Hello everyone,

Within the week I will be taking home my first Corvette, 1985 gray metallic L98 4+3. It will also be the first sports/performance car I have owned. Today I had the opportunity to test drive, give the once over, and leave a down payment on my future car.

I have a shop manual on the way and I plan on myself doing all the maintenance and whatever repairs or installations that are within my competence.

Several issues were very apparent that need attention, some I think are more pressing than others. As well with college loan debt, car insurance and loan, and living expenses, I will only have a certain amount of money to dedicate to improving per month.



The biggest one I think is the weatherstripping, most all of it is worn or on its way to being worn around the front window, doors, top, and hatch. As well the interior has many screws with rust on their heads, which must mean at some point it was getting a lot of moisture in it. As well the door panels were both starting to come out of the door sill leading me to think moisture damage could be inside the door. As well the drivers side front and passenger side rear speakers did not work, which I am unsure if that is related. The floor carpet was not damp.

So that being said, weatherstripping is a bit pricy on my end. Affordable, but I am wondering if doing the entire car is a more sensible route than only replacing only the most damaged sections. Which if it is a hassle to do I would think that just going all out would be the best option.



The next issue is that for whatever reason there is no hood support, only the bottom half of it attached to the lower mount. I didn't look close enough but I think the top mount might not even have been there.

A new hood support isn't cheap either, or is this an item that one would try to salvage or find used? As well I was thinking about the idea of eliminating the hood support and beefing up the hood struts enough so that the hood would stay up just from the struts. Has anyone done this? I haven't looked into it much, but a possible problem with this might be that due to how heavy the hood is, the struts to keep it up would have to be pretty powerful could make it difficult to get the hood closed.

The engine ran nicely, except that when in park and idling, if I stepped on the gas hard the engine would sound like it was getting too much fuel, rev down for a split second, and then raise in RPM normally. It seemed to not do it as bad once it warmed up, and it would be only a little noticeable if you pressed the gas pedal in slowly. It also seemed to do something similar one time when I shifted from 1st to 2nd. This being my first performance car, I am pretty far in the dark with this. I have been reading a lot though so I will get better.



Brake pads are worn out. As well when I drove it I thought that the brake pedal depressed pretty hard compared to anything else I have driven. Is that normal or is there a problem?



The interior. The seats are nice, I think all the controls for them do work, however I was a little overwhelmed with all the buttons! The floor carpet and rear carpet is in nice shape. The doors are lacking though, the whole handle assembly is worn and beat up on both sides, missing screws and broken plastic. Again the door panels are separating from the door sill, and the door carpet is coming unglued on both sides. As well the power windows seem pretty sluggish. The dash is flawless, and the instrument panel and center console are in pretty good shape.



So the first four issues I think need addressing immediately, with the interior being the obvious last choice. Any tips about where to start, problems I will encounter, or just general advice?




Thanks everyone.

 

As well I forgot to mention, as well as the hood support, when opening the hood, even after pulling the release, it still required some effort to get the hood up, most of the time requiring the hood release to be pulled while pulling up the hood at the same time.

 

Id look for a vaccum leak. Especially in the area of your brake booster. It could cause your hard brake problem and you crappy running problem

 

Many parts are expensive, being somewhat small market You sound intelligent and sane so you know that a wx-strip package is probably cheaper that buying hem individually. You might wait for a sale but have already seen some of the water damage It doesn't get better especially with electronic cars.

Brakes a important, simple and rather cheap. Ensure you keep good fluid in that system, too and change as needed. Keep up with that fluid's maintenance, too, just like the brake fluid in the clutch system. If it's real dark, you should consider flushing it all out for new, then decide if the booster needs attention.

I used an old broom handle for a hood prop, for a while. The scissors type prop can be pricey and are not the greatest. I doubt any struts would eliminate the need for a prop. Adjusting and lubricating the latches is free and not hard; you may want to be ready if the pull release fails.

The FSM wil greatly aid tuning the car correctly, but if there were modifications, things get more interesting. Start at he factory specs and remember, it is an engine so vacuum leaks or poor and spark fuel delivery are important. The ECM codes cannot tell all, but are a great help.

I have no problems buying used hard parts and tools, if in good condition. Ex: I recently bought a very nice scan tool, like new, for half price on CL. My patience in waiting paid off.

Lastly, remember that most guidance you get is worth about what you pay for it!

 

You might try Vette2Vette for a good used hood support, or maybe our "Parts" section.
The hood springs can be adjusted so that the hood "pops" up about an inch or so when released. Of course clean & lube the pins & latches helps.

 

My brake pedal is pretty firm too, but still It isn't hard to lock up the wheels so I figured that's how it was back in 1985. Maybe someone else can compare how the brake pedal of an 85 should feel compared to a 2000 ish car?

Also, all the stuff that you mentioned is pretty expensive. I thino 1 door panel is like $400. I would also check from a vacuum leak, TPS or MAF sensor as per your problem. Might just need a good thorough tune up also.

 

not to be mean....if you think weatherstrip is expensive, for 85 c4 parts, get ready for an education. Try to get gm weatherstrip. aftermarket is not good quality....cheaper to get a whole set...

I have an 85, and it wasn't exactly cheap to get it up to snuff...so be prepared....you can save cash by doing your own work, but you'll spend it anyway....try one thread for each problem you come across...you'll get more input...as you'll find out , it takes a little time to work thru the forum...so be patient.....these guys on the forum will give you all the information you need....one thread at a time......good luck, have fun..wot only on special occasion...not sunup or sundown....

 

Don't even bother with aftermarket weather stripping, and find a body shop with experience to do it for you. Worst 8 hours of my life was spent wrestling with it. I'd rather dig my eyes out with a spoon than do it again.

 

Every C2 gets to 38K before the odometer breaks. I don't want to repeat what others have said, but the idea of replacing the front clip is out of the question. If everything else was correct to a 64, the cost to replace the clip and paint the car would be higher than the value of a very nice 64. I love 64's, but they are never going to get the respect that other years seem to get. If you like it, but it cheap and drive the wheels off of it. It will never be a good financial investment, but there are more important things in life. These cars are great fun to drive and a non NCRS car is a license to enjoy the car as yours and not worry what others think.

Good luck, Doc