its first ride and it stumbled so bad that it almost quit on a local highway. disappointed, I nursed it home. I thought the fuel pump fixed the issue. I jacked the car up and immediately dropped the gas tank out. I found the EVAP lines broken, the charcoal canister plugged and the fuel sock dirty, not to mention the bladder might have been collapsed.

 

Some 75 and 77s and definitely the 76 use their own fuel sock. I couldn't find one at a decent price that wasn't on backorder, so I went and replaced the entire sending unit with one for a late 77. It wasn't too much more than just the 76 sock.

 

While the tank was out, I replaced the leaf spring. the old one fell out like a jenga tower.