SciFi

Hello,

Just picked up my first vette today.. always loved them but could never come up with the cash .. Well i ran across a 84 auto with 97k on the meter that had been sitting in a barn for 4 yrs.. price was talked down to $3500...car wasnt running

first off , im not able to work on my own car (because of very bad back)

My goals are this:I have about $2k to drop into this atm and i really don't want to start messing with the computer in this so things i listed i'd like to know if they can run on the stock computer .. if not plz advise on what you would think would

I want to keep the Crossfire(always enjoy the under dog)

looking for the most bang for my buck

have been doing some reading on the forums and have come across what seems like some good advice..

porting out the older manifold or xram or renagade

also ported out head with 170-180 or a dart 44?

1.6 roller rockers

dif fuel pump? was reading maybe a out of a 85 vette?

borred out TB 5mm?

crane 2040 power max ?

3.73 or 3.75 gear with a 2500 stall converter

long pipe headers and strip out the cat's and with something like flowmasters

Some of these things i've listed might not be correct .. but i guess thats the reason im asking for some advice

In what order should these mods be installed ?

and which ones could i do keeping under my budget that id see the most gain

I like low end torq and im not really looking to go to the track and do 11's either
or jump on the highway and do 190 either.. just looking to have nice street ride that if i want to i can punch it and be gone like the wind

Thank in advance
SciFi

montie98

The problem is going to be very high labor charges since you are not doing the work yourself. You could have a exhaust system installed with a low cost set of headers. That is usually where people start. Plus it will sound like a Corvette should.

Crepitus

The Green Rocket

Congrats, and post some pics when you can.

I guess you need to get it into the shop, get it running, and then find out how much of your $2k budget remains. As noted, shop labor will eat that money fast. As you know, the Crossfire is pretty much a standard small block - albeit, one breathing through a straw from the half size intake manifold ports.

Thomas

SciFi

thanks,

the avatar pic is the car..

I was pretty sure when I bought the car I would need a new fuel pump

(that was told to me by the owner)

So replacing the fuel pump

also the fuel regulator? the thing the fuel pump mounts to in the tank, was rusted down from sitting for 4 yrs ..my guy told me to come down and take look at it , said it should move freely with no probs and this one didnt move at all.. Also told me could prob use the old one but wasnt sure what type of problems I would run into after the car was running and it might kick up anything in the tank and make a bad problem even worse , so i went ahead and had it replaced as well since the tank is already off, no reason go back and do it later.. had to order it out of state, nobody had one here in Ohio

and also having all the fluids changed..

so here is a break down of how much I have in it atm

$3500 for the car
$810 for parts and labor
$60 new battery
$260 tax and title

looking at roughly $4820 for a 84 corvette with a straight body and paint.. so I dont think i did to bad for a car with 97k miles on it.. Looking around for weeks and next best price I found was 6k with 130k miles on it..

Something sorta cool about it.. I have all the records to everything that has ever been done to it from 1984-2005-06 when the car went into the barn.. looks like over the years they spent about 10-12k in repairs.. even have there payment book showing how much the monthly payment was ($502) with the old money orders and the bill of sale

They kept everything and drop it into one folder .. was sorta like looking into the past reading all the paper work.. Very cool

My budget needs to be reworked.. but I would still love to hear in what order these mods should be done in and if these are the correct numbers to the items..

Thanks
SciFi

383vett

Congrats on the buy. Get a new battery, turn the key and listen for the fuel pump sound. It should run for a second or two. If you hear the sound, your pump might be ok. Just trying not to let you waste mod money on needless repairs. Good luck.

onedef92

Might wanna' budget up for weatherstrip, too. Unless the car's been stored under expectional circumstances, the majority (if not all of it's gonna need replacing). Tires ain't exactly cheap, either. Good luck and thanks for posting.

dchoran

Nice to see a fellow Little Red '84.

Dave H.

DA1984VETTE

Welcome to the forum. You came to the right place as far as questions and getting answers. They only other better place may be the crossfire injection vault forum. Good luck to ya on the upgrades and repairs. What part of Ohio are you from?...

SciFi

Thanks,

In Dayton , Oh..

CRUZN C4

Welcome to the Forum and nice 84! They are the best cruisers money can buy. For a start, keep the crossfire injection setup. There's NOTHING wrong with the system. No mater what people tell you about them. Simple troubleshooting and necessary tune-ups and upgrading can result in a better running L83. You can run an 85 and newer fuel pump with no problems. I'm actually running an LT1 pump in mine and it made a big difference in the way mine runs. Upgrading the ignition is always a good start. How long has those plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil, module, and terminal boards been in your car? Check emissions and make sure that nothings clogged, especially the cat and the EGR valve. Roller rockers are a good way to gain some hp. Headers and exhaust is also a good step as well. I'm running Flowmasters and I reccomend them. Once you upgrade everything you'll feel the difference. You'll have a better running crossfire. Hopes this helps.

Tom400CFI

Then keeping the CFI is definitely the way to go. Easy and cheap to make big gains.


porting out the older manifold or xram or renagade: Depends on your budget. Ported intake costs little to nothing, makes huge difference (I've done it). X-Ram, haven't tried it but heard loose down low, pick up, up top. Leaks. Renegade? Looks good, but not much info and no deliveries/not available yet.

also ported out head with 170-180 or a dart 44? I'd wait on head for a while

1.6 roller rockers Probably wait on those too.

dif fuel pump? was reading maybe a out of a 85 vette? Only if TESTING reveals the need for one. My CFI car went 14.5@95 on the stock, original fuel pump. That takes ~230 hp.

borred out TB 5mm? Not worth it on a stock or stockish engine. No gains.

crane 2040 power max ? Lots of good cams out there. Lots of objective improvement, little SOTP change. You'll pay a lot of labor for an install, though.

3.73 or 3.75 gear with a 2500 stall converter Same; great SOTP, little objective diff, lots of labor $$

long pipe headers and strip out the cat's and with something like flowmasters Not for the stockish long block. Cat back, yes. Headers? No.


If I were you, FIRST, I'd get it running right. And by "right", I mean well here is what I'd do:
1. Get it runnING.
2. Spend time getting it running RIGHT; optimize ignition timing and fuel pressure (lot to be gained right there) During the FP adjusting, you will observe if the stock fuel pump is unable to keep up. (If it doesn't get replaced in step 1). If at any time you verify that you need a new pump, buy "the '85" or equivelant (or better, IMO)
3. Once you get it running WELL, do a cat back
4. Port or change the intake. IMO, I'd have your mechanic remove the intake, give it to you. Take it home and set up a comforatble work station...and just port away. You can't do enough. Port until the runners are paper thin, end to end.
5. Re-dial in fuel and timing, and you should be ~250hp/mid 14's/mid 90's in the 1/4 mile. That is pretty fast for "starters", and it will have cost you ~ a grand (cat-back, exhaust install, intake R&R, and tuning labor).


If you get into cam and head swaps, and you're paying someone to do it, you'll have more in the car than you paid for it in no time.

BTW, don't sweat the computer. MY CFI car was a Trans Am, so originally a 170hp (factory rating) 305 CFI engine. In the end, I was running a SBC 400, putting out ~300 hp. It idled like stock, got 24mpg hwy, and ran low 13's. All on the stock, original ECM and chip. The ECM won't "adjust for you"...but it's easy to work around, IMO.

qws

Some of the best advice you will get for this will come from CFI-EFI and Tom400cfi. They been there and done that with excellent results.

For me I went this route.
Xram was my first upgrade
then 1.6rr's,headers,2000 stall.
that combo made for a fun car but then yes I wanted more
Went to the 2040 cam and dart ss heads
then theres more after that....

If I had to do it all over again I would do it differently to save money. I would do this.
1) port the intake- even if you have a machinest do it I would get about $200 bucks
2)Cold air intake mod- FREE
3)2500 stall (if you do this think about going from the 27 spline to the 30 spline
4) Long tube headers (hedmens are as cheap as $150, thats what I have)

Then stop there. See what you think and how you like it. I'm sure you'll have a much more fun car at that point.


If you do a head /cam combo
Dart ss and 2040 work well together... total cost of parts is about $750 not including timing chain,labor,etc.

Don't waste your money at this point on 1.6rr's and the oversize tb. Rockers are something to think about but for me I'd wait until I choose a head/cam combo. Especially if your gonna pay someone else to do it....


And congrats on your new car!

SciFi

Thanks alot ,

Answer my question just like I needed..

The fuel pump had to go



big thanks to the last two post .. you both layed it right down for me..

it's a shame neither of you live closer to me, id be all over you both sucking up all this great info.. I'd really love to dive into it myself but the lack of tools and someone to guide me would cause more probs..

think i'll start with the tune and getting her running as good as it can stock..

then the exhaust.. now on this I can remove the cat's right? (ohio)

so between getting it running "Right" and exhaust im going to hold off and see what I have then go from there..

hope you all dont mind , but think im going to have like a billion questions for you all over the next few months so thanks in advance

Tom400CFI

The X-pipe is literally an "X" in the mid section of the exhaust that allows the two sides of the exhuast systems to "see" each other. Boosts mid range tq, and mellows exhaust tone.
$350 for a cat-back exhaust w/and x-pipe sounds like a good price (if I'm understanding the pricing). I don't know if you can do no-cats in Ohio. What do your local laws say?

EDIT: MAN..that fuel sending unit/pump assy looks horrible! lol.
Good one! I completely forgot about that one, and yes, it's free, easy and works.

SciFi

lol yea it does,

I just removed the part about the X pipe and what does it do lol but you answered it better than I could find on the net lol

qws

Yeah thats in bad shape...

here's another thought for you for dual exhaust , not and x pipe but a direct bolt on and you can order in all stainless

http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette-3-36-928.html

The Green Rocket

Wow, is that rusty! How about the rest of the inside of the fuel tank - you might be well served replacing the tank if it too is in bad shape. I would also be concerned about the rest of the fuel hardlines, they are likely in poor shape.

thomas

renegadevette

Don't waste your time porting the manifold, get a renegade. It has gotten some good reviews by the early pre buy customers, I will get mine on the 8th. Big day for me on the 8th.

Crepitus

Does any one have any flow numbers on any of the intake options?