I'm new to the forum, new to corvettes, and new to working on cars overall. Go easy on me. I have some questions to non-related various things. Any help is appreciated!

1. First off, I want to buy a torque wrench (clicking type) and am wondering what the best range is (20-100, 30-200, etc.) for most, if not all, torqueing needs.

2. I think I read somewhere that there are supposed to be rubber flaps behind the front grilles. Is this true or am I imagining it?

3. My left speaker is "popping" half the time. Is there an easy way to diagnose this without having to take the whole dash off?

4. When I open the driver side door, the buzzer goes off, but not when I open the passenger door. Is that how it's supposed to be? Also, none of the interior lights come on when either door is open, although they come on when I turn the light switch to the left (past the brightest setting).

5. I have an automatic transmission. Is there supposed to be a light or orange strip next to the gear shifter to indicate whether it's in P, R, N, 3, etc? Or is this just done by feeling?

6. The A/C currently isn't working. Nothing is even blowing. But the previous owner gave me the old blower relay and a new one. They're almost identical, but not quite. The question I have is, does anyone have a picture showing where this mounts and which wire goes to which terminal? (The three wire connector is broken off)



7. What is the function of the front lower valence? The second picture of it shows that two of the bolt holes are stripped off. What would you suggest I do? Try to do some work on this one, or buy a new one? Would I have to paint it, or would it not be noticeable? Also, does this have to be installed for the front spoiler to be installed?




8. I found this rubber piece in one of the rear compartments... what the heck is it!?




9. Last question: This looks somewhat unsightly when I take the t-tops off... any suggestions on how to clean this up?



Thanks for any help you can give!!!

 

Hopefully that helps a little, or at least points you in the right direction. Sounds like a wiring diagram would be a good investment at this point too

 

Started my '75 project last summer around this time in nearly the same shoes you are in. Welcome and good luck!

You will likely need one in ft.-lbs and one in in.-lbs. I went for a 20-150 ft.-lbs and a 15-250 in.-lbs or at least I think those are close to the values. Bought them from Sears. Nice wrenches. Haven't found anything I can't set the value for with the two. I've done front and rear suspension, drive train, exhaust, cooling system, motor mounts, and on and am covered.

Not that I know of. Those grills let air through to the radiator and C3's have a 'running hot' issue so I wouldn't think anything blocking those would be a good thing. My '75 shouldn't have anything as far as I know.

You could take the top pag off as opposed to the whole dash. I requires a little bend/flex as you remove it. Use caution as the older they get the more brittle they get. I don't know any other way to get at the speaker.

Sounds like you need to replace some of the door switches. There are 4. Two control the lights and two control the warning on the dash/buzzer. I can't remember which is which. Two are in the front jamb and two are in the rear.

My '75 doesn't have one but I've wondered the same thing.

No A/C but I'm planning to add it this winter.

You need the valance as a mounting point for the front spoiler and you need the front spoiler as it is critical to the cooling system. The valace is just an opening so the spoiler or air dam can force more air up and into the radiator to help with the 'running hot' issue. If you anchor the air dam in all the other spots and then use big washers to sandwich in your two broken spots you should be ok. Not that you can really see it, so you could also replace it and hit it with a yellow rattle can.

Rubber boot for the spare tire carrier lock. The rearmost bolt that holds the carrier up that you swing to open the carrier has a lock mechanism that sits on it so your spare tire can't be stolen. That is the rubber cover. After you put the carrier on the bolt to enclose the spare tire you use the tire lug/jack wrench to tighten it up and then put the lock on.

Doesn't look like it without flaking off paint.

 

Thanks for the help, guys!

Does the lower valence bolt on, and then the spoiler after that? Or do the same bolts go through both, so the valence acts as just a middleman?

Also, I have acquired a wiring diagram, but it doesn't help me see which of the three wires goes to which terminal on the blower motor relay. The diagram shows the black going to the lone terminal, and the orange/purple/dark blue going to the three. Does anyone know which ones goes to which?

Thanks again!

 

I would advise you to buy beam-type torque wrenches instead of click-type. Click-types are notorious for going out of calibration, not to mention that most folks who have one probably don't use them properly. If you go with the click wrenches, read the instructions on their use completely and practice that procedure. Just because it "clicks" doesn't mean that you can't overtorque a bolt with one....that is the #1 misconception of click-type wrenches. You almost can't screw up with a beam-type wrench.

That being said, buy a 0-150 (or so) inch-pound wrench and a 0-120 (or so) foot-pound wrench. That will do almost anything you will encounter.

 

The valance bolts to the lower front bumper retainer, retaining peices in the side fender edges and to the bottom of the front bumper support. The air dam bolts to that and the fender edges.

 

The auto shift indicator existed by '77, but I don't know when it came around.

There are two other types of torque wrenches that I've seen - one with a digital readout and one that works like a beam-type but has a dial (my example of this type is a very, very old Snap-On).

 

The dial type is pretty reliable, but still has a gear mechanism in the indicator which can go bad. The 'digital' type is easy to see, but also easy to fail and expensive to fix.

As far as the radio 'popping' goes.... when do you hear the popping? And is it a single pop or several all at once, or continually? If it is an occasional single pop, and occurs when you exercise an electrical switch (brake light, fan, etc.), the problem is that the [noise] filter capacitor on that circuit has been removed or gone bad. Check your AIM and you can find the locations for those capacitors. If you can associate the popping with some accessory, you can isolate which filter you need to fix. If it is some other kind of popping noise, try to give more detail and we'll see what other advice might help.

 

torque wrench (clicking type)
Sears is good ....Snap on is better. buy good now so you don't have to pay again later. Also always take it back to zero before putting it away.

Only "flap" I can think of is the hood flapper on the hood air system. (also runs in sync with the 400 auto kickdown)

When I open the driver side door, the buzzer goes off, but not when I open the passenger door. Is that how it's supposed to be? Also, none of the interior lights come on when either door is open, although they come on when I turn the light switch to the left (past the brightest setting). You've got some wiring issues. Nothing to keep you from enjoying the car for the moment,,, but buy an electrical diagram (E-BAY) and start reading. Then when you have some free time take it apart and have a look. Probably is something simple but could be a "bubba" in there. Good thing about the car is its easy to work on.

I have an automatic transmission. Is there supposed to be a light or orange strip next to the gear shifter to indicate whether it's in P, R, N, 3, etc? Or is this just done by feeling? Right there with ya wondering why ......it'll all work out though. Drink more cold beer and it won't seem so important after a while.

 

The speaker popping is continuous. However, it only does it about half the time. I'll turn on the radio and it'll be fine. Then the next day I'll turn it on and it'll be popping. I don't believe it is affected by any switches or accessories because I don't think I change anything from one day to the next. It's probably a loose connection. Is it easier to get at the back of the radio or the front speakers? I'd rather check the easier one first and hope that is where the problem lies.

Other topic: I don't really care if there's an auto shift indicator, but if there originally was one and it wasn't too hard to fix, I'd like to do it. Sounds like it wasn't there in '74 though. Cold beer solves a lot of problems, doesn't it?

 

being "old school", I prefer a beam torque wrench

 

Welcome aboard. I had similar popping in my speakers on my 81. The dash speakers on mine are easily accessed by just prying out the grilles
Removing the speakers themselves requires a small 1/4 drive socket and a lot of patience on the ones closest to the windshield. I simply replaced mine with speakers from WalMart. I believe they were 3x5 and they have worked great. No more noise. Also replaced rears. They are all hidden and unless you are going for Bloomington Gold, no one will know. I though dropped in a Sony CD and enjoy great sound.
Hope this helps.