ctmccloskey

Dorian C3,

I am sorry to see you going through what you had to do for that lifter.

Summit sells a magnet that will attach to the outside of the oil filter and it will help hold any floating ferrous metal pieces. I have been using one on my 1968 for 28 years now. You would be amazed at what will get picked up by this magnet, it is really tough just to get it loose from the filter.

If I were doing what you are doing I might have removed the engine and had it gone through. The benefit of removing the engine is that the engine compartment and the engine can be made to look nice and new.
We spent two days cleaning up and repainting the entire engine compartment before I installed my "High Compression" 427. I am using an Edlebrock Dual plane manifold on my 427 under a factory original 1968 L-88 Hood and I love it.

I still have a "used" small block Edlebrock Dual Plane manifold from my spare LT-1 engine. If you would like it I would be happy to donate it to your cause. It is the plain aluminum color, nothing fancy.

The LT-1 engine I have is from a 1970 Corvette and has 11-1 compression ratio and it ran very quickly but suffered from the detonation of cheap gas. It has the "Double Hump" cylinder heads that everybody loved in the 60's and 70's. It sits in a big plastic bag all plugged up in the corner of one of my garages. In my car that little 350 spanked a couple of real 1970 LT-1 cars and made my mechanic very unhappy.

When I took the 427 out to work on, I put the 350 in for the time, this way I still had a Corvette.

I used the LT-1 engine with the dual plane intake under a small block hood on my 1968 when building the 427. The manifold fits under the standard small block hood.

A good solid small block with a aftermarket fuel injection system might be the most reliable way to set up a Corvette for daily driving in Europe. They start up in any weather and run more economically saving you time and aggravation.

I hope that all else is going well for you and your family!

DorianC3

Yes - I have definitely been considering that. Halfway kicking myself for not dropping a few of those super, heat resistant magnets in the oil pan as well. I still have a vibration... but I am ready to bet the is a motor mount or possibly a clutch assemlby related issue. I'll check those motor mounts this weekend. I hope it is that.

I hear ya! And I do plan to do that. I really do want to super detail my engine bay and clean up my birds' nests of wires. However as my has repeatedly wife expressed interested in driving the vehicle I feel, as proof of concept for her, it is a priority to get this running. But yes, when I saw some of the grime down there... I was a bit sad I could not get at it now. It would also make replacing the bushings easier as they are clearly shot ! Hopefully one day I will manage a frame-off.

Oh, my !!!! that is an offer I cannot refuse. The vintage Torker was bothering me, but I had nothing better hanging around. I am in ! Shall I PM you?

As for FI versus a Q-jet. I have been on the fence there. For daily use and economy (and to please my wife ) FI seems the way to go. On the other hand, a Q-jet would give it a nice resto-vintage look. But as you say, with today's gasoline, pricee and poor quality, a real restoration may not be in the cards.

Family is doing well - kids have just finished their exams. Remarkable how mellow they become. One of my twin daughter's, going on 17, is also bugging me to get the Corvette back on the road ASAP. Who am I to argue

ctmccloskey

Good to hear from you Dorian,

The solution to wife and kids wanting to drive your Corvette is buy a newer one for them to use.

My wife and I bought the 1968 C3 Convertible the same year we got married. After having two kids, one of each I had to do something. I went to Carlisle, Pennsylvania and bought a real nice 1988 C4 automatic Coupe for my wife and daughter. My son went in my passenger seat and the daughter in the C4. Having a his and hers Corvettes is the best way, hers is stock and mine is anything but stock.

The C4 cars today are worth very little and have much nicer comforts in them. They are wonderful cars to drive and easy to work on and they have working Air Conditioning and a nice stereo. I even broke 30 mpg driving back and forth to Baltimore MD with the AC on and the CD player blasting. Here is an ad from Craigs list I found in less than 2 minutes: 1985 corvette low miles sale or trade - $3900 here is another:91 Corvette convertible - $8800

This past summer my daughter turned 18 and now she wants to drive the 1988. It has ABS and all new brakes but there is the issue of her not knowing how to drive a car like these. I am starting her out slow but she might become the prime driver as I know it is a safe car if you drive carefully. I have GPS trackers that give me speed, location and length of stay at any point on the trip. (I "Trust" but I also "VERIFY").

I will go over and put my hands on the manifold, I might Glass bead blast it to clean it up. There is nothing wrong with it, I am just having too much fun with the 427 in my car.

I hope that this information can help you out. I will get the manifold cleaned up and ready. I hope that all is well in Belgium and that your car will run happily again showing Europeans what a real American car looks and sounds like.

Best regards

cv67

If you plan on ditchign the torker pm me. Wouldnt mind having one to to hang on the wall.

Big2Bird

I wonder how much to ship it from Belgium?

cv67

Strike 1 good catch

HeadsU.P.

Exactly. $150 used intake. $200 shpg. (Euro)

DorianC3

That thought had occurred to me. C4 are fairly affordable here too. And they do indeed have a very good reputation in terms of comfort and handling. With the kids sneaking up on college age, I'll have to figure out something.

As for the manifold, THANKS! You have PM

I would look forward to getting a dual plane back on there. Something tells me the vitnage Torker is messing with my idle-2000.

DorianC3

Absolutely - if anyone has an eye on my Torker for a good home... certainly