89 Corvette Mostmint #43

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MostMint
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89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Today I added a backup/parts car to the collection.

It's an 89 with just over 100k miles. It has Jaguar wheels and 205/70/15 tires! Seller said prior owner could not afford the bigger tires and he heard that others were running them.

Quick check shows it does not have the power steering cooler, or the Z51 suspension, but it does have the KC4 factory oil cooler.

The interior carpet is out, probably some other parts missing, but the dash all intact. Seats are red but they are shot like the other one.

It had no battery and the rotors are quite rusted it did not move easily.

Under hood looks remarkably busy
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89-2 pic 6.jpg
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Today managed to get the car off the trailer. Just backed the trailer up to the door, jacked up the front of the trailer and it basically rolled off.
Attachments
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[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Put the car on jacks and drained the oil. Found antifreeze in it. Not surprised as Fred32v saw it was a quart high on oil.

The oil filter also had water and oil in it. I cut it open I found no metal in there.

The water in the radiator tested to -22 F so I think this is not a frozen block. Seems most likely this has a bad head gasket.

Need a battery to start it - the battery I had does not fit. If I can get it to start then it can run without fluid to put on trailer and get over to Dad's place for storage. First will be to turn over to confirm it is not hydro-locked, then check out the fuel system to make sure it OK.

Also found this stuck between the frame and the exhaust pipe ahead of the pre-cat.
IMG_4773.JPG
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Basement Paul
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by Basement Paul »

If you're just moving it, put the battery on the passenger's seat and run some jumper cables through the window. Those tires look amazing!

-BP
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

It is amazing the 15" rims clear the brakes, but they do - with a reasonable amount of room to spare at least up front. Have to check the rears.

So it has a new oil filter and oil in it now. I'll probably have to cycle out the oil a couple times to get the pan clean of the leftover water/oil sludge in there. on 3/17 I put a battery in it and confirmed it will turn over. Also put some starting fluid to it and got it to fire.

Then I started in on the fuel system. 4 of the 9 bolts holding the fuel sending unit to the tank broke, so I will have to drill \/tap The gasket was glued/rusted to the tank I couldn't save it so I'll have to do something to replace that also.

There was no gas in the tank, only a few ounces of water which I attribute to condensation that got caught in there. This made the rust cleanup easy at the top of the tank as sparks cant cause fires. It did rust the sending unit so I'll have to clean that off. I took some time to clean out the inside of the tank - it was like deja vu from the last one.

I put compressed air to the fuel lines and only old gas came out of them, which is promising.

I also put power to the fuel pump and it cycles, meaning I should be able to use it for a real start up test.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

tonight I managed to drill out and retap the four broken bolts that hold the sending unit in place. Tomorrow will have the chance to start it.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Well it took more than a day.

Yesterday I cleaned all the rust off the sending unit, cleaned up the connections and did a little more cleaning on the inside of the tank. Also had to clean the glue off and flatten the sending unit - the metal around the bolt holes was beveled in from bolts that were tightened too far.

the "new" fuel sock was rusted on the ring where it connects to the pump so I had to replace it. Had to correct the bend in the tubes they were bent over a bit too far.
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The fuel pump that was in the car did cycle once before I did all that work - but then it died. Took me a while to figure this out - eventually I put it in the other Vette and lo and behold it did not work there either. I took the fuel sending unit from the other Vette and put it into this one, and added a couple gallons of gas. I left the fuel return line off and connected a hose to it and into a bucket, then used the diagnostic port to run the pump and push gas through the system til clean gas was coming through. At this point I dumped a can of fuel injector cleaner into the tank.

With that the car was ready to start. At first it sounded like it was catching just on one cylinder. At first I reasoned there were multiple bad injectors, but I decided to try with some ether. After a couple attempts it did catch and started running.

https://youtu.be/FhAuFLfMwVQ

What you don't see in the video is when the vent line was out of the valve cover there is a steady stream of smoke coming out of there. Also noted there is no air coming out of the radiator cap so it seems the leak is not from a combustion chamber into the water jacket. After I ran it a bit I decided to cycle the oil - and it clearly still had some water in it. I drained the filter as well. The oil was lukewarm but mixed with remaining water that was in the pan.

During all this work I realized I don't have the door key. This made me want to check the lock/unlock mechanism in the door. When I pushed it to lock it would not unlock. Fortunately the door was open at the time, but I ended up having to take the door apart to fix. The door lock mechanism requires the power lock motor to be connected and the plastic clip that held it had broken - so I replaced it with a metal clip I had to hold the rod in place.

Then I decided to wash it. This poor car was quite dirty. Lots of dirt in the crevices, it had throw up on it. It was nice to get the heavy stuff off.
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After that I decided to clean up the interior a bit and reinstall the seats.

In the short moves I did in the driveway the rear wheels were grinding badly. As it turns out the Jaguar wheels rub on the rear calipers. For a temporary remedy I added some washers to move the wheels out a bit and clear the calipers.
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I still need to get a battery, a replacement fuel pump, and try running the car with water in it to see if it goes into the oil.

Then the car will be headed off to Fred32v's for storage while I get to everything else that needs done in the garage.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Basement Paul
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by Basement Paul »

It's always good to get the heavy throw-up off the car.

-BP
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Charles bought this car in 2010 for $4500 with 104k. It has 106k now and was last plated in 2012.

It had some type of aftermarket stereo which is now missing. For reasons unknown all the interior carpet is gone. The rear wheels hit the brake calipers so there is no way this car was driven in that condition. I am amazed more of it did not disappear. This car would have some stories to tell if it could talk.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

I finally picked up the fuel pump and gasket and installed them.

After a call with BP I have changed my diagnosis on the water in the oil - due to bad intake gasket not head gasket. This is a common problem with L98's

I'm so tempted to change it, but it's like quicksand. I need to get the car over to storage and turn my attention back to the roll cage design.

Also decided to name this car King Friday XIII in honor of the day it was purchased and Mr Rogers Neighborhood. Will go with Friday for short - we'll see if it sticks

Tonight I put radiator fluid in it and ran it for 10 minutes or so. It starts right up but did stall out a couple times while warming up, and at its warmest ( about 140 at the thermostat housing) it had a random pop in the exhaust. Basic diagnosis will uncover the root cause though that will have to wait. Good news though is the ticking lifter has unstuck itself so now it idles quiet, and the puffing I noticed from the crank with the vent line off has subsided. Also with no pressure from the radiator cap the radiator fluid is staying out of the crankcase.

Looking at the basics, the brake lights, running lights, headlights and directionals work. The headlights don't pop up, and under hood courtesy lights don't work either.

The car is ready for transport.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Last week the car made it to its new dwelling.

Also, based on chat with BP it seems the difference in exhaust is the car was wrecked in back and exhaust replaced with newer model. On those same lines it is likely the rear hatch was also replaced with later model, which explains why there is no third brake light. Later model C4s had that in the rear bumper cover not up top.

Before the move
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New home. No cats or throw up likely
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[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Basement Paul
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by Basement Paul »

I could throw up on it if it makes it feel more at home.

-BP
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by Fred32v »

When to move it yesterday so I hooked up the battery,
motor turns over nicely, but sadly it would not start. :(
Fred32v
GMC Canyon Crew Cab Short Box 4x4 V6!
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

When I got it there was no fuel pressure and really old gas in the lines. Cleaned the tank and lines, installed a new filter and new fuel pump and it started.

Unclear why it will not start now. Some troubleshooting ideas

1) give it some ether (open it up at the front of the MAF) and see if it starts
2) check fuel pressure (port is on passenger side intake between 5 and 7 cylinders)
3) There is a way to run the fuel pump through the diagnostic port. Connect 12v to the G terminal in the diagnostic port (see attached)
4) check for spark - pull a plug wire and connect an old plug that you can ground against something - or maybe use a timing light
Attachments
ECAE4DED-07F7-4F5E-BC31-D658F754A4AC.jpeg
35CAF2A0-B594-444C-9DC9-4DC51B8853B3.jpeg
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:11 pm
Location: planning a race

Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Well this car has been not running for some time.

I went over there after the last time it wouldn't start, disconnected the MAF and got it to start. It ran like crap but it ran. That prompted me to take the MAF and try it with the other car. After many months past I tried it and it worked.

When 2021 started I had some notion of getting this car running so I could drive it. Hasn't materialized too good, though I did get an intake gasket and some injectors to see if we could get it running stronger.

Kurt and I went to visit Fred32v and the car a few weeks back on Labor Day. The disassemble was pretty routine except for distributor removal. It would not turn. We lost at least an hour and did some damage to the distributor. We tried using a drift and a hammer, tired the air hammer, then the giant channel locks along with some PB Blaster we got it turning. There were many attempts to pry up on it, only prying on the main shaft to avoid breaking the housing. Eventually Kurt got a lever under the sealing surface, and applied upward pressure while I turned it. Then we got enough to get two pry bars on it and popped it out. The carbon build up on the machine surfaces of the shaft were binding it up. 30 seconds on the wire wheel and the remnants were gone and it fit in real easy.

Removing the intake uncovered radiator fluid in the low spots, and some rust on the parts in the valley. We cleaned that up as best we could, cleaned all the gasket surfaces and got the intake back on. The day was getting long so we called it there, with the idea that the t40 torx bolts on the intake are awful, and I could bring some hex head bolts.

While I was home I found enough bolts to do the job, and I located my spare distributor.

The second Sunday had me and Fred32v putting things back together. It was pretty routine, though lots of time spent getting all the bolts in and torqued on the intake manifold. Eventually we were out of things to reattach. The vacuum lines are a mess not really sure I have that right, but doesn't look like any open small lines will cause vacuum leaks.

When we tried to start it we found the battery to be pretty much dead. We tried the beefy 100 amp boost but it was not getting the job done. The battery was from May of 2014 and it was for a Saturn I don't think it owed us too much. At that point we temporarily pilfered the TrackBird battery. It cranked over but no fire. A quick test with some very old starting fluid and it fired right up. Tried to check the power at the tank and it did send power back there when cranking, but no sounds from the pump. I removed the fuel sending unit to do some debugging at home before we wrapped up the day.

With this we wrapped up the second work session.

Today I checked the fuel sending unit by connecting to the Vette here. The pump had no sign of life. I have a spare from a lot of 86 car parts I bought. That pump is good so I migrated to the 89 sending unit and we'll have something to put in the car to get it started. The pump that was in there I bought in March of 2020 so I'll be testing the warranty on that one.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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