C4 Tech/Performance L98 Corvette and LT1 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine

Engine bay clean up.

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Old May 26, 2021 | 02:50 AM
  #1  
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Default Engine bay clean up.

After a long hiatus, I'm Finally lgetting time to play with my vette again...

She's now classified as "Antique" in Texas. No more inspections, no more emissions... Blah, blah, blah...

Any tree huggers, cover your ears and divert your eyes.. EGR valve... What's that??? No longer part of my computer's vocabulary... Now i want to get rid of the rest of this power choking crap. And de-clutter my engine bay.

I plan to leave the smog pump in place just so i dont put a flimsy idler pully.

Anyone else decluttered their L98 engine bay? I essentially just want engine, A/C and not much else. I'm sure the computer will need to be tuned. Any tips on that?

Looking for ideas, or... Ooohhh... Avoid this piece...

Last edited by Fredbird; May 26, 2021 at 02:51 AM. Reason: Typo
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Old May 26, 2021 | 07:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Fredbird
After a long hiatus, I'm Finally lgetting time to play with my vette again...

She's now classified as "Antique" in Texas. No more inspections, no more emissions... Blah, blah, blah...

Any tree huggers, cover your ears and divert your eyes.. EGR valve... What's that??? No longer part of my computer's vocabulary... Now i want to get rid of the rest of this power choking crap. And de-clutter my engine bay.

I plan to leave the smog pump in place just so i dont put a flimsy idler pully.

Anyone else decluttered their L98 engine bay? I essentially just want engine, A/C and not much else. I'm sure the computer will need to be tuned. Any tips on that?

Looking for ideas, or... Ooohhh... Avoid this piece...
1. One of the biggest sources of clutter are the pipes coming off the exhaust manifolds for the AIR system. A set of aftermarket headers can solve that.

2. I got rid of the entire EVAP system... Canister and all. I made a thread on how to modify an aftermarket gas cap to allow it to vent. Search for that.

3. Gotta disagree on the AIR pump... I'll take an idler pulley over that giant tumor any day.

The rest?

If it's black plastic... Clean it.
if it's steel and rusting... Remove the rust mechanically or chemically and either paint it or plate it.
If it's aluminum... polish it.
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Old May 27, 2021 | 07:35 PM
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I would suggest ditching that AIR pump for an idler, as well. I ran one of the delete kits on my 85 with no issues right until I removed it for the turbocharger install. The brackets on those kits aren't flimsy at all. Keep in mind that you will likely require a shorter belt though.
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Old May 27, 2021 | 08:00 PM
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As long as you can get a replacement for the idler(bearing) go for it.

I never noticed a power diffrence removing accessories....EGR no power gain . If you run a cam with overlap dont need it I guess. I prefer it to function on a stock engine

For a power gain youll notice its the usual. Headers , dual exh intake (if its an L98) and internal mods.
All the bolt on stuff from Mid America I put on my 89 it did a bunch of nothing. 0
A 160 stat & turning the fan on earlier can make it feel a little more punchy

Last edited by cv67; May 27, 2021 at 08:00 PM.
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Old May 27, 2021 | 08:10 PM
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Originally Posted by cv67
As long as you can get a replacement for the idler(bearing) go for it.

I never noticed a power diffrence removing accessories....EGR no power gain . If you run a cam with overlap dont need it I guess. I prefer it to function on a stock engine
The kits use an off the shelf idler pulley. You would just need to find a new pulley if (when) the bearing fails. I even went as far as finding a smaller diameter one when I designed the new alternator mount for my car.
I agree that there was no noticeable power difference at all removing the EGR and AIR pump. (The turbocharger that eventually replaced that pump, however, made quite a difference!) The only reason I removed the pump on mine was because it was failing and making a rather unpleasant sound. EGR was removed because I was changing to aftermarket EFI and didn't want to program an output to run it.
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Old May 27, 2021 | 08:14 PM
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Envy you guys who have 0 smog tests
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Old May 28, 2021 | 12:09 PM
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All smog equipment, ac (in Michigan, rarely need ac) as well as blower/evaporator box. Convert to standard rotation water pump. Remove hvac condenser. All lines, reciever dryer, and wiring associated with hvac. That really cleans up the engine bay.

Probably removes a solid 75 pounds off the nose of the car too. Relocate battery to spare tire area, or compartment behind passenger seat. Seen photos of fixed headlight conversion and that removes some weight, as well as uncluttered the overall appearance of it too when viewed with the hood up. If it's primarily a cruiser weekend toy strip car remove the cruise control, that helps unclutter things a lot as well. Bottom line is it's pretty hard to unclutter anything under the hood of a c4 unless you are willing to remove emissions items, or take away from the cars daily driver stuff.
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Old May 30, 2021 | 02:38 AM
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I got rid of so much junk on my 86, makes working on it a lot nicer! You can kinda see in this vid can't find a pic atm


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Old May 31, 2021 | 08:14 AM
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Originally Posted by BOOT77
I got rid of so much junk on my 86, makes working on it a lot nicer! You can kinda see in this vid can't find a pic atm


https://youtu.be/9tUFb-QflLM
Had no idea you were from Michigan dude, where abouts? I'm I'm Berrien county, about 20 miles south of saint joseph/Benton harbor. Be cool to hook up some time help each other get stuff do e to our cars.
. Ever make it to martin 131 motorsports park?
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Old Jun 1, 2021 | 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Bill Chase
Had no idea you were from Michigan dude, where abouts? I'm I'm Berrien county, about 20 miles south of saint joseph/Benton harbor. Be cool to hook up some time help each other get stuff do e to our cars.
. Ever make it to martin 131 motorsports park?
I'm up n over around Flint area. Never been down there, not much of a track guy really but Lapeer dragway is closest for me. Looks like your bout 3ish hrs from me, to be honest I'm not into long drives as much as I use to be. Been putting one off to Ohio since fall LOL
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Old Jun 1, 2021 | 05:03 AM
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Originally Posted by BOOT77
I'm up n over around Flint area. Never been down there, not much of a track guy really but Lapeer dragway is closest for me. Looks like your bout 3ish hrs from me, to be honest I'm not into long drives as much as I use to be. Been putting one off to Ohio since fall LOL

Yeah, same here. Figured if we were close enough maybe hit some events, help each other out with our rides etc. Flints about a 4 hour drive from here if you factor stopping for a meal and gas, typical Michigan road construction. Etc.
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