This is a shot of the Corvette when it first purchased...87K White with red interior. This was the week the wheels were polished, transmission fluid was changed, and it received a good detailing. The in-operable items were as follows: Passenger power window ribbon, (1) back-up light bulb, and the front rotors were slightly warped. The brakes were gone through due to a rattle caused by a dry bolt...The headlights flipped perfect,(nock on wood)dash functions great, runs great, power antenna worked, cruise worked, etc...
This is a shot of the where it sits a month later. After a few miles of driving, it developed a light-miss when accelerating from a stop and it would actually stall in reverse. I pulled the air cleaner and sprayed out the throttle bodies and it ran perfect from that day on...
Some better pictures...
The drive train remains stock as of now, but that is most likely to change...I am doing some research on the LT1/LS1 engine swap... From what I have read is the LT1 motor out of the F-body cars fits very well in these cars. Everything from the bell housing to the motor mounts line right up on the LT1. In fact the only thing that does not swap is the mpg gauge in the dash.
The LS1 swap fitment is a little more complicated. It has been done many times, but the oil pan, motor mounts, and the frame in the front may need to be altered slightly... Both swaps will need new computers...
This is a shot of how the A-arms looked before they were cleaned. A little brake cleaner and Castrol Super Clean were used to clean and water to rinse...
This is a clip of the A-arms after... Next is the motor...
This was the starting point for the L-83 motor... Definitely needs some attention...
Motor before...
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This was the starting point for the accessory tear down...
These are some of the parts that are shown in the above picture, just repainted...
The Valve cover paint from Mid-America covered great! It was so forgiving and also left it a nice texture...
Here is another close up of the air filter cover. It came out pretty nice. In this picture it looks like the paint ran under the emblem, but it was a reflection from the floor.
Here is a couple shots of the valve covers after they were sandblasted. Thanks a lot Jay!
Next picture they will be painted...
Here they are painted...
I think they came out good...Once again, the reflection of the floor is visible in these pictures...
This paint was very easy to work with and dried fast... This was 30 minutes after the last coat...
This is a shot of the belt tensioner and power steering reservoir. The power steering reservoir was cleaned and the belt tensioner was painted.
This is a shot of the A/C and throttle bodies after they were cleaned up...
Most of the engine bay back together...
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Motor after...
Motor after...
This was the starting point for the L-83 motor...
Motor after...
Motor after...
Motor after...
Motor after...
Now on to the exhaust...This is what it looked like after it was pulled from the car, from header collectors to the tailpipes...
I came across a couple problems while removing the exhaust system. First, it appears who ever had installed the cat back system had done so with the mufflers flow direction facing the wrong way. There was also only 3 out of the 4 bolts holding the catalytic converter to the cat back system (3/8-16 threading)... Needless to say it had a leak...
Here is a side by side comparison of the test cat and the high flow cat. Now that the new hardware, stainless steel bolts, was installed switching between the two cats will take no longer than a matter of minutes...
This is a closer picture of the test pipe. This pipe will be used at the track...
This is a close up of the new high flow cat...
When the exhaust was removed to do transmission seals, I had to drill out 2 of the manifold's studs. Needless to say, it ended up being drilled out. Lost 1 drill bit, turned 2 other blue, and 1 (1/4"-20) tap in this stud. That is the reasoning behind these stainless steal studs I made out of 3-6" Eye hooks (3/8-16)threading...
This was what the studs were constructed of, (3) 6" stainless steel eyehooks with 3/8"-16 thread (same threading as the original studs)...
This is how the driveshaft came apart when it was removed. 4 5/16 bolts held the driveshaft to the rear. Notice the needle bearings inside the housing, about 5 of them fell out due to the fact that I was not aware they could come out when the driveshaft was removed... I was able to find them all (5) that fell out on the floor and give them a good cleaning and re-lube....
Here is the leaking rear main seal on the transmission...
This is where the rear of the driveshaft connects to the rear end. Luckily it was able to just barley make its way out without having to remove the C-(support)beam..
I also ended up removing the starter in order to attain better access to try turning one of the studs that was seized in the manifold. Good thing I did because it really needs a cleaning from the oil leak from the valve covers before they were redone...
These are the bolts that connect the C-(support beam) from the rear-end connecting to the tail shaft of the transmission... After the rear main seal was replaced, The driveshaft would not go back in until the removal, or just movement of the C-beam. The C-beam only needed to be moved a couple inches toward the pass-side of the car, not removed. The front bolts that go through the tail shaft of the trans were 18mm, and the rear bolts were 21mm. Held the top with a shorty wrench while bottom was impacted. Since it was not removed totally, it only had to tap back into position after the driveshaft was back installed... I used the spare tire jack to hold the transmission in place. It was easy to adjust while being under the car and was able to take the weight off the bolts for easier alignment of the C-beam... I have 3 of these scissor jacks that I use for transmission work, they are very light, easy to adjust under car, and do not take up a lot of room...
Here you can see the transmission fluid draining into my transmission drain pan(garbage can lid). This is perfect size and even has two raised pieces to rest the actual pan on above the fluid to keep it dry... Remove all the bolts to the pan, except the four corners. After that, loosen the front 2(of the four bolts)a couple turns leaving a gag of a 1/16th or so of an inch and let the fluid begin to drain...
Here is a shot from bolt to bolt of the manual gear selector shaft (removed). The outside bolt to the external linkage is on the right side. The seal is on the shaft where it would sit installed. The black clip slips over the shaft and that long arm with the roller on the end goes on the pawl show in the next picture. Notice the end of the inside of the shaft has 2 flat sides that fit in the rectangle in the pawl pictured below...
This is where the shaft goes into the transmission. Notice the rectangle in the pawl where the shaft slides through. The toughest part was getting the inside bolt loose without putting stress on the transmission parts...
The pan gasket was seating fine, but there is another place where it is common for the transmission to leak from. They tend to leak from the oil pump O-ring. It is at the front of the transmission just above the pan lip behind the converter(bolts in-about the size and shape of an 8" plate perpendicular to trans. pan). If you push on it between the two bolts and you see the fluid that is where the leak is...
Better shot for location. If this seal is bad the transmission needs to be removed in order to replace...
Next was an external after market transmission cooler. It was mounted in front of the oil cooler to get the freshest breath of air and it also fit the best in that location... I personally am not a big fan of the original OEM set-up for a few reasons. First, is the fact that the engine is already running close to 200' itself. So I really do not see how this will cool all that efficiently. When I had the AOD (Automatic Overdrive)in the Mustang with an aftermarket external cooler and a transmission temperature gauge, I only saw it hit 200' twice in a year's worth of daily driving. This was in the dead of summer pulling a trailer up the highway. The second, more important reason is that the radiator is quite old and if it were to spring a leak inside of itself it could cost a transmission. The cooler lines would pull the engine coolant right in the transmission without notice... So I feel it is better to run the after market system... I also had a leak in the steel line where it was rubbing against the starter, better check yours before it is too late...
This is where the holes for the rubber lines are going through to connect to the cooler...
Make sure to use transmission cooler line not fuel or any other type because it may fail after short period causing big leaks and serious damage. The hose route will be the same as factory (along the oil pan) until the steering rack. It will be ran next to the rack and straight to the cooler, actually more direct than the stock lines were... This is a shot of the lines routed. It definitely cools better than the original. While letting the car idle for 20 minutes, letting the fluid circulate, the coolant temp hit 210'. However the transmission cooler lines were maybe 85', barley warm to the touch. If it was still hooked to the original cooler, the fluid would have been getting heated by the 210' water in the radiator...
This is a shot of the line being cut. In this picture it is visible where the leak was temporarily fixed with a piece of hose and a hose clamp. This is where it was rubbing on the starter...
The exhaust hanger nut broke off the tack weld. 14mm X 1.75 will be threaded so there will be no more need for the nuts on the back...
This is a shot of the rim before it was polished...
After 3 hours or so...
I was going to go with a new cam, ported intake and headers, but since I heard of the LT1 swap I am going to hold of and look for a car with the swap done. Cross-fire's can produce good power so it may retain the original set-up. This all depends on how sturdy the rest of the car turns out. As of now it looks pretty good...
20 inch wheels...
Now to lower it an inch or so, and improve the brakes...