89 Corvette Mostmint #43

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Fred32v
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by Fred32v »

Fun times in the "32V Garage"! :D
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wxo
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by wxo »

Andy, while researching the off idle bog on my LT4, I came across this piece of info about the various EGR systems used on the C4 series of Corvette's.
https://tech.corvettecentral.com/2012/1 ... diagnosis/ Just FYI to keep in mind while troubleshooting. Fortunately for me, one of the last things in the article stated that LT4's don't have EGR. Finally, something I don't have to fix! :D
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Thanks. That is a good in depth article, but my observations are quite different than what is explained. I was very concerned at first that the check engine light would be on all the time once I disabled all the EGR stuff (on the other one). What I learned though is that my computer is not smart enough to know if the EGR stuff is not there.

I've systematically removed all the EGR components (which help greatly accessing the plugs BTW) and have yet to get a code from that in the ECU. Mind you this is not just trips around the block the car has been on hour drives and not had that code come up. There have been a few other codes that have come up and I have fixed. I was thinking it was just the unsophisticated ECU of the time but with what was described in this article I am less certain.

I'll go through the same process on this car and that will tell me if the first one had any special computer mods to bypass. This one has a bunch of broken plastic lines so I plan to set it up the same way as the race car and get rid of the non essentials. The joys of not caring about how the car is restored!
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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wxo
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by wxo »

Speaking of smart ECM's, I want to know what my current fuel pressure is, and I don't have a fuel pressure gauge. Then it dawned on me that the ECM on my TBSS tracks fuel pressure, so that Vette probably does, too. So I went to my trusty Ultra-Gauge and set a gauge to read it. No such luck. It appears that the Vette's fledgling ECM isn't sophisticated enough to care about fuel pressure.
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Made my third trip in this recent attempt to get it running. brought working fuel pumps, a battery, timing light, spare distributor, distributor wrench, some vacuum line, some odds and ends, as well as brake pads and a set of wheels and tires for "extra work" once it get running.

Preparation work:
- switched the front tires on the primary Vette over to the rims that match the rear wheel - it now has four Conti tires on later model C4 17" wheels
- took a couple Firehawk Indy 500's left over from Kurt's Impala and mounted them on the 89 Vette wheels
- tracked down a spare fuel pump
- monkeyed with the old battery. It was low on water in three cells so I filled them and charged it. Remarkably that worked and it started the car here. I left the 2 amp charger on it too long after that and it got real hot. After that it wouldn't really start the car. The decision is to get a new battery for the car here
- I did warranty the old pump - it had less than 10 minutes on it
- Looked at car here for vacuum routing

So we installed the battery, changed the fuel pump and set up the vacuum lines - relatively straightforward. Tried to start it and it fired over but wouldn't really run and it was backfiring. Tried advancing the distributor because there was some backfiring but that didn't help. Tried removing the zip ties holding the plugs together, checking the fuel filter (25/32 wrench fits on the filter), using a different fuel pump. We tried pressure test first but the fuel pressure gauge did not have the right adapter on it.

Looked at a couple plugs on the driver side - they were black (from running rich I'd guess) but otherwise looked good. I was surprised they were actually pretty easy to reach.

We also ran into a problem with the alternator not charging. The alternator looks replaced, as did the connector on the main wire. Well that connection was quite corroded so some wire brushing fixed that right up.

After it warmed up a bit it seemed to run better. We actually had it idling on its own for a while, but not at all convinced the problem is fixed. Seems to be running rich the exhaust after some warmup seemed very rich. At this point I decided it wasn't going to be fixed today. It has an ignition problem and a problem when opening the throttle, as well as cold idle problem. I'm reasoning that we did some damage inside the distributor getting it out, and/or we have some problems with a sensor being bad - either engine coolant temp sensor or throttle position sensor.

After that went to checking the brakes and installing the Vette wheels. All the brakes had at least 50% pads. Rotors are rusty but they will stop the car. Removing the front wheels uncovered washers as spacers to keep the Jaguar wheels off the calipers. The front wheels were held on by GM lugnuts. The rears were held on by four Jaguar wheel lugnuts and one GM lugnut each side. I am 100% convinced this car was never driven on the Jaguar wheels. I can only guess he traded the Vette wheels for the Jag wheels. The Jaguar lugnuts would not work with the GM wheels but Fred32v had an old stash of metric lugnuts and we cobbled together enough lugnuts to hold the wheels on.

I was able to move it out of the garage and up the driveway, but it not running good enough.

To do:
- test the TPS
- do some digging on the bog condition
- get a backup distributor prepped
- get a window switch - the passenger side will go down not up
- bring the fuel pressure tester
- bring 5 gallons gasoline
- get the laptop setup with the ALDL software to monitor/debug
- get a radiator cap
- get a better connector for the main alternator wire
- get some decent lugnuts (8)

- check the rotor to make sure it is tight
- check torque lugnuts on the right front
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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wxo
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by wxo »

Today I have eight weeks of work into my Vette. Rereading this thread suddenly now becomes more interesting and meaningful. :D
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Today was another trip to Fred32v garage.

In prep for this I prepped a replacement distributor. This was built from a $15 HEI I picked up at Carlisle. As it turns out this was from and 85-86 5.0 liter, but is interchangeable with the Vette. This specimen was not perfect, there was some evidence of oxidation under the cap, and the cap was broken. I removed most of the parts and cleaned up the grounds. The four wire connector to the wiring harness was missing so I took that mini wiring harness from the HEI I had from the flood car and installed it. After that I took the coil from the Carlisle HEI and put it in the cap from the flood car. The flood car cap had been underwater and the coil was rusted badly, but the pickups in the cap for the spark from the rotor were clean, so this gave me a serviceable spare rotor and coil.

I also had a set of plug wires from the spare engine I bought for the other Vette and I brought those, a bunch of various fuel supply parts, some wiring, service manual, and five gallons of gas.

The first thing I did was install the TPS (which I tested on the other car it was fine), then I changed out the distributor. Oddly the rotor was pointing to the exact same place it was last time so I was able to reuse my mark on the firewall. I guessed on the timing. We also connected the fuel pressure gauge. Fuel pressure was like 40 PSI so that was good. At first the car did not want to start, but eventually it did but still not running right.

The car was still backfiring and hesitating, so I went to check the timing. My method is to cut power to fuel pump, and check the timing while cranking. A couple quick adjustments and we have it down to about 8-10 degrees. The service manual said check the emission label under the hood for initial timing, but we could not locate it. Online said 6 degrees but I was dubious and figured I was close. With the fuel pressure off the car did actually start and idle a couple times, which I waited out to get my readings.

After this with power to fuel pump reconnected the car started but still hesitating under power and backfiring. I decided at this time before it got warmed up much to change out the plug wires. I changed seven of them - the wire to #2 seemed quite hard to reach. After this it did run better. We ran it at progressively longer intervals and really let it warm up. After just a couple minutes of warm up it seemed to run much better and could easily stand free revving - no more stumble.

For good measure I put 5 more gallons in the tank to help reduce condensation/water build up. I really should disconnect the vent for now so air can go in or out freely.

After that we went after the window switch. The console is pretty beat up so not all the fasteners were holding, but made fairly quick work of disassembly. We tried the driver side switch on the passenger side and it worked. Tried cleaning up the connections on the passenger side switch to no avail. I have a couple of them on the way from Rock Auto. The passenger window will stay up until new switch can be installed.

So as of now the car meets the minimum it can start and move around in the garage. I want to drive it, but got to keep focus on the race cars in my garage first.

To do list will be insanely long - here are a few items:
- change out the last plug wire
- fix the alternator wire connection
- need a tie down for the battery
- headlights do not pop up on their own
- need a key for the door
- power mirrors not working
- heater controls not working
- need new wipers / test the wipers to see if they work
- no radio
[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 this car came home. It needed some air in the front tires, and it had a little bit of a time trying to move without stalling but went up on the trailer under its own power. Kurt is interested in driving this car so it seems it will get a bit more TLC and assuming nothing major is wrong, it will be on the road.

Loaded up and ready to leave Fred32V's place:
5D8A06A2-FEEA-4C83-84C0-F67BE6DD3458.jpeg
I took it down the drive and through the yard a bit and it shifts through all the forward gears.
[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 »

Took a little test drive in the yard today lol. First we topped it off with radiator fluid. It still idles a bit rough, but after a couple minutes it idles on its own. Once it warms up it it pretty crisp on the throttle, I can only guess the plugs/wires/cap/rotor are the source of the miss. The car has the auxiliary cooling fan up front and it was kicking on at about 210 and off again at 200. Rear brakes are quite noisy due to rusted rotors. All the running lights, directionals and headlights work, though the pop up function need some TLC.

Some to do items:

* why does the main fan not kick on, or how does it work?
* there is a wire near the alternator - too close to the spinning cooling blades for the alternator
* it should get an oil filter change after about 200-300 miles
* records show we added 10 gallons but the gauge says it is full
* brake fluid is fairly brown it should be replaced
* hood does not latch down on the driver side (probably out of alignment)
* we have just one ignition key, and it does not work in the door

With the factory oil cooler and auxiliary fan, this one is better optioned than the race car.

Kurt is ordering parts.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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wxo
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by wxo »

MostMint wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 1:40 pm headlights work, though the pop up function need some TLC.
This video describes the most common reason and fix for the headlights not cycling on a C4: [Youtube]https://youtu.be/RBCrYvslp_o?t=616[/Youtube]
The three little plastic pucks are available from places like Zip Corvette: https://www.zip-corvette.com/88-96-head ... hings.html
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Kurt is now the owner of this car, and has been doing necessary maintenance:
* new rotors and pads installed
* new brakes hoses and brake fluid
* new tires
* replacement window switch installed

Before all this work it made a 7 mile trek to the post office. Last night it went to Akron. I figure its been at least 10 years since this car went on the road under its own power

There are new plugs and wires in the garage, and all the other stuff still need addressed, but he actually washed the car yesterday.
IMG_7792[1].JPG
Part of the "deal" is this car has to come to the races for the Vette so we can borrow parts off it if needed for the race car.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Fred32v
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by Fred32v »

All the parts and effort that you and Kurt put into that car while it was in the 32V Garage is really paying off!
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MostMint
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Re: 89 Corvette Mostmint #43

Post by MostMint »

Thanks for the tip Walt. I'll pass that info along.

The tire inspector:
IMG_7797.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 »

Kurt is going after the peeling paint in the back. You can see the car has been painted at least twice before it showed up here.
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It’s not perfect but should look good in the on track action shots. If he cares it will get some clear on it at the end. The color match is good
[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 »

Some time in November we put some paint on the LR quarter panel.

Kurt got the gift of car work for Christmas so I've been busy with that:
- The heater is now working. The vacuum lines were not connected, the electronic air conditioning controller and the blower motor controller were not working. Luckily I had those parts from the other Vette and they both worked. It took a while with the manual and a meter to figure out what needed fixed. With a charge of the A/C system it could have full heating and cooling function, though winter in NE Ohio makes the heater important.
- The seats have been swapped out - replacing them with the extra seats that came with BP's Vette. These seats are quite deluxe and had some additional controls in them. Ended up using the base that came with the car, removing the more deluxe seat adjustments, and put it in the car.
- While the dash was apart I also swapped in the center dash bezel from my car as his was all broken up, and also the center console lid was all broken up so that got replaced as well.
- Power steering was growling. Turns out it was just a bit low on fluid. However I surmised the fluid was 30+ years old so I decided to change it. Emptied the reservoir, then removed and cleaned it. There was quite a bit of black goo lining the inside of the reservoir.
- Also it now has a functioning fuel tank door. I got this door in a parts buy a couple years back. It was quite dirty so I took some time to clean it up, and had to fabricate one of the moorings as it was fiberglass and had been damaged by the prior owner.

About 1k miles on it so far - it could use some valve cover gaskets as they are starting to leak. Will monitor the power steering - I don't think its leaving any drops on the ground and with as much fluid as was in there I was surprised it was growling that much.
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3C0DBF76-5595-4905-B1A8-2495A6A2F4B3.jpeg
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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