When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
@ChiliPepperGarage I got out for a short drive, I'm still tuning.
This thing can hardly get out of it's own way, I think it drove better during the test drive at the lower elevation in Sac.
I haven't touched the carb yet, still messing with the timing. I ordered a centrifugal and vacuum advance kits, I'll see what I can get out of it with those.
I still haven't left the neighborhood, once it runs better I'll let it take me further from home.
It was a good day for a drive though.
After a couple of months of research here, PMing a few members for info and watching ads, I found a Corvette in CA and brought it home yesterday.
1976 coupe, L-48/auto, tilt/tele column and the AC needs repaired. Recent paint applied by the PO, who paints his own hotrods. It has new carpeting, seat covers, dash and a few other interior components.
The frame and rear body mounts looked so good during my flash light inspection that I figured the birdcage is probably good.
I have a few pictures, I'll get more as time goes by.
I pulled the wheels off to inspect the brakes and suspension. It's getting tires, brake hoses and a brake flush, everything else looked and felt good.
I was happy to see how good the #2 passenger side body mount looked.
And there was a surprise waiting for me in the right rear wheel well.
It has the original engine, that I suspect has been rebuilt. I was told the car has 142K miles on it, the engine runs awfully good.
Going by the engine # it's an original CA car.
I originally wanted a 4 speed but after a couple of short drives in this I don't know if I would have the leg room to get my foot onto a clutch pedal.
Before I do a conversion I'll find a manual equipped car and see how I fit.
I've been tinkering a bit while waiting for my brake lines to come in the mail.
Today I took a look at the left #3 mount, it looked better than the right #2 mount that I checked previously,
I also removed the trim tag so I could soak it to remove the paint. The paint was so thick I couldn't make out it's birthday.
Tidying the engine up will be a work in progress, I made an EGR port cover and removed the AIR line and heat riser controller in the pic. I need to come up with something to plug the hole in the exhaust that the AIR line was plumbed into and wire the heat riser valve open until I can fix it properly.
just my opinion .. I would not eliminate the EFE !! The heat riser is there for a reason from the factory .. it there to heat up the motor on a cold start and also goes to the carburetor.. I just fixed mine and it’s running perfect .. if your EFE is not working you can PM me with any questions .. I learned a lot about the system from the great people on this forum
so check the other 2 middle body mounts. but you i fear are gonna be disappointed. you are looking for rust. i don't think you are gonna find much. those 2 mounts look like never effed with solid original mount. timing. do you have a light and have set timing to 36 degrees at 3500 rpm? or are you still using 10 to 12 at idle? set tdc mark at 16 btdc paint a mark at 0. white out is easy and quick. comes with the correct size paint brush too. now do it again with the 14 mark. paint another mark at 0. now you have tdc, 16 before and 30 before painted so you can see how far the mark moved instead of "somewhere down there". you can also use this to check your dial-back light.
My thought was to return it to factory spec, then start tuning.
When I checked the timing, at idle w. vacuum line disconnected/plugged, it was 22* BTDC.
I set it to spec, 6*, before my first drive. It was a dog so after some research here I moved it back to 22*.
It ran worse so I set it to 18* and it runs OK. I have confirmed that the throttle plates aren't opening all the way, the carpet is preventing that.
Also, the carb needs a good cleaning, some of the pivots are gummy and preventing full motion.
My plan is to test the manifold vacuum source so I can set the new advance canister.
Then remove/clean/lube/reinstall the factory counter weights so I can begin some testing with my timing light and the counter weight springs to see what I can get for mechanical advance.
I did this years ago on a Jeep 258 and it ran great, I've forgotten most of what I knew then. I've read lots here and have read Lars papers on timing and dist. set up.
Once I'm satisfied with the dist. and timing I'll move on to the carb.
As far as the throttle and carpeting, I'm not sure yet if I'll cut the carpeting out of the way or bend the throttle so it has more travel.
I removed the floor mat before the first drive.
After searching more on here I realized the throttle cable was hooked up to the top position on the carb, rather than the bottom position where Lars says it should be.
I have a temp. jury rigged connection on it now. The primary's open all the way, the secondary's need some tweaking.
I looked into the advance mechanism in preparation for the dist. parts I have ordered.
Things are stuck. No wonder it runs like a dog. From idle to 2500 RPM it has no advance beyond static.
I don't think it's a GM dist., I haven't found any numbers on it yet.
It does have a Napa module.
It's always interesting digging into a new machine, you never know what you'll find.
My 'new' 78 SA....has had two 'Corvette Shops' working on the car before me.
92% of the 200 hours I've put into the car was REMOVING the 'corvette shop' out of the car!
Apparently they just used any bolt around the shop that would fit....100% of the fasteners were WRONG.
The rear spring is held in with grade 8 bolts...(6 slashes, so to speak)....What's in there? Hardware store grade 3's !!!
Speaking of hardware, so far the worst thing I've found on this car is the overly long bolt in the right side engine mount.
It's rubbing against the flange on the fuel pump where the top and bottom are held together.
go to the 1 minute 25 mark. this shows the centrif advance moving. will give you a better idea of what you need to free up in your current distributor.
and while you have the cap off, take vac advance hose and suck on it. watch for the arm coming out of advance can moving the advance plate. having it curved correctly is great. but having it move at all is a huge first step.
I had to quote the above after todays discovery's.
First up, after removing the carb for a rebuild I realized the throttle does open fully.
I put the base plate back on the manifold and discovered the kick down cable is what's preventing it from opening fully.
The secondary's open about 1/3.
Next I thought I'd peek under the valve covers, I heard what sounded like an out of adjustment valve on #4 or 6.
Lookit that, roller tip rockers!
After a more close examination I see:
Metal filings laying in the corners of the top of the head.
I wanted to build an engine for the car eventually. I was planning on driving the car while I was building the engine.
I probably ought to bite the bullet and do the manual trans conversion at the same time.
Jeff don't panic!
I'm not quite seeing (from your pix) the metal filings you are speaking of....actually I THINK I see ONE.
Determine where this is coming from? Will it be picked up by a magnet? (steel/iron)...or is it aluminum?
Could be residual left over from prior work....(I tell my older friends while working on engines...WEAR YOUR #$%^& BI-FOCALS!) It's amazing what they don't see!
Good points, thanks Hal. I didn't think to check with a magnet, I wondered if it might be anti-seize (it's the right color) except it is gritty and rough feeling to my fingers.
I was a bit bummed last night, I'm over it now.
I plan on continuing ahead with resealing the manifold, adjusting the valves (after inspecting the rockers) and rebuilding the carb, then I'll see how it runs.
