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So I'm working on reviving a 1990 L98. Per the owner the car was parked 5-6 years ago with a coolant leak at the radiator or hose. You can see where the coolant was pooling in the left front of the engine bay.
At this moment I know the car needs a fuel tank, pump, sender and inline filter that are all on order or already delivered.
I plan to change the spark plugs and change the oil before moving the engine. Coolant has been checked for quality and it is actually just as good as the day it was poured in so I will use this for leak testing.
From here I have been given mixed signals from older and newer enthusiast I know about how to prep the engine for its first startup. The idea of shooting a little WD-40 or penetrating oil into each cylinder was tossed out to protect the rings and wall. The other was to pull all 16 lifters and check for sticking rollers, when I had to dive into my LT1 for another car that sat for 12 years there was no damage, blockage or sticking lifters. Dose this seem like a worth while idea or am I just spending money on parts I don't need?
The goal here is to protect as many original parts that I can while not spending a boat load on unneeded or repetitive parts.
Before you start the engine, I'd recommend pulling the power connector on the left side of the distributor, then spinning the engine until you have oil pressure. Your roller lifters should be fine!
That 6 year old anti-freeze may still have its anti-freeze properties, but the corrosion protection properties are long gone. It needs to go.
As the ZR-1 community knows, Marc Haibeck specializes in servicing ZR-1s, and is a prolific when it comes to writing and presenting technical information - primarily pertaining to the ZR-1, but the "Great Awakening" presentation, in particular, is pertinent to (essentially) all (C4) Corvettes.
Note: For those that have/are contemplating owning a ZR-1 and want the truth about a wide variety of topics, including maintenance, parts, etc, the link above will provide a plethora of information. Marc Haibeck is one of the few guys who is an absolute authority on the ZR-1. You don't have to filter anything he says - his knowledge and advice is impeccable.
Before you start the engine, I'd recommend pulling the power connector on the left side of the distributor, then spinning the engine until you have oil pressure. Your roller lifters should be fine!
That 6 year old anti-freeze may still have its anti-freeze properties, but the corrosion protection properties are long gone. It needs to go.
First off: Why or how do you know it needs the parts you ordered? They don't just go bad a s a rule from old gas.
1.Turn the engine by hand at a pulley up front (if you are feeling cautious or it won't budge spray something in the plug holes).
2.Turn the key to on position to prime the system
3. Fire the car
4. If anything is a potential it would be stock '90 injectors at this point
pologreen I would like to disagree about not killing a fuel system with old gas.
This is my second resurrection, first was a 1994 Firebird Formula and by not replacing the tank it almost cost me a rebuilt LT1. That car was let sit for 12 years before selling it and trust me it did not age well. This one was left outside without starting for 5-6 years and I am not taking any chances with it may be usable, If the liner held up and the tank i s still good great I can put it on Ebay otherwise I'm already prepared.
This is after I had to disassemble the locking fuel cap because it failed internally Now I may be mistaken but that is not the color of a well maintained sender. Tasty!!!
I learned a lot working on that LT1, fix it right the first time. Also the pump never responded to the key and that was my first clue I hat to open the tank
I would personally spin the crank manually to check that everything is spinning as it should. The suggestion to build.oil pressure with the starter but not let it start is good too.
Good luck, sounds line a fun project..I'm blown away that a small leak was all it took to make someone park the car for so long rather than fixing it.
If you want I'll post the link from ls1 tech about the firebird. This car was bought in Cali by a woman from a dealer stock, sold in the first year to the family I bought it from and used as the wife's pleasure car. The car worked from 1991 to 2012 through 2 moves and retirement of the person I bought it from. To my understanding they got tired of mechanics running them around because of the difficulty finding the leak. This lead to parking it in th driveway. This is about as much as he was able to tell me. Older retired air force, and family to my partner at work so for $1,000 I was willing g to take my chance. Besides I like doing this, taking truly neglected cars and bringing them back to life.
Wow that's pretty crusty!! Are you sure that car wasn't from the northeast or Canada? Lol. Your injectors are probably no good as well. Pretty much a given if they are the originals.
Yea its not a northern car. I grew up in NY so I know what to look for and this car doesn't show any under body signs of salt damage or serious water damage. The rest of the car is cleaning up well and when I can I will post a thread with all the pics I have or at least a link to somewhere that has them all.
Yea its not a northern car. I grew up in NY so I know what to look for and this car doesn't show any under body signs of salt damage or serious water damage. The rest of the car is cleaning up well and when I can I will post a thread with all the pics I have or at least a link to somewhere that has them all.
A lot of the engine bay won't show it.
Normal condition used '91 fp. Just saying... keep up the good work, but be smart.
Before you start the engine, I'd recommend pulling the power connector on the left side of the distributor, then spinning the engine until you have oil pressure. Your roller lifters should be fine!
That 6 year old anti-freeze may still have its anti-freeze properties, but the corrosion protection properties are long gone. It needs to go.
So the tank is in, and on my list of talks before cranking the engine it to rotate it by hand. Well with the belts off I can move the CRA k about 1/8th a turn before I hit serious resistance. Not having a breaker bar I am using a torque wrench, with it set to 70lbs it's clucking going clockwise and I'm backing the bolt out going counter clockwise. With that being the case is there any way to budge the piston without slamming everything with the starter or over tightening the crank bolt?
*edit:
I found my own answer while trying to take the belt off the car. if you use the pullies to your advantage you can use the belt and the balancer to turn the motor and was able to push past the trouble spot with a lot less force than with the center bolt.
Last edited by Space387; Oct 10, 2017 at 04:53 PM.
As the ZR-1 community knows, Marc Haibeck specializes in servicing ZR-1s, and is a prolific when it comes to writing and presenting technical information - primarily pertaining to the ZR-1, but the "Great Awakening" presentation, in particular, is pertinent to (essentially) all (C4) Corvettes.
Note: For those that have/are contemplating owning a ZR-1 and want the truth about a wide variety of topics, including maintenance, parts, etc, the link above will provide a plethora of information. Marc Haibeck is one of the few guys who is an absolute authority on the ZR-1. You don't have to filter anything he says - his knowledge and advice is impeccable.
I think this is good info for anyone contemplating a low mileage ~25 year old sports car.
Also, I find it interesting that he sees no value in fuel stabilizer.
First start after 5 years
