When i was little i was raised by my Grandparents and they had a really nice silver 68 Convertable that i grew up playing in. Well the other day My Grandmother called me and asked if i would look over her new car and see what needs to be fixed,as i have always kept her fords running since my Grandfather died.

Well Imagine my suprise when i pulled in her driveway to see a red 84 corvette.I got the keys and checked the fluids and tried to start it, it would start but it would die a few seconds later if you let it sit and idle and seemed to flood out when you gave it more than a third of the throttle.Other problems i found were the digital dash would short out and reset if you hit a bump and several bolts and screws were missing from the interior and the front lower body panels.The drivers seat was loose and would shift around when you were driving! When she said that she gave $10,500 for it,i went balistic and called the dealer and asked if they would fix anything,They said it was sold as is and that any problems were ours.Well seeing how it was less than 48 hours since she bought the car i was able to get the manager to take the car back and give her her money back.

To make this story a little shorter,i took her across town and found a red 78 for only $7,500 and the dealer gave me as many honest answers as he could.He said that it had a newly rebuilt engine and that the drivers side front brake caliper needed replaced and the oil pan gasket was leaking but he really didnt know much more than that because they had just gotten the car as a trade in. Grandma said it was exactly what she wanted and it remined her of the 68 they used to have so we bought it and had it towed to my house so i could fix the brakes.

After fixing and bleeding the brakes I looked it over more closely and found its got a rebuilt 80-84 305 ci sb from the casting numbers,An Edelbrock Performer RPM Intake,Edelbrock carb and flowmaster exhaust.I have no idea if the cam is custom or not but from the loping idle i suspect that has been modified too.That should be ok for her because she is 65 and putts along at 30-40 mph and will probably never need more power.Also the wire to the temp gauge sending unit has been disconnected and i have no idea what color wire to look for to hook it back up,Can someone here post a pic of what i should look for so i dont cross wire something?.Also i have put about 150 miles on it and only lost about a quart of oil,Do you think its serious enough to drop the steering to replace the pan gasket or just check the oil before we drive it?I ask because i have never messed with steering linkage and i dont know how big of a job this will be.I'm just a regular shadetree mechanic and have worked on fords mostly so this is kinda new to me.This is not meant to be a show car and its going to be a semi-daily driver to just have fun with so it doesnt have to be perfect.What advice can you give me as far as things i need to check before letting her go driving? Thanks!

 

Well first off welcome to the forum :thumbs: and second that was anice thing you did for your grandma,shes better off i the 78 then the 84 for sure.The temp wire is usually a green wire and i think it should be on the drivers side down on the head,and as far as dropping the linkage to drop the oil pan,i usually disconnect it at the idler arm on the passeneger side,then you can move the suspension so the pan will drop right out.Good luck

 

:iagree:

And welcome! I would fix it. A qt every 150 miles is on the high side for me.

 

Thats great that you saved her from a major mistake with the 84. Hope you didn't have to slug the manager too many times. :D What a rip off.

I got to ask, whatever happened to the 68?

 

Nice save for Grandma.... :cheers:

I would suggest finding a cheap GM Goodwrench motor locally to drop in it, that way she can drive it without any worries....

Welcome to the CF :seeya