I bought a 1984 corvette in June. I didn't get a chance to give it a tune up but I did change the oil. I was short on funds after purchasing it. My question is what should I change on the car to get it to run at its optimum. It came with a k&n so I will give it a good cleaning. I need some plugs and wires. Which are best suited for the car? The car has a renegade intake manifold and a fuel pressure gauge that reads 14 1/2 psi. Is that a good setting for a crossfire. What else needs to be adjusted on a crossfire. It also has no mufflers and sounds awesome. It is just driven in the summer. Which engine oil would be best. I am going to change the serpentine belt it is showing its age.

 

I'm new to the 84 corvette as well and on a budget!

Get the Factory Service Manual including the electrical service manual ( usually sold reprinted together about 50.00 or less on ebay! )

Air filter and which oil is best is highly debated on many forums at the end of the day the best choice is what fits in your budget that has the highest positive regard, on that note.....

I installed a purolator air filter at $23.00 bucks does the job well fit my budget.

Yes K&N flows better and cheaper in the long run to just clean it and re-install. But because of the restrictive intake results are dubious so it's a personal choice.

Oil ? ( also hotly debated on many forums )

I've heard from professionals that Amsoil is best, it contains i believe more zinc to lubricate the valve train, mobil 1 synthetic is also recommended. ( again personal choice depending on budget,availability, and use of car ).

I had an old 1983 suzuki gs air cooled engine, and i used Rotella synthetic for it, again highly regarded for having more zinc to lubricate the valve train. Worked great.

I'll be going with amsoil for the vette due to it's age, use mobil 1 in the van i drive daily and get better gas mileage and runs smoother than dyno oil.

Wires ?

8mm, again brand is a choice, according to those with more experience will chime in offer insight on quality,

I installed 8mm mallory wires ( they came free when i bought the car ), and they work great. Others can chime in with more experience.

Next time though i'm going to make my own most of the wires were way too long and difficult to route neatly under the tight compartment.

Spark Plugs ?

This is where from personal experience i've seen the most neglect from previous owners and something that robs power and performance if not done.

I just installed rapid fire delco plugs, napa did not have the delco oem R45TS plugs i wanted which are copper core, rapid fires are platinum.

Personally i'm a big fan of just stock OEM plugs on a stock engine,

seen too many people put platinum by BOSCH which are horrible on most cars, and they are never gapped properly and make the engines run horribly, brand and type are specific to each model for a good reason !!!!!

Stay away from E3 plugs just sales hype and gimmick and a waste of money.

Case in point my van calls for champion DOUBLE platinum plugs, the ignition fires twice which is why you need double platinum in that van ( 96 dodge ) so it lasts longer so that's what i got in there and runs fine and will last 100,000 miles more ( though i change them at 50,000 so they don't seize up in there.)

And change them often once a year if you can ( copper core ), these things do wear and the gap changes, so at least re-gap them annually. And use anti-seize on the threads you will be glad you did !!!!!

What else do you need to adjust on an 84 ?

Everything !!!!!!!!!

Be methodical, and go through everything to ensure one thing you missed will not creep up later and burden you with running problems!

Don't wait until you have a problem, little by little every weekend or so pick a manageable project and complete it and check it off the list.

Case in point,

My rear brake lights were not working and my right signal light was not working,

I did some research on this and other forums,

Took out the rear lenses ( a real PAIN to do )

Come to find so much encrusted clay like stuff in the light bulb holders, spent 30 mins just cleaning them up !!!!!!!

Used di-electric grease to lube the bulbs and the rubber grommets, changed the signal light relay to a long life heavy duty model and now signal and brake lights work great. ( go with LL bulbs long life bulbs so you don't have to change them as often ).

Moral is the last owner never did this and let the car go, sad, and meant more work for me.

Everything you do will make it easier down the road to avoid major problems from minor and cheap fixes if you do them ahead of time!

Long winded i know but hope this helps!

 

You keeping it original or adding a little performance?

 

Considering it's inherent limitations i'm keeping close to stock as possible,

It does have a borla exhaust, no x-pipes, no mufflers, sounds good but i may add the x-pipes i have to drive it and see what i feel comfortable with. ( i really need to add pics and videos! ).

Don't know if it has a chip in it or not.

I want it to be a reliable grand touring car rather than a pound paving monster. ( budget and practicality reasons ! )

I'll be moving up to a later model in a year so mildy modified is the best i'll do with this one. So i'll have 2 this one and the next one. I tend to keep my cars for as long as possible!

Want to get a stick shift with modern R134a air conditioning as mine has the old R12 which i'll have bring back to life ( another thread coming soon lol ).

 

which trans do you have? 4+3 needs more attention.

 

4 speed automatic so really the whole car needs attention !!! LOL,

it's an 84 so everything performance wise is not up to standard compared to other vette's or other cars in general, but i like it for what it is and enjoy driving it as such.

I've driven mostly 6 cyl cars all my life with the exception of 4 cyl porsche's so any 8 cyl is better than that power wise.

I'm more into handling than straight line speed anyway and that's the best thing about this car, great handling out of the box and low to the ground.

 

Did you get any maintenance records from the previous owner?? Check in front of the rad for picked up garbage, our vettes are notorious bottom feeders.. Fuel filter, check antifreeze, all hoses and vacuum lines. Check TPS for .525 v to close to 5 v wot..

 

Records ? not unless you count the kind you play on the old timey record player LOL seriously though no records.

If it was well cared for with a good history it would have been over priced for what it is like most of the cars you see on craigslist.

I'm used to this though, every classic car i ever bought was a hacked up mess due to a lack of knowledge and a lack of proper tools on the part of the previous owner to do even the simple things right.

Like the saying goes the road to hell is paved with good intentions and sadly i've owned too many cars that had great intentions on the part of the PO's

I've worked on cars all my life so records for me are just a way for murphy's law to have one more thing to snicker about when all hell breaks loose ten minutes after you buy the car. LOL

By the looks of the poor car the previous owner meant well but never did ANYTHING right to take care of it the right way. Which is why it was so cheap of course.

Thank you for your advice i'm taking it to heart and going through everything step by step to make sure it's done right!

 

Nice looks great I also have the 84 I am really happy with it

 

Thank you!

It does need a lot of work but it's a fun car.

I like the camaro in your avatar i had one back in my high school days, still to me the most comfortable seating position of any car i ever drove!

 

did you say you have a renegade intake? I didn't know they were available. Please confirm!

 

Will check the TP voltage tomorrow for now here's a pic of the lovely fuel filter replete with dry cracked and swollen hoses ( NOT fuel injection hoses as they should be ) oh and count them 8 yes 8 clamps holding it all together.

I can understand being careful but seriously ????????? more parts that will rust and make it harder next time to take off !!!!

So new fuel injection size 3/8 hoses are in new napa gold fuel filter, new clamps, all done one less thing to worry about !



Not to thread hijack but it's in line with what to look for .......

 

Yes I do have a renegade intake it was on the vette when I bought it. So far I have found a renegade, larger throttle bodies, fuel pressure gauge it is set at 15 psi, no mufflers, air pump delete pulley, k&n, aftermarket stereo system. The more I look around this vette the more goodies I find. It's like an Easter egg hunt. I guess I should have payed attention instead of blah blah blah.

 

^This guy is a sham. Has also posted under a plethora of other usernames, with no purpose other than to stir the pot.

 

dido

 

I have been searching my shop manual for the timing procedure for my 84 vet can not find it . can some one help please

 

Page 6e2-59 covers the ignition

also do a search on timing here and on youtube tons of stuff on timing the engine.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...er-wobble.html