I own a 1996 Corvette Collectors Edition/LT4 with 140,000 miles on it. I am the second owner (I have met the first owners) and have had it since 1999.I am currently having some work done on it.. Tune up, for which I have never had done since first taking ownership. So I went the route of purchasing MSD equipment. Pro-Billet LT1 Distributor, their high performance rev limiter MSD-6AL, MSD coil, the necessary harnesses, Magnaflow 3.5"/4" total exhaust kit, and 8.5 mm Super conductive plugs. The problem I'm encountering is (one) that in my research to see just how much time it would take to complete the project, (two) my mechanic is taking the distributor out by raising the motor..??? Like I said, in my research, thieve beans many ways in which guys have replaced their distributor, including raising the motor. Is that right..?? He is also going to look into my clutch/tranny. The flywheel and touch plate may need to be replaced. Have you got any idea's or suggestions that my inform me that Im going the correct route..?? Or maybe what else might be done to this upgrade project. Before the project began, my mechanic did estimate 12-15 hrs labor at 80.00/hr.

Thanks for your help. Ive sent along a pic of my car. I've always garaged it and kept it waxed twice a month.. FINALLY I can put some $ into the engine. By the way, I am not a gear head. Just a middle ager that was able to keep the vette in the divorce..!!

Tom

 

I believe the opti-spark provides highly accurate ignition timing already. You are removing it because you think there will be some power gain going to an MSD? If you don't have a problem, it sounds like a lot of work for no reason. If you pay $1200 in labor to have your ignition changed, I suspect you will be disappointed.

If it's a cat-back exhaust, it shouldn't cost more than $1-200 to have it professionally installed.

Also, I don't mean to be the grammar police, but some of your spellings make it a little bit unclear what you are trying to accomplish.

 

You'll see no performance gains from the MSD ignition components. If the stock opti isn't causing problems, I would leave it alone and save a bunch of money. At the most change the opti's cap and rotor.

 

Sounds like you need a new mechanic.
If you fill out your profile and give us your location I am sure someone will steer you to a corvette friendly shop in your area that won't take advantage of you.
At a 140k I would maintain it and no more.Save up for a future rebuild if plan on keeping it.
Do you have any clutch issues or is he searching for your money?

 

Thanks for the responses so far. I knew the forum would enable better and more thorough Vette friends that doing a tune up involves a better spark, thicker mm wiring, a cool air device, and premium exhaust.. All that and all I'm trying to do is get as good and better performance. Am I accomplishing this..??

 

Also, after my mech drove it before any of this wk, he noticed like I have for some time a shuttering of the clutch when engaging. My mech is opening up to see if I have less than 50% wear on the plate. Please respond to his lifting up the engine to replace the distributor..?? Is that right..??

 

engine does not need to be raised to get the opti off, only if he is pulling the cam does it need to be lifted.

Check the rotor on that MSD opti, a LOT of box stock units have had the rotor come off on it.

MSD 6AL is gonna give you a pant load of issues, so id the MSD coil, prepare to replace your ICM a few dozen times till you get pissed and rip out the 6AL and replace with a GM coil to solve all issues.

I'm not a huge fan of the MSD products for the LTx, their opti is pretty good, provided you check the rotor and loc-tite the set screw before installation, if you have the recipt I'd return all the other stuff.

 

There is no distributor on your car.

Wax few times a yr tops no car on the planet needs it twice a month.

Good luck with the divorce..

 

You'll gain very little performance from upgrading spark and the cat-back exhaust on a stock engine. Ignition upgrade will net 0 gains. Now if the stock parts are worn out that is different.

 

I own a 96 of similiar mileage.

first, as Abraham Lincoln once said, fight one war at a time. Deal with the issues at the front of your engine first; if the clutch is working, don't go there now simply because the car is in the shop. It's cost effective to replace things when they've already been taken off in order to deal with a primary problem. But there's no need to open up a completely unrelated can of worms, especially something major like the clutch. Be forewarned, clutch work is VERY expensive.

second, an opti car has a distributor, it just looks funny and is hard to get at. the 96 opti incorporates major improvements over earlier opti's, specifically a much improved venting system and is extremely reliable.

third, any car with your mileage is due for an ignition tune up. thats rotor, rotor cap, plug wires, and spark plugs. nothing more if you're on a budget.

fourth, the venting system for the distributor is subject to damage. Its really nothing more than some rubber hoses, 1/4 inch and 5/16 inch, if memory serves me right. If damaged, the factory "vacumn harness" is probably available but bulk hose works just as well, and has the advantage of being able to be run in a more protected route. On my engine, the small line that runs from the rubber intake coupler to the opti had been cut by the serpentine belt and the large hose which runs from the opti to the intake manifold had rotted through and failed from being oil soaked.

five, the engine doesn't need to be raised, but if it does, the LT engine is one of the easiest. Remove two nuts, one on each side, holding the motor mounts to the frame. Place a large piece of wood under the oil pan, place a jack under the wood and have at it. Just be careful, as the engine comes up, that nothing gets jammed into the firewall.

six, to get to the opti the water pump has to come off. If there was one single additional part to replace, this is it. When it fails, it usually soaks the opti which is directly below it. then you have a bad opti.

seven, when you get the front end apart, examine carefully for oil leakage. the timing chain cover has three seperate oil seals and this is the time to deal with them. the top seal, water pump drive, can be replaced with the timing chain cover in place; likewise the opti drive seal. the crankshaft seal requires removal of the damper hub. when done correctly, the hub comes off very easily. when done incorrectly, it will NOT come off regardless of how much force you use and the hub WILL be damaged.

eight, when you reinstall the new opti, use a drop of locktite on the screws holding the rotor on and use some rtv to seal the rotor cap to the opti case.

ninth, rethink using MSD parts. the forum here is full of horror stories about members who installed, and paid a significant premium for, MSD parts. They are certainly way more expensive and do not offer any increased reliabilty or performance. And they seem to suffer from quality control problems. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the consensus of opinion is that stock GM / AC Delco works best. It's what I went with and have no regrets.

ten, get that car out of the shop and start enjoying it. driving these cars is what its all about.

good luck

 

Very nice post mtwoolford

 

thank you

 

Your mechanic needs to buy the FSM. There is NO need to even look at the engine mounts to remove the opti spark.

I would consider somebody else.

 

I a word...NO. The best single seat of the pants performance gain you can get on a LT-4 is going with 4:10 gears. If the car will pull strongly to red-line in 3rd gear now, there is nothing wrong with your ignition in it's current state.

 

Going to turn what sounds like a nice car into a trailer park hack job.

 

Heck I work on Fords for a living and I know more about Corvette than the mechanic you sound like you might be using. He or she needs a FSM. I charge a lot less, I'll do it for $20 an hour but you need to be close to Western PA. I only fix what is broke or what the owner wants. I fixed up a 94 Corvette for a guy, he got it for 5500 bucks. As a driver it is a great car, little rough around the edges but we got her running and driving right.

 

Thank you.. Some great advice. Not sure what the FSM is all about after googleing it. Tell me about the 6AL, will that be a nightmare, or should I not have that installed..?? My intention here is to get the car as close or better than it tan off the showroom floor.

 

The 6AL and MSD coil should be scrapped. 6AL's fry constantly, tach filter issues, the lot, theyre just bad business on a C4

MSD coil is almost guaranteed to fry your ICM (ignition control module)

FSM = Factory Service Manual. 2 big *** red books of pure gold made by Helm. You can find them used on here fairly often.

~Rich

 

I've been running all MSD stuff in my 96 since 01 (coil, 6al, wires). The MSD dist since last year. I have never had an ignition issue ever except for the Delco dist rotor comming off.

 

really? You're the first I've heard of with a positive report. Where do you have the 6AL mounted?