I just bought a 1992 C4 LT1 off a friend of mine. Its my first vette, and im pretty new to all this so forgive me and correct me if I get any of the terminology wrong

Ive been reading a lot around here, and other sites, as well as the service manual, just learning whats what. Have been trying to put a plan together to what to do with the C4 and was hoping for some suggestions.

Currently the car isnt in great shape.
-transmission grinds into second gear if moving at more than 10mph.
-Theres a loud spinning sound when in neutral and with foot off the clutch, assume this is the flywheel.
-Noticed a few bolts missing on the exhaust manifold.
-Engine backfires quite a bit when driving. Could be due to the exhaust manifold missing bolts.
-Engine sometimes stutters when letting go off the clutch, even when giving more than enough gas.

My current plan is to pull the engine and do a rebuild of engine and transmission in January or so. Im hoping to up the power output at the same time, as its currently all stock.

I want to:
-Dismantle, clean and rebuild the engine
-Replace pistons and rings, and all gaskets.
-I assume ill have to bore the cylinders, does this mean the new cylinders I get will be bigger diameter?
-Get a machine shop to bore the throttle body and intake manifold to increase to 52mm - 58mm
-New fuel injectors
-New CAM, have read you can get CAM kits, and that the benefits are great, please suggest, and wheres the best place to get it?
-New exhaust, it currently has borla rear section, which maybe I can keep. What diameter tubing should I use? And is better to buy a kit from borla or corsa, or get it built myself?
-Rebuild the transmission, have no clue how difficult this will be, and what parts would need replacing, and where to get them.
-Tune, will I need a shop to do this? Or will I be able to do it myself with a laptop and lt1edit?
-I assume other parts might need replacing as I pull the engine apart such as valves and so on.

I think its obvious i'm a noob at this, I am. So am open to suggestions on what is silly or missing and what else I can do to improve?

Where would be the best place to get the parts that I would need?

Oh and one other question, when reading around, I read people saying they want to "do the 310" or "350" or whatever, are those dance moves or modifications to increase the HP to 350? What are those modifications?

I havent set a budget yet, but I love this car so will work out the budget once I figure out what is best for it.

 

Welcome to the CF!
It appears you have a healthy load of work in front of you.
The 92 is a great year with the introduction of the LT1 powerplant. You've got 300hp right out of the box.
Good luck with your process and keep us posted.
And when you can, post some pics up of your new ride as we like to check each others rides out!

 

Welcome to the forum and the brotherhood. You'll find this the place to go for tech. questions as their are some really great experts on our c4's here. I always thought i knew alot about cars and motors since i've always done my own work. but the more i'm on here the more i see how little i really know about these cars. so you're in the right place. and don't forget pics of your ride,,we likes pics here.

 

Congrats!!!!!

 

Congrats!

Sounds like you have a plan! Keep us posted on the progress. As far as parts there are several places to buy parts such as Mid America Motor works, Corvette Central, Ecklers and many more that are not as widely known.

As stated there are many who know a great deal about these cars when you can catch them on line. They stay busy tinkering with their's a lot.

I have never done what you are starting but I would say be patient and persistant and all will work out well.

Get a Factory Service Manual as a first purchase.

 

Welcome to the forum, there is alot of good information here. Keep us posted and good luck.

 

Welcome, enjoy it.

 

Welcome to the Forum and congratulations on your 92 There are guys here that can help you through the process of fixing your car. One of the newest threads you would be interested in would be this one http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...-plrx-lt4.html. There is a host of information on every thing you will need here on the forum. Just take your time and do all the research and get all the info first(a must is the factory service manual) and line up some help if you can. Just expect some problems to come up along the way, because they always do. The good thing is there are guys that can help you through them. I wish you the best of luck on your rebuild.

 

Congrats and welcome aboard. Learn how to post pic's of your progress and keep us posted. The Forum is your friend....also, a FSM (factory service manual) is your friend. Make sure you get one.

 

Thanks for the welcome, and the few suggestions so far.
Just read through the thread mrmtrtrnd posted, and am amazed and excited, I doubt I can come near to how well PLRX did, but it is what Im generally aiming to do, it will likely take me a lot longer though.

Ill be sure to post up some pics of the car in its current state. Dont expect much though. Hopefully the picture after im done with the rebuild will be a lot prettier

Again, am open to anyone's suggestions on parts and mods so feel free

 

Baron - where do you live man? Maybe someone nearby can come over and look things over for you and give you some helpful advice.
And (excuse me if this is not the case) - are you by any chance a Mustang Forum member that is f+#@*n with us? You seem terribly uninformed for an auto enthusiast.

 

Congrats on the new car!

 

Don't worry about what it looks like, we all started somewhere. And it's nice to see before and after shots to document the progress.

Welcome to the (slightly dysfunctional) family

 

That made me laugh, no Im not a member on any other auto forum, but am curious now, are Mustang enthusiasts generally uninformed?

I am a noob, I dont think I was hiding that fact, but please if you found anything from my post as "uninformed" then kindly correct me, I really want to learn. I've only been reading up on things for a week now (since I got the car) and even just from a few hours of reading last night, I feel like some of the things I said in my original post were pretty dumb.

I assume most members here are from the U.S. where as Im coming to you from half way around the world on a small island called Bahrain, anyone's welcome to come over for a drink and have a look, though I think it would be a bit of a long trip.

My background in cars is limited, I just turned 24, this is my first American car. The only engines I've taken apart belonged to Boats or Jet Skis, and didn't do any modifications, only repairs. On cars, Ive only done general maintenance to the Lexus I drive to work, and repairs and maintenance to the BMW I used to drive. Also currently working on restoring a pair of 1967 Alfa Romeo GTVs with my dad, but he isn't as bothered as I am to perfect things and isn't doing a rebuild.

Pics to come soon

 

Finally got a chance to take some shots. Didnt put much effort into them, as you can see it needs work (and a good clean).
I'm still hoping for some more suggestions or answers to some of my questions above to help guide me, anyone?

 

Looks like a pretty good car to start with!

How many miles does it have? Are you sure the engine needs a rebuild? Does it smoke, use oil, or have any rod knocks? The LT1 is a very durable engine if it's been maintained properly and can go for 200,000+ miles without a rebuild. The sputtering and backfiring could be caused by many things, including the optispark distributor, which is the only common source of problems for these engines. (By the way, if you decide to clean the engine, DO NOT get it all wet, as that will ruin the optispark). Does the check engine light come on? If so, that's the first place to start when diagnosing problems. Looks like some or all of your EGR system is missing; that may be causing the problems you describe. A full rebuild is a major project, especially for someone on the other side of the world without a lot of experience. If it doesn't need a rebuild, maybe the thing to do is get it running properly for now and do performance modifications over time.

The transmission may be another story. The sound in neutral with the clutch out is most likely the throwout bearing in the clutch. But grinding is not good. Be sure you have the correct oil in the transmission. Our ZF six speeds require special oil. Be sure the hydraulic system is operating properly. If they've never been replaced, you'll probably need to replace the clutch master and slave cylinders because a poorly operating hydraulic clutch system causes premature wear on the syncros. That could be your problem. Check out www.zfdoc.com for all the information you could want on the ZF6. Bill at ZFdoc is very helpful and will be able to help with parts and rebuild procedures.

Good luck!

 

Congrats! I see that you have started out by cleaning the power-steering tank.
Per the previous post, don't get the Opti wet, but if you cover that area with rags, you can use a hose to rinse off the rest of the dust in the engine compartment. You may want to check your air cleaner filter as well.

 

Wow, sweet vert. I'd love to have a yellow six-speed. Now that engine...WOW she's dirty. Looks like a great project. Good luck.

 

Congrats and welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome to the family! You're off to a good start. A Competition Yellow vert...rare color, only 678 vettes left the factory with that color for 1992. Is that a Bahrain tag I see on the front? I guess that's where all the dirt (sand) came from. Good luck with her and congrats!