Newbie ...1990 Advice requested
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Newbie ...1990 Advice requested
Hey folks. Been lurking for a couple of weeks. I bought my Father's 1990 White Coupe TPI LT1. The car has 96k miles, new brakes, new tires, new muffler system, new rubber around all windows and inside, new battery, and a new factory transmission. Runs excellent, excellent compressions, etc. My Father drove it sparingly and gently. I have spent a lot of time on the outside and interior and was hoping to get some advice on what your top 10 list of things to do for this car would be. It is pretty much totally stock. It is a fun car and not something I am relying on for transport but I am not looking to make it a show car or anything either. Any input you can give would be appreciated... I have seen some stuff in catalogs but not sure how good the items are.. K+N, Power Now, etc...
Also, the tach does not work. When I start the car the tach goes all the way up to the top and then drops to zero and does not move. Ideas?
Wedge (Virginia)
Also, the tach does not work. When I start the car the tach goes all the way up to the top and then drops to zero and does not move. Ideas?
Wedge (Virginia)
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 855
Likes: 0
Welcome to the forum. First on your list of things to do will be verify the car is running at its best. You'll want to run a scan on your car to get a good base line. There are a few free mods that seem to work pretty well, but you have to first make sure car is running at its best. When I changed my spark plug wires I noticed my car idled better and accelerated much smoother. Good Luck and Congratulations on the Vette.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 90,675
Likes: 304
From: SE NY
Cruise-In II Veteran
Welcome to the Forum and congrats on your new '90 Vette. 
Follow the wire from the HEI dist to the capacitor like item bolted to the top of the bell housing to locate the tach filter. If the wires are in tact, try Contemporary Corvette (link on my site) for a replacement.
The most important item is to come with a plan before starting major mods; heads, cam & intake need to all work together for best results. Some minor mods that will add maybe 25-30chp chp are:
-toss the frisbee from the watere pump pulley
-a 160deg T-stat & fan switch
-cut lid with K&N or a TPIS ram air setup
-cut back stock style AC Delco spark plugs
-TB coolant bypass mod
-an AFPR
Your L98 will respond very well to exhaust mods, though they can be pricy. The best setup is true duals with dual cats, if local regs allow.
Your L98 has the SD intake so major mods will likely require mods to the EPROM. There are people on the Forum to help in this area.
Enjoy your Vette and save the wave.
Follow the wire from the HEI dist to the capacitor like item bolted to the top of the bell housing to locate the tach filter. If the wires are in tact, try Contemporary Corvette (link on my site) for a replacement.
The most important item is to come with a plan before starting major mods; heads, cam & intake need to all work together for best results. Some minor mods that will add maybe 25-30chp chp are:
-toss the frisbee from the watere pump pulley
-a 160deg T-stat & fan switch
-cut lid with K&N or a TPIS ram air setup
-cut back stock style AC Delco spark plugs
-TB coolant bypass mod
-an AFPR
Your L98 will respond very well to exhaust mods, though they can be pricy. The best setup is true duals with dual cats, if local regs allow.
Your L98 has the SD intake so major mods will likely require mods to the EPROM. There are people on the Forum to help in this area.
Enjoy your Vette and save the wave.
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
I have been looking into this online also. Let me ask a dumb question...is this actually a "Filter" or is it an electronic device? I seem to have found info online that say a tech filter is a compressor of sorts that limits spikes and other electronics in the Tach signal. I am just trying to get some info as to what I am looking at. That you all very mich for the info! I'll post some pics of the car later...
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Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Is this something that has to be there? What if I just clipped it out of the loop? If it has to be there, can I clip it out to test and see that the problem is in that unit?
Wedge
P.S. Pics.... After using a cleaner...wax.
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v1.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v2.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v3.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v4.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v5.jpg
Wedge
P.S. Pics.... After using a cleaner...wax.
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v1.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v2.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v3.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v4.jpg
http://www.chasingrhinos.com/vette/v5.jpg
Last edited by thewedge; Sep 6, 2005 at 02:19 PM.
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
OK...this was a mess last night. On the side of the distributor there are two wires leasding out of a harness. The left side said Tach and had a white wire. It went under and dove down in the darkness next to the firewall. Best I could tell it went into a cable harness that came back up to the battery area and attached to the positive. This did not make much sense to me but that is what it looked like. It did run through a small cylindrical item that may or may not be this filter...it looked nothing like pics I could find on the internet of the filter. It was an inline thing right before the wire that was attached to the positive so it would have had no ground wire.
Ideas? or should I punt?
Wedge
Ideas? or should I punt?
Wedge