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Hi everyone! I joined up a couple months ago when I started searching for a cheap C4 project, and after picking one up last Saturday I figured I might as well introduce myself & my newest money-pit.
Here's a "glamor-shot" after we unloaded it from the trailer. It's an '85 Z51/automatic, which is the exact combination I wanted(explained below) but didn't really expect to find. It has 63,000 original miles, but was neglected & sat outside in the weather for the last 2.5-years. The price was $1000.
My plan is pretty basic - get it cleaned up enough to work on, get it running/driving again, then do some autocross with it. Depending on how much money I sink into it this year, there's a chance I might take it to the Grassroots Motorsports Challenge next October if I'm still under-budget; however, the long-term plan is to build it for the SCCA CAM-S autox class. To that end, I eventually want to swap in an aluminum 5.3 LS motor & 4L60e trans, which I plan to setup with paddle-shifters...which is why I was hoping to find a Z51/auto car.
The car looks far better in the pic above than it actually is. It had belonged to the seller's son, and she had unfortunately lost both him and her husband in unrelated incidents in 2014. Heartbroken, she kept the car not knowing what to do with it. However a tree limb fell on it, shattering the hatch, cracking the acrylic top, as well as the top of the driver's 1/4-panel..and a few other scrapes and gouges too. She bought a new hatch, but it was just set loosely in place without any weatherstripping, and although she did cover the car with a tarp it had almost completely disintegrated by the time I got the car. Another 6-months to a year & this would have probably become a parts-car.
Here are a couple more pics of the damage areas.
The good news is the car appears original, and by the seller's accounts and what I've found so far it seems it was babied for most of its life. It also seems to be completely stock.
The not-so-good is that I just poured & vacuumed 15-galons of water out of the rear storage compartments last night. At least it was fresh water & didn't have anything living in it! That was after scooping/vacuuming out an entire hatch's worth of broken glass, pine cones/needles and twigs.
The front of the cabin is actually in pretty decent condition. The dash pad is uncracked as are most of the other plastic bits. They were all just starting to get a light covering of mold on them, but so far they've cleaned up well. The sport seats are still in pretty good condition too, with just a bit of wear on the driver's bolster, although the seat tracks & hinges were seized. I've freed the passenger seat and cleaned up most of that side. Here are pics of the cleaned door panel & half of the dash.
I've already ordered a new AC Delco fuel pump, and a set of hatch & hood struts. This weekend I hope to get the tank drained & old pump out(possibly the new one in if it gets here). Then I'll checkout the systems, put some new plugs in, and hope I can get it fired up in a week or so!
I like the bronze interior I am trying to salvage as much as possible without going to black. Polish the rims with aluminum polish and a buffer they will look like mirrors.
Thanks again everyone! I'm sure I'll have tons of questions along the way. If anyone wants to follow along, I have a build thread over on GRM where I detail the history of the car & my work on it a bit further, an post nightly updates: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/fo.../124321/page1/
Sweet! I plan on paying close attention to your work and see if I can pick up some tips on my own 85. Very interested on seeing your plans for the suspension. Planning on leaving stock or making upgrades?
Sweet! I plan on paying close attention to your work and see if I can pick up some tips on my own 85. Very interested on seeing your plans for the suspension. Planning on leaving stock or making upgrades?
Mostly stock. I'm sure the 32-year old bushings will need replaced, so I'll probably upgrade to poly(unless there is another/better option). For now I think I'll replace the shocks with the stock Bilsteins since they're cheap, but eventually I'll probably upgrade to Koni - I've never had good experience with Bilstein in the past, they typically have way too much compression dampening and not enough rebound.
At some point after the engine swap & going to 315(or wider tires) I'll have a better idea of whether the stock suspension has become a limiting factor, then decide what it needs.
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Welcome, and enjoy thrill, of having and driving a Corvette, shop around for your parts, lot you will find off e-bay, and others from the different catalogs stores.
I removed the battery tonight & have a question - most of the tutorials I found mention being able to remove the lower fender/cover after removing the 3 Torx screws, top 10mm bolt, and loosening the bottom 10mm bolt. However mine wouldn't come off completely & after getting as much clearance as I could, I discovered the tab on my lower cover wasn't fully slotted - it was closed on the inside edge, preventing me from removing the cover.
Have some owners slotted their covers, or was this a running change over the years? The first tutorial I found was also for an '85, and he was able to remove the cover completely???
I removed the battery tonight & have a question - most of the tutorials I found mention being able to remove the lower fender/cover after removing the 3 Torx screws, top 10mm bolt, and loosening the bottom 10mm bolt. However mine wouldn't come off completely & after getting as much clearance as I could, I discovered the tab on my lower cover wasn't fully slotted - it was closed on the inside edge, preventing me from removing the cover.
Have some owners slotted their covers, or was this a running change over the years? The first tutorial I found was also for an '85, and he was able to remove the cover completely???
The '85 was not slotted from the factory. It is a common modification folks have done, so it isn't uncommon to see it. If you remove the bolt the cover will come off.
The '85 was not slotted from the factory. It is a common modification folks have done, so it isn't uncommon to see it. If you remove the bolt the cover will come off.
As far as fuel pump replacement , there is not many cars easier than the C4. Remove gas door and access cover at the top of the tank and out it comes, get a new sock too. U tube is your best friend
As far as fuel pump replacement , there is not many cars easier than the C4. Remove gas door and access cover at the top of the tank and out it comes, get a new sock too. U tube is your best friend
Great info, thanks! I have the sock coming with it, but I just realized I should probably get a filter for it too.
12-07-2016, 11:55 AM
New guy with an old Vette
Welcome, and enjoy thrill, of having and driving a Corvette, shop around for your parts, lot you will find off e-bay, and others from the different catalogs stores.
