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Took the car for a few small, short drives. I hear some intrusive ticking sounds. Originally I thought it might be a lifter or a loose rocker or the injectors. Now I think there’s an exhaust leak somewhere Be cause it’s more pronounced on throttle opening and not rpm dependent. This noise spoils the test drive as it is very distracting.
Just a couple of shots after washing car.
Rocker moulding needs to be repaired some before reinstalling. That will be my first fiberglass job.
Leak from breather. I know that there is no baffling under there. That needs to be modified.
Drilled a hole in a spare distributor cap to make sure phasing was good. It needed a minor tweak.
I'll bet it feels good to get it on the road again!
You have done a lot of upgrades and done an amazing job, in a pretty short amount of time.
Now go Enjoy it!
Torque is fun!
I'll bet it feels good to get it on the road again!
You have done a lot of upgrades and done an amazing job, in a pretty short amount of time.
Now go Enjoy it!
Torque is fun!
Thanks!!
I don’t know if it is just me, but with the addition of gussets, the welding of all the seams, the power steering reinforcement bracket, and the welding of some holes shut… the car feels significantly stiffer. Possibly, this is all in my mind, but I don’t think so.
Also, blipping the gas in second and chirping the tires is something it did not do before
That TKX is crazy enjoyable. The speedo is spot on - SST gave me the right gear.
It’s just the exhaust leak that is driving me up the walls. It really is a joy-killer
This was my reason for swapping over to Richard454’s electric headlight conversion.
Yes. I have been thinking about doing this conversion. Like everyone else here, the same arguments are going through my head. It’s pricey. OEM should work fine. But the conversion is fully reversible. And minimal mods… no opening dash to access switch. Lights that pop up fast, positively and synchronized give a feel of durability. On other hand it’s only a few seconds here and there on a drive. Etc. Etc. Ad nauseam. . Knowing me, I may well do the conversion soon (but keep the wiper door OEM).
Richard also has a conversion kit for the wiper door.
You might ask him if he has a special all in one conversion kit deal.
I get people wanting to keep their cars as much oem as possible, but there are some things that make owning one of these cars an improvement and worth doing.
The things that come to my mind are the headlight conversion, the wiper door conversion, the leaking oem brake calipers and the Borgeson power steering box conversion to remove the constantly leaking oem system.
Richard also has a conversion kit for the wiper door.
You might ask him if he has a special all in one conversion kit deal.
I get people wanting to keep their cars as much oem as possible, but there are some things that make owning one of these cars an improvement and worth doing.
The things that come to my mind are the headlight conversion, the wiper door conversion, the leaking oem brake calipers and the Borgeson power steering box conversion to remove the constantly leaking oem system.
Dirty little secret… yesterday I emailed Richard. And he already answered. Did a great job filling me in. I think I’m not going to resist doing the conversions. Primarily because, other than brakes (and maybe because power brakes run off of vacuum) I am not terribly comfortable with other accessories running off of vacuum.
I was briefly considering a Pantera as my next car. Then, for a variety of reasons, I think I’m going to stick with the corvette as my forever car and keep perfecting it. In other words, no plan to resell it and don’t care much to keep it OEM.
I do think a wiper door and headlight conversion will give the car a more durable, reliable feel. That’s important to me. No rattles. Solid feel. Dead-nuts reliable. Great handling. Yet looks original.
I’m using Wilwood D8-6 in the front and D8-4 in the rear.
You can get them direct from Wilwood, they will fit with the oem wheels and you can either run your oem rotors or purchase new drilled/slotted rotors from Wilwood in the original diameter and thickness.
The calipers bolted right up to the oem mounting brackets with no modifications.
I’m using Wilwood D8-6 in the front and D8-4 in the rear.
You can get them direct from Wilwood, they will fit with the oem wheels and you can either run your oem rotors or purchase new drilled/slotted rotors from Wilwood in the original diameter and thickness.
The calipers bolted right up to the oem mounting brackets with no modifications.
Thanks OCB. Have you had opportunity to try them yet ? I know it is/was in paint booth
So, we are modifying again… with a fantastic kit created by @Richard454 The attention to detail is impressive.
Really nice instructions. I decided to go for the headlights and wiper door conversion.
Step one… yank these out.
And here is the failed seal.
Ready to accept the motor.
Aside - got myself a new set of wrenches a while back. This is the first time I use them. So very pleasant. My 20-year-old Craftsman set was getting a little ratty.
And of course if you give a guy a shiny new 5/8 wrench, he’s going to go all gorilla-mode and snap off the… whatever this thing is called.
Also a new buy. Really pleased with this too.
Instructions call for a slight bend if required of a support rod on the driver’s side. I marked the area with a sharpie and gave it a slight bend… and was very surprised that I was spot on. It clears the motor beautifully.
Motors installed. The rest is for another day. It’s getting late. It’s always best to quit while things are going well.
Hood removal is not required but I highly recommend it. It such an easy thing to do - why wouldn’t you? These hoods are so light. I mean the hood on my Chevelle was not a one man job… this I’m quite sure I did it alone anyway. I was much younger then.
Was it an impulse buy ? I don’t know. I have several projects running. The car is almost down for the season….
To do:
replace the PS pump. It's giving inconsistent pressure and leaking from, I think, the cap
Replace the solid motor mount with one that has rubber
complete the electric pop up headlight conversion
Install the rocker molding
For some reason I started looking into replacing the seats. The Fiero conversion is out of the question here as, well… there are no Fieros here.
A little research suggested that first gen Miata (MX-5 here) seats work well. I found some online and, what the hell, I drove over to the Netherlands and picked up a pair in reasonable condition.
I left at 0600 so I would have a bit of my day left after the four hour round trip.
Score.
Classic Netherlands
On my way home.
Clearly not original trim
I was surprised to find speakers in the head rest !!! I wonder if this system is any good ?
Last edited by DorianC3; Nov 29, 2024 at 05:51 AM.
While I have the PS pump bracket off… let’s work on replacing the solid engine mount. I’m hoping that will reduce cabin vibration. I’m not at all confident, but it’s worth a shot. Out was relatively easy.
In was surprisingly easy too…. Except for one bolt that mysteriously would not go in so I replaced it with a stud.
Primarily because, other than brakes (and maybe because power brakes run off of vacuum) I am not terribly comfortable with other accessories running off of vacuum. 
Possibly due to the solid mount.
