Suspension buttoned up


Wheels on


First landing




Late reply, update. Hurricane Mathew for us (in south Florida) was mainly a media event, unlike the folks up in Jacksonville and north where it was worse. Mainly a two week production delay for me.


All back together and running as of last week.


The replacement engine fired right up, no codes, no CEL. Filling the transmission with fluid on first fill was exciting. I used a $10 jug pump from Advanced Auto and some welding gloves but it went fairly smooth. Just the thought of having the car running above my head.


Before firing it up I filled the cooling system with an airlift pump, worked great but I discovered a leak from the water pump. I must have read 20 times on the forum to change the pump while the engine is out. Oh well. Not bad though, not that expensive, I changed the pump, thermostat and housing, and gaskets and used the recovered fluid.


I'll be taking it in to Vetteexperts in Pompano Beach for alignment and ride height setting after I get at least a hundred miles on the new bushings and ball joints. They will also be checking the tune on the PCM in case it have been changed. I eye-balled the alignment but still pretty out of whack since everything was completely replaced and none of the original measurements fit. The ride is fairly smooth but starts drifting a little at 60, the rear end alignment the worse. Since this car is new to me I'm just now going through the minor issues that I couldn't check before. The most major thing it needed was repair of a vacuum leak under the dash to get the A/C Mode selector working....everything else seems to work except an aftermarket speaker and a few lights. I highly recommend the Mighty-Vac tool for this. I have a few buttons with no lights on the info lineup on the right side of the gauge cluster.


It runs strong but now that I can get it warmed up I'll do a compression check and leak down if necessary. Its been a while since I listened to a V8 closely, especially with the Borla exhaust, but it sounds like I may have a minor valve or lifter issue. I'm running a tank of 93 octane and Seafoam through it to see if it may be a clogged injector. I don't know when the engine was run last or under what conditions. The plugs were all identical.


I haven't charged the A/C yet. I vacuumed it down, leaked tested with no leaks, started the fill but ran into issues. I was getting pressure on the low side but none, zero, on the high side which may be a clogged metering valve. After a few minutes it freed up and equalized before the compressor engaged...at about 40 psi suction it kicked on but I only got about 15 psi increase out of the compressor so I stopped. The residual pressure leaked down...likely from the compressor so I stopped not wanting to contaminate the system. I will probably swap out the compressor from the original engine since I know it was working before, if only on 7 cylinders.


Rob 02 I lucked out on the interior, nothing really to be done there, I have a cracked glove box hinge and the removable roof panel is a little craggled. No leaks as of yet in the roof.


No leaks on the engine, transmission, or differential seals but I only have about 80 miles so far.


In putting it back together I believed I discovered why the engine was hydrolocked. Apparently the car at one time had a cold air intake with a hole cut into the intake cowling for the inlet pipe and filter to pass through the plenum. At some point later the stock inlet/filter housing was reinstalled but the hole in the filter housing and cowling was after the filter and before the MAF screen. Someone covered the hole with aluminum duck tape. When I took the housing apart to remove the radiator for cleaning (which I highly recommend) the duct tape just fell out. I'm guessing the previous owner hit standing water, blew the duct tape out, if was ever stuck at all, allowing the water to straight to the throttle body and intake manifold. Gotta watch those sloppy aftermarket mods. I sealed it with acrylic sheet, gasket sealant, and screws.


All in all a great project so far and a good cruiser. I had to fight the urge to upgrade the horsepower and suspension but I wanted to get it OEM and on the road first. I plan to keep it as a weekend/daytrip cruiser for quite a while.