I have been concerned listening to all the stories where cars with the LT1 engine are leaving owners stranded and semi-stranded(when the engine cools down). It seems that it has do with one of four ignition components, one of them being the ignition control module. So I checked it out on how hard it is to replace by the side of the road and it's pretty simple. However it was not where I thought it was and it had to be pointed out to me by one of the nice vendors on e-bay. These things sell for anywhere from $12.50 to $160.00. They are all made in China and all look identical from the pics so I bought the $12.50 one. So now I carry one in the car with the socket for the two little bolts that hold the thing on. I think it's a small price to pay for a little extra piece of mind and a chance that it might get me home. -------- Now I may have touched a nerve here on a couple of points (1.) I know a some of you don't believe in throwing parts at a problem is the answer but hey it's only $12.50 (2) Chinese parts. I am not a fan of certain non USA parts especially electronic but you don't really have much of a choice anymore. Some sellers were claiming to be AC-Delco authorized sellers but if you look closely you will notice the part is the same part sold by everyone else. AC-Delco doesn't make anything any longer and hasn't for quite a few years.

 

Funny how times change.
I had several triumph Spitfires and triumph recommended that when taking trips over around 200 miles carrying

fan belt
water pump
thermostat
rotor and cap
plugs
radiator hoses
and ht leads

but it was a British car

 

I would test the 12 dollar one. My first of those was totally doa. Not worth carrying around if it doesn't work.

I got the 40 dollar one and it worked great fwiw

 

I owned a Spitfire in the 60s &70s. It was the most fun I have ever had in a car including the Vette. Learned a ton of car stuff from it since if you didn't keep up with it you were going to be sol. Had points, rotor, cap and condenser which were all troublesome. If you cleaned the rotor and/or cap contacts you would gain 10hp. The condenser would go bad for no reason. Tuned the carbs with a length of garden hose. Would not start 75% of the time below 20 degrees. Put snow tires on it and it killed acceleration, as if their was any to begin with. Only car I could compete with was the VW bug and that ended when they came out with the super Beatle. Drove the car from Des Moines to Baltimore in the dead of winter non-stop. Nearly froze my left ear off since the top would not seal, the heater barely kept me warm. Without sleep started hallucinating on the PA. turnpike. Car ran fine. Upon thinking about I can't believe I did it but was young, foolish, and broke so had no other choice. Traded it for a Cutlass. Would give a lot of money to get it back. I really miss those days. Some of the best times.

 

I bought one of the cheap units as well for a spare. Bought from a USA seller since shipping from overseas takes so long. It was worth for me to pay a little more than the lowest price ones. When I received it, it actually said "GM" on it. Brand new unit with a little pack of grease. I was a bit surprised as the seller didn't state that it was GM part and it didn't show it in the picture. A nice little bonus. I plugged it in temporarily to make sure it worked before I stuck it in the glove box. Definitely nice to have a little extra breakdown insurance while out on the road!

 

Do you know what this makes you?? A true motoring enthusiast! To constantly have all of those issues, be uncomfortable while driving, worry about if you'll get to your next destination without breaking down.....and still miss it?? That definitely makes you a true enthusiast! I feel the same way. I've had old Fiats, Lancias and an older Maserati which have had their finicky issues too. I have been left on the side of the road a few times as well! I have to agree that I also miss those cars, and I had some great times in them too!

 

I thought this was a terrific idea, so I went and got my $12 ICM tested and it failed at both Advance & Autozone. Back to the drawing board. I have to say that I am not a big believer that spending more money necessarily gets you a better part, but in this case I was wrong.

 

Plug it into your car. Auto part places usually have a hard time testing them in my experience.

​​​i *think* there may be 2 different models to​​​o. Many are listed as only fitting sole years of LT1, most of the cheap ones are listed for later years.

 

Thank you for your kind words. Another Spitfire story. OK , I'm 16-17 years old(a long time ago). You could start the Spitfire by pushing the car down the road and jumping in and popping the clutch and it would start most of the time. So, the battery dies for good and I need a week for my next paycheck from the gas station where I pumped gas after school. We lived on a large hill. So, I push the car down the hill . You had to do this in second gear because first gear had no syncro. Must have tried a dozen times to start the car. Got to the bottom and tried to figure out what's going on. Gravity now, is not on my side. I forgot to turn the key on! I felt like a total nincompoop. -----We did a LOT of waving back then, like With the Corvette now . Some people were annoyed with the exhaust note that the Spitfire produced as they passed in the opposite direction and would lay on their horn. Oh the memories.

 

My 1994 with 88000 miles runs great. Nothing has been touched. Kind of hesitant to mess with anything at this point Let sleeping dogs lie. Bad experiences with fixing stuff that wasn't broken. Ok, enough of that. ------- If I try the new one, can I just take the plug and plug it into the new one, or does it have to be attached to the car(grounded?). I might try if it is simple (like me).

 

It's that easy. Ground comes through the plug, the mounting is just for heat dissipation.

 

Well, curiosity killed the cat, hopefully not my Corvette. I'm probably going to try this unless their is any reason this could cause any other component failure? What is your confidence level on this/that. Many thanks.

 

The only thing you could possibly break is the connector itself. A dead ICM just means the car won't start, because the coil doesn't get voltage to trigger.

Just be aware the connector is pretty stiff on the icm. You have to push on it a lot harder than you expect

 

My 93 left me beside the road at 10:30 one night last year. It shut off so abruptly that I only got it half off the road. Replaced the coil and the ICM.

 

So I plugged it in , the new one that failed at Advance and Autozone and the car started right up. Can't believe how easy it was to unplug the connector and replug the new one. Less than a minute. Must be a moral in their somewhere but can't think of one. Who knows. At least don't have the hassle of returning it . Gonna check out, by the side of the road, replacing the coil. Probably a little more involved.

 

How easy or hard to replace the coil? By the side of the road? The ICM is a breeze.

 

Coil would be harder, since it's further down. It's 2 half connectors and a spark plug wire. Still totally doable. Bring zip ties to hold it in place if on the side of the road.

 

Funny you talk about Spitfires. I had a 67 back in the late 70's-80's. Lived in Iowa and drove it to and from the university 20 miles each way. Fun in the summer but a bear in the winter. Absolutely no heat till about May, froze my tush off. I bought it because it was cheap and did good on gas. Most memorable thing was one day getting ready to leave and the steering wheel just turned, it had come unhooked from the steering box. 10 minutes and a few minutes and it was back together. Won't mention the time something unhooked and it was dumping gas down on the header. Quick shield and got home in time to fix it.

 

Ok now you might have messed up playing with it. Did you use the proper thermal grease?

 

Had PA plates on the Spitfire for 6-8 years. Late sixties. In Des Moines, commuted to Drake U. about 10 mi each way.Not unusual to see out of state plates at the colleges. Back then PA did not use stickers on the plates and used the same yellow plate for years. Never renewed the registration since dad got transferred a lot.. Got stopped around Xmas at the University , cop thought I should be back home for the holidays. Told him parents were divorced and he let me go. Weather was so cold that I brought in the battery every night and put on a charger. Back then everything was carburetors. Good luck in the morning when the temp. is 20 below. Truckers(at the stops) would let the diesels run all night and put smudge pots near the wheels to keep the brakes from locking up. They would also dilute the diesel with gas. Fuel injection cured the starting problems years later.